Tried out Bolsa Restaurant Vietnamese Cuisine for a weekend lunch. They're in the Macleod Plaza. The inside is cramped with booths but fish tanks are abundant. Two noodle soup sizes (regular and large); regular is closer to a small. - Pho bo sate ($14.95 regular) - broth was flavourful, beef slices were solid. A little stingy on the noodles - Pho ga ($14.95 regular) - Pho dac biet ($18.95 large) read more

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I was craving Vietnamese food after a long commute and found this cute Vietnamese restaurant near my hotel. The pho hits the spot. Amazing spring rolls and Vietnamese coffee. And really friendly and kind service. Owners have been here for over 21 years. Strongly recommend!!! read more

Bolsa Restaurant - Tasty spring roll and Vietnamese coffee - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Came here for lunch on a Saturday. It's in a big strip mall with plenty of parking. It was a little chilly on this day so we felt like noodle soup. My wife did some research and found this place with great reviews. And it did not disappoint! Staff here were super friendly and helpful. One of our orders was incorrect and they corrected it right away. My son particular liked all the fish tanks around the restaurant. In fact, our table had one right on our wall. Better than having tv's all around and so loud. We shared the spring rolls and they were really good. The kids shared regular-size 9c Medium rare beef with beef ball noodle soup and my wife and I shared large 9b medium rare beef with tripe, brisket, & tendon noodle soup. Everything was good portion and tasted great. There was a lot of meat but could have used more tendon. We'd come back if we were ever in this area again. read more

This is a pretty simple restaurant when you first walk in. Service was nice, you are quickly greeted by a friendly woman at the front. The menu has a whole dedicated vegetarian section! I loved that so much! We decided that we wanted to share so we got the number 45. It was rice noodles with veggies and tofu. It was SoO good! I loved how the dish came out sizzling like a fajita! The tofu was crispy and seasoned so perfect! I would definitely recommend this place to others. I especially love that it seems to be local and immigrant family owned. I love supporting local businesses so that is a bonus! read more

Bolsa Restaurant - Number 45! - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

We were starving after a long flight. Found this gem close by and had an amazing lunch! Hubby customized a Pho with chicken broth and seafood. A bit spicier than expect d, but they replaced the broth easily. I had a veggie stir fry that was the perfect lunch. Owner is so sweet and accommodating! Highly recommend and prices very reasonable. read more

Flavorful food- pho was perfect and the cha gio was obviously house made and delicious. Service was exceptional- the owner was so sweet and chatted with us for a while. The restaurant isn't fancy but super clean and cozy. read more

Tried Bolsa for the first time after many other Viet Namese restaurants, and we were blown away! Firstly, the owner Dan, or Mama as she calls herself, is absolutely amazing. Friendly, talkative, and quick to recommend dishes. The food is great. We had the shrimp salad rolls, and each of us had a regular-sized bowl of bun. It was more than enough. Chock full of veg and some of the best tasting pork, beef, and chicken that we've had. The sauces, especially the peanut sauce were very tasty, so much so that we bought a container to take home. Mama proudly told us that she makes all the sauces herself, which doesn't surprise me. Everything was very reasonably priced. I think that Bolsa just became our new go-to Viet Namese place. read more

Husband and I ate lunch here while on vacation in Calgary. Food was delicious. Portions were very large. Prices were reasonable. Excellent value. Tremendous variety on menu. Food was served steaming hot very soon after we ordered. Owner/chef is a delightful woman who stopped by our table to chat briefly. Restaurant is in a strip mall with ample parking. Ambiance is nothing special, but the food is the reason to come here. read more

My family and I came here when we wanted a cheap and warm meal. We opted for pho, and found the restaurant on Yelp. I ordered the Pho Dac Biet in their regular size and it was delicious. The broth was flavorful and the portion was just right for me. My only complaint is that they didn't give provide jalapeño slices. The owner was so sweet, taking the time to chat with us at the end of our meal. It was clear this restaurant was a neighborhood staple; regulars kept coming in to pick up takeout orders and would say hi to the owner. read more

Mama makes the best food. Been coming here for years. Never disappoints - large portions as well.

Had the shrimp rolls, a chicken curry with vermicelli and a beef marinade on noodles. Delivery but came too hot to eat. Delivery Door Dash was quick and friendly. read more

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Decent food here, wasn't the greatest but it was close by the hotel. The family who owns this is really nice and loves to check in to see if everything was ok! read more

Great food and service. Especially the pho was just right for spicy. The portions were larger than most other Vietnamese restaurants that we have eaten at. Great quality food. read more

I really love it here. Kind a hole in the wall with awesome reliable food. The skewers and pho are amazing. Really solid and reasonable prices. read more

Doesn't look like much from the outside but the food was fantastic and the staff are beyond friendly. I had the rare beer and beef ball pho and a Vietnamese coffee. Both were incredibly delicious. Highly recommend! read more

Bolsa Restaurant - 9c rare beef and beef ball pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Our favorite place to eat for many years. We highly recommend to visit. Soups we live are 9, 9a. read more

