Vietnamese Pho — Restaurant in Oshawa

Didn’t realized that Chef Tommy’s disappeared and out comes the 2nd pho restaurant in Oshawa. New owners since September, they got some of Chef Tommy’s Greek recipes and added the offering of Vietnamese Pho. What you’ll get her that you won’t get in other places are the owners are Vietnamese and make their broth from scratch using bones (others make their broth from a powder). You can taste the difference, their broth is richer in flavour, no grit, less salty (if you like it saltier, that’s what the hoisin sauce is for). We made a point of ordering Greek and Vietnamese items. Vietnamese spring roll: very flavourful and wrapper is crunchy. Wished the bowl for the dipping sauce was larger to make it easier to dip. Calamari: for the price, felt that we didn’t get enough calamari pieces but flavour, texture and crispness were great. Wonton Soup: made from chicken bone broth, the wontons were great. The picture doesn’t match the picture on the menu as they threw in large lettuce leaves in my bowl as opposed to fancy chopped and sprinkled as per menu picture. Pho: broth is delicious. Love how you can customize what meat items go into your bowl as the tendon pieces are usually not eaten by the end of the meal The portions are smaller compared to other establishments. Gyro on a pita: huge portion. Kids could not finish. Tasted delicious just like Chef Tommy would do.. this one item had value for price. OVERALL: I’d come back but make sure I order items where I felt I got value for money because all the food...

I’ll share my experience because it was weird enough to write a review.

When you enter, there’s a musty smell which is why we should have left but I thought it would look rude and sat . You get a file which holds the printed menu items. My husband and I decided to check the google reviews because there is quite a few options. The reviews weren’t too positive and as we experienced after, were definitely right about the portion of meat.

I ordered the vermicelli - flavour wise it was decent and I was hungry. Then I saw those shrimp with the poop - was a turn off. I shared with the waitress and she’s reluctant to make the changes and was like “people have it like that, if people want it without , they have to request it”. My husband was like “people want it with shrimp poop?” She awkwardly laughed and was like I’ll get you new ones. She went across the room and loudly shared again pointing at me “I’ll get you new ones” with other diners around. The 2 stars for the food is to acknowledge getting 3 new shrimps 😂The food was subpar, place felt unclean, and then that weird customer service on top.

Save your money. This place is not worth it. Mind you, I love my street side food and can temper my expectations accordingly to the place but this was a dine in and nothing matched up. Food, ambiance and...

I was in the area, so I thought I’d take a chance. I am SO glad I did.

I am south east asian, and grew up in Scarborough. Ive had vietnamese food all my life since I was a kid, and even visited Vietnam recently.

I need to say - this place was AMAZING. The atmosphere, vibe, everything - it’s as authentic vietnamese as it gets. Sure, it’s not super modern like places in downtown Toronto, but does it need to look like that to have good food…? It was just like the places I had gone to through my childhood and even places in Vietnam.

I got the beef noodle soup and fried spring rolls, my mom got the grilled chicke vermicelli. ALL were amazing. Easily the best pho I have had in durham, and the best I’ve had in a while.

I worry about the reviews that say it was bland - maybe a different chef back then? Or you like way too salty food? Because this pho broth was PERFECT, didn’t need to add any extra salt, soy or fish sauce. Absolutely amazing. It could have had more meat, as I ordered the medium/regular size, but the taste was spectacular, I didn’t mind.

The waitress was very friendly! At the end of the meal, I had to tell her tell the chef that it was the best pho I had.

I will be taking my family back here again, I want to try more of the menu. They do...