Psycho (Pho) Cyclo

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October 10, 12:18 AM

by Jay Friedman, Seattle Asian Eats Examiner

 

A couple of years ago, I basically wrote this about Pho Cyclo in Capitol Hill:

In explaining its name, Pho Cyclo tells us that "the cyclo drivers are the eyes and ears of the local street scene" who can "point you to where you can always get a delicious meal at a great price."

I can now tell you about a pho place that will assault your eyes and ears the minute you walk in off the street.

My party hadn't sat for more than a few seconds, staring at the over-stimulating wall depicting a street scene in Vietnam, when a server steps up and asks for our order. We ask for more time. It's hard to concentrate as "I Will Survive" blasts our ears. Another song (are we really hearing "YMCA" at a restaurant?), and another server appears with notepad in hand. Still not ready, as it's nearly impossible to talk over the tunes. Now it's something from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Then the original server comes over and when we say we need a little more time, he asks, "How many minutes?"

Screaming from the speakers: "Do the Hustle." How appropriate.

It's annoying. We're dining, not discoing, and we'd like to relax and catch up with our friends without being hustled into our meal. Speaking of which, the food wasn't bad, but was it go-back-worthy? We had the pho, and while the quality of the meat was good, we prefer Than Brothers for its better broth and cream puff. And Pho Cyclo's menu lacked the appeal of what we enjoy at our beloved Green Leaf.

In the end, we were happy to escape to the relative calm of the street.

I recently went to the Sodo location where the music was mellower and the service a bit better. The pho, though, was much the same.

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