Pho Dau Bo

I came here looking for phở dao Bo, to my surprise it had changed names! When I go for soup I always get the phở dac biet, which just means the special or an assortment of meats in your classic phở stock. I personally really enjoyed the food but the price was a little more expensive than I’m used to. And also bring cash, because you will have to pay an extra fee for credit or debit.

Maybe close to a 4 star but something is telling me only 3.5 stars. The phở was good overall but for some reason I think it is light on the meat and noodles. The sauce is a bit sweet. First time the service is okay. Place looks clean and calm. Would I try this place again. Perhaps.

I just went to this restaurant because i wanted some good thai food and this place was pretty close to the hotel. The exterior is nothing to brag about but the inside is clean and fairly nice. The menu is very large with a lot of choices. The owner helped us order because we weren’t sure what was good. I am not sure what was ordered as she made the suggestions, however everything that we had was great. The fried rice was tasty without being overly greasy, there was also a beef dish that had great flavor and the portions were so large that two of us eating it still left us with 2 take home boxes stuffed with food. If you very hungry get your own meal however it can very easily be split with plenty left over. The prices are very reasonable and the entire staff is very nice provided great service.

I’d say this place has been open for maybe a year or so? Most Vietnamese restaurants in the city are within this general vicinity but this one stands out because it’s a bright yellow building and still has a mural on the side when La Fiesta use to operate there.
The interior is clean and tidy but the décor is rather plain. It’s a family owned business, everyone is really nice and service is super fast. There’s a big menu here, everything from Vietnamese appetizers, phở, vermicelli bowls (bun), rice dishes, and yes, even Thai dishes (quite a few vegetarian Thai dishes too). Good portion sizes and prices are great, every dish is under $ 10 with most dishes between $ 7-​$ 8. I’d say this place tastes similar to home cooking — the flavours are there but they aren’t as intense in some of the dishes compared to other places. Nothing tasted too salty or greasy.
I always judge a Vietnamese place by their phở tai, rare beef sliced and cooked in the steaming hot rice noodle soup. The bowl came in a small $ 5.50, large $ 7.50 and x-​large $ 9.50. Here, a small, is really a medium, so you can imagine what the x-​large was like. I opted for the x-​large because I wanted to share and try other dishes too. My goodness, this mammoth sized bowl came out — I could’ve dunked my head in it! It’s a great deal if you’re hungry, but next time I’ll just get a small. There was a good amount of sliced beef, lots of medium sized rice noodles and the soup was good but a bit lighter in flavour that I am use to (I prefer more star anise), not my favourite in the city but nonetheless a delightful bowl of goodness.
The Vietnamese spring rolls were crunchy, delicious and not greasy. Also tried the appetizer dish where you wrap your own salad roll using rice paper, filling it with charbroiled pork, vermicelli noodles, and fresh herbs and vegetables. The charbroiled pork slices were so flavourful — one of my favs.
The chicken fried rice with vegetables ($ 7.75) was a little on the bland side. The last two dishes were from their Thai menu, the stir fried tofu with bamboo shoots ($ 7.75) is a good mild vegetarian dish, though not the most exciting dish. And the basil beef ($ 8.75) was good but I didn’t really taste any heat from this one, although I’m sure they could make it spicy if you asked.
The iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk was good, but what was even better was the Mango drink — tasted like a granita even though it wasn’t. Anyways, it’s a yummy drink that isn’t overly sweet… great for a dessert.
Massive food offerings, though I’d prefer to stay on the Vietnamese side, good portions, great prices and quick food service.
Note: they’re closed on Tuesday.