First of all this is our family's favorite restaurant. I found this in 2011 and it still is the same quality food. I rarely found a restaurant that has the same standards in costumer service, food and receipy. I denfinit'y recommande this restaurant for freinds and family. If I want to treat the kids even like adults this is their first choice. read more

It's about time I write a review for this place - now that I've had my 2nd visit! Mind you, the first time I was there was before I started using Yelp, so no wonder I haven't written before! First of all, they moved to this location about 2 years ago. According to one of the waiters, they were at the previous space for about 10 years. My last visit was to the old place. This place is better - cleaner and more spacious, although there are still a lot of tables crammed into the space. Pho Van Van gives stiff competition to my other favourite Pho place (Ox Head in Kanata Centrum)! Pho Van Van has a bit nicer ambiance. You can get meals for under $10 as many Pho soups are under that price, although my soup came in 1 size only (too big - I needed help to finish it!) and it came in at $10.50. But they do offer bigger, more fulsome meals as well, if that's what you're looking for. I ordered a Number 65, which is Wonton Soup with Egg Noodles. It was deliious! The service was quick enough; we were seated in an intimate corner and offered a pot of tea, which was very much appreciated and welcome. I will definitely go back. read more

Pho Van Van - Wonton and egg noodles - #65 - Vietnamese Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

So I took my parents and husband here for lunch (primarily as a thanks to my dad for changing my snow tires for me - yeah my dad is awesome!). I chose the place mainly because it's walking distance from my house. I had the #69 My Tho Noodle Soup ($10.50). I have to say, the tapioca noodles were phenomenal. They were so transparent, which suggests they were made of pure tapioca flour and no other filler. They were super chewy and very delicious. Although they were tricky to eat because they give you metal chopsticks and the noodles were really slippery. At one point, I just gave up and used a fork and spoon, although the fork was also metal, so it only helped slightly. Luckily the spoon was plastic, so that helped a bit more. It came with 3 large shrimp, several rings of calamari and several slices of fried fish cakes. There were some fried shallots, green onions and bean sprouts in the soup as well. The shrimp were completely peeled (which I appreciated, I don't know why some places leave the shell on the tail) and properly de-veined. They were nice a plump and tasted good. The calamari were only slightly rubbery, I gave most of them to my dad nonetheless. The fish cake slices were good and didn't taste like it had too much flour filling, like at some places. I would have liked some more vegetables though, like maybe some bok choy or napa cabbage. The broth was ok, it wasn't overly oily or salty, but it wasn't particularly fragrant. I liked my soup, but I wasn't wowed by it. My parents both had the Special Combo Pho (#100). My mom had the small ($9) and my dad had the large ($11). This pho comes with tendon, tripe, beef meat balls, well done beef, rare beef and a quail egg. Their main complaint was that the broth was too sweet. Other than that, they said the meats were very good. The tendon and tripe were soft and the meats were good. My mom has a keen palette and sometimes complains of meats tasting freezer-burnt at pho restaurants, but she said the meat at Pho Van Van was good and did not taste freezer-burnt at all. My husband got the #207 Grilled Shrimp, Beef and Chicken with rice ($12). It came with 4 sizeable shrimp, a skewer of beef and a skewer of chicken (they de-skewer it for you before they plate it so you don't have to worry about the pesky sticks), a mound of white rice and a salad that was mostly iceberg lettuce, but also had tomatoes, cucumber and carrots. My husband really enjoyed his meal. I noticed a lot of oil on his plate when he finished, so I probably would have found the meats too oily/greasy. He said the flavour was good. The restaurant is on the ground floor of a condo building and doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it's quite nice. It's clean and modern looking and there is pretty art work on the walls, including some Vietnamese embroidered art. Some of the lights hang pretty low, so if you are tall, be careful you don't hit your head (like my husband did). Washrooms were very clean and I loved the black cherry merlot hand soap (smelled so good!). Service was polite and efficient. They give you a pot of complimentary tea when you sit down. There aren't too many pho places in Westboro/Hintonburg, so if you are in the area and craving some pho, Pho Van Van is a good choice, but I prefer the tastier and more flavourful broths of the pho places in Chinatown. Street parking only. read more

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I don't understand negative reviews. Been coming 20+ years. Consistently very good Vietnamese food. Enjoy and encourage your local businesses. Good, hot, fresh and delicious every time. read more

Pho soup with rare and well done beef was best that I can remember Lots of beef, rice noodles and green onions Serviced nice and hot Waitress was quick and efficient Enjoyed whole experience read more

My office ordered lunch from Pho Van Van and we really liked it The delivery was fast, the presentation was lovely and it all tasted amazing!! I am very excited to have found my new Pho place. I will definitely order again and introduce friends to this place. The reason I did not give it 5/5 stars is because when we got our pho container we didn't't know what was in. It had numbers which we couldn't match with the online menu. Other than that this place makes delicious PHO read more

