4.5
Pros:
Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine
Friendly service
Cons:
Portions could be better
I've heard a lot about this place for a while now and finally decided to give it a try. Came during lunch time on a Saturday. This place is super popular. Expect to wait up top 30 minutes for a table when it's super busy. The place has a good amount of tables but it just sheer numbers during the busy times.
One thing to note is the owners/staff are Vietnamese. You really can't say that about 95% of all the pho places in the city. Nothing against the others, but I'm a fan of cuisines from other countries to be actually owned and run by people from said country. Just makes it more authentic for me.
One thing I like about the pho here is that you choose what you want. A lot of places usually have a bunch of pre-determined combinations from you to choose from. I like brisket, tendon and beef balls in mine. I have never seen a pre-determined combination like that at any pho restaurant I've been to. It's nice to have choice in the matter. We ordered 2 bowls of pho, spring rolls and a lemon iced tea.
The most important part of pho is the broth. The Pho Restaurant has an amazing broth. It comes out pretty hot as well. That's the way all noodle soups should come out if you ask me. I can imagine sitting down to one of these on a cold winter day and being completely warmed and satisfied by it. The spring rolls were done really well. The wrapper was thin and crispy, no staleness at all. It was definitely made fresh when I ordered it. The iced tea had a good amount of lemon flavour to it. Everything was done very well and beyond expectation one can have for a pho establishment.
Service was very friendly throughout our visit. The host was very nice and patient with everyone he dealt with. I observed him with other clients as well and he was super friendly and helpful to everyone he was with.
My only gripe is the portion sizes. They were a tad smaller then what I'm used to. My family currently always orders 2 bowls of pho, spring rolls and a lemon tea when we go out for pho. Most of the time the bill comes out in the mid thirties. We were up to forty here. Not the biggest deal as the taste more than makes up for it.
The Pho Restaurant is an excellent pho resturant. I would totally recommend it to anybody who loves a good bowl of pho. It's tad more pricey, but the authentic taste more than makes up for that.