Golden Bell Saigon & Vietnamese Restaurant

Restaurant is filthy. Not ‘quaint hole in the wall family restaurant, could use a little love’. Filthy. From the entrance to the tables every surface was covered in something. Thought maybe the food would be the redeeming factor– nope. Cold bùn, phô drowned with Five Spice, service lacklustre at best. Drive another block and go somewhere else. :(

I’ve eaten here a few times for lunch, and I’ve never been super-​impressed. I find the food to be flavourness, and the mango bubble tea is made from powder and tastes chalk-​y.

Good vietnamese sub. Spicy without being overwhelming. Fresh bread lightly toasted. Beef was juicy and tender. Reasonably priced at under $ 8

If you like bland watery broth with frozen mixed vegetables then this is the phở for you. Based on the stellar reviews by fellow Unilocalers I thought for sure this place would knock my socks off. Total disappointment and will not be back

In my general point of view, it is hard to determine where is a good Vietnamese cuisine to dine in for phở or vermicelli in Calgary? Which one is ethnic or tradition? What kind of soup base is it contain with MSG, freshness of the quality, and the price vs. portion?
Anyways weekday night at Golden Bell. I been there couple times for phở, but I heard the reviews from other Unilocalers said that Banh Mi Bi sub are very good, so my good friend James will be the guinea pig for trying out the Banh Mi Bi Sandwich. And he said it was delicious: the portion was good very balance between meat and vegetables. And I ordered the Chicken Phở, the soup base was contain some garlic and the soup temperature was perfect on cold rainy days, and the portion for $ 9.75 was decent what they give you. And the Vietnamese style spring roll: crispy with average portion of pork and other vegetables in it nothing particular.
Overall, I will be return on cold rainy day order phở, and maybe next time ordered Banh Mi Bi sandwiches.

This Vietnamese restaurant is right across the street from Chinook Centre, which is extremely convenient. Vietnamese food is always a favourite of mine. But for their noodle soups, they are extremely salty, in comparison to other Vietnamese restaurants.
As for the service, they do not write down your order. Our server came back 4 times to confirm what our order was, yet he still messed it up. He gave us an additional dish and argued with us a bit before he took it back; the death glares he gave us afterwards (i.e., while we were eating) was totally unprofessional. If he was having to come back more than once to confirm our order, it is obvious that he should take advantage of a pen and paper.
If you are looking for a yummy VIetnamese place and don’t mind an extra 10 – 15 minute drive, try Phở Huong Viet (17 ave SW and 37^th street — near shoppers drug mart/​tim hortons). They have a way bigger portion size, taste way better, and cost less!

Good place, had the Super Soup Bowl and could not finish

Consistently delicious. Always fast, friendly service. Our family’s go to restaurant when we’re in the south. Highly recommended! Also, great vegetarian options.

Okay, can we talk about the Peanut Satay soup? I always get the veggie one and it is out of this world. For real.
It’s cheap, the staff is friendly and the food comes super fast, always. Go there!

It was D’s birthday and we were down by Chinook mall, I asked D what he was feelin’ for food and he was feelin’ some phở so we decided to hit up Golden Bell, a place he suggested. It was my first visit and they have their own little reserved parking area in a strip. Golden Bell is located across from the Chinook mall on MacLeod trail. It was about 3PM and it wasn’t busy at this hour. We were immediately seated at a nice big booth, handed menus and ordered some water and a pot of jasmine tea. Normally when I go for phở, I order satay beef — D said it wasn’t too spicy, but had a nice flavor so we both went with #51 satay beef phở with the meat on the side and ordered some shrimp salad rolls to start. Phở anywhere doesn’t take long so we weren’t surprised when our salad rolls came out pretty quick with our nice hot bowls of phở following shortly after.
The salad rolls came in three and were nothing out of the ordinary… a salad roll is a salad roll. It was nice that each roll was cut in half though! As mentioned, we ordered the meat on the side just so it would be nice and rare. The bowl of phở itself had big pieces of cilantro, crispy green onions, al dente noodles and tender beef. As usual, when anyone orders phở, it comes with a side plate of lime slices, bean sprouts, basil, and chilis. I always top my bowl off with a ton of bean sprouts for the crispy texture, squeeze a little bit of lime for that citrus flavor, and peel up a basil leaf. The broth in the soup was nice and light, but I had wished that it was more flavorful, it was kind of plain and I didn’t find it spicy at all.
The service at Golden Bell was pretty good. They frequently stopped by to make sure we were still doing okay and topped up waters. After we ate, D and I sat there chatting for a while, we didn’t feel that they wanted to rush us out or anything. I think Golden Bell is a good place, but I’ve had better phở… so it’s A-​OK!
If you’re in around the Chinook area and it’s frightful out, I’d say stop by for a nice hot bowl of phở, it’s a great way to warm up.

