Pho Dau Bo

The food is good. Not the best in town but great to have in an area that doesn’t have lot of Vietnamese options. They seem to run out of items often, so that’s a little disappointing. Their prices have gone up every few months but quality and quantity isn’t improving. Sometimes the same meals I order get come in smaller portions or doesn’t taste as good as other times. But for the most part the food is ok. Cash only!

Our local Phở joint.
For those not in the know, Phở is Vietnamese noodles, so this is a noodle house. They have a large menu that includes stir fried and other items, so there is plenty to choose from.
Phở Dau Bo is a chain, there must be at least a dozen locations now. This one is cash only, so be prepared before walking in. There’s plenty to choose from the menu, whether you just want the Phở (soup), steamed or stir fried items. For the less adventurous, there are items like deep fried chicken wings also on the menu.
Try the beef tendon brisket soup (my favourite) or the stir fried beef with vegetables (also my favourite, depending on my mood). There are plenty of versions and variations on the soups and hot pots, so you can find one that suits your tastes and moods.
Staff are pretty friendly, the bathrooms are okay, there’s always parking, but most importantly the food is good, cheap and comes pretty quickly.
Comfort food in a bowl.

Great food, great prices, cash only. The staff are the nicest, friendliest folks! We agree with comments that it could use a spruce up but it’s hardly «disgusting», far from it. And we’ve yet to spot a cockroach on our almost monthly visits. Springs rolls are crispy and I find the beef in their phở particularly tasty. Their large phở bowl is massive, I can easily share it. Extra large can pretty much feed my family of three with an order of spring rolls.

I have been to three different locations in total but I found that this location was the worst. I was excited to find out there was a phở dau bo closer to me so I decided to come and check it out. I ordered the rare beef phở and 4 pc spring rolls. The broth for the phở was part decent but I didn’t like the noodles. The spring rolls weren’t crispy enough and tasted kind of old. The waiter who took our order wasn’t very attentive so some of the orders were placed wrong. The environment of this place is casual. If you’re looking for authentic Vietnamese food this wouldn’t be the place for you to get you’re satisfying bowl of phở.
They only accept cash.

We had rice and chicken dishes. The food was tasty but nothing too special. Portions were moderate but filling. The service was fast and the servers were friendly. The menu is quite large and they have a lot of options aside from Phở. The prices were reasonable and two could dine for $ 20.

My friend has highly recommended this place, and here I am. He said their spring roll is the best, and how would I leave this place without trying?
We had spring roll to share, and we each had the special phở. It came with a bit of everything; flank steak, tendon, tripe and meat ball. The dish of basil and bean sprouts was pretty fresh. I like the broth. It’s clear and intensely beefy. The spring roll is different from those I used to have. It’s the wrapping that made the difference. The wrapping is crispy but not crunchy. I’d prefer those I used to have over this. But it’s no harm to try something different. The service is fast and friendly. Unfortunately, the place is a bit run down.

This is the closest reasonably priced phở joint around us. Cash only. My wife is really into the bun (vermicelli) the grilled pork is killer. I’m usually a rare beef noodle soup guy. Prices are reasonable. Cash ONLY. 4 stars only because the vermicelli options are limited. Would be nice to have shrimp on sugar cane and spring roll without paying $ 3 for an extra.

I love the food here. It’s a hole in the wall, cash only type of place but the food is consistent. The beef they use in their noodle soup is lean unlike other phở places.
As for the roach sightings, why is it that many of you report it on Unilocal but no one takes photos of it? Please add the pics!

OK, so ive eaten at this location plenty of times. Ive only ever stuck with the Phở bowl with well done beef, and vietnamese spring rolls. Both are satisfying, and cheap. The mango or coconut smoothies are delicious as well. Service is fair, ive only caught attitude from one younger employer. Sit on the left side of the place from when you walk in, he does not serve that side.
The last time i came here and never went back. I was eating a delicious bowl of soup when i looked down on the floor and saw a cockroach on its back with his legs in the air. it was clearly trying to flip over on his legs and run away. This was a BIG ROACH by the way. I was so disgusted i couldnt eat nomore.
That was the last time i went there.

not bad but needs to improve.

I had my first taste of phở here about 4 years ago and it was tasty but I have to agree with the other reviewers about the cleanliness issue (perhaps its gone even further downhill since then) and doubt i’ll be going back after reading about the roach in the dipping sauce from the review below.

My favourite Vietnamnese chain in Ontario, I can always expect cheap phở and good smoothies. This location in particular is one my family goes to a lot, since it’s near where we live. The staff is very friendly and you can always get a seat no matter what time of day.
I do agree the place needs to be cleaned up a bit, but it does look like the same as the other Phở Dau Bo’s I been to.
I also like to call this place the Laughing Cow place… for people that can’t remember the name of the restaurant, heh.

I agree that this place needs a renovation but the food is amazing and the staff is always really kind to my wife and I when ever we go there. I have to give it 2 thumbs up for excellent service and great food

I go to this phở restarant about once every month. It’s the most decent phở in the area. Service is quick and efficient. I feel they can probably change up the ambiance of the restaurant, and they can do a bit better with the quality of their food.

