2508 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1L4, Canada
Vina Vietnamese Restaurant, a diverse native Vietnamese cookery with characteristic French savoir-faire – a fusing of woks and flames, Vina (meaning Vietnam) has been serving superb fine dining experiences for Vancouverites for more than two decades. The first North Shore outlet at 2508 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, British Columbia was established in the winter of 1980. Vina has since been adopted wholeheartedly by area residents and has expanded to four lower mainland Vina locations, which have been successful due to the quality and reasonable prices of the authentic food.
This is one of my favourite Vietnamese restaurants! My boyfriend and I come here frequently to enjoy top quality meals for lunch and dinner. We always get the delicious Spring Rolls and Imperial Prawns (off-menu now and part of Shrimp Sugar Cane Supreme). I’ve been meaning to try their desserts and a Chicken Pho but these two dishes are so good! The server there is lovely and I really like how little people there is, so it’s quiet and ambient. The seats are good and the cutlery is fancy. My only suggestion is to have one TV rather than three.
We were working nearby and thought that Vietnamese food is the budget option in the expensive neighbourhood. With a miner surprise. Everything is more expensive than most of Viet restaurants. Other than beef noodle soup $16.5; everything is around 20$ or up. Their beef noodle soup use higher quality of beef, which enhances the experience, the soup tastes sweet. The spring is $6 per roll and yes it is larger roll than most, but I found it too blend in the mouth feel as the stuffing lack flavors . All and all, they are above average in terms of flavours, pricey but can be justified by its location,
They do have parking and large space inside. I don’t usually do negative reviews and I usually try to find something positive to hone on but honestly this is just food court quality. Small portion, flavour for pho was like water with some powder and msg or something. The chicken wings.. we were told 4 full wings for $15… which is very expensive. After talking, not sure if they decided to change it after we wanted to clarify 4 wings for $15? That they gave us 6… it tasted like the ones you would get at superstore and bake. The water glasses were not the cleanest and scratched. I haven’t been so disappointed with pho in a while. Maybe even if the service was good then I can still say at least the atmosphere created was nice..
Love this place! The pho is delicious, but my favourite are the steamed rice crepes stuffed with pork and mushrooms. They gave me a hoisin sauce with this, but the fish sauce they have is bomb and a way better match. I want to go back and try the escargot.
I've passed by this place many a time, but finally got a chance to try it. The outside/entrance is kind of hidden behind trees. The interior was surprisingly nice: spacious and modern, and looked recently renovated. Unfortunately, I wasn't really wow'ed by the food -- the lunch vermicelli bowl is basically the same as what is served at the Vina food courts. Maybe I just chose a bad dish to start with, but it is what it is.
Conveniently located on Marine Dr. and 25th Street, West Vancouver, Vina Vietnamese Restaurant offers gourmet Vietnamese cuisines. Like going home for a simple delicious dinner made by Grandma, we had a bowl of beef noodles in soup after photography in Lower Caulfield not too far away, feeling so good and so satisfied. Service is attentive, atmosphere is homey, and parking is available at rear. I dined in Vina Vietnamese Restaurant again today, April 8, 2021. Due to the severe 3rd wave of Covid 19, which caused the provincial government to legally forbid restaurant’s dine-in, I was seated outside on the patio, enjoying the warmth from the shining sun and the lovely street views of Dundarave Village. Service is satisfactory and food is fantastic! A wonderful place to dine outdoors! Today, January 24th, 2022, I dined in Vina Vietnamese Restaurant for the third time. I would like to recommend their fried seafood cake in particular: seafood wrapped up with crispy egg crust. So aromatic and tasty!
Very attentive staff. Food was delicious. A little overpriced than what we're used to but service and quality was on point. Menu is mostly Vietnamese cuisine but do offer Asian dishes. Their hot sauce is homemade and amazing. Parking is in the rear and is wheel chair accesible.
