Pho Xe Lua Vietnamese Restaurant in North York

Still our go-to place for Pho.

I have been to many shops, and this shop has good taste and great service. As soon as I got my job as a waiter, he poured steaming tea for me to drink. Today, when it was ten degrees below zero, I drank tea and my body warmed and my heart warmed. I hope the boss s business is prosperous.

Great pho at a very good price !

Hands down the best pho in the area. The soup is just so delicious unlike other broth out there.

Great food

Yummy

The beef pho is really good!

This place tried to pass off Vietnamese food but it is anything but.... I have never had a fresh roll with no red mint vermicelli and just lettuce shrimp and the wrong noodles in my entire life. I ordered the bun thit nuong or what they think is that dish. It was made with the wrong noodles, fish sauce was flavorless, meal was flavorless. Items missing vermicelli, bean sprouts cucumber, carrots, mint, tia to, kinh goi, scallions, crushed peanuts. Items provided the wrong type of noodle, some disgusting beef, nasty shrimp on sugar cane (dont know how you messed that up and this restaurants favorite Viet topping cause I guess mint and herbs are too expensive lettuce. Im not even Viet but I could come show you how this is done for the future.

Good food

Eat well

Great food and very friendly.staff. very good prices as well.

The waiter does not accept coins but shameless to ask tips

Love the staff. Always consistent food.

Overall good value - good portions and lower prices than other places. Cleanliness may be a bit questionable but its like that at most pho places. Have only ordered pho here so cant comment on the other dishes.

The owners originally had their store at Woodside Square (McCowan and Finch). I went to this original store when I was in highschool. Years later; now with kids, I went to this restaurant and it was the same owners! To my surprise, they recognized me! I come here often with my family for the relationship. The food is nostalgic.

i love the com tam and pho here!! its so litty!!!!!!!

Pho Xe Lua is a gem of a Vietnamese restaurant that exceeds all expectations. From the moment we arrived, the warm atmosphere and friendly staff made us feel right at home. The food was simply outstanding each dish bursting with authentic flavors that transported us to Vietnam itself. Dont miss their signature pho and spring rolls; they are absolutely divine! A definite must-visit for anyone craving delicious Vietnamese cuisine in a welcoming setting.

The environment is very good, Pho is one of the best in the area

I hate to give negative reviews, but unfortunately, we found a spider in the shrimp fresh rolls in the takeout that we just picked up. We took a bite, and when we pulled away we saw it. It was gross, and now I am worried about eating anything else in the order.

Food was good with quite a good serving of toppings Servers were friendly and helpful. Food : 5/5

Came here last week... Food was good like always, and service was nice and friendly. Food : 5/5

I ordered from uber eats and there was no bean sprout included from the pho. They also advertised free mango shake for orders more than $20 but never received any.

Food was really good

No bueno. Broth lacks flavour and noodles are always overcooked.

Havent come here as much as the Bayview location, but the quality among both is similarly good. Recommend the brisket pho bowl.

Hits the spot on a cold Toronto day. Their pho broth is one of the best in the biz. Theres a few Xe Luas in the GTA and taste among them is fairly consistent. Just wished the broths temperature when served is a little hotter as it gets lukewarm quickly and the rare beef doesnt get cooked properly. Price is reasonable and selection varied. Menus been updated. Ample seating for about 60 people. Service is fast but aloof. Decent English spoken by the servers. Parking is free but can be nutty during peak times.

Worst Vietnamese food ever! Don t eat here! I ordered the vermicelli and the he spring roll was so dry and disgusting!

Noodles came with free real estate advice.

Ive always loved Pho Xe Lua! Used to visit their Woodside location all the time and Im happy that theyre still open at other locations across the GTA. Tried this location and its as delicious as always! The pho is so heartwarming and the broth is delicious. I love the noodles and the beef is so good! I usually get a small and its super filling for me. :) Ive also tried the vermicelli bowls which are delicious as well. For sides definitely try the chicken wings, crispy spring rolls, and mango milkshake, those are my favourite! Very well priced compared to some of the other newer pho restaurants out there. The staff are friendly as well. Definitely will keep coming back!