Authentic delicious Vietnamese food with amazing service from the sweet lady who owns this place!!! We came here once in Calgary on our trip and when we came back to Calgary, we had to come here one more time! The food was great - I highly recommend the sate shrimp noodle soup and my family loved their house pho. I hope I can come back one day to support again. read more

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Feels nice and homey inside. The owner Dani is friendly and likes to check in on people. Everything I've ordered has been tasty, but I especially like their pho which they serve in large portions. read more

Bolsa is easily in the Top 5 of Vietnamese restaurants in Calgary and with the abundance of wonderful Pho in this city that's no easy task. The staff are extremely friendly, prices are decent, and food is absolutely delicious. On my most recent visit I got the Beef Satay Soup but I'll usually get the Special Beef Noodle Soup. I've had several other things on the menu and honestly you can't go wrong. Bolsa will always be a go to for when I'm craving pho. read more

Food is ok! But the beef balls tasted weird, maybe too long time not fresh! Great price!

These folks make you feel so welcome and mama makes the best food! You gotta try it if you like Vietnamese food! read more

I love Bolsa. I've been eating here for at least 12 years. Their food is delicious, consistent and plentiful. What I appreciate most about Bolsa is the service provided by the family that runs the restaurant. It feels really nice to be joyously welcomed back time after time. Not only that, but they know my takeout order by heart! They're my go to for Pho anytime. read more

Parking: This place is located in a medium sized plaza. Plenty of parking when we were there. Inside: The inside is medium size with A LOT of fish tanks for you to look at. Customer Service: The owners are super great people. They were extremely nice and accommodating. They acted more like my uncle and aunt than the restaurant owner. It was fun talking to them. Food: The food are just okay. I ordered a rice dish and the Vietnamese coffee. My fish sauce for the rice dish was a little bland. The meat itself were also bland, nothing special. The only thing I liked from my order was the coffee. If I am in Canada again, I would come back here mainly because of how nice the owners are. read more

I've been to Bolsa about three times now and it's always a fun experience. The food is decent Vietnamese fare, great spring rolls, good curries, and tasty Pho. The Pho is all about the broth and these guys do it well, all the food I've tried here is very good and I would say is on the better end of almost any Vietnamese you'll find in the city. One of the nice things about this restaurant is they make their own sauces, so the hoisin and the sambal is all homemade and that makes the difference. What makes the dining experience here that much better than some others in this category is the owners, they really take pride in their food and it shows. They walk around engaging the tables, in a nice way, and always asking if you like the food "spicy", then the big smile. You can tell there are plenty of regulars and repeat customers and that's always a good sign. But even if it's your first visit, they are so welcoming that you feel like you've been there before, but just been away for a while. This place is a must! read more

Bolsa Restaurant - Bolsa storefront - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Fast friendly service. All the classics you expect and all done really well. Been a couple of times and food quality and portions have been spot on every time. Bowls are a good size and always end up extremely full having finished all the food in front of me. Mama will always come by and see how the meal was and then tell you how to order your dish the next time to get it perfect. She is adorable. Good value for money and normally the restaurant is pretty full come lunch time. We try get in a little early before 12 to get seated straight away. read more

This is the best Vietnamese cuisine I have had in Calgary, let alone Canada so far. The Pho is fantastic. The broth has one of the most unique tastes I've ever experienced. I'm heading back there today. The service is also great. They make you feel very welcome when you visit. Come by as soon as possible! Do it! read more

Bolsa Restaurant - Amazing Pho! - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

I chose this place for lunch based on all the positive reviews. I typically go to nearby Saigon Bistro and order the sate seafood soup, but I always like trying new places. I ordered the sate seafood soup at Bolsa (takeout). I have to say that it was quite disappointing. While the broth was flavourful, the amount of seafood included was pitiful. Just two prawns and a few measly other bits. The soup is $2 more than what I pay at Saigon Bistro, but for so much less. I will not be returning to Bolsa. read more

Bolsa is like going home to visit with your parents. The owners make you feel welcome each and every time. The owners have an uncanny ability to remember you from the last time you visited. The food is obviously made with lots of love and pride. Bolsa is one of those places that is guaranteed to leave you in a better mood and a better state by the end of your meal. read more

I used to live close to this restaurant so I've frequented it quite a few times. In all the times I've gone, I've never been disappointed. Their Pho is flavourful and rich and comes with tripe and tendon (my favourite). My sisters have always enjoyed their dishes. The curries are delicious as well as their coconut rice. I was originally going to rate this restaurant as a 4 but the service is so wonderful it bumped it up to 5 stars. They are welcoming and courteous. I went with my daughter once (who was 6 months at the time) and the owner was so terrific offering her food and talking about her grandchild (who happens to be half Filipino like my girl). She was just a wonderful woman and made the experience that much better. I'll be back when I'm near that part of town. Thanks again! read more

Easily the best Vietnamese in the area. Possibly in the city. Owners always happy to see you. The food is consistently excellent, fresh, and tasty. Try the Pho satay, it's the best in town. (we come here a lot!) Bolsa is fantastic. read more

