This is my favourite pho joint in Toronto. When I moved here from Boston in 2005, I immediately noticed a dearth of quality pho places. The broth was often full of fat, and / or had no flavour, or was just infused with copious amounts of sodium in order to make up for the lacking flavour. That's not mentioning the mystery chewy meat that would accompany the pho and all too often with a few miserable soggy beansprouts and wilted Thai basil on the side that even a starving mountain goat would refuse.
Enter Pho Pasteur! Interestingly the same name as a chain in Boston, but different. Apparently it is a place / restaurant in Vietnam. I've tried upwards of 15 pho places in Toronto and there are some where I like the broth as much as Pho Pasteur, but there is always something else lacking. Let's be clear, if you are expecting a haute dining experience then this is not the place for you. The interior is clean, albeit has not changed much since the 1980's.
However, the service is fast, the servers (except for the weird guy at night) are amazing, the spiced broth with various flavours including cinnamon is delicious, the meat top quality and in copious amounts as well as loads of fresh beansprouts, Thai basil and chilis on the side. Did I mention the broth is almost always consistent?! I know some of my breathmint conscious compadres do not like onions, but I love the copious amounts of green and regular white onions served with the pho and while the prices are a bit higher than other places, it is 24 hours and the pho comes chock full of meat, unlike other stingier places. The sate pho is not bad here, but I've had better at other places, however the quality of the regular pho is hard to beat. There is also a great selection of other Vietnamese dishes, I liked the hot pot fish, the goat Curry and the tomato beef.
As the place is run by Vietnamese, they will never give you the bill until you ask for it, unlike some other joints in Chinatown.
In summary, good pho, good side veggies, great selection of other Vietnamese dishes, clean, consistent and always open!