The newest Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Cao, opened this week. Loving all things Vietnamese food, we had to make it a point to stop out there to check out the new restaurant in the former Charng-An space. What we experienced was something that was hard to write about but if you want a real genuine experience, you’ve come to the right place.
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9203 W Central Ave
Wichita, KS 67212
316-239-1776
Open Daily 11am – 9pm
Cash/Card Accepted
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For starters, the building does not have very good ventilation. While sitting there, you could see and smell the smoke coming in from the kitchen.
For dinner, we ordered bun, bowl of pho, and some eggrolls as appetizers. Appetizers usually come out before the meal but that wasn’t the case here. Also, the food took well over twenty minutes to arrive which for me is a no-no in any Vietnamese restaurant. It was a long time and left many customers waiting.
Once we received our food, I found something in my food and had to send it back. By that point, my appetite was gone. They brought me out a new bowl and apologized multiple times. I was hoping they’d comp the meal or at least discount it but that was not the case. $9.50 down the drain on something I was not satisfied with and really didn’t want. I should have said something but I always find it interesting to see how restaurants deal with these type of situations.
As for the bun, my girlfriend thought it was OK. The grilled pork didn’t have much seasoning or flavor to it. While it was satisfying to her, she noted there were far better options in town. Then the eggrolls which arrived seconds after our dinner were the style we preferred. They were probably the best part of our dinner.
Our actual server did a great job. She was handling everything on the front end from bussing to cashiering to serving. But after entrees, appetizers and tip, the $28-29 we spent wasn’t worth it considering the whole experience we had. We simply weren’t impressed and will have a hard time going back. Pho Cao definitely has a lot to improve on.
Here’s their menu:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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Their old restaurant in Garden City left a lot to be desired as well.
Like others, we too were disappointed and dissatisfied w/ Cao Pho’s food. We had been regular customers at CharngAn from it’s inception and loved the Pho that the last proprietors had added to the menu. When we visited Cao Pho for the first time, we were given ingredients that appeared to be similar to the former owners. How ever, the waitress told us they only give the large servings on a take out order. When we got home w/ our pho, we found the Styrofoam box was only half full of noodles and chicken and onions, and instead of 2 bags of bean sprouts and mint, we only had one. Same thing the second time!!! Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,l shame on us!!! Half the ingredients at an elevated $2 price. Very disappointed for sure. Lots of other options out there rather than to be that dissatisfied!!!! Later Cao Pho!!!! A lot later!!! If pho is your specialty, you have a long way to go to satisfy the customers!!!
Don’t know about earlier experiences but they are great now. I back this team 100%. Great pho, best stir fry dishes in town. For the quality I find the price slightly low. Clean food made fresh daily. As an Indian I suggest this place to those that want to enjoy pho with an all chicken broth.