The pho was very good and the broth was rich but I was a bit disappointed with the noodles A bit overcooked and I thought there could have been more meat for the price. But otherwise a good place to stop by for a quick dinner! Flavors were good and service was nice! read more

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE It may not have the best broth in town (I know, that's subjective), but the value and service are there - recommended if you're in the area and have a hankering for Vietnamese cuisine! === 2. FOOD Cold Cut & Prawn Salad Roll ($9.50) For two rolls at this price, it's not necessarily the best value in town, but when you get it as part of a combo (see menu), it's totally worth it. Good taste, well wrapped; just wish the takeout sized peanut sauce container was a little larger. Special Pho ($18 regular; $21 jumbo) It's got all of the meats minus the intestines - good solid option. Broth connoisseurs would likely find the broth better elsewhere (e.g., Green Leaf, etc.) since the broth here is a little thin - almost as if it was watered down - but overall the taste is good. Beef Ball Pho ($16 regular; $17 large, $21 jumbo) Same story here: it's good; I just wish the broth was a little thicker. But overall it's flavourful and comforting on a cold day. I should note that each pho comes with your choice of a can of pop/soda: they have Coca-Cola products available. === 3. SERVICE It's good and fast and appears to be available in English and Vietnamese. === 4. ENVIRONMENT The small-ish place is simple and clean. There are a number of two-seat and four-seat tables available, so while small groups and potential one group of 8 could fit, you're likely want to take out if you have a large party. Wheelchairs and baby strollers could likely fit just fine. Parking is as plentiful as it is in the shopping complex lot outside - a little crowded during mealtimes. read more

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Fast and fairly cheap! You get a free drink with every $20 you spend which I think is awesome :) however the actual food was just okay, nothing special at all. The fried spring rolls I had tasted a bit too much like the fryer unfortunately, but my pho was pretty decent. read more

I stopped by this place with my family for a quick lunch in Victoria. The staff was super kind and accommodating. The items we ordered were all traditional favorites and executed pretty well. The highlights were the special pho and generously sized fresh shrimp spring rolls. The bahn mi didn't use the traditional baguette bread but the flavors were good and was still quite filling. Not pictured were our Vietnamese coffees which were so good but definitely strong! We had to keep adding ice to tame it down. Delicious none the less. Thanks Phonomenal for a great meal. read more

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Ordered take-out from this place for lunch today (rice with braised tomato shrimps and salt/pepper fried squid). The braised shrimps were tasty (better than expected ... but the sakt/pepper fried squid could be better. I would recommend the restaurant uses less batter for the salt/pepper fried squid ... a dusting if flour then deep fry woukd make the dish better. I woukd definitely order from this place again. read more

Phonomenal Vietnamese Cafe - two trays of food - Vietnamese Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

First things first, I was appalled at the service from one particular waitress here. When I came in, she asked me if I wanted to eat at a table or at the bar table facing the window. I opted for the former, and was then told "but it's a 2-person table". Why bother offering it then if you knew I was a solo diner? Plus, the restaurant was barely full and I would be done my meal before the lunch rush. Once seated (at the 2-person table), I asked for a few minutes to look at the menu, yet she just stood there and waited for me to order. I repeated myself, and she rolled her eyes and walked away. Seriously. The saving grace was that my large beef brisket pho ($12.75) came fairly quickly, along with my bean sprouts and Thai basil. Though I did add a substantial amount of chili oil and sauces to flavour the broth to my liking, it was still good as is and piping hot. The noodles had some chew and bounce, while the beef brisket was thinly cut and quite generous in portion size. Ultimately, I don't think the pho here lives up to its name of being "phonomenal" as I have certainly had better elsewhere. For a quick and hot meal though, it does the job. read more

Phonomenal Vietnamese Cafe - Beef Brisket Pho (Large) - $12.75 - Vietnamese Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Affordable, authentic Vietnamese food. Server was attentive and food came out quickly. Pork and ginger chicken were both great. Leaving the restaurant satisfied! read more