Possibly my favorite restaurant, an old vancouver institution and a definite hidden gem. You’ll probably notice their name because of their food court locations, but it all started out in restaurants and the quality difference is noticeable. I’ve been coming here since I could remember, and it hasn’t changed a bit (except for the price lol) the food is just as good. The menu features a pretty wide range of Vietnamese food of all different price points, but the best value and what they’re probably know for are their Combinations. Combo A is my personal favourite! Sooo delicious. The amount of food for the price is definitely worth it. Another dish I enjoy is their escargot, it’s a little pricey but I find it very tasty in a city where it’s hard to find. Come here and try it. Make the trip. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.
I like it very much, the service is also good
You gotta try their lemongrass snails. They tear
A great spot with very reasonable prices and excellent food!
Very good food. Been going to this restaurant for 25 years. Always worth it
Stay away; downtown West Vancouver is less than 15 min away by transit, with far better options. The food was so bland I kept pouring fish sauce on everything, and the fish sauce tasted nothing like other Vietnamese sauces Ive had, such as n c ch m. Previous reviewers were totally right about the water glasses - not only did they look cloudy with scratches and chips, they also looked like they hadnt been washed well. Yet, one of our servers acted like we were the rude ones when we asked for cleaner glasses. The prices were consistent with a tourist trap.
There was only one other table of guests besides us during the meal today on Wednesday night. However, after asking, I found out that the main business here is the central kitchen. Most of the Vietnamese pho you usually see in the food court is theirs. Each portion of the meal is quite large, and the seasoning is also very authentic. This is a store I will visit again!
Food, cleanliness and service.
Food was under-seasoned, veggie combo was not great. The service was allright but the server was not very friendly. Great music tho!
Food was not tasty. Place is not very clean.
I travel for work, a lot and unfortunately have to eat out. So I get to try different food and restaurants. I say skip this restaurant for many reasons. 1) aroma of the restaurant was off-putting and smelt like a Vancouver back alley full of transients without a bathroom (stale urine) 2) The Phó was basic lacking any taste and quality ingredients 3) I have seen more ambiance in a prison cafeteria. 4) The server was leering over you and clearly had the social fortitude of a creeper 5) The papaya salad was missing a key ingredient for which the salad was named for. Just pass on this restaurant and spend your $$$ on some wet cardboard and a tree branch. If you think I am harsh, then ignore me and then respond later saying,You told me so! Parking: Thats the only thing that was nice. Parking lot was empty of customers so plenty of parking. 3 stalls occupied by staff.
We love coming to this restaurant in Dundarave after a day at the beach. Patio is rustic but the food and service is wonderful! Martha
Got pho, was mediocre and not the cheapest
The broth is MSG based and not a real broth. The portion of noodles is small but the meat was of good quality. The portion of spring rolls was generous but the fried shell was very tough and hard to chew. I works not come back to this restaurant.
the pho is the worst I tried in the city bad service and not friendly
Ordered Chicken Pho and it was very bland and not very good.
Still the same nice staff, very good food and reasonably priced.
Really good food and service.
The portion is small, pho noodle are not really good and only one server, but other food are ok Parking: Around 15 parking spaces at the rear of restaurant
Ok vietnamese food. Reminiscent of the food court stuff but maybe slightly nicer presentation. If you re craving it - it scratches the itch, but nothing remarkable.
The best Vietnamese restaurant I have ever eaten in North America, beef pho, chicken chop rice and squid rings are must-try!
This the worse wonton soup I ve ever had, it was salty and sooo oily. It s not even edible. I went here before to try pho and was disappointed as well. I went to try again and give it a second chance but I shouldn t have. I had Tummy ache afterwards
Great service. My wood was meh. My mother describe hers as in the top 3 worst meals shes ever had. Not sure why they are trying to do so many different things on their menu. Maybe you should try to get actually good at making one food before you start offering another type.