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My go-to for vermicelli in Ottawa! The food from Pho Van Van is consistently delicious and fresh, and the portions are generous (especially for the price). I highly recommend their grilled beef vermicelli, and the salad rolls are solid as well. read more

Went for a lovely bowl of Pho with 2 girlfriends last night - first time visiting Pho Van Van and it was delicious. Was a very warm and comfy atmosphere almost like you were visiting someone's home but it is all dining room. Service was great - to the point that tea appeared almost magically on the table - we didn't even notice the server putting it on the table, they were that good at not disrupting your visit. Had a #1 with Shrimp (Fresh noodle rolls) and a #319 shrimp on sugar cane, with beef and a spring roll. The beef and shrimp were outstanding, but the spring roll I found a little too greasy. Other than that - was lovely. Despite being seated near the door, we were not cold. Keep that in mind when the place is busy and the tables near the door are all that is left. We'll be back. read more

I was in the mood for pho yesterday so I decided to give Pho Van Van a try. The pho comes in 3 sizes: small ($8.50), regular or large. The small was just enough for me. A large would probably be enough for 2 people. I've had my fair share of pho and the quality of the pho was not bad at all. There was a generous amount of meat. In addition to pho, they had quite a wide selection of stir-frys, appetizers, vermicelli and drinks. Most items were within the $10-15 price range. They can get quite busy at lunch. It did take them a while to finally come and take our orders and to bring our food out. When you pay, you have to walk up to the cashier so don't sit there all day waiting for them to bring you your bill! read more

Been to several other Vietnamese restaurants in Ottawa. This one is unfortunately my least favourite. Wish I had a better experience as this spot is in my neighbourhood. The decor is nice... but my chicken was dry. Salad rolls were mostly lettuce. Also the food came so quickly that I think it is pre-cooked and not fresh. Customer service was not very good either - they didn't take our order correctly and when we informed the server, she was not apologetic. Would not come back. read more

A friend of ours was raised in Hong Kong. Whenever we go to a Chinese restaurant with her, she orders and we always have a better meal than we do when we go without her. All that to say that picking the right dishes from a menu with dozens and dozens of choices is as important as the quality of the offerings. Pho Van Van is Vietnamese, not Chinese, but the principle applies as well. So I may blame my rating on our own poor choices, but, as two stars implies, I've definitely had better. We picked two deep fried appies. Both were overdone with the wrapping brown and hard rather than golden and crispy. We ordered five plates. Many of the menu choices seem to consist of a pile of plain vermicelli topped with chopped peanuts, unadorned shredded lettuce, carrots and bean sprouts and a chunk of over-cooked meat. Some options allow you to wrap these ingredients to make a roll. I was not impressed. Better choices often had the word "vegetable" in the title. We had a good shrimp curry with veggies, spicy beef with veggies and veggies with tofu. While these were the highlights of the meal, I still must say that I've had better. The restaurant is new, the decor is pleasant and cleanly modern. But the food arrives so fast that it makes me think it isn't even reheated, but sits there under heat lamps, slowly desiccating until it's served. Don't think we'll be going back. read more

I choked on a bit of satay soup (which has become my Viet restaurant fave) and it *hurt.* Yes, it hurt because it was spicy, but it also felt like a super-concentrated saline solution. It was a pain akin to snorting a teaspoon of ocean water, which is probably just about how salty my soup was. My shrimps were mealy, too (yuck), and the chicken had those weird striations that make me question its source. On the other hand, the ambiance is decidedly nicer than most pho restaurants in its area, and the place is half-empty most of the time...probably because the food really is pretty so-so. The spring rolls were solid, but nothing remarkable about 'em. So head on to somewhere else in Chinatown - you're bound to find much better food elsewhere. read more

I decided to check out Pho Van Van after reading a positive review in the Ottawa citizen. The restaurant itself is nice but a bit quirky. The wood paneling and fireplace make it feel like you're sitting down to a meal in a German restaurant. The service was efficient and friendly. The pho here is top notch. The quality of the beef is excellent and the broth is so tasty that it doesn't need need hot sauce or hoisen to enhance the flavour. The fried spring rolls were decent but nothing special. We'll be back. read more

On a 3 night 4 day trip to the nation's capital, our first night dinner landed us here at Pho Van Van. 2/5 for service, cleanness and ok food. I mainly picked it from google maps as it's 5mins from our hotel. Interior was nice and clean. Service as others have noted was super fast and über friendly. They do offer ubereats too. Pun totally intended :) The prices were a little steeper than those in TO. A small was $9, medium $10 and a large at $11. Now I think I'd be ok with the prices if the portions came to match. A medium here is like a small in most places I've been to. The large wasn't anymore than the medium. We ordered a large raw beef pho and a medium raw beef with beef balls pho. To put it in perspective, my 5 yr old ate most of medium that I thought we would be able to share. In hindsight I probably should have ordered her her own bowl had I known what the portions were really like. I had 2 chopsticks of noodles and all 5 slices of beef, that was cooked by the time it arrived as well as the whole 2 (maybe) full sized beef balls cut into quarters. My daughter refused to eat the meat as it was pretty tough. Not the marbled beef slices. The beef broth was ok. A little on the sweet side and the beef flavour wasn't as strong as the raw beef really wasn't that raw. The rice noodles were really good. It's the dry type so thinner. It was cooked to a nice al dente. I would have ordered another bowl but didn't feel like paying the $10 more and they were shutting down for the night. I'm not a big eater, but needless to say I left hungry. Well one less place to try in Ottawa. read more

