Review and photos by Kurt Kwon
I was excited to see a Vietnamese restaurant recently open downtown. This area clearly lacks a solid go to Vietnamese place for pho, spring rolls, fresh rolls, etc. I hoped Fresh Rolls would fit that niche.
The space itself is rather large. It is set up more for take out with convenient pre-made salads and sandwiches. They definitely cater to the local lunch crowd. I, however, ended up ordering and eating there. The service was pleasant and prompt. I decided on the pork eggrolls and chicken eggrolls to start. There's a large batch already prepared in warming trays ready to go. They were very inexpensive for the generous portion you receive. It was cooked well and tasted pretty good. It didn't knock my socks off, but overall had a good crisp taste to it.
Our table ordered pho and a chicken noodle salad. Overall pretty good taste with classic Asian flavors of sesame, ginger, and garlic. Portion was pretty good. The pho was super-cheap, but I understood why after looking at the portion size. It came in a plastic bowl that reminded me of a microwave style dish you would heat up at home. The broth, which is key in any pho, was actually good. I was expecting the classic pho style of putting in my own sprouts and basil, but I was disappointed. I wouldn't order pho again.
A lot of people rave about the Ginger Tea. We had it on ice and it was quite frankly over-powering with ginger to the point of bitterness. Maybe they had a strong batch when I tried, but it wasn't worth the $4+. One little pet peeve I had was that I ordered water and they charged 25 cents. Why even bother? Water just seems like it should be the cost of business.
Overall, go to this place for take-out or a quick snack. It would be great for lunch but I wouldn't recommend for a dinner experience.
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