TAYO VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT — Restaurant in Grande Prairie

We visited this fairly new establishment on the South side of Grande Prairie, since we were on the way to the airport.

Easy to find, and because it's located in a strip mall, there is plenty of parking.

Most likely because it was near lunchtime on a Sunday, the restaurant was quite busy. Perhaps it was a blessing-in-disguise, but we were seated in a small two-seat table in an alcove in the far corner of the restaurant. The upside was that we weren't blinded by the sun coming through the large windows; the downside was we were practically invisible to the servers, which probably contributed to "slowish" service (not "dead slow" but decidedly slower than expected for creating a bowl of pho).

We ordered our usual; spring rolls to share, meatball pho for my "better half," and rare beef pho for myself. I am not 100% sure if the spring rolls were made inhouse; I suspect not, but, they were crispy and tasty. I had forgotten to order fish sauce, which was brought to the table as part of the order--a nice touch.

The pho was hot when delivered, the beef beautifully rare, and the broth VERY tasty. I haven't quite figured out why, but tableside condiments are very limited when eating pho outside of a very ethnic area; we're generally used to both hoisin AND soya sauces being available and not passed off as one-in-a-the-same. Likewise, sriracha sauce is not the all-in-one substitute for chili-garlic sauce and chili infused oil--they all lend different flavour profiles to the meal, and aren't that expensive to offer. Same to with the plate of bean sprouts, fresh basil, and lime wedges.

Prices are very reasonable, and portion size is very generous. If you're thinking you might want the large size, make certain you're starving.

One very odd issue; Tayo CAN'T serve TEA! According to our server, Tayo had to sign an exclusion contract with the property owners because there is a Starbucks Coffee House located in the same mall. This seems as silly as a KFC requiring a Wendy's restaurant to not sell chicken sandwiches.......very strange.

Serving staff are very polite and appreciative of the patronage. No liquor or beer menu, delivery available through their website but not available on Skip-the-Dishes.

Definitely worth visiting again if we find ourselves on the South...

I was here now at 8:09 pm and waiting for the seat with 3 people. No one was greeting so I was asking one of male waiter to help our seat. He said they will be closing in 20 mins, and cannot take more guests now. I told him it is still 8:09 pm and google shows you guys closing at 9:00 pm, we still have like almost an hour. He is certain that it is better not to take any guest now for lessen kitchen.. I just don’t get it..! There are people on the table about to finish their dinner and going. I’ve never seen restaurant does not take guest an hour ahead of time. He has long blonde and a wearing glass. I don’t know what kind of people working there but seriously, I don’t believe your google score is 4.8 if serving attitude toward guest continues like this. I will never recommend this place to anyone.

If you guys want to close kitchen earlier or make less work for kitchen not until 9:00 pm, why don't you just change your closing time to 8:00 or 8:30 pm? I've never experienced any of restaurant close kitchen earlier than their official closing time in anywhere in Canada except the place having a bar. Well... you guys surely don't have a bar in the restaurant. If it was written on Google, I rather order the food from you instead going to the restaurant. Or any sincere apology from staff regarding the busy situation, I would definitely understand, and not so mad about the service. What a bad experience I...

June 2023 So just an update, I did return as I said I would on my next trip and just like before I stand by my assessment. Great Vietnamese food in an unlikely location up north.

August 2022 So I recently ended up in Grande Prairie and was looking for a place to eat. I love Vietnamese food so I thought I’d give this place a try.

Walking in wasn’t impressive as it was my first time seeing a Vietnamese place manned by a couple of teenage girls with blond hair.

Boy was I wrong. These ladies new their menu inside out. I order my usual fare in a similar setting. Egg rolls, salad rolls and pho. Highly typical order. I really had low expectations because I would have thought that the flavours would be changed to make it more simple to appease the crowds. Yup, I was wrong a second time.

The food was amazing. This is food I would expect in Calgary’s Vietnamese quarter. Simply amazing. The price was higher but that’s to be expected up north.

Here are my negatives that may have been affected by Covid. There were no accompanying condiments and you had to ask for them every time. Hoisin sauce, chilli oil, chilli paste, hot sauce are missing from the tables. This didn’t change my score though as it’s a great precautionary method.

I’m going to visit this place every...