PHO NGOC YEN 2 Etobicoke — Restaurant in Toronto

Dined in on Saturday October 11th around 3 pm with my parents. I would like to first note that we are of Vietnamese descent; however, the treatment that we received from this branch was absolutely horrendous. From the moment we walked in, we were not even greeted properly. Mind you, I had not eaten anything before this, so I was really looking forward to dining here, after seeing the appealing food reviews left by many other customers on Google Maps. It also took us 30 minutes to drive up to this location, as we do live quite far away and to be treated with such rudeness was even more upsetting. One of the restaurant owners didn’t even wait to escort us but just hurriedly walked ahead to our table. Before we were even able to take our seats, he snapped at us and told us to take our orders quickly. He warned us that if we didn’t order our meals immediately, then we would not be getting our food anytime soon because apparently, the kitchen staff had to go on a lunch break. This was my first time dining in at this location, so I needed some time to go over the menu and decide what to eat, but he did not give us any time at all. Nowhere online nor in person does it state the kitchen being closed mid-day for a lunch break, so we weren’t aware of this. If we were informed about this, then we would’ve made changes to our plans beforehand and wouldn’t have to drive all the way down here just to be treated condescendingly. Especially since it was one of the owners who was displaying this contemptuous behaviour, I was stunned. The owner who is also fluent in Vietnamese and obviously knew we were Vietnamese, too still spoke to us in English when he bluntly told us to hurry up with our orders. I find this very disrespectful, as other customers who were non-Vietnamese that came in after us received much better and polite service. My mom, who was frustrated by his attitude, said, “If you’re going to be demanding like that to your customers, we’ll just leave,” to which he replied insensitively, “Then go ahead and leave. I don’t care,” before storming off. How can you be an owner and be this arrogant when the customers are the reason why you are able to run a business in the first place? I’m not the type to say “The customers are always right,” but what he said was so unprofessional, especially considering his role. Another waiter, who was bald and had glasses and slightly friendlier came to take our orders instead, but only apologized on behalf of the boss’ behaviour after my mom had pointed out the discourtesy. He was also present when the situation when down, too, but tried to excused the boss’ bad behaviour by stating that he was just stressed out. Everyone gets stressed out, I get it, but that doesn’t mean you should lash out on your customers, especially when we did not even say or do anything to provoke him in the first place. Also, the other waiter made me write down the orders myself and was still rushing me, even when his literal job is to be taking down the orders. Asides from the awful service, the food was also unpleasant and expensive and was not worth the costly price. I ordered the bùn bò huề which was a whopping $22 and the broth had such a strong and unpleasant odour that did not taste like authentic bùn bò huề at all. The pork was also too fatty and smelly, too. There were barely any noodles within the bowl, too. The seating atmosphere of the restaurant is also very tight, plus the parking area is limited, too. Another waiter also forgot to bring us utensils, as there was only a set for 2 people, meanwhile there were 3 of us. I also had to ask for napkins myself because they don’t even give out napkins. There’s only a table cloth to place on your lap, which I know is more sustainable; however, if those are not washed thoroughly enough, it can potentially pose as a health hazard. Overall, this was such a horrible experience and my family and I will never be returning to Ngoc Yen 2 Etobicoke ever again. For anyone else who is reading this, just save your time, money and mental space somewhere else worth...

🍲A New Standard for Vietnamese Dining in Canada

I’ve been to countless Vietnamese restaurants across the country, and Pho Ngoc Yen to Ittobiko is, without question, the best I’ve experienced. This is not just about food, it’s about hospitality, detail, and excellence.

⸻

Immaculate Cleanliness & Elegant Design

From the moment you walk in, you’re struck by how beautifully the space is decorated. Even more impressive is the ongoing cleanliness. The staff actively keeps the environment spotless throughout service, something I rarely see, even in fine dining.

⸻

Generous Portions, Quality Ingredients

The dishes are generously portioned and crafted with clear attention to quality. Meats were cooked to perfection, and the rice was well prepared. My only small feedback is that the vermicelli noodles could use a bit more bite, they were soft and tended to break apart while eating.

⸻

Flavor Notes & Suggestions

I appreciated the flavor balance overall, but the peanut sauce for the salad rolls could benefit from a bit more boldness, perhaps a richer, more seasoned profile to bring it to life. I didn’t get to try their pho on this visit, but I’ll absolutely return to do so.

⸻

Friendly, Proactive Service

The team is attentive, engaged, and friendly. You can tell they enjoy working there, and that positivity sets the tone. Multiple servers were on the floor, and everyone was proactive without being overbearing.

⸻

Spacious Dining & Outdoor Patio

There’s plenty of indoor seating, including options for large groups, and a beautiful outdoor patio. Parking is easy and accessible, another big plus.

⸻

Diverse, Thoughtful Menu

While rooted in Vietnamese tradition, the menu includes Southeast Asian fusion elements, giving diners something fresh and unexpected. The design is colorful and easy to navigate. Many dishes are easily shareable between two people.

⸻

One Suggestion for Improvement

During busy times, customers line up to pay at the counter. Given how efficiently they’ve maximized the dining space, it might help to introduce table-side payment on weekends to keep the flow smoother and front area less congested.

⸻

Final Thoughts: A Must-Visit

This restaurant is a model of cleanliness, generosity, quality, and service. I look forward to returning, and I wish the team continued success. Keep up the amazing...

This place is huge, it has an outdoor patio space with a roof and heated patio. You walked in, there are two big comparted spacious dining spaces. This is one of the nicest Vietnamese restaurants I been in Toronto with such great space, nice interior decor, those fake trees made the resto looks peaceful and relaxing. The seats and tables were sturdy and comfy.

They have table wrap and cloth napkin.

Lots of parking spots surrounding this resto. Excellent service. Staff will constantly ask if everything is ok. Clean utensils, nice teapot, good tea and they elevated the dining experience of Vietnamese food.

Now, compared to other mama-papa Vietnamese restaurants, the price here are more pricier, but you pay what you pay for with better attentive service, interior decor, good portion of food. But pho is $17.75 CDN - $18.75 compares to $14.50 to $16.50 elsewhere. Otherwise, their other food items pricing are decent from $19 to $22 CDN, with inflation Toronto, it's alright.

I ordered a pho speical that has flavourful pipping hot broth, just the way I like it, big portion and generious of meat. Lots of beef balls that I noticed. The fatness on the brisket was nice cut. Only drawback is..they don't serve beef tripe which is rare as most places serve my favourite beef tripe in a pho special. The noods were choppy which makes it hard for my chopstix to scoop, it's like broken noodles. This was the 1st time I am at a resto where the noods were broken or choppy. Other places have thin noods but doesn't chop like this place do, so I don't know if it's the type of noods they serve here.

Anyhow, I saw the big group beside me orders a bunch of stuff to share and they look delicious and big portion to share. The salad coleslaw, chicken wings, fried rice, fried noodles, they all look so good.

I will definitely come back with my family and try its dinner dishes to share with the group and taste some of their other items.

Highly recommend this place and will...