Pho Japolo — Restaurant in Vancouver

We were visiting Kits to pick up our son from work at the library. This place was around the corner where Tang's Noodles used to be on Broadway near the corner of MacDonald. We ordered the #2, a spicy chicken, noodle, beef, pork and ham soup. It was not spicy but bland. Usually spicy soup would be almost impossible for me to eat with my low tolerance for spice. Not this one. We also ordered 2 orders of #62 hoping it would replace our beloved chicjen & pork chop combo from the old Pho Hoang restaurant. What a disappointment! The temperature if both meats were barely hot. It was as if these meats had been cooked in advance and heated up by lightly grilling it to show grill marks. The prices were 25% more over east side prices. We came by hoping to discover serendipity and ended up leaving bitterly disappointed and $50 poorer. The restaurant is dark, the booth seating is very tight and uncomfortable. There is a transparent cupboard next to the hostess stand that separates the dinning area which makes it very confusing because you don't know whether to look right or left of that damned cupboard. The restaurant name is confusing. If you're in the area walk on by. Its not...

This review is for the grilled lemongrass chicken banh mi. All components of the sandwich were fresh . Chicken had a well marinated flavour, and the grill was moist and tender. The waitress accommodated my request for hot Thai bird chili pepper in the sandwich. The bread was toasted. Overall, a decent banh mi ignoring my preference for a more traditional lighter rice flour bun. This is a nit picky detail and the bun itself was just a bit more dense than I prefer. The average diner probably wouldn't notice or care. Those who enjoy chewier mouth feel might even prefer it over the the traditional rice flour bun.

Sitting in the tall booth area, it is hard for the waitress to see us. I would suggest those who demand more attentive service to sit in the open dining area. You can pay by debit, which is handy as not all Vietnamese restaurants accept forms of payment other than cash.

While I wouldn't go out of my way to come here, it's a decent option for banh mi if...

This humble pho restaurant located in a strip mall was the perfect spot for my wife and I to enjoy some hot noodle soup.

My wifr tried the chicken broth soup, a difference style of soup and I tried the regular beef broth pho.

The perfect blend of spices and that great slow-cooked broth flavor punctuated by the strong aroma of added basil with notes of onion.

The chicken broth soup my wife has was quite a different offering. It would be great for someone with a cold or looking for something with intense chicken flavor. It wasn't bad, however it was a different experience than the pho we were used to.

Overall, this place stayed packed from the time we arrives to the time we left. This is probably a local favorite. The staff is somewhat friendly and provided information on request when expanation of menu items was needed.

The price here is slightly higher than others in the area, but overall it is great for a quick impromptu date on...