Aliso Viejo, CA
Life is $hort - Wear your Party Pant$
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Location
Aliso Viejo, CA
Yelping since
December 2008
Our visit to this place was elevated due to the service from Hector H. I mean IHOP food is the same no matter where you go. But it makes a huge difference when the service is excellent without expectations. Attentive, friendly and always smiling were the attributes of Hector. He was the only one receiving guests and serving them food.
We were seated right away. Food came in a timely manner making sure kids food were brought up ahead. Overall we enjoyed our dine in here.
Loved the ambiance here. On a weekend, the place was fully booked and the wait was decent, about 10 minutes. We got seated and ordered breakfast. Food was perfect. Nothing extraordinary. What sets it apart was the service. Staffs were attentive amidst the busy setting. Timely refills and following up on food.
This place is not my scene. We came here for a weekday lunch with my friend who suggested we check out this place. They have the lunch specials (AYCE for $22) running from Monday through Thursday only. The lunch sides were disappointing. Fish cakes, some jalapeno pickle, pancake slices and japchae. There were no fresh vegetables (do not shred some lettuce and call that as fresh vegetables). There were array of trays with beef, chicken, pork with different marinated flavors. It was boring. I prefer Zip korean bbq way better. It comes with variety of banchan, rice paper to wrap your cooked food and they have tofu soup. Did I tell you that they do NOT have soft tofu soup here? Boo.
I love their pho! So flavorful and chewy noodles. I have dined in as well as taken to-go. Both times the consistency of the pho was excellent. My husband loves their sandwich. The restaurant is clean and spacious. Service was quick. This will be my default pho place in this area!
I came here with my friend for lunch to try their lunch special but decided to order from the regular menu. The lunch deal didn't appeal to me. So we ordered their fresh spring roll which comes with tofu, glass noodles and other fixings. The dip was simply peanut butter lol. It was clumpy and not dippable.
Ordered pad kee mao (level 3) and tom yum noodle soup with fish balls, chicken and shrimp. I loved the flavor of the pad kee mao. It had a hint of sweet to it but not like pad see eww. It also had a nice smoky flavor to the noodles which I loved it. Good amount of protein and veggies. I actually prefer more noodles lol. Tom yum soup was good and it had a tangy sweetness to it. It felt like pho soup with flavors. Service was nice and attentive. It's a small space and plenty of parking available in the shared lot. I would definitely try their other noodles if I'm in the area.