So Ba Vietnamese Restaurant

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

I have been eating pho for 15 years.. I was starting to get a not so great feeling when I saw all the terrible ambiance (unfinished insides, dirty appearance), but feeling adventurous and in need of pho I pursued onward. I told my server a water with no ice, they brought me a water with ice and a lemon and said oh I thought you wanted lemon when I told them I asked for a water no ice.. I saw them take sauce bottles off of another table, and hurry them to the back. Im pretty sure I got those same bottles, after they went to the back and married them by adding new sauce on top. I shudder to think how many days that had been happening to that same bottle... when my food was brought out they told me there were no bean sprouts. Their was 8 pepper slices, and two scraggly green leafy stalks, and lime on a plate. There was no small sauce dish to put the dipping sauces in.. Then I thought well the food must be great based on the good reviews- maybe the food will blow me away and make up for the slack.. Uh, not even. It was the saltiest pho Ive ever had. It was also lacking the broth complexity of good pho. The noodles were still clumped together, like spaghetti that didnt cook right.. The meat was ok, and an average or so amount was included... already being there, and determined to just eat it and go, I dug in.. It just got saltier the more I ate, to the point I couldnt eat anymore, my stomach telling me no more salt. And I am a fan of salt, but this was terrible.. I finally flagged down a man who kept walking by, since no one ever came to ask how was the food (and I was the ONLY customer in there!!).. I politely told him it was too salty to eat, having finished almost half by then.. He said, in not the friendliest tone, with a glare "what do you want me to do?" [ I had finished this review and hit post, it said failure to post, and the rest was erased :(] Basically, I told the guy most restaurants offer how to reconcile, not ask, and that they would offer some type of discount or free desert, etc.. He was physically threatening, acted like it was my fault.. He said most people dont complain after theyve eaten half their food.. I said I was trying to just eat it and not complain, but the excessive amount of sodium was very bad.. I told him how no one ever came to check on me. [I was the only person in there!!] he rolled his eyes and groaned, then walked to the back saying "let me see what I can do"... He came back and Told me not to pay, dont leave a tip, and you can go.. Yes he said that.. I told him I will pay for something. He said no, its time for you to leave.. I said let me pay half. Then he stormed back to my table and said why am I still talking to him its time for me to leave.. I called him a name, and he stepped at me like a fight was on.. But no fight, I started walking out, called for the waitress and told her what happened.. Tipped her a few bucks anyways.. The manager FINALLY appeared from the back, and he looked disheveled, wrinkled shirt and all, even untucked and sloppy looking.. I told him the short version, while Billy badass kept chiming in.. I told him hes a $@&$, and he charged at me. The manager stepped in between.. Then I tried to tell the manager the rest, but they said I was escalating the situation and needed to leave.. Theres a few more details but you get the point.. This jerk was a bearded white dude. Be careful what you say to him, he is unstable and needs anger management yesterday. And some customer service training.. I was threatened by him a couple times, where he charged at me like he wanted to fight

MI

Michelle Turner

This is good for East Atlanta Pho but does not compare to Buford Highway Pho. What is most awesome about the spot is the ambiance! It definitely is great for date night! The music is cultured and upbeat, the lights are dim. It was very comforting on a chill January evening. For drinks we ordered the ginger lime margarita. I can say the flavor was completely ginger so if you are not a fan of ginger, stay away! It was really good and with the strong ginger flavor it is better without salt. It came in a nice big glass, but it was not strong in alcohol. The service started off great but as the night went on, it went down hill. At one point we figured our server had a mishap or something because he just didnt come back for a long time. When we asked, we were told he was busy with outside tables. Explanations like that really bother me, because it makes a statement that this table that I am currently sitting at is not part of him being busy and thats not acceptable. From other reviews it seems like this place gets busy but the service stays laid back like the ambiance and that needs some work. We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls to start and they came out quick. They were fresh and your average rolls. I had a medium Pho and it was ok. I drank some broth before adding anything to it and it was okay. I ordered number 12 which came with steak and brisket. I can tell you the medium bowl suggested I needed to only get a small but the meat contents were minimal. But had tons of noodles though. I was left unimpressed. My niece ordered a number 34 which is Tom Thit Nuong Cha Gio with extra shrimp because she doesnt eat pork and an egg. She was very happy and finished it up. It did look good.

TA

Tarek Stonebear Abdel-Nabi

This place used to be wonderful and I dont know if its because of new management or what but the service and food have severely fall off a cliff. We used to go at least once a week, recently we have waited so long to have a server even bring us water that weve left and made the long drive up to Buford highway for supremely better pho and service (at lower prices too). One time I ordered a large number 14 (the pho dac biet) and it came out with about 2 inches of empty unfilled space between the top of the bowl and the broth level. My dining companion ordered a medium, her portion appeared about the same size (tldr: a large serving is just a medium size serving in a larger bowl). I pointed this out to my server and after a moment of argument she agreed to go talk to the kitchen about my order. She brought back my large portion and sat it down in front of me. I looked and hey had filled it to the brim with broth, no more noodles, no more meat, just broth. I got up at that moment and left. Weve contacted them through email and everything multiple times trying to let them know about these issues but management is not at all responsive. I mean, one time I was stuck waiting for an hour and ten minutes to pick up my TO go order. So Ba? More like So Bad. Please someone else open up pho in east atl/Decatur and show these has beens how its done