Pho Ha Noi — Restaurant in Toronto

I recently visited Pho Hà Nội in Toronto for dinner and had a generally good experience, though there were some noticeable inconsistencies. The restaurant itself is quite spacious, which made for a comfortable dining atmosphere. When we arrived, it was quiet, but it began to fill up as the evening went on. Initially, there was only one server managing the entire floor, which led to some delays, though a manager did step in to help later — albeit with some language barriers that made communication a bit tricky.

We ordered a variety of dishes to try. The Pho Hà Nội đặc biệt (pho special) was a bit underwhelming. The broth lacked the rich depth we were expecting, and the noodles and meat were just average — nothing particularly memorable. We also had the Bún Bò Huế, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite capture the essence of the dish. The broth tasted very similar to the pho and missed the signature shrimp paste and lemongrass flavor that define a good bún bò huế.

Surprisingly, the standout dish of the night was the vegetarian pho. While we typically expect beef broth to be more flavorful, the vegetarian option far exceeded our expectations with a broth that was easily four times more flavorful than the meat-based version.

The spring rolls were solid — crispy, well-filled, and satisfying. No complaints there.

We also tried the avocado milkshake, made with condensed milk. This drink took quite a while to arrive — about 20 minutes — and was served after all our food had already been brought out. While the flavor was decent, the texture wasn’t quite right. There were large chunks of unblended avocado and ice, which made it less enjoyable. It’s a good idea that just needs better execution.

Overall, Pho Hà Nội has potential, especially with its spacious setting and standout vegetarian pho. But there’s room for improvement in terms of broth flavor, service efficiency, and consistency with their...

Let me sum up why this restaurant is better than other Vietnamese restaurants in the area.

1 - It's a late night - open until 4am, restaurant that has surprisingly good ambiance. Most places like this in Chinatown are hole in the wall types places which is fine but it's nice to sit down and eat with some nice looking untensils.

2 - I ordered the grilled chicken vermicelli and the bowl it came in could fit my entire face inside of it. You get an absolute metric asston of food here.

3 - They accept debit and credit card and they do it without fees. Chinatown is notorious for having cash only restaurants and its kinda annoying. I get why merchants do it but it's 2022. It's time to join the 21st century everyone. If you're gonna be cash only you should be cheap. There are several other Vietnamese restaurants in the area that are cash only and pricey to boot. This place manages to give you a good bang for your buck due to the quantity of food you get and they accept alternate forms or payment.

4 - 20% off on Wednesdays. Speaks for itself. Considering how many students live in the area I figured this would be a significant point. Even without the discount Initially the prices seem kinda high for a Vietnamese restaurant but you get a ton of food to make up for it. Make sure you go here on an empty stomach. Do not order large sizes unless you're prepared to go into a food coma.

5 - Bathrooms are immaculate. Even the men's bathroom.

6 - Comfortable seating with a ton of space.

I've eaten at five different Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown, this one is the best. If you want cheaper or better you're probably going somewhere in Western North York. Unless you are vegan, this is the...

A very close friend of mine, Vietnamese, recommended me to try this restaurant. We usually go to other Vietnamese restaurants, but he said to try this one out. I went there today, Feb 5, 2025, at 2am, to order 5 meals, grilled pork with rice and grilled chicken with rice, my family just landed and we had to get something to eat. I mentioned when placing the order "NO SALAD", but they ended up including salad on the meal. When they handed the meal to me, I asked "no salad, right?" And they were like, oh, no, sorry, we put salad. Then they took the meal to the back to just remove the salad and hand the rest to me, damn, I asked them to just nvm and hand it over. I got home, and noticed they gave me extremely extremely small pieces of meat with salad packed in the bowls!!! I was like, I've eaten at some Vietnamese places before and this is just so small, it's even an insult. I took a picture, sent it over to my friend and he told me they shouldn't have served me that, saying they probably did thinking I don't know what I ordered, like, it was a new thing to me. They served the pork in TINY SLICES and there is barely any slice in the meal!! Just salad everywhere! This is just extremely disappointing and tarnishing. Why do that? That's so disappointing. Today's still Feb 5, 2025 and I told my friend right after work, I'll take the food back to that restaurant. No way anyone's eating this meal here. If they like, they don't refund me or give me another meal, np. But this is...