Food and service was amazing. Hope to go back soon
What a wonderful spot. The food was delicious, and I would definitely go back. Parking: Parking around the back of the building, but not much. Food : 5/5 |
Fried rice was soggy with hardly any chicken in it. Just small tiny bits. Threw away half of it Parking: It was off peak plenty of parking
As a Vietnamese person, it was a disappointment of food experience. Steamed crepes (banh cuon) were served with hoison sauce instead of fish sauce?! They dont even have basil for pho and other soups. In Vietnam you would be fined and jailed for this crime. Spicy beef noodle soup (bun bo Hue) was literally the same pho dish with a dollop of hot sauce. No Vietnamese ham (gio). Pho was mediocre, but bun bo Hue was all wrong. 2 stars because the banh cuon was good and the restaurant is clean.
I ordered bun bo hue (spicy beef noodle soup) but it was served with pho instead of bun (round, slippery noodles). No Vietnamese ham, no brisket. Soup was just regular pho soup with maybe half a teaspoon of spicy sauce/oil. The biggest crime of all: NO BASIL even when asked. Vietnamese resto with no basil tells you its not legit.
One of the original vietnamese restaurants in the lower mainland of Vancouver. Very nice service, food is consistent. Original taste. Wheelchair accessibility: Ground floor Large accessible washroom
Hidden gem in West Vancouver
At this price, the quality and portion of food are very good.
Worst Vietnamese restaurant I ve ever been to. Water glasses were dirty, table was dirty the food is tasteless, portions are small. We ordered the spicy noodles, the beef noodles, and the hot and sour soup. If you order the hot and sour soup expect very little vermicelli and tons of tasteless soup with 1 mushroom sliced in four pieces and 5 overcooked shrimps server was extremely rude, we asked if they had chili oil, he looked at us and left leaving us wondering if he heard us he did come back with some but answering would ve been nice we ask for something else and same behavior we were hungry and didn t know the area so we mistakenly chose this place we didn t think we couldn t go wrong with a Vietnamese restaurant but this experience was so disappointing !
Jan 22 Update - Used to be go-to Vietnamese restaurant, but bad experience this evening has finally put us off: drove 20 mins for take out - wrong food; drove back again for replacement and STILL wrong food when got home (tripe doesn t work for us). Decor has been refreshed since earlier review, by the way, but unfortunately won t be coming again. First Review: Good Vietnamese food, but decor is tired. Friendly service. Good pho. Way better than Vietnamese food under the same name at Park Royal!!
Very good food! We came here after skiing at Cypress, had take out on the beach around the corner. I love North Vancouver!
good menu selection nice ambience good tasting food
Good basic Vietnamese food, well presented and excellent service. Will revisit.
Always Great food, great service, good atmosphere
We came in this evening after driving by this place so many many times over the years. Tonight was one of those nights when I should have just ordered what my wife ordered. That is my secret to getting a good meal. Sometimes I choose the wrong thing. I had the Lamb curry. The meat was tough and that put a damper on the curry. My wife had the combo with crepes, spring rolls, grilled pork and prawn. It was so much food she couldn t finish. So I got to have some of hers as well. Order the combo D! It s great. Service and outdoor patio good. Inside was nice as well. Will come back. Just will skip the curry.
I usually don t write reviews but here we ve crossed some limits. My wife and I went there last weekend for dinner and both ended up being sick, vomiting several times during the night and the day after (and we drink no alcohol). We had to cancel all our weekend plans and barely felt recovered to go tired at work on Monday. Poisoning clients is by far the worst thing a restaurant can do. My advice: go to the food court, you while have way cheaper and higher quality meals than here.
We wanted some Vietnamese food so we searched on the net and found this Vina Restaurant yesterday. The staff was very nice and friendly. The place was clean and spacious. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed with the food. Both dishes were distasteful. The meat was not fresh. I recommend the quality of the food should be improved seriously in order to satisfy your valued customers.
We have only ever ordered takeout and only had the pho and with those constraints have always found the broth to very flavorful and a good all round pho fix.
