Phood On Main

So disappointed in the service. A couple who arrived after us got seated before my boyfriend and I. And then we got ignored by the hostess/​waitress who proceeded to serve another couple who ALSO arrived after us. We didn’t even bother staying after seeing another waitress’ terrible attitude toward other customers.

I tried their pulled pork sandwich and I wasn’t satisfied. It was $ 13 for that sandwich and a fountain drink but it didn’t come with fries or a side, just a bite-​size fruit combination. Since it was $ 13 for this meal, I was expecting something mouth savoring, but it was far less than that. I wasn’t even full after i ate it. I have tasted much better for much less. If you got the money to try it out, go ahead! They look pretty neat, but it wasn’t all that for me.

I had the Sonoma Chicken Sandwich with goat cheese and sun-​dried tomatoes. It was not a bad sandwich but neither did it offer any real thrill. I think they could have been a wee bit more generous with the goat cheese. I am also not a huge fan of the order at the cashier and we’ll deliver the food to your table” model, but what the hell. The building is pretty cool and I believe this place used to be a bank.

One of my favorite lunch stops. I like the California Salad; it’s tasty and just enough for a busy day.
WARNING: Better go there soon. The buzz is that their spice business has grown, but their landlord won’t let them expand the kitchen space, so they will be closing after the first of the year to concentrate on the spices.

I went here with some friends and I got the Turkey sandwich with havarti on a pretzel bun. It was good but nothing out of the ordinary. Their sweet potato fries were decent. My friend got an open faced tuna sandwich and that was tasty. Another friend got that mushroom sandwich and it was actually pretty good. I thought they were overpriced. It was a cute spot, but nothing is prompting me to go here again.

Not impressed. That pretty much sums up my experience. The service was ok, but the duck I got was a bit dry and even stringy, which is unusual for a fatty meat like duck. The sides were ok, but all in all it was just ok, for me. Nothing special, especially disappointed because I’ve hyped this place up in my head.

Yummy!

My boyfriend and I decided to give this place a try while we were spontaneously walking through downtown Riverside one night. And lemme tell ya, I can’t believe I didn’t check this place out earlier because the food here is absolutely delicious. Not only the food, but all aspects of this place made it a perfect experience.
Judging from the ambiance, menu, and service, I could tell that management has put their heart and effort into this place. The menu has a creative flair to it and they’ve done a great job in turning a previous bank into a nice, sit down restaurant.
For dinner, I ordered a mushroom ravioli dish and my boyfriend ordered a salmon dish (I think). Usually I can’t stand eating ravioli after a few bites but I finished up this entire dish, not even kidding. Even all the sides.
I have also tried lunch here to, and it’s great. They’ve got a unique system going on. You order at the counter, choose between duo or trio, and mix & match any items accordingly. I love how the menus are so creative and humorous. I will always remember this pun I saw on the menu «don’t be like the resto, try the chicken pesto, it is the besto.» I actually couldn’t stop saying it for a while.
Also, the price is amazingly inexpensive for what you get. Judging from the quality, service, uniqueness and creativity of the food, I would expect to be at least over 20 per dish. However, most dinner entrees are under that, which is a total steal. I highly recommend this place.

Great spot… make sure you order from the small plates and get a few options. Mallory was a great server… take her advice!

