Milpitas restaurant Pho Love temporarily shut down after viral video sparks health violations

By Andrea Nakano

A restaurant in Milpitas has been temporarily shut down after a viral video led to a visit from the health department and some citations.

The video appears to show an employee slamming ribs on the ground near trash, a mop bucket and a puddle of gray water.

With over a million views on TikTok, people in Milpitas are talking about the video that appears to have been taken behind Pho Love. In it, we can see a man repeatedly throwing slabs of frozen ribs on the ground.

“At first, I was shocked as much as everyone was but the more I think about it, the more I think about the consumers out there,” said customer Michael Hua. “It’s a very bad habit.”

Hua is a regular at Pho Love, a place that gets rave reviews for its short rib pho.

“It’s always been delicious,” he said. “I’ve made friends here. It’s very friendly.”

He was disappointed to see the restaurant was closed. There was a sign apologizing to customers, saying, “We have to close today due to an issue involving one of our employees.”

The Santa Clara County Health Department red-tagged the business after investigators spoke to the owners and employees. 

As it turns out, it isn’t just what you see in the video that they’re concerned about.

In a statement, the health department wrote: “While addressing the violation related to the rib incident, inspectors found major violations, including a cockroach infestation and a lack of ability to properly sanitize utensils and equipment.”

Kim Vera has now watched this video multiple times. She lives nearby and was thinking about trying this place.

“I had just told my boyfriend the other day, let’s go because it smells good,”

Vera said. “I saw the video and he sent it to me too. I didn’t know it was here actually, until he showed me. He was like, ‘Are you sure you want to try it?’ “

Vera says that now, there is no way she’s eating here.

“I don’t think so honestly, because at that point, how dirty can it be?” she said. “There’s no going back at that point.”

Hua, though, is looking forward to Pho Love making changes and cleaning up its act. 

He plans on coming back and encourages others to do the same.

“I do firmly believe that people should give this place a second chance,” he said. “Don’t close the doors on them. This is a learning curve for them.”