Pho was very forgettable and lacking spices and flavour Also have a very bad stomach ache after eating here. Skip it
Overcooked (precooked?) shrimp and what felt like day-old rice (hard and dried out). Flavours were good but rubbery/hard shrimp and rice was a bummer for $20-$30 (dependant on tip).
i would say summertime outside in their patio is magic. The food is pretty good; the folks there have been very good to us.... very kind. weve been coming for over 15 years.
Nice location, great service and delicious food. Patio open for dine in
Vinas is awesome! Alex and Simon are so friendly and accommodating; the food is always excellent. Our #1 choice.
Slightly pricier than other Vietnamese restaurants but the quality was good. I didnt leave feeling thirsty after having their pho. The broth was rich and flavourful. The curry rice wasnt as good. Would skip that.
Great service! Very different from most Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver! Must try!
Food is not authentic when compared to other Vietnamnese restaurants in Vancouver, it is overpriced. You only get three four slices of beef in the beef noodle soup.
Food was ok
Over priced for what they offer, low in flavor, got very full really fast. Ive had better mall food court meals
We showed up after they had closed but they still served us. The food was great. They went above and beyond for us. Thank you Vina staff.
Excellent service and tasty Vietnamese menu.
Spring roll is very fresh. Customer service is excellent
Been coming here for years. Always amazing food. Highly recommended.
Very salty food.
Always delicious. We have been eating here for over 30 years on our annual visits to WV.
Delicious beef pho, authentic rich bone broth. Quick and nice service. Reasonable prices! Will be back.
Good location, good food and great owners
It was a delight to taste the authenticity of our native food here. The yummy banana on ice cream desert brought sweet memories of my childhood. Fast service. The grand piano was a plus. Cant wait to come back.
Vina is a MUST go to restaurant for authentic Vietnamese and special Asian delights. The food is beautifully prepared, hot, plentiful and a joy to eat. The manager makes a tremendous effort to ensure your meal and service is five star! Come visit this great restaurant in the heart of Dundarave and then take a short stroll down to the pier and beach you will be full after eating in this fantastic restaurant!
Super delicious food! We love Vietnamese food, and compare to other places, this place is authentic. Lots of Vietnamese customers, and I can say, they definitely understand why they are here) beautiful place with a great service! Highly recommended!
we have been to vina many times before this time the food was very disappointing lacking the great taste also not piping hot. The service was fine and nice renovations.
I already wait one hour for a beef noodle soup, and Im still waiting.
Tasty food, very good portions, and reasonable prices. Appreciate that it s a family-owned restaurant for a few decades. Decor could be updated, pianist is friendly and talented and service is a tad inconsistent. Reminds me of restaurants from my childhood...in a good way.
Amazing experience. Great customer service and great healthy food!
taste good , but a little bit pricy and amount is very large .suggest more people eat together .
Had lunch here today and ordered a combo but the waitress got the order wrong. I questioned the order but she said it was correct. I ended receiving combo A instead of E. The seafood crepe from Combo A was just a small greasy dried up fried egg stuffed with a pinch of bean sprouts with one tiny small shrimp in it. ONE! It was basically a seafood crepe without any seafood in it other than that one tiny shrimp. I had never seen anything so ridiculous! I asked the manager to see if they have forgotten to add in the seafood or more shrimp but he said it was right and that was the industry standard for seafood crepes. This place sets some pretty low standards if that was what I was served with. The pork skewer was pretty dry and tough to chew. The only decent thing there was in that combo was a single serving of spring roll. That combo came with a small tiny cup of mushy fried rice. Came out of this place angry and hungry. I did receive an apology from the manager after when he saw my point of view but I will not be visiting again.
Good, nothing fancy although the toilets were very fancy!
Great amazing food. Such a sweet hidden gem! Cant believe this place wasnt packed!! Will be back lots. I think I found a favorite place to stop for food
Good service, great food. Veg roll dip and lemongrass chicken were great. They made me a veggie chow mein and even had traditional Vietnamese chili pot for hot sauce, mmm. A little higher prices, but portions are big to match. Server was friendly and spoke English pretty well, if slow. Beautiful patio and family-run feel. Classic decor and welcoming atmosphere. Would come again!
