The lemon grass chicken here was bizarre. Dry and sliced...??? The pho was disappointing as well. The broth had no flavour (I thought it might have been watered down?). With so many better Vietnamese food options around, I'll be giving this place a miss from now on. read more

15a Rare Beef. I have tried many a Pho in this city, and Pho Central wins. Always the exact amazing flavour, and I can never finish it because of the size. What am amazing deal in a bowl for just under $8. Don't be silly, eat this "Pho-sure" read more

Terrible pho and spring rolls. The soup has too much msg. Rolls were very bland. Simple interior, but with nice views of the street. Service is great. The lady was friendly and helpful. Prices were reasonable. Street parking. read more

Little hole in the wall. Don't come for ambience. Don't come for fantastic chatty service. Come for great pho, good value and robotically fast and efficient service. Do it, I think you'll like it. Also don't you find it is difficult finding crispy, light and yummy spring rolls downtown? Well look no further, they got you covered! read more

Since Pho Central moved across Davie Street into new premises, it has gone from being a reliable hole-in-the-wall family business to a disappointing and rather soulless restaurant. My recent visit will be my last. I have rarely experienced a food establishment that seems to nourish a smouldering hatred of its customers. After being told curtly "Sit anywhere," we were ignored for ten minutes until we flagged down the waitress, with difficulty, and asked for menus. (My companion and I have eaten there often but never get a flicker of recognition from the staff.) The menu is three times the size it used to be, but whenever we ask for a dish we haven't tried before, the answer is always a flat"I don't have that." On this lunchtime visit, with the place three-quarters empty, my companion order salad rolls and a Vietnamese coffee. The coffee came, but dripped with the regular slowness of a water clock. After five minutes, my companion summoned the waitress, again with difficulty, and pointed out that the coffee was not dripping properly. She grunted "Just wait" and vanished. Another ten minutes went by, with no food and no dripping. Again we intercepted her. "Just wait," she grunted again. Finally the food arrived, and proved throughly mediocre and lukewarm. (The salad rolls were okay but undistinguished, and nothing about them explained a long wait.) A third time we complained about the coffee, which was by now almost half an hour old and stone cold. "You have to wait" was the only reply. So we paid--again with difficulty because the staff refuse to bring the bill and you have to go to the manager at the central counter and sort out which bill is yours---demanded that the coffee be subtracted, and left forever. read more

Okay , okay... I'll admit it. I became somewhat of a pho "snob" when I was leaving in the Main/Kingsway area. So whenever I crave pho (now living in the Westend) I normally just, drag myself to Robson and ... well, yeah, settle for Ramen (which, you'll agree, is so completely different). Last week, I decided to give another go at Pho Central and I'm really happy I did. The service was prompt and friendly. But what really won me over is their two chicken pho options :) : lemongrass (grilled) & white meat (steamed). I say "Grilled Lemon Grass" por favor! I've never liked the steamed one, which is what they served me last time. I have to say, though I love Ramen, they never have "to go" containers, which given the size of their portions makes no sense, whatsoever. This place had amazing "to go" containers which I now use for my lunches and their portion was good for two meals. Score :) read more

I am a 8 yrs regular customer at this restaurant. My first experience of this restaurant service was super friendly, fast.. However, since one of waitresses who is always wearing cap has changed, their service is getting terrible. Today, i visited this restaurant with my wife. I ordered house special pho, but i got a rare beef ans tribes. So, i asked to waitress to change my dish. She never apologized me and just brought my dish to a kitchen. 7mins later my house special pho was served. But, it was not new dish they just added some meat( meatball and tendon). I could noticed that it was my dish cuz i could see what i put before i return it. First, i could understand that they just added some extra meat because it s the same soupbase. But the problem was my noodle... they holded my dish for 7 mins and my noodle was overcooked by their hot soup and temperature.. I asked to waitress again to change my dish. But she was not and brought a manager. Manager said she s not gonna change to new food and there was no problem for their service provide.... That s fine..... Again, I havent heard their apologies. I would not go there anymore Bye pho central on Davie st.. read more

