Pho Lotus Vietnamese Restaurant

Excellent Phở! We go 2 times a month. The broth is the best in Sacramento! We went there one time and I complained because the lids on the condiments were not clean. The next time we went back they were all clean and they have been ever since for the last year! They really, really cater to the customer. Fu has been our waiter for years and knows what I want every time… depending on the time of year!

This is my second time here and the food is ok. The first time I had the cube steak over rice with a Thai tea. Meat was overlooked and a bit tough. This time I tried to call to place my order ahead of time. I called three times and they did not answer. I ended up there so I just walked in to find it was not full of people but I guess they had a lot of to go orders. This time I tried the charbroiled chicken over rice and it was very good. But my Thai tea tasted funny. If I didn’t have to be in the area I probably would not have gone there again.

The place is nice but the service is horrible. Very rude. 2 friends and I stood in there waiting to be seated for 20 minutes with any acknowledgment. Is you dont care for rude customer service and long waits this place is for you.

This place is okay, the bowl size is decent, the taste is kinda soggy, you can tell when you put your condiments like hot sauce or chilli oil on it, it doesn’t dissappear right away or scatter quickly, it just sticks around till you stir it like crazy, usually you don’t have to stir like your making a whirl wind. Also I hope they got there ac working, one day I came here and they had a sign saying no ac on a day that was 100 degrees, come on you mean they want to act dumb like they didn’t know the ac broke and didn’t even call for repairs? But when it comes to paying or tips all of a sudden they know everything about that, hahaha what load of crap

Paid $ 13 for a Large 10A with extra noodles and to add meatballs. I didn’t mind spending the extra $ 4 for the extra noodles and meatballs, but when I came home to prep my phở, there was only a slight amount of extra noodles and 1 meatball cut into 4 pieces. They phở was tasty, but I felt cheated for them to give me an insignificant amount of extra additives that I paid for. I should have not added anything because it would have been only over $ 8, instead of the $ 13 that I spent for the extras that were barely put in my to go order.
I will try other places from now on.

Woohoo! I AM THE DUKE!
All because this is my default Phở place!
I personally think they have some of the best broth! I always get the 10-​A! Their brisket, is actually brisket!!! Sooooooo Good!
Have you ever had problems with the noodle to meat ratio while eating phở? Ever finish all your meat? And then have hella noodles left, and think I wish I had more meat? I know I have… BUT NOT HERE!!!
They can get packed pretty fast, so expect a wait, especially around dinner time! I recently found out they are open late, unlike the times indicated on Unilocal…
WANT TO LEARN A PHO GAME CHANGER?
Ask for a side of «Han Chan Nuoc Beo»
It’s never on the menu, but trust me, add it to your phở, and your life will never be the same! TRUST ME!!!

Just so you guys know they only do to-​go starting a little bit after 8, when they’re getting close to closing. Wish their phone would work too and wish we knew ahead of time that they do this early close type of thing.

Dropped in tonight for some Beef Phở.
It was fairly busy and there were some people hanging out which led to me waiting a while to be acknowledged and able to place my order. Ordered the #10 to go in a large. Took about 15 mins for my order to be ready. Delish. Lots of noodles and veggies. I always ask for extra limes. Could use more meat. But overall a good flavorful broth.

I use to frequent phở lotus a lot when I lived closer. The convenience of being open late on weekends, their jackfruit shake which is my love, and their hearty warm bowls of phở which make my tummy happy were the main reasons why. But as of late, they’ve just been such a disappointment !
Came here on a Saturday night after seeing that anh dao had falsely stated they were open. We walk in, wait to be seated, we keep waiting, waiting some more, still waiting, let me just say that while we’re there waiting, all of their staff was sitting on a table playing some sort of card game obviously too busy to acknowledge customers. My bf literally had to clear his throat to catch the attention of one of the employees. So you heard the door open, you heard footsteps, and you definitely saw us standing there, but in order for us to be seated, my bf had to clear his throat. So, if you’re ever in the same position, ladies and gents just clear your throat. I’m sure, it works every time!
As we get seated, I order my usual soup choice: phở ga with yellow noodles, add greens, and add wontons. They were completely out of wontons so I decided to add meatballs instead. Once my food came out, I quickly noticed the aroma of my soup was more foul than usual and the meatballs were all cartilage. Such a disappointment. I then decided to order egg rolls and an orange juice. Keep in mind two egg rolls are $ 3.50. I’m not complaining though, those were the only decent thing about my meal. The orange juice on the other hand was extremely sour ! I get that oranges may not be in season just yet, but how could you serve sour juice ?
I drive here all the way from rancho Cordova thinking I could have a decent meal but it just hasn’t been the same so, I highly doubt that I will ever be back.

