The Vietnamese Noodle House — Restaurant in Yellowknife

The moment we walked in, the atmosphere already felt strange. After the previous customers left, the staff didn’t even bother wiping the tables — new customers had to find a clean one themselves. Within just a few minutes, they started pressuring us to order, and when we asked questions about the dishes, they simply refused to answer.

The pho broth was sweet, which I’ve never encountered before — easily the worst pho I’ve ever had in my life. Just a few sad, thin slices of meat floating in it. My friend ordered the chicken leg rice, and it was completely burnt and so tough it couldn’t be chewed. When we asked the server, “Is your chicken usually cooked this way? It’s so hard to chew,” her response shocked us — “Yes, it’s always like that, it’s because of the chicken breed.” What kind of ridiculous answer is that?! And she said it with total confidence!

We also overheard the staff mocking customers and making rude comments about people after they left.

When we went to pay, the server didn’t show us the invoice — just handed over the card machine. We felt the total seemed off and asked to see the bill, only to find out they had automatically added a 15% tip without telling us! The whole time we were there, we didn’t even get water or napkins — zero service — and yet they secretly charged a tip. Absolutely unacceptable.

Honestly, I think the owner doesn’t even care about bad reviews. Since there isn’t much competition in this small town, they’ve gotten used to treating customers poorly, as if we have no other choice. It’s such an arrogant attitude. But there are plenty of other restaurants in town that are delicious and friendly — do yourself a favor and...

Was not great.

I was out in Yellowknife on a business trip; and stumbled upon a 4.7 review for this restaurant. I was right near it, so decided to pop in. Firstly, the look of the restaurant and the decor is very cheap and tacky. The lights look like they open up a disco after store hours.

I was told to sit where ever I wanted, so I sat on the South Eastern facing side. Little did I know that this was the washroom side, and the entire half of the restaurant smelt pretty horrid. I moved over to the other side.

I had bags, as I was going to be heading back on a plane after my lunch. Which I slid underneath the table. The older of the two ladies working there, came by and kicked my bag on the side and told me to move it; I know what you imagined, like a little nudge to say, 'hey, slide it over' instead it was like she was trying to beat Manuel Neuer on a free-kick and slammed into the side of my bag. I was shocked, and I think she even realized the over-reaction and helped move it.

The food came, it was on the lower side of average for Vietnamese cuisine (#77). I quickly ate it up, and then waited in my chair. They didn't clear my table (even after I left), and finally after waiting 15 minutes, I just went up to the counter to pay. I waited there for another 10 minutes before the older lady came to let me pay and leave.

Would not recommend going here if...

I went in expecting a pretty bare-bones experience after reading other reviews, which is usually just fine, but this place was sparse, empty, and dingy.

From the hard-slamming door when you walk in, to the uncertainty of sitting down or waiting, to the overall grubby feel of the place, it’s not exactly welcoming.

Service wasn’t particularly quick, and the food came out one plate at a time, with minutes between each dish.

The beef noodle soup was tasty, and the rare beef the perfect level of doneness. A few minutes in the broth and it was tender and delicious.

The chow mein was disappointing. We had the noodles crunchy, and they seemed to have been fried while still dry, resulting in an unpleasant texture and flavour. The veggies and meat were done well, but there wasn’t a lot of sauce.

The hoisin sauce seemed to be watered down with something like Worcestershire sauce, making it quite running and an unpleasant flavour.

Overall, we were unimpressed. I’ve heard good things about the place, so maybe we just caught it on...