Been here several times for the food and the food has always been outstanding, but the service. is a bit slow. The girl at the counter was always real friendly, and even remembered my name after I had been coming a few times. Wait time for food wasn’t that great. I had got my sandwich 5 – 10 minutes before my fries came. This french fry delay thing happened on more than one occasion by the way.
They also need to buy more of those fry boats. or whatever the hell its called that they put the fries in. One time, me and my coworkers were chatting and enjoying the rest of our lunch hour, with a communal boat of fries for us to munch on, when a waitress came over to see if we were done with our fries. We said no and that we were still working on them. Maybe about 2 minutes later, another person comes to ask if we are done with our fries. WTF??? Can you just leave us the hell alone so we can eat our fries? It’s not our fault you didn’t purchase enough fry boats.
The most recent experience with this place was when we had planned to have a big department lunch at this place. My coworker calls to place our order and book a table. Chef Cohen answers the phone…
My coworkers tells her that we wanted to place an order for lunch tomorrow for a party of 9 (big party means big money for Phood On Main). The Cohen lady says something along the lines of «like the other bazillions of people, you want to have lunch with us tomorrow but haven’t made any arrangements yet?». and gave my coworker an email address to use to place our order.
Now I’m guessing she was joking (I don’t think she made it very obvious that it was a joke, since my coworker got a little uncomfortable after that), but even so, I don’t think you should talk to paying customers like that. If you’re going to make sarcastic remarks like that, hire somebody else to answer the damn phone.
What’s weird, is that Chef Cohen is very lively, friendly and funny in person. Maybe she should stick to cooking and greeting her customers and stay away from the phone.
When we actually got there for lunch, it took forever for them to get our plates out to us, which were brought out one by one. They also had to take our drink orders when we got there, which were also brought out slowly… don’t you guys have serving trays??? I really don’t see the point in ordering ahead because they bring the food out just as slowly as they would if you drove there and ordered upon arrival.
On a more positive note, our waitress was very friendly and all smiles. I don’t think it was her fault that the food was coming out slow, so it kinda bothered me when I caught a coworker of mine rolling her eyes at her after making a condiment request.

One of my goals this year before I graduate is to try most of the places in riverside. One of my friends posted a picture of the food at Phood, and I just knew I had to come try it.
I came here for lunch and ordered the chicken pesto sandwich and the papaya salad. Both were DELICIOUS! I definitely WILL be coming back, maybe even next week!
The service was good too. Since it was my first time, I asked the lady what a duo meant and she recommended me to get a sandwich and salad or soup. It’s kinda like how panera bread does the half and half. Oh and you get a side with your meal. The food didnt take long as well to come to our table, probably within 10 minutes?
By the way if you pay with cash, you get two small [i believe they were meringue cookies] for free!
I will have to come back here for dinner cause that seems to be the problem with this place according to the reviews, but other than that I definitely will be coming here more often for lunch! :]

While enjoying the beauty of the Christmas lights of the Mission Inn, our group decided on a warm dinner at Phood on Main and boy, we are so glad we did. Our party was large and they quickly found a spot for us in the «vault». Mallory was the server Du Juor and although she was so busy, she treated us with the utmost of attention and patience. Because we were a large party, we ordered a large variety of items off the menu. Some were average, but some were standouts, including the arancini balls, raviolis and rock shrimp.
Though Mallory was great, her boss aka Marla was amazing. When she found out that we were AllRecipes Allstars and serious foodies she immediately went into action and dazzled us with some very special dishes. The duck and the dark chocolate dipped fresh blueberries were the bomb, but the time with Marla was absolutely special and made a good experience exceptional. If I were a producer on the Food Network, I would be looking at this lady for a show. She is a amazing personality and I believe she could sell ice to the Eskimos :) She told us all about her sh#t seasoning and we just had to purchase all the flavors to try. BTW We were so dazzled by her personality that we are planning to darken her door again soon. Thanks for making a special night even better Mallory and Marla!

Really good sandwich spot near the courthouse here. I ordered a «Duo» which was 2 smaller portions of certain sandwiches. I got the BBQ pork sandwich which was really good but sloppy (risky in a suit) and the ham on pretzel bread which I really liked. Pay in cash, get free cookies. Fast service too.

Located in Riverside’s downtown, Phood on Main is upscale enough to play smooth jazz during dinner, but fun and original enough for a creative and tasty dining experience.
When I arrived for dinner, the waitress was professional and enthusiastic. I asked about drink specials and was told about a somewhat bizarre drink called Saturday Morning Cartoons. I was wary, and that wariness was furthered when the waitress came back with what looked like fruit loops and milk in a martini glass.
All that went away though when I actually tried the drink. Sweet and refreshing without being too strong, the drink actually reminded me of bygone days of eating cereal while watching Tom and Jerry. The yum factor didn’t stop there, my partner in crime for the evening ordered a drink called Pineapple Upside Down Cake which really did taste like a slice of deliciousness.
For the meal, I ordered their mushroom raviolis which were amazing, but at $ 3 a ravioli, I can only visit this place so often. Overall, the prices are a bit steep, but it’s a nice place for a classy dinner if you’re in downtown.