It was delicious and very inexpensive! Also it is very centrally located in the gay-borhood. I love pho (and noodles) order a pho with the meats (no balls or tripe tho) . It was perfect specially for a rainy day (any other day in Vancouver ) . Services was friendly as super quick read more

See all

Tons of seating inside which was good for our medium sized group. We did some shared dishes and of course we each had a bowl of Pho. I had a veggie based pho dish. Noodles were very tender and lots of veggies. Base was nice and flavorful. Customer service was good and our food was in a timely manner. My only issue is that they need to have more frequent upkeep with the bathroom. read more

From the outside, this place looks shady.. and kind of dirty.. the decal on the front glass seems to be peeling off and you have no idea what you're going to expect inside... but I was wrong. The inside is clean and well lit, but no washroom in sight so I didn't even bother asking. We sat down and water was brought prompty. I couldn't decide between the vermicelli or pho - my friend had tried the vermicelli before - portions were big too and my mouth was watering watching the others eat... but I decided to go for pho with brisket and raw beef. For $6.95, I had a large bowl with nicely textured noodles, lots of bean sprouts and a satisfied tummy. We got an order of springrolls too - eat them while they're hot because thats when they taste the best..... way deep fried but it's spring rolls right. Our waters were filled all the time and the people were really nice. It seemed like there were a lot of regulars so I guess others are happy with it too. read more

Beef balls and rare beef soup - good broth but over-salted and plenty of meat. Ok Price. $8.50 regular/large bowl Vietnamese cold coffee - good and strong $3.50 Smell of urine in the entire restaurant - surprised people did not even blink. Went into toilet area - stronger smell. 1/10 ratio of bleach to water !!! On a hot day, you can imagine an alley way smell. Decor was like an evening lounge - booths tight and claustrophobic. Service was very spotty. Had to flag them down bc otherwise they did not even look in your direction, much less look at you. Expected a 15 percent tip, which I gave, but still was choked about it. Asked for extra plate of bean sprouts etc and it came as a small pile and put in front of me. Smaller and less option than the original. Had to ask for extra limes - was brought 5 of 1/4 pieces. No napkins on tables and getting service was nearly impossible and the man and woman were flying around to different tables. The coffee needed more liquid and condensed milk - the coffee itself was perfect! Did not see any hot peppers in oil on any table, only hoisin and sirarcha sauce Would not order beef balls again - maybe my palate was not used to it...consistency of hard liver and tasted a little like it. The beef was plenty and great. Portions in general good. Menu is too large, so may not be fresh unless ordering the staple- Pho Expected to see some green onions in broth and did not, just regular onion a few pieces here and there. Great vermicelli noodles. Total $14 w tip read more

Continuing my quest for mo' pho, I came across this place. It's a solid 3.5 stars. The good: Decent flavor rare beef and tripe pho. Once you drop all the condiments and sauces in, it's damn tasty. I also had their grilled spare ribs appy. Soooo good. The bad: The tripe was not thoroughly sliced through so I ended up with a giant wad of tripe. Not exactly appetizing. Also, service was super slow. I've never had to wait 15 mins for a bowl of pho. Plus, I had to flag down someone to get the bill. I will return. read more

The only reason I came here for lunch is because all the other restaurants were full and this one wasn't. Unfortunately there is a good reason why. Their service is super slow for lunch. We were on a time crunch due to work. We were a table of 5 and we each ordered a Pho. We waited for 1/2 an hour for our lunch to arrive. To add salt to injury, one of our friend found a piece of plastic in their noodle. The waitress offered to remake the order, however we hesitated because who knows when the new bowl of noodles would come out. Otherwise, their Pho was good, soup base was ok made better with siracha and lime. We also ordered their garlic butter wings which was crunchy and were fresh out of the frier. The beef carpacio is better at Phnom Penh. Not a reliable place for lunch during work hours. Their always busy neighbor Pho Goodness is better in service and Pho. read more