The phở was really good but lacked in meat when compared to other places like Phở 88. The The shrimp paste spring rolls were okay but what made it amazing was the sweet plum sauce that came with it. You can drizzle that sauce on anything and it would taste good. To wash all the food down I got a durian milkshake which was also good but didn’t have a very strong durian taste. Overall happy with the outcome of this place when I wasn’t expecting much.

I’ve given this place more than enough chances. I’ve been going here at least monthly for the past 3 years. IT IS DIRTY.
Sure, it is one of the nicer, more spacious, airy phở restaurants but it is just gross. I can only compare it to a swimsuit model… with a bad case of gonorrhea.
Here was my experience today:
Walked in, observed 3 occupied tables. Waitress (middle aged lady with glasses who’s been working there for quite awhile) looks up at me from behind the counter and proceeds to look back down and continue whatever she was doing.
FINE. I seat myself and fill out my meal order paper thingy. I wait patiently for about 10 minutes for her to come over and retrieve my order. By this time, there is only an elderly couple, myself, and a lady with a baby stroller left in the dining room.
**I ordered a medium bowl of Phở and veg spring rolls.
The phở comes in under 5 minutes.
It is the most oily bowl of Phở I’ve ever had. For the record, I’ve had ALOT of Phở in my life thus far. I try my best to eat it but every bite leaves a film of oil in my mouth that I need to wash down with tea.
My spring rolls come. As another reviewer said, they are most definitely made in old oil. HERE’S THE FUN PART… The waitress puts down a small bowl of sauce to dip the spring rolls in… THERE’S A SMALL, DEAD COCKROACK FLOATING IN IT. I call the waitress over to alert her. She comes over and I point at the bowl beginning to tell her about the roach. She says «OKAY, OKAY, OKAY» snatches up the bowl and brings me a new one, sans cockroach. She walks away quickly and I’m sitting there seriously stunned.
Now, the lady with the baby calls the waitress over and says she needs somewhere to change her child. The same IDIOT waitress brings her to the very front of the restaurant and tells her to change her baby on the set of waiting chairs. No COVER on the chairs, in the dining room, while customers are eating. I sit and wait for the lady with the baby to finish up poop duty in the waiting area and go up to pay my bill. I WANT OUT… IMMEDIATELY.
When I reach the counter a younger male server sees me and continues to use his smartphone. Fine, I reach over the counter, retrieve my bill, pay it, and leave.
I hope they enjoy the $ 0.24 tip or whatever it was because I’m NEVER eating there again.

I was just here recently, and I must say the service was very good. The staff here is very friendly and it gave me a chance to practice my broken Vietnamese, plus the people here are very understanding and help me pronounce the language.
The food is actually very good; I got the beef and noodle soup with the vegetable spring rolls and the Vietnamese coffee– which was gooood! The coconut juice was very refreshing.
I will definitely be back even if it is only to practice my broken Vietnamese.

The exterior of the building is quite inviting, and stands apart from the run down strip at Markham and Lawrence N.E. That exterior is deceptive…
I had a quick lunch of phở with beef. The service was a bit slow although the place was quiet at 2 PM, and the ambience was gloomy, dull, and somewhat clubby (servers and cooks chatting at one table, saying hello to regulars etc.)
The rare beef ordered in phở was quickly cooked by the broth and somewhat tough. Not the best quality beef, nor was the broth very good; probably too much water, or short on pork bones.
Service was a bit slow, but staff was taking an extended break when I was there. Considering the large empty room, and laid back atmosphere, I didn’t expect fast service here. Even the attitude was expected and accepted.
In short, it was OK for a shopper’s lunch, but they could do a lot more with what they have here.

Good service and good food. Authentic vietnamese food, not chinese as other reviewer said.

Phở Dau Bo self proclaimed «The Most Famous Vietnamese Noodle Soup» does sounded a little cheesy… But being «Famous» not necessary being «Best’?
There are apparently 7 others location most of them in the west Hamilton, Kitchener, Brampton, Mississauga and North York. This location is the only one that in the East end of Toronto…
The decoration is simple and a little run down. But the place is spacious and you will not have to wait for a table ever. I really doubt that!
Raw Beef with Tripes Medium ($ 5.95)
— Quite a good size for medium
— Broth is hot and steamy. perfect for the cold weather. taste wise it is A-​OK
— Noodles is the dried package type… not too badly cook. does not have that funny taste
— Raw Beef is really not raw… like really cook and tough, chewy and dry
Spring Rolls ($ 3.75)
— I almost want to laugh when they said their spring rolls are «The Most Famous Spring Rolls!»
— The oil they were deep fried in were stale that’s why they turns out to be brownish instead of golden in colour
— The wrapping they use for the spring rolls are the Vietnamese type but the Chinese type… hmmmm
Most of the waitstaffs here are Mandarin speaking Chinese… Efficient, Fast and Get the Job Done… Standard in most of the Chinese restaurant.
The menu here is not totally Vietnamese food, there are quite a bit of Cantonese fare too…
I probably won’t be back as there are a lot others Phở joint that serve up much better Phở and spring rolls!
Cash Only!