Hanoi Restaurant in Toronto
1285 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6K 1L6, Canada
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I really wanted to like this place and gave it two tries with the pho and bun rieu, but both times the soup was so salty I couldn’t even finish it. I’ve had pho all my life and never encountered a bowl that bad. Unfortunately that was the case with this spot. I love the homey decor and the hole in the wall vibe, but the food was really just bad. I don’t mind bad service with places like this either but what did it for me was the fact that a service charge was secretly added into the bill without any mention. And it’s funny that the owner ignores you when you’re there but is suddenly super friendly and asks how you are the moment you are about to pay the bill. Maybe this spot is better for Vietnamese, who knows, but it’s a big shame..
Had the Pork Bahn Mi and it was very good. The baguette was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the pate was umami rich and the pickled vegetables were good. For $7.50 you won’t find a better Bahn Mi in Toronto.
Went there a while back. The owner is a sweet old man. Had an amazing time dining in. The man has stories to tell. I have never seen so many statues of Buddha (& friends) in a restaurant before and somehow it gives great vibes. You’d forget you’re in Toronto. Bahn Mi is too good for how cheap it is. The bread, the pickle, the viet ham, the veggies and the sauce are simply perfect. 10/10. p.s. oh one more thing, it’s northern Vietnamese food so you might find the noodle soup, I had Bun Reiu, to be ‘foreign’ compared to what you usually have but what a nice surprise. Basic but in the best way.
Food was good. The service was non-existent, but the prices are lower than average which offset. The reason for my one star is that they over charge at the til without explanation. My total didn't make sense to me and when I asked why they said there was gratuity added automatically without any prompt. When I asked to take it off they argued and wouldn't. It's illegal to force service charges or tips on customers without prior notice.
Booh! Worst Vietnamese coffee ever; made from a instant pack, I could have made that at home in 30 seconds. Also, I ordered a rice bowl with shredded pork and I got a bowl with sliced pork skin. When I told the person this is not what I ordered he said yes, showing me the menu. The menu says shredded pork. Obviously there's some translation problems in their menu and they don't want to acknowledge it. When it was time to paid he included the tip without asking me how much I wanted to give. Not cool...
Most Vietnamese places in the West are Southern (Saigon/HCMC) based. This is a rare Northern Vietnamese variety and thus has specialties you won't find elsewhere. The front of the store is all locked up with grilled bars and messages like "Keep Out !!!" and then when you enter, it feels like some hoarder's bedroom with hundreds of shrines, incense sticks, cardboard boxes etc. You feel like running away immediately, but resist that urge. The food here tastes EXACTLY the same as street-food in Hanoi. Don't order Pho or Banh Mi. Order regional specialties of the North - like Bun Cha (grilled meat with green papaya), Bun Reiu (Crab Roe noodles) or Cha Ca (Grilled Fish with herbs). I also got some green-rice sweets to-go. This is the REAL DEAL. I don't know what's going on with the restaurant, but please support their business. I would hate to see authentic places like these close down and be replaced with generic corporate-pho places.
my most favourite vietnamese restaurant in toronto. really vietnam vibe. lovely northern cuisine & lovely owner aka the chef. highly recommend fried rice (cơm chiên dương châu) and steamed rolled rice pancake (bánh cuốn)
The food is fresh and delicious here. I’ve had the banh mis, the bun, and the bun rieu. The baguettes they use are perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Salty pate that compliments the rest perfectly. Fresh veggies in the bun, delicious broth in the bun rieu. Gotta try the pho next. The cat is adorable and the Buddhist shrines are a bit extra but compliments the authenticity of the place. the only thing is the service is hella slow but it’s two elderly Viet guys running the show and the cheap eats and quality of the food makes up for it.
Nice cat
Called and placed an order. They told me 15mins. Came in 40mins later. Told me they didn t make it. I left.
Great service and incredible menu! Lots of veggie options!
Best Banh Mi in the city
The Bahn Mi are so good, and the owner is such an amazing guy. Love this spot.
