Pho Pasteur

WENDY AND TOM DINE OUT

Erin's Isle has gone away and Pho Pasteur has arrived in Needham. The space is long and narrow, which makes it difficult to handle as a restaurant. Several other eateries have tried it, but they moved on fairly quickly. Hopefully Pho Pasteur will stay since Needham needs more places to eat. Pho Pasteur did little to enhance the decor when they moved in. Wendy finds the color scheme (greens, browns and golds) particularly unattractive. The walls need some pictures or some decoration to break up the mottled gold tones. The background music also did not please our group. The food was acceptable Vietnamese, but not great. There were many choices to choose from in groupings like; Noodle Soups, Fried Noodle Plates, Vietnamese Vermicellis, Rice Plates, Vegetarian dishes, Sushi, Maki and others. One of the best offerings at the restaurant appears to be the Sushi. All the restaurant personnel were trying incredibly hard to be helpful and courteous.

RESTAURANT:

PHO PASTEUR

66 Chestnut Street, Needham, MA

DATE:

July 2004

MEAL:

Dinner

DECOR:

BREAD:

SALAD:

APPETIZER:

Chicken Teriyaki ($3.95) - a bit dry.

Vietnamese Salad ($6.95) Wendy liked its blend of flavors but Tom did not care for it. The portion was large enough for two people to share

Alaskan Maki (salmon with avocado, cucumber and scallion)($5.50) Excellent

ENTREE:

Pad Thai with beef, chicken, seafood and shrimp ($8.95) Pretty Good - a bit spicier than in most places. The noodles were stuck together more than they should be so they were hard to separate. A bit dry. Wendy does not like imitation crab in any dish and this had hunks of it.

Fun to Wrap - (Shredded shrimp cake, beef, pork, chicken, lettuce, vermicelli, basil and shredded lettuce.) Served with rice papers that are dunked in hot water and used as wrappers for the other ingredients. ($9.95) Interesting but not all that good.

Tasty Seafood Crispy Tempura ($12.95) Not so tasty! Shrimp, Squid, Scallop, and Imitation Crab. The batter was nice and light but the crab was not to Tom's liking. He also did not like it served on lettuce.

DESSERT:

OTHER:

Plenty of parking

Dress is casual

OVERALL:

B-
Four of us had different dishes and none of them stood out as being really good. They weren't bad, however. We may not appreciate Vietnamese food and may be looking for it to be more like the Thai counterparts that we are used to. In spite of this, we will return and probably have soup and sushi, both of which looked better than our dinner choices.

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RESTAURANT:	PHO PASTEUR
	66 Chestnut Street, Needham, MA
DATE:	July 2004
MEAL:	Dinner
DECOR:
BREAD:

SALAD:
APPETIZER:	Chicken Teriyaki ($3.95) - a bit dry.
	Vietnamese Salad ($6.95) Wendy liked its blend of flavors but Tom did not care for it. The portion was large enough for two people to share
	Alaskan Maki (salmon with avocado, cucumber and scallion)($5.50) Excellent
ENTREE:	Pad Thai with beef, chicken, seafood and shrimp ($8.95) Pretty Good - a bit spicier than in most places. The noodles were stuck together more than they should be so they were hard to separate. A bit dry. Wendy does not like imitation crab in any dish and this had hunks of it.
	Fun to Wrap - (Shredded shrimp cake, beef, pork, chicken, lettuce, vermicelli, basil and shredded lettuce.) Served with rice papers that are dunked in hot water and used as wrappers for the other ingredients. ($9.95) Interesting but not all that good.
	Tasty Seafood Crispy Tempura ($12.95) Not so tasty! Shrimp, Squid, Scallop, and Imitation Crab. The batter was nice and light but the crab was not to Tom's liking. He also did not like it served on lettuce.
DESSERT:
OTHER:	Plenty of parking
	Dress is casual


OVERALL:	B- Four of us had different dishes and none of them stood out as being really good. They weren't bad, however. We may not appreciate Vietnamese food and may be looking for it to be more like the Thai counterparts that we are used to. In spite of this, we will return and probably have soup and sushi, both of which looked better than our dinner choices.