Bolsa Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Went in and was glad to hear from Viet that Momma was cooking. After briefly talking about Vietnamese street food, I falsely came to the conclusion that here in Canada it's too hard to duplicate. As well, like all the other average Viet restos in Calgary, Bolsa doesn't serve shaken (cubed) beef stew, spiced chicken, specialty fried rices, and many other standard Vietnamese dishes. Although others wrote good things about Bolsa, It's obvious that the standard of excellence set in Asia - truly genuine street food - is not striven for by most Viet restos here in Calgary. Unfortunate for them, a close match IS found only at Pure Contemporary Vietnamese Kitchen on 8th Avenue downtown! As a chef isn't a short-order cook, most Viet restos either don't put in the effort, or don't have the skills! In their own country, it's likely this place would not survive. Therefore their 'pho bun hoe' or 'spicey sate pho' was only so-so. The flavours were missing because the spices that Momma uses clearly don't cut it. The mixture of meats - beef and two kinds of pork sausages - were good, but the 'round' noodles were overcooked, and not at all close in quality or flavour to authentic Vietnam or even Italian noodles. The underwhelming broth was quite disappointing. But the Indo-Chinese music was excellent, and for sure adds to the atmosphere there! Too bad we can't eat it... Yes, the service by Viet and Momma was exemplary, but the food just not there, and the latter is what we go for. We won't return in the future. read more

How can you not like this place? Unless friendly personal attention isn't your thing. Flavours with less oil and fat then other similar style restaurants. Mama cooks "just for you" and she's always glad you came. Try the GF spring rolls or one of the chef's specials. This is a place you can try something new and feel confident. Enjoy the food and come back for the hospitality. read more

Just ordered from here and as a Vietnamese person myself i don't think it's not as good as pho dau bo's satay broth. The regular broth not bad and their quail is not as good as pho Kim's butter quail. Overall I give it 3 star because I am impressed with how much meat they put in their pho! Was really happy about that read more

The moment we walked in we had been pleasantly greeted by 'Mama' the proprietor. Unknown to us at the time, she is somewhat of a local celebrity, known for high positive energy attention to her clientele. After sitting down I believe her husband came by to promptly take our order. With the mix of accents at play it was a bit challenging to understanding everything he said. But we managed to get it figured it quickly. Orders went in and after a few minutes the food came out. Into the trunk it went for a six hour ride back to the States. We finished off one order yesterday which was AMAZING and will finish off the second order tonight. The vegetarian noodle soup was nicely spiced and seasoned. The broth was great but I question if it was actually vegetarian. I suspect they may have just strained the meat out. If that is important to you be sure to verify. The heavy layer of lard on the top of the cooled soup was a giveaway. It seemed a little excessive to just be oil. Not going to fuss about it though on this first pass through. The decor is run down and on the used but what I thought was great was the sparkling clean fish tanks. Each of the many tanks was crystal clear. The fish seems fat and happy. If the kitchen looked anything like those tanks - no worries. Eat up. Will be stopping back on next trip out of town. TIP - the first parking spot is so heavily used that two deep potholes have formed right under where the front tires would normally rest. Causing the front end of your car to rest on the curb. Use any other spot or don't pull up all the way. read more

Bolsa Restaurant - Vegetarian options - Vietnamese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Love their Pho and salad rolls! I love the chopped cilantro in the pho, other places I've gone to don't add it and they should!

We've been their loyal customer since 2015. And their food are really great if you are looking for great Vietnamese cuisine totally recommend it. Recommend their sea food sizzling platter. read more

I think Bolsa makes the best pho in the city. I'm normally more of a vermicelli guy, but at Bolsa the pho wins by far. My go to is the rare beef pho with chili on the side. The broth is amazing. The lady owner told us once how she does it, I forget the details, but basically you have to simmer for a long time to get the flavours develop. Great place for a quick lunch when I'm in the area. read more

wow.....long time away from bolsa..recently back for a bowl of pho....fabulous.....next time in shrimp salad rolls with peanut sauce...best in town.......next trip to bolsa......coconut rice with yellow curry chicken so good.... friendly family service....great food....bolsa is a must for vietnamese cuisine.... read more

Great restaurant! Love the friendly staff and welcoming environment. We have been going to this restaurant for 15 years and it still remains our favourite Vietnamese restaurant. read more

Having worked at a Vietnamese restaurant and developing my love for pho, I compare every pho to the one I used to serve. This place is a what I call "a hole in the wall" kind of place which I dig. It's clean, the service is great and I loved the pho! Similar to another yelper, I was asked if I like spicy and I said yes! So I received the spicier pho which I thoroughly enjoyed. I still added hoisin and sriracha to every sumptuous bite, and I'm hooked on the spicy version for sure. The spring rolls are lovely as well and the peanut sauce is great. I normally treat myself to a Vietnamese coffee, alas I had no more room! I recommend this resto for sure! And it's just off of Macleod and near box stores. Oh and if you overindulge there's a "fit for less" a stones through away. read more