Two coworkers and I decided to order from Pho Van Van for lunch today with uber eats and it was definitely a good decision! Upon reading other yelpers reviews (Thanks Jana D.!) I decided to get the won ton soup with egg noodles. I love won ton soup so as soon as I saw that she had given it a good review I ordered it no questions asked. One of my coworkers also followed suit and we both thoroughly enjoyed it and said we would definitely order from there again. I agree with other Yelpers that it would be nice if they labelled their containers somehow because it was a tad confusing when we got the order but seeing as two of us had ordered the same thing and one had ordered a noodle dish it was pretty easy to figure out. The soup's broth was sooo tasty - probably the best broth I have ever had hands down. The soup had egg noodles (thin) and bean sprouts and green onions, cilantro and the only downside was I would have loved more wontons because they were delicious. For a side we split the shrimp salad rolls with peanut sauce and they were quite tasty - nothing overly special compared to other places they were thin and long but they were definitely good. My coworker who got the vermicelli noodle dish with two proteins was quite happy. She said it was the best chicken she had ever gotten from a pho restaurant. I will be checking this place out in person for sure but definitely would recommend it! read more

The Bun was good, I particularly enjoyed the spring rolls. The ambience is good, it's a nice location as well. The service was very fast. The ingredients were fresh. I'll be back to try the pho for sure! read more

My food was decent. I liked the spring roll. The chicken could be marinated better for the taste but it was not bad.

I went here for lunch with my boss from work since its only a 10 minute walk away, just off of wellington. From the outside it doesn't look like much but once you walk in the restaurant is very spacious and modern looking with a great ambience. The tables seem kind of crammed into the first area but I noticed they had extra seating at the back of the restaurant which seems more open. The server sat us down and took our order promptly as it wasn't too busy in there and gave us a free pot of tea which was decent enough for being free. I ordered the #107, medium pho with rare beef, well done and tripe ($11). The pho came out piping hot with the typical limes, Vietnamese basil, and bean sprout accompaniment. The broth was pretty good and very flavourful so I only added a little dab of hoisin and siracha for the sweet and spicy kick I like as well as a little on the side for some dipping action. The beef was very delicious and tender as was the tripe which I find to be too chewy/hard sometimes at other pho places I've been to. I also opted in to get a Vietnamese iced coffee since it was pretty hot outside after walking and the fact that I'm turning into a caffeine addict. The ice coffee was phenomenal and I would recommend anyone try it even if you slightly dislike coffee or don't drink it often like myself. It had the slightly bitter coffee taste with a very mellow sweetness afterwards from the condensed milk which made a perfect combination of flavours. It was by far one of the best coffees I've had and will be back for another sometime in the future. Overall, I'd definitely recommend people stop by this place for a solid meal and some good iced coffee! It doesn't hurt that the price of food here won't break the bank either! read more

I love this place! Great for Pho. My husband wil get the Cantonese style chow mein from time to time. He gives it thumbs up everytime. Delivery is always perfect, fast and accurate. We love eating there too. There is free parking. It's very affordable, clean and awesome service too. read more

I've ordered from Pho Van Van twice this month & was happy with both orders. However, the first time I ordered there was tons of meat & lots of broth. The second time, I feel like they maybe sent us the wrong size because the containers seemed to be half full. Still super delish! The broth is up there as one of my favourites! I'm happy they are on uberEats! read more

My first time going there and I was impressed by the service, atmosphere, and food. Upon entering the restaurant I was immediately seated. The waiters would check in every 4 minutes or so on the order and the food did not take too long to come out. For me service was impressive.The beef balls were just right! and the noodles weren't overcooked. As for the fried rice. It was nothing like I'd tasted before. It had a nice hint of turmeric and other spices to it and nice chunks of meat to complete the taste. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a delicious meal that's not overpriced and wants to be in a calm environment. perfect for families and friends. read more

Firstimers here. We really enjoyed the Bun and salad rolls. Service was pleasant and efficient. We will definitely be back. Yeah tasty food!!!! read more

My favourite restaurant in Ottawa. My wife and I have been regulars for the last six years. Good service, best pho in town. The service is quick and efficient, the staff is friendly. read more

Non offensive is about the best I can say, pho was bland and no real flavour profile. The place may be more esthetically pleasing and easier to get to than the places on somerset but the broth isn't nearly as tasty. No idea how the other menu offerings are, if pho is in the name I wasn't there to order a steak. read more