Good food, kind service, reno looks fabulous and lovely outdoor patio area.
Food selection plenty Kinda pricy Food taste average Very good service
Great food and fast service
Awesome food, everything always fresh and delicious. Fast and great service . Looking forward to being back!!
Visited again after many years, on a Friday night. The service was attentive and the food tasty and very good. Will definitely be back!
Great food , large portions, good prices !
Great Service, amazing Soups and food. The place to go for the best Vietnamese food on the North Shore
Great place for a quick lunch
Loved it. So close and never had I thought of going in. It is like a time warp! Food is excellent and the prices are reasonable - even for West Vancouver. This restaurant is a hidden gem and is a have to go if you have children.
First time Ive visited this restaurant and it was delicious. The broth was succulent and the size was great for my appetite. The service was congenial and the atmosphere was welcoming. The food came out really quickly. Ill have to try more of their soups.
Fantastic place to eat and the service was great!
Great friendly spot that never disappoints .
By far the best pho I have ever had! The best spring rolls also. Service is great and so are the prices.
Best Vietnamese Restaurant! Tasty beef noodle!
Authentic Vietnamese food and the price is affordable. Recommended for quick lunch in west Vancouver. May be hard to find parking if drive
The spring rolls are always the best choice here, with the beef pho as a close second. Come earlier than 6:30 for the quiet time. There is always someone playing the piano live as well.
My favorite place for Vietnamese food!
Crispy spring rolls!
I have been very happy with the food here at Vina restaurant. My background is Vietnamese so I long for certain dishes that bring back the memories of my time in Vietnam. The papaya salad, banh cuon cha lua and lemongrass chicken are excellent. On top, I usually order live Dungeness crab stir fried with garlic and the rack of lamb. These are done in a Vietnamese way in which I asked the chef how he bring me a deep flavouring for the food. I think it s quite unique if you like Vietnamese food in Vancouver. The decor of restaurant is though a bit need of improvement.
Good foods Highly recommended here in west van . And good staff!!
Very nice place for a meal...food was fantastic...we were there for almost 2 hours...we will definitely return soon
The waitress is not able to talk in English or even try to explain the menu, and at the end, he asks for more tips.Thats poor and embarrassing for him.
We found this place a week ago and have literally had it 4 times already!! We loooove their pho!
Had the wonton soup, good serving portion but lacked flavour
I had E34 beef on rice vermicelli it was so delectably delicious would recommend to everyone
They make such great food, and the service is impeccable. My favourite is the lemon grass chicken vermicelli plate. I am very picky when it comes to chicken as it can be served undercooked but Vina cooks theirs so well, and it is still tender. I totally recommend this place
Wasn t too crazy about the service nor the pricing but te spring rolls weren t too bad even though the order cost over $10. Don t think I ll be going back but it s interesting to see a classy waiter behind the counter. Wouldn t mind coming back if the service and food matched the pricing on the menu. Much better authentic places in town for less.
Excellent Vietnamese food
Good pho, good service. What else can I say?
We hadnt been here for over ten years and the food was like before, awesome
Walking in here, I was surprised to see live piano entertainment. That was pleasant, however, the service and food fell slightly short. The waiter at my table was not very attentive, and mixed up who ordered which dish at my table. The pho itself was average. The soup base was nothing special, and none of the ingredients particularly stood out. For the price, I was left a bit disappointed. The portions were also slightly smaller than other places for the price. Perhaps try elsewhere if you are looking for an excellent pho experience.
Consistently amazing. Worth your visit. I recommend the beef rice noodle soup. Just dont dilute it before you try it, to me this broth needs no additives.
Amazing broth for their Pho soups.
Quality ingredients and good portions. A great refueling spot for cyclists doing the Horseshoe Bay ride.
