Second Bowl — Restaurant in St. Albert

Absolutely AWFUL service, would rate 0 stars if it were an option. I decided to give this place a second chance because I love Pho but after the way I was treated there I will never go again. We waited for 20 minutes before they came to take our order. Would have been understanding if it was busy but there was only 1 other table seated and they were finishing up their meal. When they finally came to take our order, she was rude as could be. Wouldn't even acknowledge us by looking at us but rather just listend then walked away without a word. Fine everyone has bad days, I get it but be self aware and put on a professional face and deal with your business at hand. It was also assumed that I needed a fork instead of chopsticks and actually had to ask for chopsticks, at which point the waitress slightly snickered and rolled her eyes. Returned and pretty much dropped the chopsticks on the table. As rude as she was I still said please and thank you even though I really didn't feel like the respect was deserved, but thats me trying to show my kid to do better. As a couple tables rolled in behind me I watched them get chopsticks instead of forks with their meal, so how come I was given a fork and was made to ask for chopsticks? Stereotyping because I'm not of Asian decent? Possibly. Absolutely mind blown with the lack of respect in this establishment. It was so bad that even a 9 year old noticed we weren't being treated well. I will take my business elsewhere where it is appreciated. 0 out of 10. Run away from this...

I had it saved on my list of places to check out after seeing videos about it online, but I was quite disappointed with the quality of the food.

We got the spicy central soup and the carrot beef stew noodle soup. We've had these at many other authentic Vietnamese places and the flavors were very weak compared to other places in Edmonton. The "large" size bowl is smaller than places in Edmonton, but they charge a similar price.

For the Carrot Beef Stew Noodle soup (Bo Kho for Vietnamese people), the beef brisket pieces should be tender and soft because it should have been stewed for a long time. But the beef brisket here was quite tough, your mouth starts to get dry as you are chewing it because you have to chew it for so long. The carrot pieces are also quite crunchy which also indicates that it hasn't been stewed for long. The soup should also be thicker because should be closer to a stew rather than a water based soup. They were very generous with the brisket portion, lots of big chunks but honestly because it was so tough and dry I didn't need that many.

For the central Vietnamese soup (Bun Bo Hue), it's not spicy and it's missing the lemongrass flavour that is found in Bun Bo Hue soup. Other places would also have a variety of meats, but there are only beef slices and one kind of meatball in it.

Overall for the comparatively high price and poor quality of food, I think any Vietnamese person would...

Overall, the experience was pretty average. We ordered the Beef Satay Soup, Spring Rolls, and Steak & Meatball Noodle Soup. Starting with the Spring Rolls, they were fresh and tasty, but at $5 for just two, it felt a bit overpriced. The Beef Satay Soup, unfortunately, was a letdown. The peanut sauce was overpowering, masking the flavor of the soup, and it lacked the spice I was expecting. The Steak & Meatball Noodle Soup was decent—good broth, but nothing particularly memorable about it. As for the service, it was okay. Friendly staff and the service was quick, but there were no refills on water, which was a bit disappointing. The atmosphere, however, was the biggest downside. There was no music, and the place felt completely dead for a Saturday evening. We were literally the only customers there, which made it feel a little awkward. On the plus side, the restaurant was clean.

Food: 2/5 Service: 3/5 Atmosphere: 0/5

The experience was pretty average. If you're looking for a lively atmosphere or standout food, you might want to explore...