Pho Friendly 18 in Vaughan offers an inviting atmosphere with an authentic Vietnamese feel. I was impressed by their Pho, which had a robust, flavorful broth and tender beef that melted in my mouth. The freshness of the herbs and vegetables added the perfect balance, and the side of fried tofu with chili dipping sauce was a delightful extra. The crispy texture of the tofu, paired with the refreshing salad and dipping sauce, was a great complement to the pho. The service was friendly and prompt, and the ambiance was cozy yet bustling, making it a great spot for a casual meal. If you're craving delicious Vietnamese comfort food, this place won't disappoint! read more

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What a lovely find in the Woodbridge area. This is a very comfy, spacious Vietnamese restaurant. Service was excellent and food was great. I highly recommend the vermicelli bowls as they give a very generous amount of meat. The Bo La Lop was delicious and sizing oh so generous. Pho was good with lots of meat, however I find the soup a bit on the saltier side. Overall, would definitely come again to try their other menu items. read more

Pho Friendly 18 - Bun with Bo La Lop and Nem Nuong. - Vietnamese Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

Came here on a weekend for an early dinner and there were only our table and another two or three so it was nice and quiet. We ordered the house special pho dac biet, a rare beef/beef ball pho and a vermicelli bowl (spring roll and beef). Also got avocado smoothies. The food arrived fairly quickly and the meat portions were very good but the pho broth... I have never had a more salty or one note broth before. My whole table had to drink excessive amounts of tea/water during the whole dinner and after on the way home and at home as well. Not sure if this was a one off thing but definitely go for the non pho broth items. The smoothies were also quite on the bland side, not much avocado in it. I do not think I will visit again :( read more

Was in the area and decided to try this spot for dinner. We were intrigued by the menu which has some interesting dishes that you don't often find in the east end of the GTA. We got a pork chop/shrimp in bean curd/fried egg rice and a vermicelli dish with grilled pork belly and fried tofu. The rice dish was pretty average but the shrimp paste in bean curd was really disappointing. We thought it was undercooked because the texture was mushy like wet bread and the waitress explained that it was in fact cooked but they had an issue with the supplier. She went on to say that other customers throughout the day had been complaining as well. I'm sympathetic to their supply issues but wasn't sure what that explanation did for me in terms of still being served a food that they knew was inedible and problematic. There was some reluctance to offer any kind of solution but she comped the dish which I appreciate. The vermicelli dish (B25) was pretty good in terms of flavour and came with lots of fresh herbs and green but we found the thinly sliced pork belly to be a bit overcooked and tough. The menu also said it comes with shrimp paste (which is partly why I ordered it) but when it never came and when I asked the server she said it doesn't come with it and didn't give us any. Overall, a rather disappointing and forgettable meal. read more

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Pho Friendly 18's name begs just one question: are there 17 predecessors? I looked it up to confirm there were none. Or might they be as stealthy as #18, that's located in a nondescript industrial plaza near Vaughan Mills w/o much signage. I assume it's fairly authentic as this cavernous pho spot is still fairly packed. We have a ton of pho options nearby, and were curious to try Pho Friendly 18. The House Special Beef Rice Noodle Soup has the typical assortment of thin beef cuts, tripe, tendon & beef balls, along w/ a heap of garnishes (bean sprouts, basil, lemongrass, lime & hot pepper). The relatively dark beef broth is quite strong in umami flavour; they don't seem to hold back on good ol' MSG & salt. Still overall, a large bowl is very filling & decent value. Grilled Pork on Vermicelli hit the spot, with a faint BBQ char on the edges of the thin marinated pork pieces. Bun Rieu noodle bowl however was a bit disappointing; it contained mainly tofu & ham slices in tomato noodle soup but no meatballs or truly distinguishing flavour. Shrimp & Pork Fresh Roll is fairly light in protein among its stuffing; luckily the hoisin peanut dipping sauce helps to devour the roll. Pho Friendly 18 serves up decent flavours in its staple pho & grilled dishes. Our takeout was well-packed. But 1-star is docked as I went to pickup for a family member, and wasn't directed to take both bags from the table. Usually places are careful with these handoffs. I drove back from home for the second portion. No apologies, so perhaps they're not always that friendly! read more

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We came here on a Sunday for lunch. We came as a family of 4 which includes 2 young children. The restaurant itself was very family friendly. They also gave kits of boosters and we did notice kits of other families around. We ordered a rice dish, noodle dish and fresh spring rolls and the food was delicious and very affordable, especially for the size. We spent $45 for everything. Highly recommend! read more

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Ordered soup and mango salad. It took over an hour to prepare. What an organizational dumpster fire.

