ANONYMOUS

This place use to be our regular stop, a place where the waiter knew you and what you would order. …… then this place sold …. Menu changed…. And the good people (waiter) left…. Just sad now. Make this place better again.

Thoreen Burkhardt

I have been craving pork vermicelli for a while. In my opinion Lotus Cafe had the best and I have been eating there for probably 10+ years. Unfortunately the place is under new ownership and nothing tasted the same. I am very disappointed. We first noticed a difference when my husband ordered the Shaken Beef. The sauce was totally different and the beef was stringy, not in cubes or tender. My vermicelli that time was good. If you've been eating there for years as we have you will probably notice the difference. New customers can't compare the current menu items with the menu items prepared by the former owners. I'm very sorry but I won't be returning. Also, the peanut sauce tasted like it was made with powdered peanut butter.

Rachel Ono

Drinks were so good. Like super yum 😋 We ordered a Vietnamese dish and a noodle dish. The husband didn't care too much for his food. My kids liked their noodles but I thought they were kinda gross. My older son liked the noodles too so I guess they might be good 😄 So in conclusion we adults didn't like the food but my kids somewhat liked the noodles 😆 We loved our drinks and would order drinks from here again. Honestly I'll get a different dish next time or an appetizer. Idk 😅

+3

Deb Hall

It wasn’t for me. I love pho and I’ve never really had a bad experience with it till now. The pho I had just tasted terrible. There were no noodles in the pho and the meat tasted wrong. I basically had tasteless broth with weird tasting meat. I took a couple of sips and left to go eat at another pho place. The egg rolls were good.

I visited on Sunday, Feb 1st, at 3:00 PM, and unfortunately, what was otherwise great food was ruined by horrible service. Our server (wearing a black Puma shirt and glasses) was rude from the start. When we asked for a booth, he literally rolled his eyes at us. He seemed annoyed that we didn’t order everything at once and remained dismissive throughout the meal. After our pho arrived, he never checked back or refilled our waters. We waited 20 minutes for the check while he ignored us, so we eventually just went to the front to pay. It’s a shame the service was so poor because the food itself was actually good.

Steven Turner

STAY AWAY NEW MANAGEMENT: I came here on sunday for my lunch. The servers were amazing but I have to say the place sucked. You can feel the dirty, sticky floors and the restrooms are so hot. The manager is not professional and comes dressed like a customer who came from the gym. When my pho came I could tell they used MSG and the condiments are not fresh. I ordered boba and it was the WORST tasting ever. Ever since they changed management the quality has gotten worse and worse. They should change back to the original owners or sell it and close this place down.

Mayra Munoz

My family used to love this place, we would eat there at least every other week and the food was always on point with fast and friendly service. Since it’s been under new management we’ve been there twice and the food has not been good and service has been terrible. Today we decided to give it another chance. Complete disappointment!! We walked in and there and sat down, only one table with two people was in use, so basically the place was empty. We sat there waiting for someone to come take our order for over 10 minutes while all 3 of the servers were behind the counter on their phones. My husband literally stood from his chair and stared at the 3 guys on their phones before finally deciding to leave. As we are walking out the door, the servers see us and laugh amongst themselves. Don’t waste your time and money with this place, go to where your time and money are valued and the food is actually good.

Chris Johnson

Been coming here for numerous years, whoever bought this placed an destroyed it with the young staff, tasteless food, an up the price needs to be escorted out of southwest arlington. Went from the people actually knowing the customers by name an remembering their favorite go to, to bottom of the barrel. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE. I thought the other reviews where probably reaching, but just left an when I say the 1 star comments were right. Don't waste your time. How can you go from 5 stars to 1 star. Far fall

River Sprinkle

I was so surprised that the service required me to checkout differently from the past when I used to come here. While I was trying to eat, the guy made me use a machine to checkout at the table even though I clearly asked him for the bill, set my card to pay down, and started to continue eating. It was rude and discourteous. They didn’t used to be this way. I recommend Pho Palace or Pho Pasteur for better service and treatment in Arlington. I won’t be coming back which is sad because I’ve been enjoying lotus for 12 years. What a waste that they’ve automated everything and gotten rid of the human element of going out to eat. The comment below about them checking is not accurate. I never once raised my body language or fought. We were both calm, but I am still disappointed immensely in the automation of the systems which they failed to address and now have invited me to not return, even though nobody was rough on camera. This goes to show they have ZERO interest in customers, but more in money. Pho Pasteur is just down the road. Check them out on Matlock instead!

Matthew L

BEWARE!: Let me just start off by stating how much has changed since new ownership: NO AC, food tastes old and reused, the booths and the salt shakers are dirty, the floor is sticky, with visible pests including a cockroach and a cricket. Additionally when I went to use the restroom it was hot and humid no A.C in there either! I ordered my spring rolls and the pork was chewy and the peanut sauce was nasty. I got a Pho and the noodles were so chewy I couldn't even finish them. Hoping for something to taste good I got a milk tea with boba, and the boba was old and stale. This is unacceptable! Using old boba should not be permitted as it can be harmful to the customers. The manager was not present adding to the frustration. This place has been one of the best Vietnamese spots for the last 10 years until they changed ownership. Hot restaurant along with greasy, stale food has made it the WORST now. New ownership does not care about their clients, I will not be returning nor taking my friends and family here. Instead I will go to a authentic restaurant with working AC like Pho 95. I have came in 8 times since the change of owners and it has gotten worse each time, I have not been able to formally complain because every time I ask for the manager he is not present and I am just told to leave a message. Lotus Cafe did not just lose one customer, they lost over 15+ because I will be spreading the word around to avoid at ALL costs. Additionally, I will file a complaint with the city and send them to check out the restaurant since there were countless insects crawling around. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!

Sandra Agueros

I used to live in Arlington. I used to work around the corner from this restaurant. Food was always absolutely delicious fresh. I thought I’d treat myself today and stop in since I was in the area. It’s been maybe a year this is definitely not the same lotus Café so disappointed. The flavor is not there. The presentation is not there. I paid $18 for this meal which I wouldn’t have minded But I’m realizing it’s under new management or ownership. I’m so sad.

Heather Dominguez

New cook - everything was bad. We will order other rice dishes typically aside from pho and nothing is like the pictures anymore. We ordered orange chicken and sesame chicken and some spring rolls. Which were burned. The sesame and orange chicken were exactly the same, one was just including sesame seeds. There was no reading on the chicken either like typical. When we called to bring it to their attention, they argues when we're trying to bring it back to them and get a refund. They wanted us to call back at 8:30 to speak to someone else. I really don't understand the issue of returning the food and getting a refund, but they really didn't want to accept any fault and repeatedly telling me you have a new cook for some weeks now isn't going to change my mind. I'll get a refund somehow or just report it to my bank and BBB? I'm not really sure what to do. We definitely aren't coming back. This place used to be so good.