I keep finding myself here. For my allergy-ful friends and I, it's the one place we can find something that works for everyone. (No fish? beef? corn? wheat? carbs? No problem!) The pho is the best in the area, lower in MSG than the competitor nearby (so I can eat it, yeah!), and they give me the tendon and tripe deliciousness I desire! Salad rolls are solid, and the vermicelli bowls are deep n delicious. The tea is always molten hot -I get ice water to cool it down... Quick, cheap, cheerful. Oh, and ask for the chili oil. You'll be glad you did. read more

Caveat: I have VERY high expectations for Pho. The broth was average, could use a little more flavor. The noodles for both my Pho and my wife's vermicelli dish were overcooked, w/o good tooth. The rare steak w/ brisket had way too much fat for my taste, so I left a lot of 'meat' in the soup. The lemongrass chicken in the vermicelli was 'flavorful' if you wanted the flavor it had, which, we didn't. The summer rolls (as I call them) were lumpy and fell apart 1/2way through, tighten your roll! I left feeling a little sick and won't need to go back. read more

I didn't expect to like this place...a pho place downtown...I don't know... It's very tiny but in a cute, hole-in-the-wall way with crowded tables and wood panelling. A group of us were headed to the beach so we wanted something light and easy to eat by hand. Salad rolls and Vietnamese subs seemed perfect. I was surprised to see several selections for the salad rolls, including lemongrass chicken and minced pork patty. I ordered the minced pork one and grabbed some grapes down the street. My friends were very happy with their salad rolls as well as their subs. Since many of my friend live downtown, I would imagine there will be return trips. The noodle soups looked and smelled delicious. I'm spoiled by the proximity of my home to the Kingsway stretch but it is near impossible to convince people to cross the bridge over to this side! read more

I finally listened to all the rave reviews of my friend for the hole in the wall on Davie called Pho Central and came here for lunch. I've been told that the pho here rivals some of my favourite places in East Van but we both ordered the Chicken vermicelli "salad" with spring rolls. I love being able to see the whole kitchen and that the staff was actually Vietnamese! The food came out quick and it was actually really tasty! The sauce was a little too runny but that's my only complaint ! I ate the whole bowl happily. The menu here has so many things I'd like to come back and try. I'm pretty happy that there is a downtown Vietnamese food place that's cheap and good, I'll be back! read more

First time here. Found two pieces of hard plastic in our takeout tonight. Not talking Saran Wrap here but like actual hard plastic pieces. Not the best impression. We are appalled at the lack of care with how dangerous this could be!!Especially when we have a toddler at home. We ordered vermicelli bowls. Food was very greasy and all the meat was tough. Avoid this place if you can. There Are better places! read more

Pho Central - Found two pieces of plastic in our food. - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

waking up is hard and feeling hungover make it just a little harder too! Here is a great remedy to get that sloppy feeling......one pho with rare beef and balls. Very yummy and they have sweet and chili sauce on each table for your liking. The prices on each item is very reasonable or just plain cheap for what you are getting. I would say the atmosphere is on the frugal side but if you are paying under $8 for a good dish on crowded Davie street, I think you are doing alright. If you like curry then check out their curry chicken pho which is unique and you just can't seem to get it anywhere but there. The ice coffee is amazing and there spring rolls to die for. I have been there over 50 times and somehow it is not going to end. If you like pho this is the place to go! read more

A friend introduced me to this place when I was feeling under the weather. Now all I want when I'm sick is the number 20 ( Shredded Chicken Noodle Soup). I get it dry-style (soup on the side, in case you didn't know what that means) and extra chicken for a couple extra bucks. The broth is so flavourful and the ingredients are so fresh. You get tons of bean sprouts, cilantro and lime. I think the takeout size is slightly bigger than what you get when you eat in, FYI. I've had enough for 2 meals. I don't usually like spring rolls, but theirs is MOUTHWATERING. I love their salad rolls as well. Their iced coffee with condensed milk, OH MY GAWDUHH. YUM. I've taken my sister and mom here, they both loved it. My friend MMMM!'d during our entire meal. The service is a little slow sometimes, but considering that they work 12-14 hour days everyday, we could cut them a little slack. All the servers are very sweet and even cute if they forget something. It does get a little cramped because the place IS small (but they added 2 more tables last year, holla!) and sometimes there are lineups out the door and the people waiting to sit are giving you looks for you to hurry the hell up as you're trying to finish your soup. Whatever, meng. It does look a little shady from the outside but at least it's clean. Even if there aren't decorations on the walls (or is there? I forget) they make up for it with a damn good bowl of soup. Hopefully one day they'll expand. But if you're looking for a nice lunch under $10, here's where to go! read more

