Nhau Vietnamese Kitchen & bar — Restaurant in Campbell River

Been wanting to try out this restaurant since it opened. We were just 2 people and so we sat at the bar as the restaurant was full so I would definitely recommend reservations even for a party of 4. We went for a later dinner and I would imagine lunch service might have a quicker turn over. I have been to a few Vietnamese restaurants over the years on Vancouver Island and the mainland. My partner isn't super adventurous when it comes to different cuisines and ethnicities but will humor my love of food due to my own culinary background since graduating from culinary school way back in 1993. All that said , the menu was a perfect size and perfect amount of choices to explore. The smaller seating capacity I really think allows the dishes to be treated with the special attention each dish deserves and requires to keep the quality and special treatment they need to really stand out above other Vietnamese establishments I have tried over the years. Staff was busy but still attentive. The chicken wings stood out as the most flavorful and crispy little treats I have ever had in my WHOLE LIFE! I knew walking in it was either Pho or BÁNH MÌ CAY - Which I chose the sandwich and encouraged my partner to try another similar sandwich BÒ TÁI CHANH with braised meat and a broth to dip as he loves beef dips and he was amazed with his meal as well. Prices were amazing the bill that included a Budweiser for him came to like just over $40 before tip! Outstanding 😊 I will be back again and again! Only one little thing to note it's lighting is very low and they have candles for atmosphere however the noise level mixed with the lack of lighting was a bit harder for myself who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder to find a seat that I felt all my senses were able to just come to a place of where I could totally relax and enjoy myself . Try it out its...

Very excited to finally have a proper Vietnamese restaurant in Campbell River. And it's not just any run-of-the-mill Viet food either - they have many of the classic dishes I had while travelling there that I crave but can never find on the north island (banh xeo, bun bo hue, Viet spring roll).

The food was amazing, beautifully presented, and affordable. We had the spring rolls and papaya salad with grilled prawns to share. The spring rolls were perfectly cooked and actually made with rice paper instead of a wheat wrapper. The salad was fresh, crunch, flavourful, and had 3 huge prawns which had a beautiful smoky flavour and notes of lemongrass and garlic.

For our mains, my wife ordered com tam (broken rice) - known on the menu as golden char. The portion was massive and provided lunch for today. It had all the classic components except for the fried egg/steamed omelette. I had the pho bo (beef pho). The broth was rich, and had beautiful flavours of charred ginger and onion, anise, and cinnamon without being overpowering. The noodles were legit flat pho noodles and the amount of meat was very generous. I love the northern style presentation with tons of herbs and onions in the soup.

The service was decent, but they definitely have some work to do. They are brand new of course, so we gave them extra patience. The servers can definitely work on being more attentive to guests (making sure menus are brought right away, orders are taken, and dirty dishes are cleared without having to ask about each plate and utensil).

Overall, this was an amazing experience and I am so happy they are in town. All the best to...

Sad to write this review as the other times I’ve been I’ve enjoyed this place. Their curry and pho were solid (3.5/5). But today I got the Saigon Bahn Mi and wow was that a mistake. Flavour inside the sandwich was solid, but the bread, oh the bread was absolutely horrific. It was probably the most stale bread I’ve ever been served at a restaurant. I got take out, so I drove back and took it back it in just to be told that they crisp up their bread here and that’s why it’s hard. I’ve worked in many kitchens, and I could without a doubt tell you that bread was sitting out for a day or two. It was not hard because it was toasted, it was hard because it was stale. Most of the bread was inedible. The bread was really hard to bite into. And once I took a bite into the sandwich it legitimately disintegrated. The bread turned into sawdust and coated my hands and food. It was so dry and unpleasant. The bread was so hard it felt like it was cutting my mouth. It’s been about an hour and my mouth still hurts and my tongue feels raw from trying to eat the bread. Whatever you do, do not order...