Best pho I ve had in a while, broth was very flavourful. Service was also great, will definitely be coming back!

I ordered this from UberEat tonight and the food sucks! COMPLETELY NOT VIETNAMESE FOOD! So disappointed! We ordered lemongrass chicken with rice! Very FUNNY , no lemongrass flavor at all, just a bunch of rice, the chicken is so dried and blend. And the other dish, deep fried spring roll, so dried, I don t know what the stuffing is. Another funny dish, vermicelli, IS THIS RICE NOODLE? For real? DONT go to this fake Vietnamese restaurant or order anything for take away/delivery

Awsome owner

I d have to say, the servers here are incredibly nice!! they make the atmosphere of the restaurant welcoming and friendly which I find very pleasing. I found that the food there is always made fresh, rich and delicious!! Reminds me of my mother s recipe for pho and to be quite honest, that s something that s not done easily. I ve recommended this restaurant to my fellow family members as well and now we usually go here for dinners occasionally!!! definitely a family friendly restaurant, would 100% return again.

good food at this restaurant!!

The broth was rich and flavorful, noodles perfectly cooked, and they had generous portions too. Friendly staff and cozy ambiance

I absolutely love coming here when I have Vietnamese craving! Their pho really hits the spot and the staff are so kind!! Been coming here for yeaaars with my family and I would highly recommend!!

me and my friends went recently and it was great! fast service and the servers were very welcoming! will come again

Pho xe Lua has done better in the past. Now at this Finch and Leslie location theyve got waitress chasing you down for tips demanding for a 10% and declaring that it is MANDATORY started by the government. Lady you guys gave my friend and I zero service (ask for napkins ignore and bring slowly, asked for extra small bowl, they bring the food onto the table with the small bowl sitting on the cart and then wheels away)....with an attitude and poker face starring at you whenever something asked for. Tipping is never stated mandatory like the way she tried to harrass me for,and it is based on your excellent service, Ive tipped 15%,20% for awesome and welcoming dining experiences but definitely not at this pho xe Lua! Side note, the waitress was very upset and started to mumble something after I told her Im not paying by cash. Lets talk about food now, fried wontons looked refried more than once, pho noodles are not vermicelli as I requested,soup is dehydrating after eating(msg).truely a disappointment for the food and the service! Never coming back to this location again. Id rather travel to Woodside if I really wanted some pho xe lua

The food is decent (4/5) Some items are too salty The servers are rude. One lady are explicitly asking for MORE tips.... They said the government mandated 10% tips... I am like WTFF!!!!

Tasty food, good attention, well located.

My new favourite pho restaurant!

Updated with an added star. Pho is tasty, service is friendly, we keep eating and almost forgotten to take photos.

My experience at this place was not pleasant. The food I received was different from what I ordered, and when I questioned it, the waitress told me that the chef had made a substitution because they had run out of the original dish. However, they did not inform me beforehand or when the dish was served, and the substitution was a meat dish, which I did not appreciate. They were not sorry about it and claimed that it was a normal practice. Dont you think its common knowledge to inform the customer if something is not available and what they would like instead, instead of giving them an entirely different meat? Additionally, the food tasted terrible and was extremely salty.

Love this restaurant. The noodles are just perfect for your bowl of pho. The rice noodles have a thickness that give it a nice bounciness when you chew on them. The portion sizes are substantial and the food is served quickly. I will be back again.

They take tip without informing the customer (forced) and do not treat well. The level of food is medium

Food was filling and portions were decent for the price. Atmosphere would be good except for the lone fish, which appears to be an Asian arowana, in the otherwise empty tank at the front. No decorations, no lights, no other fish, no plants, no enrichment. Just one large sad guy swimming back and forth until the end of its life. Tank also seems very small given the size of the fish. Please improve its living conditions. Thank you. Kid-friendliness: Sad fish at the front would make children sad if they could comprehend the loneliness of useless and endless monotony.

Pho quality was awesome.

This is a good Vietnamese restaurant. From the delicious pho to the crispy spring rolls, every dish is bursting with flavor. The service is attentive and the atmosphere is cozy. Dont miss out on their mango smoothie - its a perfect way to end the meal. Highly recommend!