By far, one of the best Pho places in town.. only reason I didn't give it 5 stars, is because of it's rundown "dining room" and wierd wierd bathroom setup. The staff is ALWAYS super friendly, and thefood is great. The salad rolls are always packed with more meat than noodles (which makes them more of a small meal than an appy), and the wonton soup is delicious. Its always busy in here, and for good reason. Go in the late afternooon to avoid lunch rush crowdsm and try to get a table beside the window. Best people watching spot! prices are VERY affordable, and always delicious. read more

Went there on Saturday night. Got seatted immediately. I ordered salad rolls with shrimp and a small bowl of pho. Also ordered a drink from the bar (mixture of soda/grape juice/vodka). The only good thing on my table were salad rolls. Pho was very bland, tasteless and full of salt/msg. The drink was poorly made too, as the grapefruit pulp/pits (it was not strained) would constantly clog my straw - very annoying. The service was non existant too. There were only two servers running the floor. Nobody (after the food was served) even came up to me to ask if everything is ok or do I need anything. Waitresses don't even make an eye contact with you, they just pass by you, bringing food to other customers. I had to get up and go to the bar/cash register in order to pay. Will not be back. read more

When I used to go to the old smaller location, I would always be surprised how good their pho was for a small joint in the West End. After all, who would expect decent pho in the West End. Well, they must be doing something right because not only did they move to a bigger location half a block across the street, the place seems much more 'upscale'. The pho has always been good but I tried the hot and sour noodle soup with lemon grass chicken on the side. The soup was addictive with spicy, sour, and hints of sweet notes as well. The lemon grass chicken was not bad although I've had better. Looking forward to trying other things like the curry soup vermicelli. read more

The location is great and the price is reasonable but this place is not the best to dine out. The food tastes just plain, I had a Pho here a couple times and the broth is not really flavorful. The place is so tiny you can barely eat without interrupting other people if you have more than 2 companies. The service is down right terrible, not to mention the dirty utensils and unsanitary looking kitchen. read more

Salad roll was filled w raw bean sprouts to make it look larger. I don't even like putting raw sprouts in my pho I usually ask for it steamed so this was an off-putting filler. The sauce for the salad rolls was also too watered down. The spring roll was meh. The pho soup broth was just ok. The staff forgot to add extra onions to mine as asked. The meat that wasn't marbled w fat was inedible. It was chewy like rubber. Wasting meat always makes me feel guilty but I honestly couldn't eat it. Service was horrible. I tried to get someone's attention three or four times being ignored and avoided. My arm had to wave around embarrassingly(come on it's not even a big joint to lose customers in). My friend said the stew was good but can't say that I tried it. read more

See all

I was in town for 10 days and stayed at a hotel on Davie St., walked by this place and it screamed good "feng shui" for authentic Vietnamese food. I'm so glad this place was close to me as I probably ended up going there 3 or 4 times. The Pho noodles, both fresh and fried rolls, and a few other dishes I had were all really good and fresh. Pricing was not bad but could have been cheaper considering the decor, the really tight space, and the friendly but erratic service. The location on Davie probably makes the rent higher? I suspect language barrier issues with the wait staff...many times the customers next to me had problems with what they ordered due to misunderstanding or errors. So make sure you point to the items on the menu and order by the numbers to avoid this problem. Tasty, fairly authentic and relatively inexpensive Vietnamese food on Davie. The menu is somewhat limited but they excel on what they offer...I'm a fan! read more

Pros - decent Vietnamese food, when there isn't human hair in it. Cons - sporadic hours, unreliable opening times. The last time I had Pho Central, I had gotten take-out of my default order, their shrimp salad rolls and was sitting down at my desk at work, ready to enjoy. I took my first bite and was immediately met with the longest and blackest of human hairs - very healthy and strong. There I was, Bobo the Clown - pulling the hair out of my mouth like it were a string of scarves in a circus trick. Sadly, I was the audience - and I was not clapping. (two out of ten, will never go back again) PS. What hair mask is the cook using? #hairenvy read more