F*** Phood on Main! A**hole server didn’t seat us, didn’t give us menu, didn’t do anything or know we were there. and we were the only ones there! Food was HORRIBLE! What the hell! I went at lunch which is supposed to be the best time according to other reviews.
I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I thought this place as going to be bad judging from the incredibly cheesy «a hip and creative eatery» on the banner, but I didn’t think I’d feel as vindicated as I did when I spat out the sh** food they served up to us.
Maybe we came on the worst day of their existence, but seriously. what the hell!
I had a mushroom-​type sandwich and gf had a turkey sandwich thing.

Delicious, beautiful, and healthy are just a few of the words you could use to describe your meal at «Phood on Main.» Specializing in a wide variety of dishes from every corner of the world, Phood on Main wants to enlighten guests by steering them away from the more common boring and unhealthy foods. The expertly crafted dishes contain the perfect blend and amount of spices, sure to put the perk right back into your step. This was a first time visit for me; even though I am an area resident. I have heard mixed reviews of the place, but finally pulled the trigger tonight. I walked in the just as the shop opened for business. The employees appeared to be in a frenzy and a little out of sorts. The young lady that sat me down appeared to be rushed, but was very considerate and quick to please.
As a first time visitor, I chose a variety of dinner dishes for my meal. As an Indonesian, I was giddy to see Satay on the menu. I ordered the dish in conjunction to their three appetizers for $ 20 deal. In addition to the Satay I received Artichoke Dip and Crispy Topped Flat Beard. Although the Indonesian Satay was not truly authentic, all three dishes were delicious; there was enough food to classify the purchase as a meal. For my main course, I ordered the «Nutted Roasted Salmon,» which is a salmon filet seared then roasted with macadamia nuts, white wine, butter and herbs. The salmon was cooked perfectly moist and delightful. I ended the visit with a flaming Crème Brulee that was awesome!
Overall it was a great experience and I am planning for often visits to sample the other dishes on the menu.

Went here last night with my wife for the Speakercraft party. Apparently we had the whole place to ourselves (woo hoo!).
The place itself is small but fancy overall. Heck, they even have a bar in there. I especially loved the selection of bottled beers they had available (some 15+)
The horderves were an interesting lot. I am not even sure what they all were called but they were darn tasty. The best I could describe it as is beef slices with onion, some kind of shrimp served in what looked like those asian soup spoons.
For the dinner part we went with the French Onion Steak Tower and the Nutted Roasted Salmon. I wasn’t overly impressed with the Steak Tower but the presentation was excellent. The salmon was awesome though and it made me wish I’d have ordered that instead.
During the party we looked at their deserts they have on display. They weren’t part of the party but they had several different kinds of unique pies and cakes on display (to which we made note to come back again to try).
The staff was very attention and extremely professional. This is a great place to take a date, go an anniversary dinner, or just for a night out on the town.