A staple in Toronto Vietnamese food.

Very poor service, food is overpriced and poor quality.

They forgot my nuoc mam for Chao Tom, if they even know what nuoc mam is..... -_-

The taste was beyond the expectations

One of my favourite spots for a delicious bowl of noodles, their soup base is one of the best. Service is quick and friendly, price is good for 2 people.

If I can only give 0 star . I was surprised when I got my order. Shredded chicken was obviously uncooked , the crispy wontons I ordered was terrible I wish I took a photo before I threw it out . Poor quality never again

Food is ok, not great. Some tasted bland, some tasted like chemicals. Washroom disgustingly dirty. Service not good.

Service is awful. The restaurant owner is rude and arrogant.They prepared wrong meals, but didnt apologize, and they even acted as if it was the customer who made the mistake, not themselves.

Small spot in North York . The Pho was tasty . The noodles were very good . I would definitely eat there again .

Okay food, the noodles were stuck together (had XL Pho). The mango salad was okay, would not recommend the fried wonton, pho was kinda salty, and the rice dishes were okay.

Old lady who served us had very bad attitude and ruined our dinner completely. The meals were the worst pho/vermicelli I ever tried in GTA. Not recommend for anyone.

Pho is what you expect. Servings are large.

What can I say about this store? From school to work. My friends and I love eating lol, it s really affordable and delicious! Recommend 101 (Locomotive is particularly popular, everyone loves it ) and curry beef rice (personal favorite, with some private goods)

Ordered from UberEats where it had a 4.6 rating but believe me, it is FAR from it. Broth is just straight MSG, noodles are not whats supposed to be used for pho, and the food was cold upon arrival. Avocado shake was 90% ice with nearly no avocado taste. This franchise is by far the worst out of all the pho restaurants out there. Ate here as a kid and it was bad - sad to see nothing has changed. High do not recommend anyone to eat here. There are more than enough options in the area.

I normally dont write reviews like this but I had a very disappointing experience as the staff did not take my food allergies seriously. I ordered a vermicelli and specifically wrote down no peanuts on the order paper and told the server that I have a nut allergy so please do not include peanuts on my dish. The server acknowledged my request and took my order in. However when the food came out there were peanuts all over my dish. When I told the second server (who brought out the dish) the first response was, did you tell them when you ordered? No apology or acknowledgment of the mistake. They took the dish back and apparently the first server misunderstood and thought I said no beansprouts. She had never mentioned beansprouts when she was with us and we repeated multiple times that it was a nut/peanut allergy. Plus this was written on the order paper. When the dish came back out there were still no beansprouts (which was odd if they remade the dish as it normally has beansprouts) so after careful examination of the dish we found a peanut still inside. It was as if they just took the peanuts off, rinsed the ingredients and sent it back out. The most frustrating part of the experience was the response of the staff. They seemed annoyed with the number of times we sent back the dish and never apologized. They did not seem to understand the severity of the situation. If they were very busy I could understand an honest mistake but there was at most 1-2 other parties and the restaurant was very empty. To say i was disappointed is an understatment. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant, especially to those who have allergies. Dietary restrictions: They did not take my peanut allergy seriously and I was very disappointed with their response and lack of care

It is very nice clean restaurant. We enjoy the food and beef noodle soup. We will back to enjoy the food again definitely.

niiiice

Ordered Uber eats delivery. Over rated on the App. Absolutely tasteless food.

Horrible taste. Do not recommend

A hidden gem for pho lovers, this restaurant combines aromatic broths, fresh ingredients, and friendly service for an authentic Vietnamese dining experience

Big portions, good food, great price! I would come again and the restaurant was very clean. Amazing restaurant overall.

I gave it a one star because the food is actually pretty decent but there is this one waitress that absolutely disregards the whole aspect of good customer service. She is one of the younger waitresses, probably in her early to mid 30s. Ive gone to the restaurant on multiple occasions, both dine in and pick up, and every time she refuses to say hi or even acknowledge my presence.

Great taste and plenty of portion! If you don t have a large appetite, you can order a super-large bowl and share it between two people, which is just right and saves money!