Food was not good at all. We only ate our food because we were hungry. I ordered the charbroiled pork with 2 eggs. I asked them for over easy, but they only know how to cook sunny-side…why is it that when I ask for something out of the ordinary (from any restaurant), they are so scared to say «oh, there is an extra charge for that»…I know there will be a charge because it doesn’t normally come with the meal.
No flavor in the pork. I had to get good scoops of whatever sauce they provided to add flavor. I drank the tea which tasted like hot water to fill me up.
My boyfriend had some kind of steak (photo uploaded). It was greasy looking with nothing but fat. He spit out most of his food and took him a few minutes for his stomach to settle from eating the food. I didn’t even want to try it. He ended up eating the rest of my flavorless pork. Honestly should have just went to Phở Le but at least we tried this place and figured out we will not be returning.

Not super fancy and I know I saw my waiter just knock food from the table instead of wiping it down! But the Phở was enjoyable and that drip espresso cured my soul!

We went here with a coupon for buy one dinner + two drinks and get one dinner free, and showed it to our waitress before ordering. On their menu they offer a free soup for kids on Wednesdays, so we asked our waitress about it to make sure that it was free, then added that to our order, for our son. When it came time to pay our bill they charged us for the free soup. I asked them to remove the charge, but they said they considered the free soup to be a coupon, which it is not, and they said that I could not use two coupons. I told them that I didn’t agree with that, but still paid the bill.
The food was actually decent. They saw us standing by the entrance as we waited to be seated but didn’t acknowledge us for a while. The service was very slow in all instances.
I’ve never left a bad review for any business, and the soup wasn’t that expensive, but I still don’t like to feel like I’ve been ripped off.

Ive been to Phở Lotus a few times, but unfortunately have not ordered the Phở yet! The décor is simple, but nice and the service is good. I have ordered the vermicelli bowl with imperial rolls, and spring rolls. The vermicelli bowl was delicious, and the fish sauce broth they give you had a great tangy flavor to add and soak into the noodles. The imperial rolls were also good, and I really like to dip them into hoisin sauce mixed with chili garlic sauce.
The food, service, and prices are good. I want to come back to try to the Phở and give them a higher rating, but in the meanwhile I think a 3/3.5 star rating is accurate. Come by if you’re in the Elk Grove area and in the mood for Vietnamese.

Just because you couldn’t do one simple thing… ACKNOWLEDGE the waiting customer!!! I’ll never dine at your establishment again.
Hungry and off to the next spot.

One of the first things I look for in a Vietnamese restaurant is clean bathrooms and clean dining area floors. If a restaurant values its cleanliness where a customer can notice, then it’s safe to say that a restaurant values cleanliness in the kitchen, where your food is being prepared. Unfortunately, this establishment falls short on the cleanliness test, and I shudder to think of what the food preparation area is like.
On the other hand, the food is delicious and reasonably priced, as long as you can get past the thought of what might be behind the kitchen door.

Ordered the grilled pork rice plate with shrimp and egg rolls. The meal was highlighted in green, which must mean popular? What I recieved was a greasy over cooked egg rolls, thinly slice strip of pork (portioned for a small skinny kid), three shrimps, and slices of tomatoe/​lettuce/​and cucumber, all this for a little under $ 10. After leaving the restaurant I stopped by in n out for a double double.
Probably won’t go back there anymore.