It’s a sad thing when, to feel better about an experience, you blame yourself for having too high of hopes. Though this sentiment is probably OK for a bad time at a fast food joint, but beyond that, there is some minimum level of service and quality that a restaurant should keep itself up to.
I can’t speak as much about the food as about the service, though both were poor.
Food:
We ordered 3 apps (3 for $ 20 seemed to be a deal).
— Meaty balls, balls, balls — An embarrassing name for a dish that was just embarrassing to eat. First, if you’re going to have three different kinds of meat spheres, you should probably start somewhere before the sauces. Here, that is all this was — a collection of (most likely, previously frozen) beef balls in three different sauces. The best of which was a mix of cranberry and BBQ, and the worst of which attempted to be the topping for Swedish meatballs. But where the only variance was the sauce, these were a little embarrassing to eat.
— Flat bread pizza — Definitely decent. Best part of the starters.
— Cheese and berry plate — It was funny to see 6 red grapes cut in half and in a line right next to 6 raspberries prepped the same way. Probably because this is how I make them for my 1 year old. The crackers on this plate were nice, but the cheese was certainly not artisan and likely Kraft.
I should mention that presentation was nice, but I think that — along with the presentation of the dining room — was what was throwing me. This place gets you ready for fine dining, yet they only deliver… well, Kraft cheese and pre-​made meatballs.
Our entrees were only slightly better.
Two orders of Mushroom ravioli were prepared with some kind of diluted broth, but where was the brown sugar, and I believe the cream, that was promised? They appeared to be served with a cream sauce that never was… so it was just an unfinished bit of watery flavor, light on the flavor.
The chicken tacos were reported to be messier than expected and just average.
For my order, I seemed to have baffled the waitress into a stupor. The complication? I ordered two more apps for as meal, and asked that they be brought together with the rest of the table’s food. HOW DARE I!
I was told this would not be a problem.
Oh, OK, never mind. Does not sound like I was being a pain.
However, after a long 20 minutes, the scallops arrived alone. The waitress told me the rest of the food would be right behind these but the kitchen always did this with the scallops — served them first, ahead of the rest of the food. She was confident that they always did this.
Wait, if she knew this…
Easily another 20 minutes before the rest of the meal arrived (what happened to «the rest of the food is coming right up»?). As the rest of the table were receiving their dishes, I mentioned to the waitress that had I waited to eat the scallops, they would have been cold and I would have sent them back.
«That is why I forewarned you», she replied.
From Merriam-​Webster (online):
FORE~WARN — v — \fr-​wrn\
«to warn in advance»
Just making sure.
I replied that she had, in fact, NOT forewarned me at all, but told me of the kitchen’s hurried scallop hustle only when they were brought to the table, a point at which it was too late for me to change my order.
She agreed that she had not forewarned me.
OK, so she agreed… and then disappeared. We had to chase down our check and then chase down our credit card (from a different server, because our waitress had given up on us).
Look, everything was edible, but nothing was great. So I’ve decided to change my 1 star review to 2 stars. I’d go back for a late night, after a run of bar hopping, late-​night snack. What? Only open ’til 9. Ugh.
Oh Phood, you are so clever with your name. Why can’t you put some of that effort into training your staff, and your chef’s, and your host-​cashier person, and… oh, forget it.

I had a couple of friends recommend this place. Considering that I’ve been in Riverside for 4 years and have found only ONE decent sandwich place in the form of Simple Simons, I had a hard time being convinced that I could find a decent meal here.
I walked in with my friends to the restaurant to find a cool little chic set up. They had booths along the wall and tables neatly set up everywhere. We came in around lunner time (4 pm) and so there weren’t many people there. During lunch time, you have to go up to the counter to order and if you take a look at the menu they have different options for the sandwich + salad combos
The options go as Solo — $ 3.95, Duo — $ 7.95, Trio — $ 10.95. So you don’t really save money on getting a bigger deal, unless you get the Trio. There’s also sandwiches that already come as Duo sizes.
I ordered the Italian Grinder. It was a load of italian classic meats like ham, salami, pepperoni, mortadella topped with provolone cheese with lettuce, tomato, vinaigrette on a sourdough roll. I thought it was a pretty decent sandwich. I also got their Caesar Salad which is like any other Caesar Salad you’ll ever have.
But my friend got the best sandwich they have to offer. Their Open Face Tomato Basil Sandwich is simply an explosion of flavors in your mouth. It’s like the tomato and the pesto are dancing around in your mouth and then the basil comes in right at the end to add that special kick. If you had to choose one sandwich, I would HIGHLY recommend their Open Face Tomato Basil Sandwich! It’s simply the best. My friends also had their Open Face Chicken Pesto which was pretty solid on its own as well.
I’ve also been there for dinner, but I highly advise you to not go! Their dinner menu average price is around 15 to 20 bucks and the food isn’t even that good.
If you’re bored of all the boring food around Riverside, I definitely recommend Phood on Main! The waiters are also really nice so that’s definitely a plus! :)
And no, this is not a Vietnamese Phở restaurant. As I originally thought –_​_​–