3.5/5 Was researching Vietnam place around Vaughan Mills and came upon this place in the Yelp reviews. Lots of parking in the commercial plaza on the weekend. Food and service was great, also has big wall hung TV and available wifi. The Nam Vang rice noodle we got had so much ingredients compared with the ratio of noodles quite satisfying also the soup base was unique tasted a bit salty but was not thirsty afterward equals good soup. The grilled chicken, sugar cane shrimp and spring roll was good, shrimp very bouncy teeth the spring roll was avg. thou. if you in the area give it a try. read more

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Enjoyed the food. The service was great. People were nice. Quiet but definitely got busy around dinner time! Lots of parking. It's a little out of the way for me but will come back if I am in the area! read more

The people that works here for sure is friendly! :) I do love that big menu book and seems like there are a lot of items to choose from. This is always nice as Vietnamese food is definitely more than pho and more spring rolls. Crab with Tomato and Egg Noodle (Bún riêu cua) Grilled Beef in Betel Leaf and Grilled Pork (Bún Tht bò nng lá lt/Nng) Portion size is good value for the price. Broth though was quite heavy seasoned with MSG (I was thirsty the whole evening). I might come back to give Pho Friendly 18 another try if I am in the area. read more

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Attitude is an important factor in the work environment. I'm a tourist from the U.S, went to this restaurant once and personally I don't like the way the owners treats their staffs. The food is bland, not as my expectation, no better than other restaurants. I tried asking the staff whether I can directly give them tips or not. The answer is no because the owner will take it all, moreover, during working hours, even if the restaurant has no customers, they will not be allowed to sit, in my opinion that is very bad. Shop owners should reconsider their attitude if they want to have dedicated employees in the future. read more

Love this place. Had our first lunch after the lifting of the lockdown! It was my first time here, so happy my friend suggested this place! It was delicious! Loved their spring rolls! They were the real authentic ones wrapped in rice paper! Crunchy and bubbly crispy, just the way I like it! The only thing missing was lettuce to wrap the rolls in! The spring roll came with a bit of vermicelli and pickled carrots and radish! Had a small pho with rare beef, tendons and beef balls. The tendons were soooo good! Perfect tenderness!! Everything was delicious! Can't wait to go back and try everything else! If I weren't so far from this place I'd go all the time!! read more

Pho Friendly 18 - Vietnamese Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

Pho Friendly 18 is one of the newer Vietnamese restaurants in Vaughan that replaced Pho An Vu and Pho Anise. The interior of the restaurant is spacious and clean. None of the decor has changed. For those who have never been here, it's impossible to see the restaurant from the road, so you just have to know where it is. Although this place is new, I recognized one of the staff from Lucky Bamboo in front of Vaughan Mills. The menu is huge. One of the things that caught my eye as I was perusing through the menu is what is often referred to as Phnom Penh noodle soup, or Hu Tieu Nam Vang. It was the one thing that I missed from another Vietnamese restaurant that closed near Vaughan Mills, so I had to try it. I also ordered my go-to dish at Vietnamese restaurants, which is the grilled chicken and fried egg on rice. The dishes were huge, so it felt like an excellent value. Make sure you come hungry. The grilled chicken was excellent. The chicken was succulent and juicy and you can taste the char on the grill marks. The fried egg was good, though a little oily and slightly overcooked. The rice was excellent, not clumpy or too soft, and went well with the sauce that comes with the dish. The vegetables were fresh. It's not the best Vietnamese grilled chicken dish I've had, but a strong contender. The Phnom Penh noodle soup was excellent as well. I thought the broth was spot on, both delicate and rich in flavor. It definitely had the flavor that I was expecting. The noodles were tasty. I thought there was a perfect balance of noodles to other ingredients such that it wasn't too much or too little noodles. The ingredients include a quail egg, shrimp, squid, char siu pork, pork offal, fried garlic and onions, and a variety of herbs. It comes with a fried pancake of sorts with a grilled shrimp. Very crunchy and the shrimp was tasty. While it's not the best Phnom Penh noodle soup I've had, it was again a strong contender. Definitely try it if you've never had it before. It's a southern Vietnam dish that's very different than pho (northern Vietnam) and bun bo hue (central Vietnam). I was surprised to see that they had banh xeo (pronounced banh chow in Khmer), which is another Cambodian dish that I ate while growing up. I was surprised to see that they have congee as well. I had the fish congee to go. It was very tasty and the rice was perfectly cooked. There was a good balance of rice porridge to meat. Definitely a must-try if you're craving congee. Highly recommended. Pho Friendly 18 is on my top 2 list of Vietnamese restaurants in Vaughan. read more

