Pho & Roll by Wooden Fish — Restaurant in Vancouver

PHOrgetful…(by Fish Memory?!)

I had visited Wooden Fish a handful of times before whenever I am at the Park Royal area but last 2 visits there weren’t so memorable ( hence the irony in memorable lol).

After hearing they opened a sister company in Vancouver along Cambie on the Westside, I was a bit excited cause it’s in my hood. So decided to check it out.

There were pay parking along the side streets or in the parkades (roughly about $5-$6/hr). Once inside; the counter and bar to the left of the entrance followed by the kitchen, one strip of tables all along the right side. And I do see a flight of stairs to a 2nd level and a couple of tables there? Overall it’s quite a compact little place, almost like a Ramen joint layout.

Here were the food I ordered;

Egg coffee & can of coke. Egg coffee was a bit off and weak compared to a few other places. (They forgot to add this to the bill, I informed the waiter that so I can pay for it which I did and he wasn’t too happy?!? Sorry me trying to be honest lol). Soft shell crab. It’s deep fried the way I like but the crab was a bit small and the dish was quite plain for $15?? La Vong roll (ling cod). It was okay and refreshing but the fish was overcooked. Btw, I didn’t realized they forgot to add this to the bill until I am looking at the bill to write this review. lol (guess my $18 tip covered this $7 dish? lol) Jumbo tiger prawns. 2 pieces of tiger prawns grilled with a sprinkle of salt and chilli pepper for $16, that works out to $8/pc. That’s a bit overpriced for a very generic dish?!? Pho Bo. It was okay, nothing too special. The first server totally forgot this order until I asked for it 40mins later, he came to apologize and another server took the order and I asked to add an egg, but forgot about the egg. However, was given a complimentary side of bone marrow (not necessary but thank you). Taste wise it was pretty basic. Lobster pho. Same scenario, this dish was forgotten. And no egg when I asked to add one especially when I asked twice and were confirmed with an, “okay no problem”. Or maybe I misheard it and he said, “NO it’s a problem”? (Lol) anyways, the 3 little midget pieces of deep fried lobsters were too dry and tasteless and the dry mixed noodle was not very pleasant? Wayyyyyy too basic (rice noodles with a bit of diced herbs, onions, cooked bean sprouts and hoisin soy sauce). Honestly it’s a failed $30 dish imho.

Overall, I was quite disappointed especially I was excited to check this place out with all the talks.

The service was indeed for the better word, weird? There was only my table and two other tables; one table of two was almost done eating and another table by the windows who seemed to be friends and were done already too. Yet my entire order was one big MESS!? First my drinks were forgotten until I asked for it. Then my two bowls of phos were forgot until I asked for it. And then forgot my eggs I asked to add when the 2nd server came to retake my order of phos. When the bill came, I had to inform them they forgot to put my drinks on the bill and the server looked confused and not happy when I told him that. And like I said when I am writing this, they also forgot to charge me for the roll too. (Yeah I am one of those who don’t always go through the whole bill, I just pay lol).

Anyways, as for the food; they all definitely needed to be better in terms of quality and taste wise. The food just didn’t match the price. The food needed to be redefined for this place to compete and survive.

Lastly, all the staffs needed to be trained properly. What I experienced should’ve never happened especially when the restaurant wasn’t even busy and fresh to the scene. Plus how did it became so disorganized and the staffs sooooo PHOrgetful when they took my order with the iPads in their hands? Fish Memory?!? (Facepalm). AND DON’T give almost empty sauce bowls to customers, in some cultures that’s a sign...

I’d like to start this review with a curious question: "What's with the hype around this place?"

I recently had dinner at Pho & Roll with my co-workers, and the experience was nothing short of disappointing.

Hygiene Issues Right from the start, hygiene was a major concern. When the servers brought out our individual black plates, my co-worker and I immediately noticed visible fingerprints all over them, along with some unknown substances. This was extremely unappetizing and raised serious concerns about cleanliness.

Food Quality We ordered the spring rolls, and they were completely bland—so much so that I’m convinced they forgot to season the filling at all. The quality was far below an acceptable standard.

One of my co-workers ordered the chicken pho, and as a Vietnamese person, I can confidently say it was below average. Unlike other restaurants that take care in preparing the chicken, Pho & Roll simply threw in a plain chicken breast, making the dish feel uninspired. Worse, the broth was overwhelmingly salty and poorly balanced—nothing like a well-made pho broth.

Their Pho Bo is advertised as "Northern-style," which traditionally emphasizes savory flavors over sweetness. However, on my first sip, I could tell they simply dumped an excessive amount of salt into the broth, making it bitter and unpleasantly salty rather than authentically Northern.

Final Verdict From the lackluster service to the poor food quality, my experience at Pho & Roll was terrible. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone and will...

This is the second restaurant by Wooden Fish under the brand "Pho & Roll". Let's start with location: the restaurant is located on Cambie Str, opposite to Save'On, Canadian Tire and BestBuy. The bus stop is right in front of the restaurant and the parking on W 7th Ave is very accessible ($1/1hr - you can't beat that parking price anywhere else in downtown). 1 block away from Broadway City Hall. So I give you guys 5 stars for location and accessibility. The restaurant itself is a reflection of memoir of Vietnamese heritage that showcases thru all the pictures on the wall. High ceiling and open kitchen make "Pho & Roll" more special and you have the feeling of watching all the cooking activities in your kitchen. The best part is the food fetish with selective options of best Viet cuisine that remind us about a time in the past associated with a time in the future. I highly recommended the Pho Ga and Com Don and fried chicken here. Wordless to say about its taste but these are the "bang on the bucks" and "must try" when visiting. Their condiments are hand made, their dried lemon slices and pine apple are also hand made. Furthermore, take a sip of Viet traditional cofffee here. Overall, a magnificient experience for this hidden germ restaurant. Definitely a GO BACK for...