Wow. Where to start? From the beginning I guess. I was the very first to review Phood on Main, back when they had just opened in the basement of the Mission Galleria. I tried to capture the essence of their lunch experience accurately. They’ve come a long way since then — and so to do the place justice I’ve decided to do an update based on their new location and the addition of dinner hours.
To summarize a couple things. A number of months ago, Phood on Main moved into new digs down the block into a building that used to be a bank back in the day. Such notable restaurants as Toad in the Hole and Joe Greensleeves previously occupied the building with faltering success. Lynn and Marla, the co-​owners, have kept the same concept for their lunch menu: the offering of enjoying 1, 2 or 3 smaller dishes from an eclectic list in whichever combination you like to make your own unique lunching experience. Having enjoyed lunch here in their new locale a couple months ago, I can say that the concept still works, and works wonderfully.
But at night… it becomes a whole different restaurant! I’d heard about them offering fine dining, and so the other day (3÷13÷2010) the wife and I decided to return and give it a try for an updated Unilocal review.
Not to exaggerate — but we’re only sorry we can’t give this place 6 stars! We had made reservations and were promptly seated. The building is well-​lit and tastefully appointed with an airy atmosphere. Up on an indoor balcony there was a man providing pleasant live guitar music.
For their dinner offerings — they feature «Small Plates», Salads and «Big Plates». The small plates are as you’d imagine — appetizers. You can mix and match them and share them around.
Lets get to the heart of the experience first — the food! First of all, the menu itself is a hoot! Whoever wrote the menu and the food descriptions has a great sense of humor. The selections are varied and choosing was hard. But we settled on Scallops on the ½ Shell topped with spinach, shallots, mushrooms, and light cheese sauce that was absolutely wonderful and a spinach artichoke dip (with homemade flatbread) that blows away anything similar from Applebee’s or any other place we’ve been to.
For our main course — the wife had Portabella Mushroom Ravioli and I had something called Carillo Chicken — a grilled chicken breast smothered with gulf shrimp and a blanket of lobster cream sauce. The offerings were rich, delicious and full of flavor.
As we were eating, we were paid a visit by head chef/​co-​owner Marla, who recognized me from Unilocal and we had a wonderful chat with her — about her red velvet cupcakes and a variety of other culinary delights. This woman really, really knows and has a passion for food. Not only that, but she knows the *science* of food and how it interacts with the body on a taste and physiological level, and when she talks about it — she makes it very relateable.
We were also paid a visit by the other co-​owner, Lynn. She recognized both of us not only from Unilocal,but from our visits to their previous location in the Mission Galleria. We chatted about this and that for a good 20 minutes or so — and a few things came to light which I’ll review.
A few reviews cited the employees here seemed a bit full of themselves. Our experience was so totally opposite. Every waiter and employee we had an interaction with was polite and informative.
Another complaint was that the employees seemed «frenzied» or harried. Our talk with Lynn revealed that during their «transition time» between their lunch and dinner menu some minor problems can occur. Some customers come in wanting lunch — when most of their lunch stock and ingredients for the day are either low or out — or some want dinner, when their dinner operation isn’t fully underway for the day. The staff here truly wants to make you as the customer happy, and sometimes find themselves unable to do so.
They put a premium on good as well as prompt service, so when things get busy its not always easy for them to chat and visit with customers.
To quote Lynn — «If my customers have a problem. *any* problem with the food or staff or anything here — please ask for me or Marla and bring it to our attention and let us try to address it before launching a bad review. We really want to please and have the customer enjoy themselves and return…»
Well put, Lynn!
So in summary — Phood on Main is really two separate restaurants in one. By day; a hip, creative and quirky mix-​and-​match concept for lunch that gives the customer a wonderful opportunity to explore delicious combinations of tastes. By night; an airy, elegant and friendly dining experience that really lets Chef Marla and her staff show off their true talents.
Little Phood on Main is no longer little. They grew up. Growing pains are always to be expected — but Phood on Main is handling them wonderfully!