Pho Tai Restaurant

We were a party of five dining at Pho Tai in Lakewood. Upon entering the restaurant, there was a sign that stated, “Please wait to be seated.” We followed the instructions and were seated by a staff member, who then handed us menus. What happened next was unusual. We were never served at our table. Instead, we had to go to the counter to place our order and pay before receiving our food. At the counter, a staff member quickly totaled our order on one computer and then directed me to a second computer to complete payment. At no point was I shown an itemized bill or the total before being asked to pay. I paid with a credit card and was presented with the tipping screen. Unaware that any service charge had already been added, I declined the preset options and entered my own tip of $7. After returning to the table, I eventually received my text receipt. However, the receipt only showed the total amount charged and did not provide an itemized breakdown. I returned to the counter and requested an itemized receipt. While one employee attempted to retrieve it, another employee commented, “I tried to do it fast so they wouldn’t see it.” Based on the context, it appeared he was referring to the added service charge. The employee assisting me then stated he was having difficulty pulling up the receipt and asked me to return to my table, promising to bring it over. Several minutes later, the itemized receipt was delivered to my table. No explanation was provided regarding the added service charge, nor was there any discussion about the additional amount already included before I had been prompted to leave a tip. What concerned me most was not the amount itself, but the lack of transparency. Customers should be clearly informed when a service charge has already been added to their bill before being presented with a tipping screen. Providing only a total receipt and requiring a customer to specifically request an itemized receipt does not help build trust. I chose not to make a scene because I was dining with my family, but the experience left a negative impression. My takeaway for future diners: Always review your bill before paying and request an itemized receipt if one is not automatically provided. To the restaurant: Trust is one of the most important things a business can build with its customers. When charges are not clearly disclosed, it damages that trust. Many customers may never notice, but those who read reviews and pay attention to their receipts certainly will.

When I say the food was amazing, the food is amazing. Pho broth was very tasteful, combination fried rice was delicious, and the spicy teriyaki is also good. So good! Service was pleasant and quick. Atmosphere is okay…it’s south Tacoma Way so you will see and hear a lot of things you never expect to see, I guess dinner and a show?

Nope. Rarely do I find any food I dislike. This place has lots of it. I couldn't eat more than 2 bites of egg roll due to an odd flavor and unexplained long strings of unidentifed ingredient. Maybe it was onion. Couldn't really tell. The meat in the egg roll has a boiled organ meat type of flavor. My stir fried "wide" rice noodles with chicken was a huge portion but I only tried a few bites because the noodles were (not the wide fresh kind I love so much) almost stiff and the chicken was all the dark meat, super chewy cartilage type. The sauce was watery although it did have a good flavor. The pho broth was very bland. Will not return. I'm sure plenty of people really enjoy this place.

Me and my family used to go here for years. Almost ten yrs actually, but there has been a decline. 1. It needs to be deep cleaned please. It’s pretty dirty. Smells like old dirty towels. 2. The food tastes stale, especially the chicken. 3. Most IMPORTANTLY. They have roaches, I did a take out order and the box they put my food it.. had a baby roach crawl out of it 4. Fried rice is good, it was better until they changed the shrimp 5. Opens late late

One thing to tell about this place, the quantity is ridiculous! Make sure not to order one item per person, rather share it with 2 or 3 people. So, considering the price, their food is really worth it. We liked the overall taste of the food. We ordered Red Curry and Seafood Pho, both came in a huge bowl! Also, this place stays open for quite late at night, that's pretty convenient!