Phở Thi Noodle Soup Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

It is unfortunate that I have to edit the 5 star review I gave this business 3 years ago to a one-star review. I am honest with my reviews and try my best to be as non-biased and keep my reviews as objective as possible. My friend and I have been regulars here for a few years. We love pho, it is close to home, convenient, quiet and there was a waitress that greeted us on our first couple of visits and she was so genuine, friendly and pleasant that we continued to go back to support the business.

My friend does not like the taste of onions but understands that onions add flavour and aroma to the broth. He always asks for no onions, but this particular waitress had modified my friend's order to include larger chunks of onions so we can easily take them out before eating. Never was an issue. She stopped working as often, not sure, but we didn't see her anymore after that, but kept going back because it became our little 'spot'. We continued to ask for this little modification despite 'our' usual waitress' absence, and we were met with "no, sorry we can't do that". We inquired why, and were informed that their owner/manager has put a stop on all modifications. We ordered and ate as usual, did not give the waitstaff a hard time, however, when we went to pay, I asked again and tried to explain that it has always been done and that we are not asking for big modifications to the meal (chunks of onions, as opposed to thinly sliced), the girl at the cash seemed like she could care less about our opinions, and so when we paid, we did not tip this time.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I took my mom on a Saturday, raved about the place, she found it to be meh, average, she said the broth was bland, maybe I set her expectations too high? While there with mom, I noticed the manager/owner being present by the cash/front, talking to people. He smiled at me like a regular customer. Mom and I ate, paid, and left. Friendly, polite service. The very next day, Sunday, I went back again with my friend, he went in first as I was finishing a phone call. When I entered the restaurant, I noticed my friend was standing by the cash talking to this manager/owner. So I thought nothing of it and went to sit down at our table to let the men have their conversation. Before I could sit my friend had called me over to join their conversation, so the 3 of us are standing there in this tiny restaurant. And it was revealed to me that this owner/manager asked my friend as he sat down to "have a quick conversation" and he basically said his staff had complained about us but didnt say what or why or how, just that he has to also respect his staff. I did not agree with this and told him as much. I was embarrassed and disappointed as I feel we have been nothing but sweet friendly, pleasant, easy going, regular customers and now we are asked to have a talk before we could even sit and order our food. I tried to explain our side od the story but the owner/manager said "I understand", but I really truly don't think he did. I am also a manager in the health care field and I would have never approached my clients in this manner. We ended up not staying to eat and have not gone back since. I was going to write a review immediately after, but I did not want to review with emotions so I let some time pass. Within this time, I reflected and I still think we were treated unjustly. I am Asian, but my friend is black. I can't seem to come up with any other reason why the owner/manager did not approach ME the day before when I went with my mom if we were such problematic customers. I feel this manager/owner should have let us sit and eat and OBSERVE us as customers and THEN talk to us after if he felt we were being and behaving in any disrespectful manner. I felt targeted and I felt really bad for my friend. This business is bad business. You dont do this to your loyal customers without reason and without letting us prove ourselves. We have befriended many other owners and managers and waitstaff at multiple other restaurants and it is nothing but love...

I started getting takeout here a few months ago it was great, the staff has always been courteous and helpful, also looks like a nice cozy place to dine in with that said there was one occasion where a couple items were forgotten but were given on the next order which was fine. Tonight I placed an Uber order for a rice dish with two meats and a medium pho which came to a whopping $53.35 which is expected because it’s Uber but I would just hope that all the items that were supposed to be included were actually there. The extra fish sauce was forgotten, the basil leaves for the pho were missing and the dressing for the side salad that was supposed to come with the rice dish was no where in sight which is too bad because I ran out so it was dry salad tonight. I really don’t want to stop getting takeout here but also don’t want to keep double checking the bag to make sure the order is correct as if it was a McDonald’s drive through. To some people, the simple things really mean a lot. Not sure if they were in a rush tonight or just forgetful and don’t want to give them a bad rep for a small issue but hopefully they won’t be so forgetful from now on. The rice dish felt too expensive for the portion , the pho had a decent amount of meat with a good amount of broth as well as noodles and is comparable in price with the rest of the city for a medium and is probably the best tasting broth Ive had in years. I’ll give them one more shot because of the great staff and I really want to call it my go to when I’m in the mood...

I visited Pho Thi along with my mother to catch up and to have some delicious pho.

It was our first visit and we were not sure what to expect. When I entered the restaurant it seemed small and it was quite hot in there. We were greeted by the hostess and she seated us and proceeded to bring a kettle of green tea. I almost left but my mom suggested we switch to a different area (near the windows) and my perspective totally changed (I guess being away from the kitchen helped).

I ordered some chicken spring rolls to start and within a few minutes, our order arrived. It was deliciously made and it tasted amazing.

We ordered two large H6 (pork pho) and Oh My Gawddd they brought two humongous bowls with a plate with the condiments. The table already comes prepared with 3 different sauces. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the broth tasted fresh, it was not my first time at a pho house but my GOD this restaurant makes really great pho.

The staff was very attentive but not overwhelming, the washroom is very clean. I had a really good experience at this place, as always..please support your local...