It’s been a general rule I’ve discovered that if you want to find a successful independent restaurant, you drive to a large shopping center and walk around it. I mean walk «around» it, like outside. They’re never inside, but across the street is prime real estate, often snatched up by Boston Pizzas, Earls, and Red Lobsters – the latter I found this day in Calgary. I was outside the Chinook Center – named for the region of the city the mall is in, which in turn was named not for subset of Native Americans, the dog from New England, or the famous helicopter, but rather the stiff wind falling from Western mountains like the gaseous discharge from an elderly man with an ineffectual gastrointestinal tract. And as predicted, the mall proudly boasts several major restaurant chains including the aforementioned Boston Pizza. After a complete orbit of the mall in a sweltering heat which made the wandering hobos actually shiny, I was about ready to give up and walk to a place called State & Main, surely a chain, until I finally found my destination, nestled a block from that outcast Red Lobster.
Golden Bell Saigon
By the way, did you know there is a scientific study revolving around flatulence… it’s called flatology.
No kidding.
This was perfect; one of my favorite local restaurants is Vietnamese and I jumped at the chance to compare them. Right from the get-​go, I was hit with the impression that I had entered a posh eatery… in actual Vietnam. Tiles were broken, wallpaper was peeling, and the only entertainment came via a pair of tube TVs in the distant corner. That’s right, actually CRT televisions. This is not a restaurant, it’s a movie set for the next Bourne movie. I’m not complaining, this place was great. I once entered into a worthless argument with a friend where he mentioned his adoration for restaurants with zero décor. I don’t praise zero décor but I do admire worn décor, like the scars of a veteran after a lifetime of service. Zero décor is lazy. Weathered décor shows character. The staff unfortunately also shared that grizzled nature, long drained of any desire to smile or treat customers with a modicum of appreciation. I actually felt like I was imposing. I will take a moment to shout out at the deceptive strength of the elderly lady that waited on me; with plier-​like pincer grip on a tray, full bowl of phở stable at the far end, GI Joe action figures had nothing on this woman. Following my pattern, I opened with spring salad rolls and concluded with a bowl of mixed meat in hot broth. Between those, I also ordered a grilled chicken brochette.
The amount of food delivered cannot be understated. Although I will criticize the shrimp salad rolls in exactly 47 words, I have to admire the fact that I received three of those rolls for $ 5.95. The chicken was only $ 3.95. Three courses with a tip and I barely broke a twenty. Not bad. However, even though I said chicken was good, once again I have to criticize the dipping sauce accompanying the shrimp salad rolls. I actually heard a complaint recently that my local Vietnamese restaurant U&Me has dipping sauce too close to peanut butter and is not reflective of authentic practices. Don’t care, it’s better. That’s it, just better. The phở at the Golden Bell was fantastic, but it had to be. Not putting any pressure, I’m just stating that if a Vietnamese restaurant can’t deliver a perfect Phở, it’s doomed.
By the time I left, the Golden Bell was surely ringing, packed end to end with people. Clearly I had not stumbled upon some forlorn restaurant fading under the shadow of the nearby Red Lobster but rather a word-​of-​mouth gem known to many but never spoken openly. If I was nearby, I could see frequenting it, an easy choice over the established competition around. Despite the rough edges and uneven service, Golden Bell Saigon was a pleasant discovery and worthy of recommendation.
As a final note, the bill came accompanied by a fortune cookie. I can’t really spend another 500 words in this review conveying how out of place it was to receive something invented by the Japanese, adopted by the Chinese, produced almost entirely by the Americans in a Vietnamese restaurant in Canada. Having said that, my fortune said, «Watch for a new relationship to develop within the month.» Although a complete coincidence, I did admire that fact that this one ended up being accurate…
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Presentation: ²⁄₅
Value: ⁵⁄₅
Recommendation: 3.25÷5

If you are a fan of rotten meat and flies bothering you during your meal, then this is the place for you. Never mind the overflowing toilets they had recently with sewer issues — we came back to give it another chance, but should have taken all the previous warning signs seriously.
There was a piece of rotten meat in my vermicelli noodles dish, which I obviously addressed with staff. Also, the flies go in and out of the washroom, kitchen, and dining room, so you do the math.
When addressing these issues, the person at the register asked rather non-​interested what the problem was. After explaining the problems to him, he did not apologize and discussed something with someone in the kitchen. We ended up getting a 10% discount on our food — thank you for having me still pay for rotten meat in a fly-​infested place. We will for sure never come back.

