Thanh Vu Restaurant — Restaurant in Prince George

Ok, so 1 star may seem harsh but there is a very good reason, as I guarantee the owners and the kitchen staff would understand, though highly doubt they would agree with in a public forum. My family, friends and I have a deep appreciation for Vietnamese cuisine and have not only enjoyed it across Canada and the U.S., but also in Asia as well. Such a fresh and vibrant cuisine! We stopped there to pick up a whole bunch of salad rolls. I was surprised to find out that orders included only 1 salad roll for about the same price as almost all other places where you recieve 2. I commented and they said, yes but our salad rolls are quite large. Ok. Fine. So we drive home, open up the orders and see the most pathetic looking salad rolls any of us have ever seen. Don't get me wrong here, they were fresh BUT the cheapest rolls we had ever come across. Now, if you had never had one anywhere else or had any idea of what the rolls should contain, you may walk away thinking it was a neat little roll. Most prawn salad rolls do contain prawns that are cut in half, as these rolls had. The big difference is every other restaurant has at least 4 to 5 'halved prawns' per roll. Thanh Vu puts in 2. One half of a prawn tucked into each end. So unbelievably cheap of the owners that our jaws dropped. Another regular ingredient in salad rolls is wonderfully seasoned, thinly sliced, Vietnamese BBQ pork. Nothing. No pork. Not even available as a request. The rolls also included the tiniest amount of vermicelli noodles...there are usually about 3 times the amount. The rest is just stuffed with shredded lettuce. If you're not accustomed to Vietnamese cuisine and not sure if you could ever tell just how cheap this restaurant is being, imagine going into an authentic mexican restaurant and ordering a beef burrito. Then imagine unrolling that burrito, seeing 1 teaspoon worth of beef and the rest is shredded lettuce. We all know what a burrito is supposed to look like and what it's supposed to contain. That is the description of what Thanh Vu is passing off as a salad roll. If they are this cheap with something as simple to make..and yes, our family has been making these for years, I dread to see guess at the other corners the owners are cutting with the rest of their dishes. It's a shame to them, to the citizens of Prince George and a shame to the pure joy of Vietnamese...

Going south bound is a little frustrating for accessing to get to the restaurant, but that's a city infrastructure problem. That's the singular con about Thanh Vu.

Thanh Vu Restaurant is my favorite comfort food location when I need to have fresh, hot, filling, clean eating! It was my first Vietnamese cuisine experience at 17 years old and the owners are very family oriented and down to earth. They hire their staff so well - their servers and delivery driver (I think it's Matthew delivering currently), are wonderful, humble, and kind people. They close down the restaurant for at least 2 weeks every year in the slow season to give all staff a well deserved break and to spend time with loved ones. I believe they do a big deep clean and fix any pending maintenance issues around that time too.

I am so glad I ventured to try other menu choices last time I went. I used to get the sweet & sour chicken or tofu over crispy noodles for a long time. I have had and love the cashew dishes, their Ha Long Seafood over rice noodles, their calamari, Vietnamese spring rolls, the salad rolls, imperial rolls, their flaming deep fried banana with ice cream (well before the Rockford added this to their menu), and their vegetables are always cooked not too mushy or greasy, and not too crunchy either.

The atmosphere is so welcoming and peaceful. They keep their mural and Vietnamese culture within the design and add a little decor and change out the trim and booth seating every now and then but it's the feeling you get when you're welcome in and not rushed out the door all the time.

If I can't decide where to go, what to eat, and I'm hungry - I know I've got a place to eat well. If I feel a little under the weather, a delivery order from Thanh Vu always cheers me up.

What a wonderful gem we have by the former Four Seasons by Sheraton, now...

I arrived in Prince George, BC around 5pm and was looking for something good and filling. After several Google searches, I stumbled into Thanh Vu, which had quite a high rating of over 4.5 out of 5. Needless to say, their “Large” bowl of Pho (soup noodle) was a small size at most Vietnamese restaurants. The quantity of beef was no more than several small slices and they sliced up 2 beef balls onto 4 quarter pieces. They charge an additional $2 for the tripe. The fresh mint and bean sprouts were the highlights. All in all, I spent approximately $40 for the small meal with two “Dragon Rolls” and a Vietnamese coffee. After the meal, I tipped the waitress and bluntly told her that I would be leaving and going to another restaurant for another meal. I do not understand how they had received such a high rating and will not...