By looking at the stars, this review will mislead you. I cant say this place is near perfect in every way except for tiny idiosyncrasies. But i can tell you the few items i have had are near perfect. And the free bowl of kids bowl of phở every Wednesday is drawing me & my 3 chitlins close like a hooker to a street corner. I dont crave ANY Vietnamese joint often. Actually I do crave a great Ban Xeo every so often (which this place unfortunately does not serve), but i DONT crave a bowl of noodle soup pretty much ever. I just cant. Its killer to a flat tummy, that i am not very well achieving, and being i am pushing 40, i need all the low carb food i can get. But #14, the beef stew is just like romance ignited. Like how good girls fall for bad boys. Like how Felicia liked Deebo. How Sandy liked Danny. How chubby people insist on drinking diet. The two are essentially unhealthy and inappropriate combinations but the two are by the stars alignment, are fitted together like puzzle pieces and seemingly perfect.
Like i was saying, the free bowls of kids phở are what pretty much drove my car to this place. And the fact I am resistingly but willingly to acquiesce to my Hubbys restaurant requests. Like I said, i dont really crave phở on any given Tuesday, or Wednesday rather. I would much rather eat sushi Monday through Sunday. But, good things happen when I submitted today, God rewarded me, cuz whoa! When i ordered the #14, beef stew, i was amazed!!! It is a bowl of beef meat and noodles that are actually the same beef from now nam chow fun. Of course i didnt say that right or spell that right cuz i ain’t Chinese, but if you are, you know that meat is tender like newborn baby’s skin and draws you like sunshine after a rainy day. The tidbits of bok choy & carrot gave it that speckle of healthy factor. But that didnt take away the full bodied flavor of the beef that tasted like it was simmering in 5 spice, cinnamon & bone broth for hours. The meat was plentiful. So much so that my 10 year old n i both shared a large & still had some meat n soup to take home. Thats a lot, cuz i am an oinker! The broth though is like the MackDaddy of the dish. Seriously. Its only been 9 hours since I’ve eaten it, its way past dinnertime and i wanna have some right now, the broth was that good. The broth really made the dish amazing. If you try anything on a first visit, try this dish if u like soup.
I have also had the charbroiled chicken with rice, dipping sauce and a few veggies. This dish is really good. How the hexx they make it so flavorful i dont know. Good for kinda low carb days. Just dont eat the rice if you can summon up enough will power.
Ive also had the soup with red broth i think its called bun Reu. Its okay but not The best i have had. Its decent. Cousin in law makes it amazing. What killed it for me was the chunks of blood i just couldn’t get over. Yikes. Pigs blood Filipino soup i can eat. But chunks of it? Like in your face? Ugh… i know it dont make sense. But thats life.
The service itself was good up until the food was set on the table. After that, i had to get up to ask for that extra bowl i asked for. And then i had to get up again to ask for a soup spoon. And im pretty sure we had to get up to ask to order coconut smoothies, which tasted good but also tasted like bottled flavored coconut syrup and ice blended in a Bullet. I was hoping by seeing the well thought out bamboo décor, the murals, the stone lions guarding the entry, the Venetianish water fountain, that the coconut drink would taste like real coconuts were taken down from a tree by a hunky Hawaiian man in a loin cloth & blended up with cane sugar. But it didn’t. I also got up to ask for the bill. The ladies at the register were decent, but forgettable.
In summary, the 4 stars are for the #14 beef stew dish alone. And their charbroiled chicken dish.
Mediocre service gets a lost star. I am drawn to try more on their vast menu. The end.

I’m not going to lie, Phở Lotus is not my first choice if I’m craving a bowl of Phở. However, the Phở Tai is not bad. The portion size is pretty generous even for a medium bowl. The one thing I did notice was that there was not enough of the thin slices steak for my liking. The majority of my bowl was noodles with the tasty broth.
A huge plus to this restaurant was that the environment was incredibly clean and the waiter we had on this particular visit was extremely attentive to our needs. That alone will have me coming back to this Elk Grove location. The only knock that I have is that a medium bowl cost $ 8.50. You can get a large bowl on Stockton Blvd. for 6.75. Besides, the price difference, Phở Lotus is a decent restaurant with lots of options on the menu. It’s def. worth a try.

So I have been a consistent customer of this place for at least the last 5 years. I go through cycles where all I want is a #57! That being said, the food sometimes slips in quality.
The service however is the sticking point. There are a couple of great waiters that work here, but for the most part you are getting a 20-​something that either mostly ignores you or is semi-​hostile. My suggestion is to not order fountain drinks. Refills very rarely come. Stick to water, and be happy with what you get.
That being said, I truly crave that #57 and at least two of my kids had most of their in utero nourishment provided by that dish. I will continue to be a customer and just hope I get one of my favorite wait staff while there.

I come to Phở Lotus often mostly because it’s close to home. I like Vietnamese food but I don’t think this is the best place. There are other restaurants I would go to more often if they were closer.
The customer service here is mediocre, sometimes they’re nice to me and sometimes they’re not. I often find myself frustrated and waiting for service here. Other times they are quick, efficient and friendly. They could definitely benefit from some consistency.
The food is good. The phở servings are pretty small and slightly more expensive compared to other local Vietnamese restaurants. I’ve tried different appetizers and dishes here and most I’ve enjoyed.
I’ll be back again and hope the service becomes more consistent.