I’m obsessed. Everytime I’m in Calgary I need the fried spring rolls, the pork banh mi, and an iced filtered coffee. I just love it. And the food comes out so fast!

Some friends and I were in Calgary for the day and we were looking for a good Vietnamese place to eat. Thanks to Unilocal we ended up at Golden Bell Saigon. Maybe I was hungry but I was happy to see that their menu was quite large and that I could choose from everything Vietnamese (phở, rice/​noodle dishes, subs) and food from other Asian cuisines. Then again, I wouldn’t actually get Chinese food from a Vietnamese place.
It seems like our problems with the wait staff is not unique as at least one other on here has also commented. When the server took our orders, she didn’t write anything down. When she repeated it she had trouble with the numbers we had just ordered. They brought out three out of four of our orders and had to ask what the fourth order was. Clearly the server forgot and it was only now they were making the fourth order. My friend was sitting there waiting while the rest of us were eating. The table setting also only had two sets of utensils. We asked for additional napkins and chopsticks which never came… I finally just got up and grabbed the stuff from the utensil trays myself.
The service part is a shame because the food is decent.

This is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants for beef satay Phở. It’s amazing and the flavour is there. We’ve dined in and had take out on more than a few occasions and we keep coming back for more. We’ve also had their spring rolls and shrimp salad rolls — which are also excellent! Service is always friendly.

Right across from Chinook Centre is a wonderful place that beckons me every time I’m in the mood for a nice, hot bowl of Phở Dac Biet or hearty Bo Kho (beef stew). Golden Bell is one of my favourite places for this Vietnamese comfort food, especially as the weather starts to get chilly and I hunger for something soothing. I grab a seat in the huge dining area and look over the vast menu. Hot tea is like a welcoming hug from my adopted family for the next hour.
One of my favourite starters is banh cuon, soft and tender rice noodle sheets with layers of seasoned minced pork and wood ear mushroom rolled together and served with a fresh salad of sprouts and Thai basil. Dipped in the nuoc cham, the subtle fish sauce essence and hint of sweetness complement nicely with the lightness of the noodle and filling.
Phở is hard to pull off. You can have plenty of great toppings and additions, but they mean nothing if the broth doesn’t taste good. Golden Bell’s phở broth is a meaty, aromatic delicious broth that is a pleasure to enjoy. It truly unites the elements of the cavernous bowl of goodies inside. In my case, I love the thinly sliced beef that cooks as the broth is poured over top. Add to that some chewy tripe and tendon and I’m sold.
The beef stew bowl is a hearty assortment of meaty beef chunks with coarsely cut carrots, chewy rice noodles and potato. The whole thing is a nice change from the house special phở if you’re ever in the mood for a little something different. The broth is a soupy version of North American Stew, but so so flavourful and satisfying.
I should also mention the banh mi (submarine sandwich). They do a couple kinds of banh mi (chicken and beef satay) and though I usually prefer the traditional style with the assorted cold cuts and pâté, this version is hot, juicy and so unbelievably tasty. You can even order it as a half and half so you can try the best of both worlds.
There are a lot of Vietnamese places in this city. Some that do banh mi well, some that are killing it with their phở, but I have to say that Golden Bell has a solid hold on everything. From their fresh starters to their generous bowls of bun with whatever grilled item you fancy, the folks here are making some seriously good food.

Food Quality: ³⁄₅
Price: ⁴⁄₅
Kitchen Speed: ⁵⁄₅
Dining Area: ³⁄₅
Value: ⁵⁄₅
With so many Vietnamese restaurants in the area, you really have to step up to compete. One thing we noticed right away is that the staff don’t smile are aren’t that friendly compared to other Viet places in the area. All the things you’d expect are on the menu. Bun, Phở, Subs, and all other manners of fried rice and noodles. The prices are bang on and two people can easily eat for $ 20. The portion sizes are good as well. Taste, being such a personal thing, is where Golden Bell fell down for me. Not that the food tasted bad but it seemed a bit on the bland side. I’d rank this place higher than Bagolac, but below Saigon Y2K just down the street. On a side note, the red/​orange color that they painted seemingly everything in the dining area with is unappetizing.