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Pho on a cold winter day is a no brainer! Glad we came across this little gem. From the outside, I expected it to be small and dark. But as you step in its exactly the opposite, spacious and bright (enough). All cart seats with tall head boards ie great for covid times IMO. My table had a disinfectant wipe bottle for quick use! Quick scan a few other tables did too. Staff was nice too. On a random Monday afternoon, it was pretty busy for a hidden restaurant. We sat down for 45 mins and every 10 mins there would be new customers or getting take out! That was a good sign to us that we were hitting a spot ;) Food wise, it was solid. Good portions with generous amount of meat - and well grilled meats. We got medium pho thuc p (4.5/5 - another pho place we know has slightly better broth), beef wrap and grilled pork vermicelli (5/5), and fresh roll shrimp pork (3.5/5 - pork was a bit dry here). Will come again! read more

Wifey and I decided to grab a bite after walking around the mall. We're not from the area so we searched Vietnamese restaurants around the mall. We decided to try Pho Friendly 18 because of the reviews. When we arrived, there was plenty of parking. In the restaurant was very spacious. Upon looking at the menu, we thought that the prices were a bit more expensive then ur regular Viet restaurants. I got the pho special large, the wife got a vermicelli and we shared 2 spring rolls. Order came fast and the portions was huge! Way more than the average restaurants. My large pho felt like an XL. Everything was very tasty and ingredients were very fresh. We will definitely be coming back when we're in the area. We've tried many Vietnamese restaurants and this is the one of the, if not, our favorite. read more

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Supper friendly staff. This is hands down my favorite pho place. They're super clean and the meats and veggies are so fresh! I drive all the way from Markham to have pho here. If that isn't saying something then I don't know what to say. read more

Was doing some shopping at Vaughan Mills mall and decided to warm up with a bowl of pho before the drive home. Read some reviews and so decided to give Pho Friendly a try. They have both hard copy and QR code menus for your phone. Ordered a large bowl of rare beef and tendon and some crispy spring rolls to start. The large bowl was definitely large, couldn't manage it all but sure tried. Not sure how anyone could eat an XL portion unless you shared. The broth quite flavorful, had lots of beef, but almost no tendon. Lots of fresh garnish including, bean sprouts, saw-tooth cilantro, Thai basil, and lime. The spring rolls were nice and crispy but the salad accompaniment was a little lacking, usually you get some salad and pickled daikon radish and carrot. Anyway was a nice warm up and I would recommend. read more

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This place obviously DOES NOT want to do business. I have never written a food review before. To Pho Unfriendly 18 all I can say is - Change your attitude manager/owner: have the decency to help out your employee & treat customers with due respect. - Clearly write out the receipts, instead of a lump sum on the receipt. Especially when you are charging service charge on top of tip without notifying customers. - Let the customer know if part of the meal is still coming Folks do not I repeat DO NOT be swayed by it's name. This place is anything but friendly. While we noticed there were only less than a handful of tables sitted during peak lunch hours we decided to try it out and help out a local business. We sat down & ordered food. One singular dish came out in separate lengthy intervals. We thought wow this dish is hella expensive for the sheer amount. We finished it and after half an hour, the part two of a singular dish came out that we had already finished. What?? Well Ok... While there were less than a handful of tables occupied, we understood from the time they took, so we only asked for the bare minimum: a serving spoon that was missing in order to eat the dish & a singular teapot refill. After finishing the meal, we decided to go up to the counter to make it easier for the singular female server who was also the cashier and the manager/owner (who does not do anything) to pay. The bill came in one lump sum with no clear indication of the prices distribution (dish, tax, etc). We paid yet something wasn't right. Thanks to our Asian math we were able to calculate with a menu that we definitely paid more. We spoke to the female server/cashier & she was quite nice about it, however the manager finally did something (honestly thought he might've been part of the restaurant or something) spoke rudely to us. After quite some time of trying just to understand what they charged us. The manager begrudgingly said it was an extra service charge on top of tips that only our table was made to pay & no other table (this is the what the heck part) because we asked too much. WOW..... what a character! Let me remind you all we asked was for a missing serving spoon & a single teapot refill..... Sigh, never again. read more