One of the better pho places around the area, and the price is very good! The pho soup is very flavorful! If you are looking for a good Pho (not like many places here in Van where the pho soup is sooooo flavorless). Worth every penny. However it is a very small place, so keep that in mind read more

A friend at work introduced me to this place after hearing me pining for some good pho. I am thrilled to have a new place to throw into the lunch rotation. Initial thoughts: Service is actually great. I've never had attentive and friendly service like this at a pho place. That was a plus. Good pho options plus a lot of other stuff ranging from vietnamese rolls to sandwiches to lemongrass chicken. But really, I was only there for the pho. So how about the pho? There is a good variety including seafood, although I stick to the beef typically. The noodles are great. The broth is delicious. The rare beef (tai) is great, the meatballs (bo vien) are tasty although many people don't like the texture. I will say, the Thai basil isn't as fresh as I'd like to see it, but overall the sprouts are good. Not enough peppers for my liking! I can't wait to come back and have the vietnamese iced coffee which is an absolute must, but I had little time on my first visit. Tip: If you order the House Special, please note it's going to include tendon and tripe which is fine by me but some people get skeeved about this. They don't disclose this on the menu and they don't do a clear job of letting you know when you ask, unless you specifically ask if it includes tendon and tripe. Oh, yes. All the parts of the beef. read more

Pho Central, thank you for feeding me on so many of my lazy nights in 2013. I know we will be sharing even more evenings together in 2014, and I can't wait I love the pho here. We usually call our order in, walk down the street and its ready for pick up, and that helps with not being able to find a place to sit in the very small, very simple space. The Spicy Beef Pho is a delicious standby. You get TONS of fresh basil to add in as you like, jalapeno, and then a delicious spicy broth filled with Vietnamese sausage and thin sliced beef. Their Vietnamese salad rolls, too...Whew. So fresh. I always get the pork salad rolls, and they are so fresh the pork is still slightly warm. It's a nice juxtaposition with the cold rice wrap, veggies and vermicelli. The rare beef soup is another one of my favourites. And I almost always have enough for lunch the next day. Service is always friendly and efficient, and the owners always seem genuinely happy to see you and thankful for your business. Also, if you want something a little bit less salty than the broth...Their lemongrass chicken on rice is also the bees knees. Just sayin'. read more

The perks were that the service was fast and efficient. However, as with any Hole in the wall mom and pop Asian restaurant, don't expect personality or small talk. This is more expensive than other viet spots as a beef bang mi and salad roll came to over $10. I understand that this is representative of the high rent in the area but there are also comparable pho places in the neighbourhood. I liked that the salad roll had herbs (saw leaf, I believe) in addition to a good portion of poached prawns, vermicelli, sprouts, and carrots but the beef sandwich was too wet, making for a soggy and chewy instead of crisp bang mi experience. Might come back if I was really craving pho but cannot say that I would be craving this experience. read more

After eating a fairly high fat and protein diet for breakfast yesterday, I wasn't feeling so great, so for dinner I was set on eating a salad. I had told my friend who I met for dinner that all I wanted to eat was some greens and veggies. After a tiring day of shopping, we had no idea where to go. While walking along Davie st my friend had suggested this Vietnamese place, because they have great salad bowls. I was all for it. This place is definitely a hole in the wall. You have to walk through a hot kitchen with burning stove fires to get to the bathroom, and the floors are laden with cardboard boxes, I assume to catch all the grease from cooking. I almost slipped walking back to my table. Word of caution, definitely watch your step if you are brave enough to use the little girls room, don't want to slip and catch a hand on a burning stove. The prices here are insanely cheap and affordable and serving sizes very large. When my "salad bowl" arrived, it wasn't what I expected. I was thinking of something fresh and light, but what was before me was a bowl of carboliciousness (vermicelli) topped with sauteed beef, sprouts and a myriad of other ingredients and flavors. It was delicious, although it did make me feel like more crap but that definitely isn't the restaurants fault. I should have read the description before I ordered. Overall, not a bad experience, other than almost falling on my butt...but I would venture back again. St3Fin read more

