Pho Green Papaya — Restaurant in Vancouver

My husband and I wanted to go out to dinner and found this place that we've never been to. When we walked in we were greeted by a large sign that read please wait to be seated, so we stood in the doorway for a while untila server came out of the kitchen, waved his hand around gesturing for us to pick a table and sit anywhere while walking back into the kitchen. We looked around and saw dirty dishes on over half of the tables. We thought we must have missed a big rush and that they must have been very busy. After we sat down we had to ask a server for just about everything. From menus to waters, utensils andfor someone to take our order. With only 2 other customer parties, and two servers, we realized really fast that the servers would sit in the bar area talking and texting on their phones until a customer came up to ask for something. Our appetizers came out and we were quickly disappointed because the egg rolls were drenched in oil, accumulating an oil puddle underneath and dripping oil when picked up. Our pho came out completely full of broccoli and carrots, which I found interesting, but overall the worst pho I've ever had. I tried opening the Sriracha bottle that was on the table and the top broke apart in my hand. You could tell they were refilled over and over again, but there was a bunch of Sriracha crust around the top where it opened, so I quickly lost my appetite for chili sauce. We flagged down one of the servers to ask if they could take our appetizer dishes, the server took our dishes and walked to the table next to us and threw them in a buss bucket that was sitting out on the table fullcof other dirty dishes, then he walked back over to the bar to finish his conversation. It felt gross and dirty, the food was a bit disappointing and I couldn't stand being around piles of dirty dishes sitting on every other dining table. So we tried to find our server for the check and to go boxes but he had disappeared. I'm still not sure if he went home or went on a break- but we tried getting someone else's attention. A girl came over with our check and I asked if our food could be put in to go containers. She came back with one small soup container set it on the table and walked away. We were so confused because we had two bowls of pho, and the fresh vegetable sides. So I walked up to the counter and asked if they do not box up the food for us, she looked at me confused and said no. I said no worries, but I would like a couple more containers and a utensil to move our soup into the containers. She brought over a giant laddle and some more small containers.. At this point I didn't even want to take the food because it wasn't that great, but I hated the idea of throwing away so much food, so I awkwardly laddled the soup into the to go containers. We ended up spending $50-60 for two pho bowls and an appetizer. We will never...

One of the last Vancouver places on my list due to their relatively low ratings on Google. As I walked in the door, I was impressed with the dining room size and number of customers. The place was hopping! I love the decor, The big relief on one wall, it's fun, ethnic, and welcoming. I order the Bun Bo Hue - Spicy Beef noodle and when it arrives, I am thrilled by the presentation. It has that rich, deep, red oil look that makes me want to drown myself in it. The tray of sprouts and basil is abundant. It has not only two kinds of basil and the chilis and lime, but it has Shizo leaves which I think is the first time I've even been served this with a broth. I loved the unexpected flavor profile it added. I was wondering why the restaurant only gets 4.3 on Google which although better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick lags behind many of its competitors. I was bang on eager to add a 5 star review. Based solely on the broth, I thought what a great place to come after a visit to Kaiser which is just a block or so away. I was so impressed that I ordered the Pad Thai to go for my wife, bless her soul. This is where problems arise like gas bubbles from a swamp. I drop it off with my wife and go about my duties and when I see her again I ask her, How was it? Although I can already tell there is something not right in the halls of Valhalla. She looks me dead in the eye and says, it's the worst Pad Thai she's ever had. For me... The standard on which all Pho places are judged is the broth. I am a fanatic. I would do laps in a good Pho, but for the sainted wife who not only puts up with me, but washes and organizes my underwear drawer, Pad Thai is her ultimate test of a restaurant's essential worth. She says it tastes nothing like Pad Thai. It contains copious bell peppers and that is all she can taste. I am shamed in front of my better half. I had given her rave reviews of the Broth, proud to have found such a treasure. Well, that certainly left me with egg on my face, or pho, as the case may be. I might sneak away once in a while to grab some Pho, but I certainly can't...

When it comes to Pho its hard to compete with Pho restaurants in the Bay Area of California due to a larger ethnicity population. We have tried several Pho restaurants mostly in Vancouver but we keep ending up at the Pho Green papaya. I order the same thing every time which is the Pho Vegan and the spring rolls. My daughter has tried several different plate and every one she has enjoyed. The Pho is a step above the other places we have tried but the spring rolls were much better in California. If we were to rate the spring rolls to the other places we have tried here we would say it taste the same. I always use the hot sauce in my Pho but here I can enjoy eating it without the hot sauce. That's a big deal for some of us to eat our favorite foods without our special sauce. That tells me its good enough by itself. The waiters are professional and polite but they don't engage in to much conversation because the only seem to employ one waiter at a time which is all they realy need. It's the same girl who serves us and she is very polite and very quiet for a waiter. You never have to wait that long to have your order placed or receive your food. There are always people in there eating every time we go but not completely packed. This is why it flows much smoother without a wait time to be seated or served. The atmosphere in there is relaxing and clean. One more testimony when it comes to left overs. I can't stand left over PHO because it never tastes the same and looses it freshness. Not at Pho Green because I can eat my left overs the next day and it still tastes great. We have now added this place to our regular rotation when it comes to eating out. Lets hope they open up restaurants again for inside dining...