Tramle Restaurant

My first thought upon reading the reviews for this place: «People are such assholes, man. But… me included, probably.»
Before Unilocaling this place, I auto assumed this place would suck due to the fact that I’ve never heard of it. I’m 100% Vietnamese, and the demographics of the diners were 0% Vietnamese. The wait lady and the kitchen was Vietnamese, so I suppose their «AUTHENTIC» displayed all over their menu is «real.»
ATMOSPHERE
The place is huge, with 20+ tables. There was another table of 2 when we got there. Bathroom is in kitchen. Sodas in a refrigerator that appeared to not be plugged in.
SERVICE
Food came out fast. This guy walked in after us and had his bowl of phở placed before him in under two minutes. My sense of time is accurate. Please believe. Even if he were a regular and the mere sight of him rendered a specific order directly to the kitchen help, how does it come out in two minutes? You can’t even microwave food that fast.
Single wait help refilled water as needed.
FOOD
They have phở and they have hu tieu (either clear noodle or egg noodle). Those are the only two noodle soups they offer. Scanty danty, but whatever.
BF ordered the phở. The soup was brown, and the meat was already in. Smart move considering Mark H’s review. I tasted it and it was savory. I believe that less is more with phở, so I didn’t like it so much. Clear broth all the way, man. I noted that the serving looked small, but he claims it was the bowl. The squarish bowl is cool, I must admit.
We also got the papaya salad and the BBQ chicken banh mi.
The papaya salad was meh. We asked her to make it medium spicy. When it came out, there was no sign of even a single pepper seed. I don’t even want to know what mild is. I don’t even want it if it’s free!
GET THE BBQ CHICKEN BANH MI AND SLATHER THAT BROWN SAUCE ALL OVAH. THE BROWN SAUCE IN THE CONTAINER WITH A SPOON. NOT THE ONE IN THE SRIRACHA BOTTLE. Heh heh.
THAT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST BANH MI I’VE HAD IN A WHILE. Even though it had a tomato. The chunks of chicken were juicy bitesize morsels!
FOUR STARS FOR THAT BANH MI ALONE! $ 6.50.
Give this place a chance. If you find yourself in that dingy neighborhood already, what more can go wrong? Seriously, though. Get the damn sandwich.

Was lured in by the brightly lit restaurant situated on the corner of Smith St.
There was nobody there and it was dinner time.
Ordered Phở Ga, and spring rolls.
Spring rolls were pretty good. Freshly fried and the filling was tasty.
Phở Ga was OK, the broth needs some more flavor, and the noodles were cooked well. Overall, it was just OK, the broth needs some more work.
Restaurant had an aire of dirtyness to it, but that’s ok, it’s a Phở place, so it should be somewhat expected.

Worst phở I have had in my life!
Walked in here at dinner time. It’s empty. OK, great! I will get my food fast and have the waitress’ full attention! Wrong thinking… empty restaurant = bad food :(
Two glaring faults that make this the worst phở of my life.
1. Where is the fresh rare steak? My gf who is ¼ Vietnamese tells me to always order the steak outside so that you can see how fresh the meat is. Well, my rare steak outside had a dark, dismal color with patches of brown! Cmon, folks! When you order steak outside, isn’t it always a bright, brilliant red?! Here is a pic for your reference
. And doesn’t the presentation look messy?!
2. The portions are incredibly small! Menu says one size only for the phở… okay, I am thinking only large bowl is available. Umm, yeah the bowl is large but the portion of noodles was the smallest I have ever been given. Not only a child’s portion of noodles but a rabbit’s share of veggies! As I am eating my phở, I can’t help but stare at how there is no green color in it (from veggies)!
This place isn’t gonna last long!

My coworkers insisted that I put aside the bad Unilocal reviews and try this place out. Peer pressure + BYOB. .. I’m in.
I don’t know what the big deal is with all these negative reviews. The food wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t bad. I also note that I’m not a big phở fan, and I would come back to this place. The meat was fresh enough and the service was fine.
There are a bunch of protein options and a veggie broth option too. I opted for a more straightforward order: one-​size-​for-​all beef base phở with thinly sliced beef and beef balls. The raw beef was fresh and the regular veggies were fine. Add sriracha, hoisin and squeeze on fresh lemon and you are good to go.
The place wasn’t full, but apparently it was pretty busy for a Thursday night. We had a table of about 10 and they promptly brought us water, cups for our drinks, and took our order. The food didn’t come out all at once, but it came out pretty quickly.
If you are looking for a fancy phở restaurant, this isn’t the place for you. The décor and feel is diner-​ish. Just know that going in and you won’t be so disappointed.
For a space to hang with some friends for a quick meal — this place will do the trick. Located in Chinatown under the neon phở sign — it’s not a bad choice.