Great food!
Always enjoy our combo meals there... enough leftovers from 2 for another meal later...
Thoroughly enjoyed a great variety of excellent Vietnamese dishes. The staff were friendly however the service was very slow. There was only one person taking care of the entire restaurant. Other than that, it was a great evening. Sampled at least three dishes: the Fish Curry, the Lemongrass Chicken, and the Spicy Shrimp. All were great but the Lemongrass Chicken was truly exceptional, at once tender, juicy, and delicious. Also great value for the price. Spent around $150.00 for five people, including two alcoholic drinks, taxes, and tips. Free parking available at the back of the restaurant. Definitely recommend this place.
The best vietnamese food ever in BC
Yes the decor is right out of the 80s, and yes the parking is a little tough. In spite of these things I absolutely love Vina. The food is very good and extremely flavourful. The portions are fair for the price, to be sure. We used to go all of the time, with friends. Now we get takeout as often as we eat in. The food makes it home still perfect, unlike pizza. The big guy, who pretty much runs the show, is a good man. He is eager to please everyone. Remember, you are going to an Asian restaurant. You cant always expect 5 star decor, but here you can expect very tasty food. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the live music on weekends. There is a pianist who is a fixture at Vina. He takes requests, appreciates tips and plays very well. This rounds out the night for us.
giving a 2 star rating as we were a party of 6, we told our server before we ordered that we had a valid coupon for our meal. our server tried to tell us that he could not redeem the coupon because we were paying in two groups. we protested against this as none of us have ever heard anything such as this before. our server walked off as we were confused and came back saying he could validate the coupon... um ok??? (hint: he was able to redeem it all along but tried to get more $$ from our party!) my boyfriend and I ordered fried rice & veggie crepes that were completely tasteless and just had bean sprouts and tofu in the crepe.. no seasoning or flavor what so ever. I left barley full.. came here for a special occasion and I m never coming here again. I rate it two stars only because there was a live piano playing which was nice to listen to. other than that the service was poor and so was the food.
The Pho was good
Very good taste, slightly expensive but worth the $.
Meh. It was OK at best. Stopped here for lunch today. Took a while to get service at the door. We were the only people there at 11:30am. We werent sure if the server heard our orders as he just walked away without acknowledgement or response. The phó was mediocre. The noodles seemed to be a puck of instant noodles because they were still in a solid cylinder in the bottom of the bowl, not quite soft and all stuck together. Dont think Id visit again.
Consistently great food at good prices. Check out the combo platters if its your first time; they give a good sample of some of what Vina has to offer. On Fridays and Saturdays, theres live piano music the pianist takes requests!
Nice atmosphere and service but the food was not nearly as good as regular neighborhood Vietnamese places. The sweet and sour soup was way to sweet and the chicken way too salty.
Not fresh food
This place is OK.
Always awesome food!
A nice neighbourhood pho place that has been in west van for ages. The pho here has one of the best soup bases, and the beef slices are tender and sliced thick. The service here is chill, but dont not expect too much. They have a piano player on the weekend that adds to the 80s vibe of this restaurant. I recommend more people to check out this neighbourhood gem
Nice staffs.
Cosy comfortable relaxing discreet place
Forgot about Vina. At some point, they offered promos and have stopped. Will need to check them out again. The combos were always good value and decent food.
Delicious Vietnamese dishes
I dont plan to return here. Enough said.
Awful horrible service ever. I just ask one question and a manager or a owner whatever show me unpleasant impression and was fretful a lot. Never smile and kind manner. I wont come here again and recommand to my friends. Never...ever...forever...
Very good hot and sour lemongrass prawn soup. A melange of wonderful flavours
Terrible! They just microwaved my chicken from a plastic container......
This is the first time I think Vietnamese beef rice and pork chop rice are so delicious! There are also side dishes like spring rolls that I don t eat at other restaurants. They are full of ingredients and delicious! praise!