Where to begin? I feel it is difficult to write an objective review of a restaurant that opened a lot of metaphoric doors for me. I cannot remember the date of my first visit (it was in the winter, possibly 2003), nor count the number of visits since (though a good guess would probably be at least 100 times for lunch, dinner, sudden bursts of craving, take-​aways, snack attacks, etc), but this restaurant has been a huge influence on me. My Asian dining had been relegated to Treasures of China and other sub-​par Chinese buffets before; after Golden Bell, it would be the good stuff all the way!
My first visit was with my then-​girlfriend (now wife) and a couple of her friends. They recommended we visit this place for lunch, it was a great place to eat with good food, so off we went. I had never had Vietnamese food before, but I do remember vividly my first few bites of the charbroiled pork vermicelli with spring rolls: I LIKE THIS. In fact, I liked it so much, I regret to say I have rarely strayed from this tried-​and-​true dish in all the years since. I have attempted many of the dishes (the squid, their flavorful Phở soup, nearly all the appetizers, most of the fruit shakes), but the special #2 (#62 on the menu, with a small bowl of incredible won ton soup and a pop) is the one for me. The shrimp salad rolls are always fresh and leave the mint leaves to the imagination, and GB is probably the best Viet place for having crisp lettuce to go with your piping hot spring rolls.
The staff have always been great, and we are on a casual-​comment basis with the kindly owner, an upstanding guy we were contemplating inviting to our wedding years before the events, despite not knowing his actual name. Many of the staff have come and gone in the years since we’ve been there, but they all share an enthusiasm for the food, and are rapid in bringing the food, with 100% accuracy in my experience. I have never had a bad meal here (maybe a couple of merely okay ones), but I doubt I would change my mind about this place as a stand-​by when I want Vietnamese.
If you are trying Vietnamese for the first time, Golden Bell is a fantastic place to start!

My recent visit at Golden Bell involved a shaky experience with a waitress. We ordered our food off the menu. When it arrived, the food was different from what we wanted. When we decided to bring the issue up, the waitress exchanged our orders to what we wanted. But she felt it was necessary to inform us that it was OUR error in giving her the wrong menu numbers, which isn’t the case since we’ve been ordering the same things for a long time. Needless to say the irrelevant argument escalated that what we ordered was incorrect, which we felt was her fault because the order she supposedly heard us say was 1 digit different from what we wanted, ie. #52 was understood as #42
A simple solution: WRITE THE ORDERS DOWN. I personally am not all the more impressed if waiters these days memorize my orders. It makes no difference in me determining their serving skill and gauging their tip. In fact writing it down allows them to read back everything that was indicated to them at the ordering process, allowing time for corrections. Also, even if you think you are right, it is a servers job to practice the philosophy of «the customer is always right». We weren’t being rude or confrontational or condescending when we advised the server the food brought was incorrect, so maybe swallowing a bit of pride to avoid confrontation is a good thing.
Anyways, such experiences result in a major drag down in ratings, but what kept it at a satisfying 3 is how the manager responded. In sensing the heated argument, the manager politely intervened and instead of taking sides, politely apologized and allowed another server to help us.
Even if these types of scenarios occur in rarity, it should be shared to emphasize the importance of maintaining a pleasing customer experience. I’ve always gone to Golden Bell for years and it has always been consistent in providing a cheap, quick, and satisfying meal. The food is always consistent and so is the cleanliness of the place.
Yeah now that I think about it, maybe I’ll give the place another try…

This was my first Vietnamese restaurant experience about 8 years ago, as I was dragged in by a good friend of mine after swearing off any Asian food several years before.
Needless to say, it’s now a regular stop on the eating out circuit. Food is fresh and very quickly delivered to your table, even during the lunch rush. I’ve met clients and friends there pretty much at all times of the day and it’s always been a great experience.
Staff is attentive and quick, while the food is tasty (I’m all about rice vermicelli now) and quickly delivered.
Price wise, I would say average. A dish would be between $ 10 — $ 15. If you’re on the hunt for that perfect Vietnamese place, put this one of your list and check it out.