PHO XL — Restaurant in Mississauga

• Update August 2022*

I have been back many times for take out and dine in.

The food is consistent and always tastes great 👍 along with the presentation.

The owner is always on hand. So let us keep supporting our local mom and pop businesses 😊. Okay. I am in the mood for PHO today because it is bloody freezing outside. And hot soup warms the soul.

I remember being one of the first customers at their original location on Dundas and Glen Erin called the Big Bowl. My office was 5 mins. away. And that was way back in 2003 and I ate there so many times until my office moved in 2005.

So I find it freaky that the owner opened his new restaurant in my neck of the woods. Coincidence is the spice of life. And he looks exactly the same as he did back in 2003. I recognized him immediately.

So for today, I ordered #2 Fresh Shrimp Rolls, #18 Large Steak and Brisket Pho and #50 Rice & Chicken with lemongrass. Everything totalled just under $30 after taxes. Does anyone remember the days back in the late 90's and early 2000's when you ordered a large Pho and it basically came out in a BUCKET and it cost you $5-7 dollars. Yeah, those days are long gone ... LOL !!!

The shrimp rolls were individually wrapped to maintain their shape and form and it prevented itself from sticking to the other shrimp roll. So that was thoughtful.

It tasted fresh and crunchy from the bean sprouts. The textures were all there because this dish is all about texture. The flavours will come from the sauce.

The Pho was good. The broth was tasty, but I do miss the old days when you can see the restaurants throwing out the piles of beef and pork bones in the trash. I am not so sure these days because powder is the cure all. But, the broth tasted good and it was hot.

The noodles were perfectly cooked al dente and the steak and brisket tasted fresh.

The rice with stir fried chicken and lemongrass is spicy. So be warned. The spiciness really stings. I would have preferred a clear savoury stir fry. But is was still tasty and satisfying nonetheless.

This is a bases clearing triple down past the 3rd base line for me !!! Give this place a try and let us all know...

I used to come here often because the food and service were always phenomenal. However, in the past few months, new owners have taken over, and the service and quality has noticeably declined. Yesterday, I ordered the chicken pho to go and when I got home, it was the worst pho I had ever tasted. It was like boiling water with a hint of chicken flavor.

I called the restaurant immediately and spoke to a lady, who I believe is the new owner, to inform her of the issue. She went to the back to taste the soup herself and insisted nothing was wrong with it, mentioning they hadn't had received any other complaints. After some back and forth, she agreed that I could come back any day for a replacement meal.

Today, I called to confirm I was coming for the replacement meal, and the same lady told me "we have had no other complaints, so it must have been your tongue. To be fair, I will give you half a soup or you can pay". I reminded her that she already agreed to replace it with a new one, but she continued to yell and argue but finally agreed to her original promise.

When I arrived at the restaurant, she had all the workers come out and made me taste the soup in front of everyone before leaving, which was a very uncomfortable experience. She again claimed they never receive complaints and that there is an issue with my tongue even though the soup today was fine. I also noticed there is a review from yesterday stating the pho tasted really bad so I imagine that reviewer had the same one I did perhaps... I really didn't appreciate the way I was treated and will find a new place to go. I understand that there can be off days, but after being a loyal customer for years, she could have at least acknowledged the issue instead of being so defensive,...

Expensive, smaller portions, decent broth and meat quality, good server, longer wait, tiny Vietnamese iced coffee.

Came here at 1 pm. Ordered within 5 minutes a Viet iced coffee and 22 pho dac biet large. The pho took a bit longer to come compared to other restaurants but understandable as they were busy. Large size is more like a regular/medium but retains the price tag so keep that in mind. Broth was tasty, meat quality was good. Server was kind.

My iced Vietnamese coffee never came. Halfway through I had to ask the server for my coffee and he nodded and said it was coming. Finished my pho and went up to pay at 130pm and was told I had to wait another 5 mins or so for the ice coffee because it takes awhile. Considering it was the very first thing in the order I'm not sure why the owner had to bring up these excuses.

Finally got my $6 Viet ice coffee drink. Coffee was 1 to 2 cm from the bottom, then a giant block of circular ice filling half the cup. Maybe if you get the hot one you will get some hot water added in? Equivalent to scotch in the rocks with a stingy bartender. After 3 quick sips the drink was finished. Next time I'll skip it and order a fake one at Starbucks, cheaper and more coffee. And to boot the owner kept saying it takes 15 minutes to make instead of maybe forgetting the...