Ive frequented Vietnamese restaurants all my life (am Asian) and have eaten in Vietnam. This was by far the worst Viet restaurant - nay, the worst restaurant ever if you can even call it that. Banh Mi should not have regular grocery store deli meat. Pho was disgusting with THICK slabs of half-overcooked half-raw meat (should be sliced thin and raw to let the soup cook it). The place looked so untidy and hoarder-like that I was wary of how much care they took of food safety. Service was abhorrent as they scowled at every simple request and refused to give the customers at the next table over back their change. Insane why anyone would give them a good review. Everything was inedible, bland or too salty, overcooked with old grease, that I wouldnt even eat it if it was free. Are all the other reviews fake or just from people that have never had Vietnamese? Also forces a 15% tip which is criminal.
We ve passed this little hidden place several times and finally walked in for the time this month. It s quite conspicuous from the outside as the glass is all barred up with metal and besides a board sign that sits outside the door, you don t really get a sense it s a restaurant. It appears more like a pawn shop from the outside. Walking into the restaurant, you are welcomed, first, by a strong scent of incense. The owner/chef is sitting on his gaming chair (a very comfy one at that) with a large flat-screen blasting the local Vietnamese news. He pours himself a cup of tea from a traditional mini clay tea pot and in an instant, you are transported back to perhaps an extended relatives home in VN. Over 35% of the interior is made up of statues of buddhas and structures for traditional offerings. The restaurant doubles as a manufacturing facility for their Vietnamese rice cake business - offering banana/pandan flavoured cakes, mung bean cakes, and the like, which are packed and packaged for delivery on site. If you peer into the restaurant from the outer window, you will see the cakes for purchase on display. The toilet is in the back near the kitchen, where you navigate boxes of cakes being packed, a mini toaster oven on a trolley (used for making their bahn mi (Vietnamese subs), and past the cash register and a large deep freezer to arrive at your destination. Inside, the bathroom doubles as a furnace room and storage room of boxes - old cat litter boxes and grocery boxes (emptied) The service is welcoming and you get what you need. But don t expect anyone asking you how your food was. We saw 3 different men come into the store. 2 of which never smile, while the other definitely does more of the servicing. One of them grunted at me when I began my journey/scavenger hunt to find the toilet and almost went to the basement to signal I was starting on the wrong path. Food is made to order and comes out on plastic plates and bowls with traditional East Asian patterns. The mint is likely homegrown - the leaves are huge! Food is homemade and something out of the kitchen of a home cook rather than a chef. Don t expect fancy but you will get all the traditional ingredients one might expect from a Vietnamese meal! Water is served in plastic milkshake cups and are starting to brown. Likely due to the longevity of them being at the store/restaurant. The walls are decked in paintings (wherever it fits) and handmade signs for product offerings written in Vietnamese. It s everywhere so you ll have to play some Where is Waldo with your Google Translate app if you can t read VN. If you re looking for a zero frills experience and just want to fill your tummy with some sustenance while being transported back in time, check it out and dine in. If you just want some flavourful food, maybe do take out. (Note: the quality of the rice noodles I had were ok. It was boiled but overcooked so almost mushy and the rice starch was not washed out.) Payment: while not advertised, an automatic 15% is added to your bill. I believe this applies to takeout orders too, but I m unclear. Wheelchair accessibility: They use a trolley for their delivery so it s decent. The entry way is flat from what I remember. But the toilet is not accessible. You would not be able to go to the toilet unless the restaurant did some clearing of the path to the toilet.
Extremely filling topping with a filling bowl of pho, this is a restaurant with an extremely filling amount of food compared to the price. I paid $14+ tax for a bowl of special pho and felt like this was the cheapest and most valuable bowl of pho Ive ever eaten. However, the salty broth will taste better if the saltiness is reduced by 20%. It has a southern pho flavor but the broth lacks sweetness and lightness so it is not harmonious, and if there is basil it will be much more delicious. Hopefully the owner will fix it to make it even more delicious. Will come back to try other dishes. Plus points: Cheap, lots of meat Minus point: Salty
The Banh Mi was soooo delicious! The one staffer who took my order was so kind. Im not from the area but Ill definitely go back! Food : 5/5
Might just be the best Banh Mi I ve had in Toronto
Heres some things you should look for in an Vietnamese restaurant: - A few Google reviews that complain about the service - Smell of incense - Owned by an older couple that speaks broken English - Decor that hasnt been updated since the late 90s - Shrines everywhere that dont serve any real purpose - Visible colouring on old white signs and menus, bonus: If they used tape to cover up the old prices and wrote in new prices, instead of printing new menus This place has all of that and more! Its one of the older restaurants in that part of Parkdale. Dates back to the 90s when the area had a lot more Vietnamese owned businesses. My recommendation: Pho beef Sot Vang. Its a Northern Vietnamese dish (from Hanoi) where the beef is marinated in red wine. Do not take dates here until youve confirmed theyre long term material. If youve been seeing someone for only like 2 weeks, take them to one of those pho places downtown where you are charged $23 for a large bowl.