Pho is mediocre at best, everything else is very bad. I only go here as a last resort if everything else is closed

I ordered from Uber Eats. so bad and disappointing

This place sucks People are really rude and bad service and I found hair from soup one day but they didn t even apologize and i didn t wanna pay tips and they forced me to pay tips 10%. I said the service was too bad and rude. And she said don t come next time Not even a single star is worth

Ordered delivery in uber, and the food was not we expected. The bbq chicken with fried rice and egg have no taste, and the pho broth was not seasoned enough. The free mango smoothie, tasted like a mango in a can. Won t be ordering in this place again. I could have make better food at home.

Great tasty pho and sides. Fast service and reasonable prices ! Bonus is they serve fresh rice noodle instead of the dry kind.

Tastes good

Real bad customer service. The server was extremely rude. They even came to me and asked why i didnt put any tip. They dont deserve any tip from me.

Fast service good soup

I had already paid after eating, but when I looked back later, it was different from my order, so I looked at it and found that they had received the bill from another table. So I got the rest of the money I paid back, but I didnt get the tip I had already given back. I thought the owner should have asked me what to do with the tip, but he didnt ask and just said he was sorry for changing the bill.

Its a shame that one star as as low as I can go. At least the one good thing was the steamed egg. However, the shrimp and all fried foods clearly reused the same oil. It was so salty that its making me salty writing this review. The deep fried octopus is so salty that I puked in the washroom. I am sorry for all the shrimps that died to make the rice noodle roll. For there was not enough shrimp to redeem this restaurant. It had very few shrimps. The waitresses were not very helpful and were only friendly once we tipped

Pho Xe Lua used to be my go-to pho restaurant before COVID. But their price has increased much while the service has dropped quite a lot recently. My latest visit was quite awful. I used to pay with credit card without any issue. But in my latest visit, I was charged $1 of credit card fee without even letting me know.

I ordered two items on Ubereat and left notes saying no coriander. Found out so much coriander in my food. I ordered cold coffee with condensed milk but I got black coffee only. Quite disappointed because a couple of my friends recommended this restaurant to me. If the owner see this comment here, please read the orders carefully.

As a pho lover having visited many other Vietnamese restaurant, I have to say my experience here was not impressive. Went in for a quick lunch, but had to wait over 20 minutes for my bowl of beef pho soup even though I was the only dine-in customer. The beef was decent but soup was very salty. Price was bit high and there was service charge added without letting me know. A bowl of beef soup with tips cost $20, which was way above the average in Toronto. Not going back for sure.

Order took a long time to arrive. Table beside us for their food first after coming in after us.

If you order the pho you won t get any sauce or bean sprouts and lime. Also, if you order spring rolls, you will experience burnt food. Enjoy it :)

Can t serve a bowl of pho in 30 mins.

Good Vietnamese food, good value, will go back again for sure

Portions are too small especially for vietnamese food, waiters are rude. Tables are dirty! Save your money

Ordered pineapple chicken fried rice , took me about 30 mins to wait , turned out it tasted so yucky that I cant even take the second bite. I just want the owner of the restaurant will review the quality of the foods before they are served to customers. I ordered Zuos fried rice with pineapple and chicken. I ordered Zuo to wait for half an hour before Zuo arrived. After Zuos meal, I thought it would be a good meal. However, after I finished eating, I felt nauseated. I would rather have a plate of rice than anything else. I hope the person in charge will review the quality.

Pretty good food overall! Not the cleanest(?) atmosphere but decent quality food + super friendly staff :) Unfortunately, its not as cheap like it used to be (nowadays its ~$50 for 2-3 people) and the food has gotten quite salty (last time we visited)... but otherwise great!

Tasty food

Its not authentic vietnamese food, food is okay. But they should not have had the vietnamese signs. This is not Viet food at all. It seems like the owner doesnt care at all. Even the food displayed is really just blah. Picture taken is how the food was brought to me. I was like are you kidding me? They just dont care anymore.

