Oxtail Pho & Banh Mi — Restaurant in Toronto

Bizarre. Broth is easily 4/5, but I've never had pho before where they put the beansprouts and herbs in for you, I do not like to add these extras to my pho and prefer the pure taste - the owner said they did this because of COVID - no problem, but if that's the case, why not ask patrons beforehand whether or not they would like x,y,z toppings? This also poses a potential food allergy hazard too - I have an (albeit mild) allergy to beansprouts, but I didn't feel like wasting a whole bowl of food so I continued eating anyways. This is also the first time I've ever had pho where the tendon consisted of ONLY the hard chewy bits, and not the soft buttery texture I come to expect. I know certain cuts have these chewy bits, but it should be a small part of a large, soft tendon. Lastly, the sauce tray for the hoisin/sriracha were these teeny tiny paper ketchup cups? Anyone who knows the traditional way to eat pho knows you dip the meat into the sauces, so this makes it impossible with the exception of the beef balls, also the soupy meat would eventually disintegrate these cups. Service was very kind but a tad overbearing, I'm not a touch sensitive person but moving trays around to make it "easier" (without asking beforehand) feels invasive, also if a customer says they are fine to pack their food, please let them do so, 2 different servers should not be coming around to do said thing twice either. Word of advice to the owner: ditch the premium napkins & lime/chili sauce/onions in a fancy paper cup & go back to the basics. If you're low on the right cuts of tendon, better to just not sell it. Beansprout plate should be...

There’s so much to unpack. But I had issues with the menu, food and the final bill.

Menu: There’s a QR code which you have to scan, but I don’t mind it too much. The issue was the layout of the menu, it seemed like the whole thing was typed out in HTML and made it hard to read and understand. There were also no photos and the customization was very confusing to follow so we didn’t really know what we ordered but just ordered what we deemed normal pho with all the typical ingredients and meat types.

Food: When the food came out, it was accompanied by sides in a cupcake liner. They had a lot of trust in that paper liner to hold those wet ingredient. Side note, most other pho places will put bean sprouts and other greens on the side instead of inside the pho but this place didn’t, so if you have the soup cilantro gene you should speak up and ask for it to be removed. Getting into the actual food, it was stomach-able but those prices don’t reflect the quality and you can find better pho for cheaper within a 10-20 minute walking distance. Also, I don’t know why but there was chicken in our pho, I’ve never seen this anywhere else and it was a very unwelcome discovery.

Billing: When we were first ordering, we only ordered one portion to share and they were keen enough to catch onto that and gave us bowls. But when we got the bill, they added on a “sharing fee” which wasn’t communicated before hand and just ended the whole experience negatively. One bowl of pho ended up costing around...

This is, without a doubt, the best pho I’ve ever had! I’ve tried the oxtail pho, medium rare beef pho, BBQ duck pho, and beef short ribs pho so far, and each dish has been phenomenal. The beef short ribs pho, in particular, is my absolute favorite—it comes with a generous portion of BBQ short ribs, packed with rich, savory flavours.

What truly sets this place apart is the broth. At most pho spots, I find myself adding hoisin and Sriracha to boost the flavor, but here, the broth is so rich and flavorful that it doesn’t need anything. You can tell it’s been boiled for 24 hours, which gives it that deep, authentic taste that keeps me coming back.

The owner is one of the sweetest, most genuine people I’ve ever met. She goes above and beyond to make every guest feel special, and you can tell she truly cares about her business and her customers’ experiences. One night, I came in close to closing time, and all the chairs were already up. But as soon as we walked in, she put on some music, dimmed the lights, took all the chairs down, and made the place feel so warm and inviting. She even placed candles on our table, turning the evening into such a memorable experience. Moments like that make it stand out from other restaurants - very homey and welcoming.

The ambiance is always on point—cozy seating with plush pillows, and they play the perfect mix of current, laid-back music. It’s one of my favourite restaurants, and I come back every week. Highly...