Originally Pho Anise, then Pho An Vu, now Pho Friendly 18. Unfortunately It is not as good as other two. I tried couple of times just to make sure. Actually got much better than how it was from the first visit. But the spring rolls were lacking flavour (not enough contents) and Vermicelli noodle was served hot. I thought it needs to be cooled so vegetables stay fresh. You probably want to take some vermicelli out of the bowl before mixing, because they give you way too much for the portion. read more

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Fantastic broth of pho full of flavour and delicious, my new go to spot for pho in Vaughan.

This place offers a huge portion size. It is a bit more expensive than some other pho places but because of how much you get in the bowls and the quality of the taste, I think it is justified. Tucked away in an industrial/office location read more

Best pho in Vaughan. Meat has good portions. Soup is great. I've been looking for the last 3 years for good pho in Vaughan finally found this place after many disappointing experiments at other pho joints. read more

Very good pho and creative viet food. Good portion as well. Took home half of my meal for next day's lunch. Service was also great. Super friendly staff all masked up. read more

EXCELLENT PHO restaurant!!! I can't believe how much food they give.The portion are gigantic.I love the pho taste fabulous must try.Clean restaurant everyone is friendly especially the owner. read more

This restaurant has been a favourite of mine for a couple of years. It has switched owners / names (it used to be called Pho Anh Vu) and I had given that a perfect 5-star review. I will continue to do that now for Pho Friendly 18. It's a little hidden, but Pho Friendly is my top choice for Vietnamese cuisine north of Steeles. I didn't come to this evaluation suddenly. I've eaten at a lot of Pho houses in Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, and so far Pho Friendly reigns supreme. It's a combination of things that leads me to feel this way: service, cleanliness, decor, location, and above all the offering and taste. The taste is genuinely flavourful, clean, fresh, well-prepared and well-presented. Some "upscale" places are lacking authenticity, while the most authentic places are cheap dirty dives. Pho Friendly is an excellent balance of both. Their menu appears to have expanded a bit from its predecessor, including more south asian cuisine, Thai, vegetarian, etc. The pho and rice dishes are spot on. I like that they also offer Banh Xeo, with a heaping mound of all the right herbs. Standard favourites such as spring rolls and rice rolls are also excellent. I can't emphasize this enough, the ingredients are fresh! The staff are super friendly and the place is suitable for families, with clean children's booster seats, and my personal favourite feature: Vietnamese music! Plenty of parking too. Bottom line, if you're in Maple, you've got to eat here. Two thumbs up for Pho Friendly 18. read more

These people definitely live up to their name - Friendly! We always get the PO1 here, price is decent and portions are decent as well. For a small it's $8.50, $9.50 for medium and $10 for a large. I've been coming here on and off for almost 2 years now. They've always been giving a lot of beef.. thought recently I found that they gave a tad bit less but it is still a generous amount compared to other Pho places. The broth is soooo good, it is more on the beefy tasting end. The durian milkshake is to die for! The only complaint is that the soup is never really HOT but we don't find it an issue because our rare beef still gets cooked fine when mixed with the noodles. This place is a bit cold too in terms of general temperature. read more

Been here a few times this month and now it's my go to place. My boyfriend's family is Vietnamese and this is now their favorite as well - which says a lot. Their bun rieu and bun bo hue are amazing and filled to the rim with toppings. Their pho is good and has more meat that other restaurants. Durian milkshake is the BEST I've had - very smooth and no chunks of ice. And the cherry on top - free wifi, beautiful decor, clean washrooms and friendly service. A must go!!! read more

True to their name they are VERY friendly here-- SO much nicer than the old owners! The servers/ owners here now are always smiling and very polite. Despite another name change, the food is still really good, possibly even better than before, portions are sizable as well! I have ordered different things every time I've been here and I've enjoyed my meal every time. They do a really good fresh roll with beef. Their grilled chicken and grilled pork chops are amazing--- so flavourful and tender, and it comes with a huuge portion of broken rice. Their Pho is good, nice soup, lots of noodles and toppings even in a small. Bun Bo Hue is usually my go-to dish at any Viet restaurant, I thought it was just okay here, maybe it was an off-day, but I felt it could have use a little bit more flavour. Wasn't too much of a problem because you can just add in hot sauce/ fish sauce etc.. at the table. All of their veggies are super fresh. Definitely recommended! This place is now my go-to pho place in Vaughan again. read more

The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Generous portion of meat.

