Pho D'lite

Pho anyone? I must admit that I didn’t know anything about this food until early 2020!! Rice noodles served in a broth, with a choice of chicken, beef,or shrimp @phodlite has it. With a simple but effective menu (Pho, rice bowls, summer rolls, and a few entrees) your stomach won’t be slighted. A Pho bowl is $9.95 (vegetable pho pictured) and it’s ENOUGH for two. With locations in Waldorf, College Park, and Silver Spring, I chose the location at 6840 Race Track Rd., Bowie Maryland 20715. I was welcomed in this spot and I was accommodated with grace. Parking was a breeze and I enjoyed the atmosphere...really!! Put some hosin and sriracha on your Pho...trust..that’s it. Oh I almost forgot that Chai Tea embodied deliciousness and the toppings on the side were a nice addition!! **This establishment is Covid compliant**

The hostess was very nasty and unprofessional I had to ask to be seated the floor and the table was dirty she didn’t clean it, she never asked if I wanted anything to drink or brought water, I had to get my own condiments off another table even after I asked and she brought another guest his drink that he paid for and was half full and argued with him and refused to filled up because she said he didn’t want ice so she wasn’t going to fill it. It’s a shame because the food wasn’t bad, no wonder it was almost completely empty.

Food was ok. I got the fresh shrimp summer rolls, Asian poppers, shrimp vermicelli bowl and the chai iced tea. The shrimp summer rolls were good with the peanut sauce. The Asian poppers were ok. I could have gone without those. The chai tea was good and the shrimp noodle bowl was ok. I wish the noodles had a taste. Otherwise service was fine and the establishment is clean. Next time I would try the pho.

I tried this place because I got a Groupon $15 lunch for $9. A perfect time to try this place. I've only tried Vietnamese/Thai food from a local family-owned restaurant so I'm comparing from that place. We've ordered 4 things. One appetizer, 3 main course. Asian Popper. I'd give it 3/5. The presentation is so sad. The plate is too big for the food. The balls are uneven in size. The lettuce and ball ratio was off. The taste was eh to be honest. My mom got Pho D'lite. 5/5 it was good. I honestly liked this Pho soup compared to all the Pho I've tasted. Perfect balance of taste from the couple of taste I had. My sister got the pork bowl. 5/5!! I'm gonna get this next time I go there. Pork with rice and pickled vegetable. The vinegar where you dip the pork is just mmmmm, I've been wanting to replicate that taste at home too. I got Shrimp Pad Thai. 4/5. It's still good but the pad Thai that I used to eat is better. The noodle is the same noodle they use for the Pho. The shrimp in there has no taste. That was disappointing.

I just want to start off by saying that this review is ONLY for the Pho D'Lite on Race Track Rd. in Bowie, MD. This review is NOT for the Pho D'Lite in College Park, MD. I have never had an issue with them. I also want to state the fact that I am vegan, and Pho D'Lite has advised before that they do have vegan-friendly options. I'll start with about a month or so ago, then I'll get to the other day [05/20/18]. A month or so ago, I placed a pick-up order with the Pho D'Lite in Bowie, and advised that I am vegan, and that I wanted a veggie Pho dish with VEGGIE BROTH. I went and picked up my food, got home and noticed a few things. The broth did not smell like nor look like their veggie broth normally does, and had fat floating around in the top, like a meat-based broth typically does. I took a sip and it did not taste like veggie broth, either. I held up the container and looked at it from the bottom and it looked like there was other things floating in the broth other than seasoning. It looked like fat and possibly meat chunks. Then I saw a hair in the broth. I immediately called up there and spoke with Tatjana - the host who took and packed my order. She advised that she would gladly replace the broth. When I drove ALL THE WAY back up there, I asked if it was veggie broth. Let me again note that I AM VEGAN. So when I asked if it was veggie broth because it did not look, taste or smell like veggie broth, she confirmed that no, this was not veggie broth. "But I don't understand how this could happen because I personally packed your food myself" Tatjana says. Hmmm okay.. She did NOT refund me my money, but she switched my broth and gave me a free appetizer; veggie summer rolls. So that was my first bad experience at this Pho. I had not been back since that disaster, but the other day, I decided to give them another chance. I soon learned this would be their LAST chance. I was at the MOM's up there and decided to place a phone order and order the same thing - Veggie Pho with Veggie broth, advising I'm vegan and an order of veggie summer rolls. I sat outside the restaurant, waiting on my order and then went inside to pay and pick up my order. When I went in Tatjana was there and advised SHE HERSELF was packing my order up. When she brought it out, I have a feeling she recognized me, and asked if I wanted to check everything over - I should have known better than to trust her and her cooks again. I did a cursory look of everything, but primarily just checked on the broth because that was what I had had issues with previously. This was my mistake. I got home and sat down to eat my food. Almost everything is packed separately, so nothing is pre-mixed and you can see what you're about to eat. With veggie Pho, you typically get extra veggies in the form of bok choy and some tofu. I immediately noted that my bok choy was brown, yellow and had clearly gone bad BEFORE they cooked it. I have included photos of said bad bok choy. I set it aside and was going to just not eat it. However, when I opened the noodles there were hardly any in the box [little red Chinese carry-out container], and upon a closer look, I noticed there was seafood [looked like shredded crab or something] and a shellfish leg in my noodles - RIGHT on top! Let me iterate again - I am vegan, and Pho D'Lite did advise that they do have vegan-friendly options at their restaurants. I immediately called back and advised about what I saw and went back up there. Tatjana tried to blame me for the seafood and leg and bad bok choy. She asked if I had cooked the bok choy even more when I got home and I told her no, it clearly had gone bad BEFORE it was cooked. She also said she didn't know what I did to the food when I got home and would not give me a refund. When I got home with the "fresh" bok choy she gave me, it had brown and yellow spots and seafood on it! I will NEVER step foot in this location again and I suggest vegans and people allergic to shellfish should also beware because there is clear cross-contamination in their food. Photos of everything are included.

I came here on this Beautiful day 4-03-19 Hungry as hell!! and Met the OWNERS Jenn & David are so pleasant & Entertaining. Met the Chef Magnificent flavors in all that he touches!! I tried Phó for my first time Today it's so bomb it isn't oily very rich with flavorful broth and Ordered my usual butter wings!.. having the owners here makes a huge difference and greater experience!! You won't regret it everything is packed with Flavor no matter what you get and This Month ONLY is Phó Happy hour 3-5 5.00...the seating, decor and Atmosphere overall is Very chill and welcoming. You're crazy to miss out on such a dope spot and after you eat you walk around or grab ice cream like I'm about to do . if you're vegan or gluten-free this is the spot for you as well. So AGAIN try this place the Phó is wonderful, so filling that I couldn't eat it all DEFINITELY NO REGRETS and Such a D'liteful Experience indeed I'm so glad the Original owners are back and I had the Pleasure of Meeting everyone and getting a Phó lesson THANK YOU AGAIN MRS. JENNIFER AND MR. DAVID