Alo Viet Kitchen — Restaurant in Calgary

Located in the vibrant Kensington neighbourhood, discovered this gem from a search for Vietnamese restaurants. It's bright and airy inside with an understated modern vibe. Seats about 20 at capacity (maybe more, maybe less). It was quite busy at around 630, but not overwhelmingly so. Was greeted right away by a young gentleman that brought water out as soon as we were seated. He gave us enough time to look over the menu.

Ordered a couple of fresh, shrimp spring rolls. They came with a peanut sauce which seems to be de rigueur. I miss having a fish sauce based dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls. Is that a passé thing? Not to knock the flavours of the spring rolls and the sauce, they paired well and they were delicious.

My partner ordered a very spicy chicken pho. It screamed spicy as soon as it came out being a deep red with bits of chili oil floating on top. The broth was chicken based, rich and flavourful, and had the requisite spicy kick. Not recommended for those that can't handle heat.

I ordered the ultimate vermicelli dish where you could customise it with your choice of meats. I was expecting it to be served chilled as that's how I've had it in the past, but it came out hot which was still great. The meal and atmosphere was going so well until I bit into a piece of packing tape that I suspect was from the vermicelli? A shame, but I would go back if I were to visit Calgary again. This is the second Vietnamese restaurant I visited in the city and Alo Viet Kitchen is by far the superior choice.

And I forgot to mention the portion sizes - generous! Stop reading and go order from them. You won't be...

ALÔ Viet Kitchen – Calgary

✨ First Impressions ALÔ Viet Kitchen is a beautiful little spot that feels welcoming the moment you arrive. Easy parking, tasteful décor, and a very clean environment set the tone for a pleasant dining experience. The service has been consistently friendly and professional, showing genuine care for guests.

🍜 Food Quality & Flavor On both visits, our dishes showcased impressive flavors, generous portions of meat, and perfectly balanced broths. The salad rolls were a refreshing surprise—different from the usual style, yet fresh, delicious, and paired with an excellent peanut sauce.

⚠️ Room for Improvement During our second visit, the noodles in one of our soups were overcooked—clumped together, breaking apart, and missing that satisfying “snap” of individual strands. While it didn’t overshadow the quality of the broth, it was a noticeable contrast to the otherwise excellent execution.

🥑 About the Avocado Smoothie Refreshing, but it lacked the full creamy texture and rich taste of pure avocado. It may contain some avocado, but the flavor profile suggests it’s not the primary component.

📌 Overall Impression ALÔ Viet Kitchen is worth visiting for its flavorful broths, fresh ingredients, and kind service. With a little more consistency in preparation, it could easily become a standout in Calgary’s Vietnamese dining scene.

💬 A Word of Hope Sometimes in life, small imperfections don’t erase the beauty of the bigger picture. As the Bible reminds us, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). May every meal—and every moment—be seasoned...

Update: Went back to try dining in and still, it was good but there are definitely some issues. Flavour of the soup is very good, sate is solid, just the ratio of soup to noodles just isn’t right. Far too many noodles. I appreciate the choice of meats. The rare was fine albeit not the cleanest cuts and the grilled chicken was meh. A bit tough. Service was adequate, a bit better than last time. I think it’s worth it given the amount of meats but it is definitely on the expensive side as-well, which given the above issues means I won’t be going back for another try.

Original review: (Takeout) Actually not that impressed. Portion sizing was generally good and they give you a healthy amount of meat but the pho didn’t have nearly enough broth for the amount of noodles, broth, onion, cilantro etc. Flavour of the broth was contender for the best I’ve had but it was hard to get enough of it in one time to really taste its flavour. Vermicelli which I didn’t personally have got a 6-7/10 rating so take that for what you will. Will try eating in next time as proportions may be improved then. (Will update then) Wouldn’t go back for takeout. Service was adequate but just that. Took longer than expected and didn’t give an accurate wait time. Vermicelli is a bit too expensive for what you get. Pho is only 1 size but decent value considering what you get and flavour is pretty good. Summary good but -1 star for price (not significantly higher but noticeably higher) and -1 star for the just adequate service and...