THIS. I was craving banh-mi so came and ordered. I didn t expect much. But I was amazed: the temperature warm and comfortable all throughout, the bread crispy on out and soft within(and not too chewy or stale!!), the carrots so so complimentary to the meat fillings within . Wow I just enjoyed every bite of it, and it was better than I could ever expect. And the portion size was generous not even one flaw, I m just so so satisfied. The pho was also good as well, I liked the flavour of soup!
The place, people and food are amazing. We will be back again.
Walked in there on a Saturday and place was deserted. I had to get the waiters attention and Im the only customer in the place. Theres a menu plus prices for other dishes on the wall. I wanted to try the Ban Mi but no english description of what is in it. Decided to try the spring rolls. They were ok but a little oilier than I prefer. Prices are ok. Owner needs to spruce up the place a bit to attract more customers. Strong incense smell was a bit off-putting.
I love the bun cha here!
Excellent value and service. Sweetened lemonade (made fresh) just a bit too sweet for my taste - I watered it down a bit and it was perfect. Shrimp spring rolls (cold) were large and well stuffed (and not with lettuce, yuck). 2 in one order. And the classic bahn mi sandwich - so good. If you are near the Parkdale library, good place to go for lunch.
Food is delicious and the owners are lovely!
Real
This is my favourite spot to eat in Little Tibet. The owner is very kind and willing to help you to the best of his ability. It has a lot of charm and the food is wonderful. It is not a gentrified spot and it feels both authentic to Parkdale and its roots, and authentic to their Vietnamese culture. I have yet to be disappointed by a single dish on their menu.
DO NOT GO HERE. So expensive and the food is horrible and it doesn t feel sanitary. I paid so much money and couldn t eat it. Wish I listened to the bad reviews on here.
Broth is salty and the owner does not know how to operate his credit card machine. One of the orders was also taken incorrectly
Great place, great atmosphere, food is delicious (and plentiful), prices are fantastic. Been living here 10 years and thought it was a storefront, not too much seating, feels like a real hidden gem.
Place looks like some of the old classic Parkdale, with the prices of the new. Theres a ton of other pho places that are much better, at a much easier to stomach price point.
My heart melted when I came in today. Reminded me when I visited Vietnam a couple years back. Such yummy pho and the best service!
Good food and fair prices. Table tops are dirty and the washroom smells.
The Banh mi was next level and the owner is incredibly sweet. Will be back!
The atmosphere with the smell of incense is very nostalgic; great place to grab a cheap and tasty bite to go.
lovely hole in the wall! food was soooo good but definitely a longer wait time to get to your table. if you dont mind then definitely give it a go!
Spectacular pho d accord biet. Hidden gem.
Basic but tasty pho in a basic and quirky restaurant. Bring cash!
The couple that owns the restaurant are very nice and the food is very good and well priced! Theres so many pretty statues in the place its very homey c:
My girlfriend and I love this place. Don t come here expecting incredible service or incredible English. Come for a laid-back, quirky and authentic experience with delicious Vietnamese food.
Just a lovely place
This is how the place looks and u can decide to come or not. Food is eatable but Im obsessed ab hygiene.
A little scared place but I understand that How come they still have business. Amazing taste.
Im giving this place a high review because it touches a nostalgic memory of a time past, despite some obviously glaring issues. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon to a small family operation struggling to keep up with the customer demand. The service was slow (several tables got up and left after not being greeted/given menus/given tea) but they were obviously trying hard. The cook would run back and forth delivering orders, but the waiter was obviously confused/frazzled.
Half restaurant half shop
I love this little hole in the wall so much.