This is probably one of the worst Vietnamese restaurant I have been to. No need to waste your time to try here, and for others who eat here regularly just know that this is not how Vietnamese food taste like

Fantastic Vietnamese cuisine

This restaurant is a staple in my family, we go together or I go on my own almost weekly. The pho is reliable and comes to the table within minutes of ordering. Its also insanely delicious. I dont know what theyre doing to the iced coffee with condensed milk (009) but it is addictive. Spring rolls (601) and chicken skewers (612) are great appetizers. Highly, highly recommend.

Very slow, and rude service.

My all time favorite for Vietnamese pho. Great taste and inexpensive. This location is the best. We tried the one in Richmond Hill, not as good as this location.

Kid-friendliness: If you ask theyll bring forks and small bowls for your kids.

Ok

Prices gone up a lot, portions still the same. Food is mediocre as well.

Ive been there a few times. The previous time I went there, it might have been closed and the attitude was very bad. But if it was closed, you could tell us and we didnt have to eat. Their Vietnamese noodles may not be authentic, but the taste is still good, the soup is delicious, and the noodles are just average. And they don t recommend trying anything else except powder. Those snacks and salads are not delicious, and the value for money of the snacks is very low. For powder, it s normal, big, extra big bowl. You can choose according to your appetite. In terms of price, a bowl of noodles is less than 20 yuan after tax. Still a restaurant worth trying

That was a horrible experience that I have seen. And for me, it would say goodbye this restaurant forever.

For a no-frills restaurant, it has good portion and quick service at decent prices especially given the inflation these days. Great value.

Best Pho!

Great taste of Pho

Had to change my review after 5 years from my initial review. The food quality and taste has gone down hill, looks like the management changed.

Best vermicelli I have so far. It was so delicious that me and my wife actually fight for it since we order one of them only though quantity was good enough for both of us to have. I would highly recommend people to try their vermicelli at least once. Pho was better than expected as well.

The worst Pho Ive eaten. The beef is dried, a lot of noodle, the soup has no cinnamon and beef bone smell (they only put salt and a lot of MSG). I know they are not Viet, but at least they should put some passion on their food. Pho is the basic dish when you open a Viet restaurant.

Bad service and bad food. I strongly not recommend to go.

The worst pho I ve ever had. I ordered noodle with satay beef soup. The beef was not fresh, and the soup was wired. It not looked like the picture at all. Not recommended.

My experience was from a long time ago, but as good as the curry was because of that experience I dont know if I will ever go back. I have a pretty low bar for customer service but they were werent just rude, the woman who served me was mean. I wasnt bothering anybody for causing trouble, just buying food. Also there was hair in the food.

I got 312 lemon grass chicken with spring roll. The owners seem nice but I am sorry to say it s probably the worse Vietnamese restaurant that I had been to for the past 10 years food quality wise.

The pho broth was not as flavourful as what I am used to. However, it did come in a very convenient soup bowl. The pho came with the actual herbs that go with pho, and to my surprise a fresh chilli pepper. Vermicelli with spring roll, BBQ pork and meat balls came with very pale romaine lettuce only. No other herbs. The whole take out order was very well packaged and nothing spilled being delivered to me. The durian milkshake was good, but they forgot to pack my Vietnamese coffee. Maybe I will get to try it next time.

This is the first restaurant I visited when I first come to Toronto. And now it s one of my top 5 Restaurants! Love the food and customer service is great. The manager did a very good job at handling and managing not just the food but Customer Service and clean and tidy restaurant also!

This will be the first and last order I will make from here. The man was nice, but this is the WORST looking and tasting vermicelli bowl Ive had in my entire life. I only asked to omit cucumbers, but there is hardly any meat, no pickled carrots, no green onions, no mint, and no crushed peanuts. The meat is extremely salty, and this is not the thin vermicelli noodles but more appropriate for bun bo hue. Fish sauce was only half filled and is tasteless. In the garbage it goes.

I recently revisit this restaurant after Toronto open up for dinning inside. I have to reduce my rate to 3 Stars. The flavor of the soup is pretty plain compared to what I remembered before. The amount of meat is also less than before.

