Cơm Nước — Restaurant in Toronto

As I am Vietnamese, my critique of the food may be harsher than the typical hipster in Leslieville. The flavours of the grilled meat were good - using charcoal is authentic . The nuoc cham (fish sauce) wasn’t enough to saturate the vermicelli noodles and not enough pickled veg to give it the flavour oomph. The amount of meat was small so adding in an egg or the tofu sausage for noodle dishes would have made the meal feel more value for the $.

My critique was of the service - bbq’ing on a small personal size bbq takes too Long for made to order meal over 20-25 min wait for 2 dishes over lunch hour.

Also the seating area upstairs - although cute and trying to mimic Vietnamese food stalls, needed hot sauce, larger tables and some basic cutlery. Offering tap water to drink would have been a nice touch. Nobody was up there...

Hidden gem alert! 🌟 We wandered into Cơm Nước and landed ourselves a feast on their rooftop patio — which, by the way, feels like your own secret little treehouse above Queen East.

We ordered the pork noodle dish (absolute comfort in a bowl — savory, hearty, and soul-hugging) and the mushroom soy vermicelli noodles (umami magic with every bite, light but packed with flavour). Both were the kind of dishes that make you stop mid-conversation just to say “wow” after each mouthful.

The vibe is casual, the portions generous, and the food tastes like it was made with real care — like a Vietnamese grandma snuck into the kitchen and decided you looked too skinny. Add in that patio with the blue stools and leafy backdrop, and you’ve got yourself a low-key slice of happiness.

Highly recommend if you’re after something...

Solid Vietnamese place, just ignore the cars. It'll be worth it. Good portions and value for hard earned dollars in a recession. Probably one of the best value meals in the area and all you have to do is walk a laneway instead of a sidewalk. Easy choice in my opinion. Besides good food for good value, I found the gentleman working inside to be very friendly and helpful, even on a night when he'd probably prefer to be watching big Game 6 of the Blue Jays in the World Series. I am definitely going back. I am so glad I discovered it via that BlogTO article where it has a hilarious misspelling of the restaurant's name. Catch it in time before they...