Awesome little pho place in downtown Toronto! Short walk from the subway station although not in the PATH.
I vaguely recognized the name of this restaurant as being somewhat hyped when it first opened, although that's clearly died down now. In my opinion though, this is one of those rare occasions when the food actually lived up to what was promoted. Pho Vistro is known for its MSG-free pho, made with healthy and fresh ingredients. And that is exactly what we got! Also, I was hugely relieved that concerns over the noodles or soup being bland were not warranted at all (perhaps I just prefer tastes on the lighter side?). Both my friend and I agreed that the food was very flavourful and delicious, while not overwhelming or coma inducing (important since we had to work afterwards). However, I would not recommend their rolls - these were dry and paled in comparison.
Portions were relatively large for the price - warning, don't expect the sizes of cheaper uptown Vietnamese noodle places (though those are mostly carbs anyway). Speed of food arrival was not superb, but doable. Service was wonderful and decor was quite nice and clean. I thought it was really cute how they put Santa hats on the backs of the chairs, and all their waitstaff were in Christmas sweaters lol.
As of writing this review 3 hours after eating, I am still full and have no headache or craving for water. Yay :)