This was one of the worst Vietnamese lunches I ve ever encountered and I love Bun and have had it all over the city. The spring rolls we re crispy on the outside but they were so chewy and dry on the inside that they were virtually inedible. There was no vermicelli in sight. It was made with spaghetti and the texture was disgusting. The barbecued pork was nondescript and boring. I also ordered the deep-fried calamari. There was some kind of powdery dry substance on the outside of the calamari that was very unpleasant and it was extremely tough and chewy. I ate one piece and threw the rest out. I will never return to this restaurant.

Pho bo kho (207) was done well here, good brisket and carrot portion that was tender and not overcooked. Soup was near perfect, not as good as when its best made at yonge and steeles location but still very good. Will come back to try curry brisket next time.

Ordered pho and spring rolls. Both of them were VERY flavourless.

The noodles were blown.

My wife love their dumpling and hot sauce. Clean environment thou and friendly staff

A Vietnamese lunch is always great to warm up the body from the cold Canadian weather. Always fresh and tasty. Service was good and fast as always here. We had Pho (raw beef, flank brisket and tripe) and a vermicelli bowl (BBQ chicken & spring roll). We were very happy everything and will come back again...

Good, but not great. Soup a bit less flavourful in my opinion, bean sprouts are on the older side. Still left full and satisfied, but wish meat portions were more generous.

I had diarrhea immediately after eating it the next day. Simply speechless

Ordered at this place on uber eats and got a very sad looking container of vermicelli. The portion size is way too small. I can tell they cut up my spring roll and took one of the pieces out since the cuts dont piece together to make a whole roll.

The milk powder makes it as thick as the cold skin, and its okay to just use chili oil in one bowl. There is no service to speak of and I am speechless with tips

They have a large variety of dishes. I like particularly their pork chop rice and minced shrimp on sugar cane.

best pho

havent change a bit since high school. love the food and service

Pretty average pho restaurant - not great, not terrible. Service is pretty slow though. At most restaurants, pho comes out quite quickly but even on a slow night, our two phos took a solid 10-15 minutes to arrive. They wheeled out bowls to different tables one by one, and they seemed to be coming out of the kitchen pretty slowly as well. Our bill also took a while to come and we couldnt seem to get anyones attention for the card machine.

The noodle of the pho is the flat one, not the usual thinner one you found in other pho restaurant.

Service soso

Bun bo Hue was very bad. Not authentic. Not recommended. Also ordered Bbq pork chop and chicken with rice. The bbq meats were so bland. No spice, no lemongrass etc (as authentic Vietnamese dish). Not recommended either. Also ordered special Pho. Not as bad as the above 2, but just ok. Just average. I am Vietnamese, and for the dishes I ordered as above, not recommended. I saw some positive reviews here, and I think they are mainly from non-Vietnamese people. For a Viet person, this place is not authentic, I think. I think it is more of a mixed of Viet and Chinese.

The place is a hit or miss with ingredients. Sometimes you get what you ask for and the quality is great. Other times, the order is completely wrong. Ive paid extra for ingredients only to receive my order without them and to also have ingredients missing that are supposed to be part of the initial item.

Best pho in the north york area 100%

Mind blowing shakes, definitely get the avocado one! Spring rolls were fresh and crispy. Pretty fast service!!

Great food, great service. He was really nice .

This place is Pho king amazing!

Plain pho was perfect and not too salty or MSG tasting. Their chili sauce is smokey, sweet and sneaks up on you spicy. Sprouts were very fresh!!!! Service was fast and super polite.

This is not true Vietnamese restaurant. This is the fake one.

decent pho place in north york area. i wasnt sure about this place at first, but it was not bad after trying the dish. also they close later than other pho place in the area. definitely will come back again.

A Chinese bought pho franchise location with employees who cannot speak vietnamese. All reviews claiming that the pho was good are unaware of what actual pho tastes like. The pho soup here tasted like salt water and MSG. Banh mi for curry was a day or two old and stale.

Pho soup tasted like water spring rolls ok to good I think. I was greeted in and out of restaurant.

A nice and clean little place for Pho.

Quick and friendly service. Clean tables. Always get the pho dac biet. Safe choice!

Very good food and very inexpensive.