I like pho and even more so than ramen..so much I wouldn't mind having it everyday. Pho Central and Joyeaux Cafe are my two favorite places for Pho. I always get the seafood and extra vegetables pho. Their soups are not greasy, but it is understandable why some people would think it's bland because of all the high sodium content and MSG in common foods. It's also a reassurance that you can see the kitchen. This is a tiny place (tiny enough that you can listen to everyone's conversations very clearly) and it usually gets super packed during lunch/dinner time. It's not a pretty nor cozy restaurant where you want to stay in but the food is pretty good!! I recommend the pho + spring rolls. The curry pho looked interesting too. About 8 dollars each. *If you like greasy pho, go to Pho Goodness* read more

One of my favorites for Pho in Van. No frills whatsoever, just great pho. I know this place has some mixed reviews, but I think the broth of the pho here is better than I have had elsewhere. A deep brothy flavor. Salad rolls and sandos are descent here, but I really go for the pho. A must for a cold rainy day. The place is tiny and packed with people each time we go. We generally have to wait for a table. When I say tiny, I mean maybe they could seat a party of 3-4 people at their 8-10 tiny tables. The restaurant itself is nothing special and I once had the adventure of taking my daughter to the washroom which involved taking a detour through the kitchen. Do yourself a favor. Hold it until your sides hurt. Don't use the loo here. Just hold it. It's the pho that keeps me coming back. read more

I would probably give this place a 3.5. I went for the second time yesterday and had a pretty enjoyable experience. I ordered the 27e which gave me a huge amount of food (veggies, vermicelli, spring roll, lemongrass chicken) for under $7. Steal. I also split the "veggie noodle soup" which was basically a veg version of the Pho. I had ordered the Pho with beef balls last time and it scared me. That being said, I'm not a very adventurous meat eater and can easily be turned off of meat if it's not the right texture or looks unappetizing. The veg noodle soup was very tasty and really hit the spot. Overall, the food is good and the price is great. Definitely worth a try if you're craving some Vietnamese cuisine. read more

I eat here about once a week and I usually aways get the house special pho. It tastes great and the price is always under $10 for a large bowl. And it's big enough to share between two people! I've also had the Vietnamese coffee and it was really good. The new location is clean and trendy with plenty of seating and the staff are friendly and accommodating. I'd definitely recommend this place if you like pho. read more

See all

Clean and nice looking place. I am giving this a 2.5 because the portions are small! I ordered the seafood noodle soup and it was basically all broth and a couple pieces of seafood ; I was pretty disappointed! The taste was overall okay though, not greasy which was good. The service was pretty fast . Compared to all the other pho places on Davie this is probably my least favourite of all so I will not be coming back here! ( there are just much better ones to choose from!) read more

Pho Central - The bar - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I love this place! Their pho is always the best! I have tried a lot of dishes here and they have all been tasty and delicious. Very good! I usually get the rice noodle bowls which are in the back. I think they start with the number 25 and they are amazing. Especially the lemon grass chicken! They just need to work on their costumer service, they often forget my order and the space is tiny. It is often impossible to get a table because it is so busy. Their washrooms are in the back too and it's extremely awkward to have to run through the kitchen to go to the washroom, I usually go to the starbucks down the street instead. They have a lot of loyal costumers I think it would do them some good to upgrade and renovate. read more

Amazing pho! Seriously, the most flavourful broth in the city, and I've tried them all downtown. Pho is my #1 comfort food. I come to Pho Central at least 1x per week and it never disappoints. I'm surprised by the reviewer who mentioned that his server had attitude, as everyone that I've dealt with at Pho Central has been lovely. read more

This place has really good pho .. casual style with a full bar and sports on the flatscreens.. red truck beers on draught, 1/2 Litre of wine for $10 .. extreme value, warm flavours , kind friendly staff at this family run Vietnamese restaurant.. the photo's are of the house special pho regular size.. it's $9.19 after tax.. read more

Pho Central - Garnish - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all