This place used to be the cats pajamas. The bees knees. Whatever you want to call it. It has since changed owners and is no longer up to the standard of these previous reviews. We went to their grand opening with high expectations based on the previous owners. The food is still pretty good, but we had easily one of the worst service experiences of our lives. Half our table got their food within 30 mins. The other half waited almost an hour before they told them what they had ordered was no longer in stock. As if they did not already know that... It ended up taking us 1.5 hours for our whole table to get our food and in that time we saw about 6 tables full of people stand up and walk out as they had been sitting there for over an hour with only water in front of them. They may turn things around as they get their feet under them but first impressions matter! read more

A hidden gem; definitely a difficult restaurant to find but once you do, it's hard to go back to another pho restaurant. The place is very spacious and clean (families frequently eat here). Staff is quite polite as well. What stood out to me here was the amazing pho they made. Broth was authentic made - it was full of beef flavour! This is quite different compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in which always make the broth either bland and watery or very sweet. This place hit the broth spot on. Also to mention the extremely generous amounts of meat in the bowl no matter what size you get! Even with that, the beef, noodle and soup ratio is perfect! Definitely give this place a try to experience the authentic taste of Vietnam! read more

Won't go back anymore and not recommended for anyone. No service, the owner has very bad attitude to his customer.

I've been here on numerous occasions with both family and friends. And most recently with the boyfriend. I can say it's become a go-to for some of my family members. The general consensus: Tasty food, huge portions, and priced very well. Most dishes are under the $10 mark. The Bun Bo Hue, Hu Tieu, rice, and the all the vermicelli dishes are highly recommended. Parking - lots of free parking in the commerical plaza Atmosphere - clean and spacious with high ceilings and lots of tables. read more

Good atmosphere; modern, bright, clean. Good service and delicious pho. Highly recommend if you're in the area. read more

Pho Friendly 18 - Vietnamese Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

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We found this place on Yelp and were really pleased with this restaurant. The kids had beef noodle soup and really enjoyed their meals. We also had the vermicelli with grilled chicken, shrimp on sugarcane and a spring roll which were all tasty. The service was friendly and very courteous. We would definitely return again. read more

Authentic Vietnamese food and the portions are very generous. Staffs are friendly, restaurant is clean, and free wifi. This is my family's new go-to Vietnamese restaurant in the area. My girlfriend ordered durian milkshake once and she said it was the best she had, it was creamy with lots of flavour. read more

Pho Friendly 18 - Large pho tai bo vien with SEVEN bo vien - Vietnamese Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

They changed their name again. This place used to be my favourite pho place in the area but I guess not anymore. The broth is too oily and less flavourful than before. I miss the old pho broth.....Bad service as well. They got my order wrong twice. I just ended up eating the wrong order because I was in a rush. The place is still clean and nice compared to most pho places in the GTA. I would not recommend this place. read more

This place was not bad but i wouldn't say it was great either. I actually prefered the place that used to be here to this one. Service was good but i didnt enjoy the food much. Pad thai was soggy and vermicelli was average. Not a bad pho place but i have had much better. read more

This place is delicious and very fair priced! We ordered fresh rolls with grilled pork and beef pho. Both had amazing flavour and just tastes fresh! Will definitely be coming back here! read more

The atmosphere is nice chill and relax event tho it's a bit hard to get into plaza (there's not a sign for the restaurant). The decor is semi modern with a hint of vintage Asian fixtures. The sever is quite nice and quite accommodating. The good thing about this place is that most dishes are a dollar cheaper than most pho places.The service Is pretty quick food coming in about 10-15 minutes. I had the house special with the avocado smoothie it's great so flavorful. Its was so good and filling I loved every mouthful. All in all great meal and amazing deal loved it finished the soup. read more