First time here, picked up a grilled pork Vietnamese sandwich and an order of spring rolls. Delicious, hot and fresh! I will be back for sure. read more

The worst restaurant ever. Be careful, Your fried chicken is still raw！！！It's like a shit hole. read more

Phonomenal Vietnamese Cafe - Raw fried chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Decent food priced a bit too high for what it is.. Was served by who I assume was the owner and food was delivered not in front of me but as far away as you could from me, no one checked in throughout. The atmosphere was very frantic and loud with the owner micro managing. Decent food though. read more

It's unfortunate that the food is so good here because the service can be questionable... Like other posters, my partner and I went in on a non busy day, (only one other customer in the dining room), and tried to sit at a larger table. However the server informed us to sit on the same side of the table, presumably so someone else could share with us even tho it's empty?? We moved to a tiny table which is fine, but I don't really see why that should matter. They usually never check up on you or refill drinks, and sometimes hover awkwardly while you're deciding. Food is quite good though if you don't mind the awkwardness. read more

the best spicy beef pho i've ever had! customer service was great and really friendly staff!

I don't know why all the negative reviews around customer service. The people that work there have always been nothing but gracious and kind to me. Yesterday I went in about five minutes before closing and even though the kitchen was basically closers they made me my pho and had it ready in about five minutes. It's obviously a small business, I think they do the best they can, sometimes it's super busy and everyone is just human! The pho is among the absolute best in town, definitely deserves five stars and in my experience they are kind, prompt and accommodating to special requests. That's about all I think you can ask for when you go out or get food!! read more

There is not many Vietnamese places in Victoria that have a good broth, Phonomenal has a great flavor, good meals and friendly staff! However I would have ranked it a 5, but I was disappointed that the beatle delicacy a previous reviewer mentioned was left out. Thanks and I'll be back! read more

Phonomenal Vietnamese Cafe - Vietnamese Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

This place is super small and waaaaay too brightly lit. No music whatsoever so all you hear is people talking and the servers running around the room. That's right, you heard me, there are servers...they take your order they bring you your food, and that's it. You're on your own after that. I asked the server for our bills separate but they came together. OH and my friend found a hair in her food (but it was small so she took it out and ate her food and didn't tell the server). The wonton soup is listed under the "beef broth and rice noodle" in the menu. (On the website it says "noodle soups". Apparently the wonton does not have noodles with it. I assumed it did so I ordered a side of vegetables. When my soup arrived, my first question was "are these a side of veggies or did they come in the soup? Because there's 4 tiny slivers of carrot and 3 very small pieces of broccoli" and then my second question was "where are my noodles?" And NOW my question is "what would an $11 bowl of soup look like without noodles or vegetables?" And also i thought wonton soup was Chinese, and I thought it came with peas or something. Just... a lot of confusion. I just noticed the online menu does say "add noodles $1" but it's still listed under "noodle soup" so no, I don't want noodles with my noodles. Sigh. The broth was also nice. 3 out of 5 stars. It was very light in color so maybe not cooked for that long. Idk. Oh, the soup spoons are not deep enough and too flat. Even if you do get some broth on there, it will slide back into the bowl by the time you get it to your mouth (And yes I do know how to use a spoon). Minor issue, really, but still annoying. All around, a decent 2 stars read more

The Pho is ok, but the highlight is the Vietnamese sandwiches, they are Awesome!! Try the vegetarian sub, it has tofu that tastes like chicken and the sauce is super tasty. Only complaint is the consistency of each order. One time I ordered a sandwich and it was loaded with sauce, a week later I ordered the same thing, it was dry.... read more

By far, my favorite Pho in town. Food and staff are amazing with a consistent track record for raising the bar! Love it! read more

I went during evening dinner rush. Service was quick and polite. Food was average, although the stirfry noodle was really salty. The pho was tasty, good portion. Like another review, sitting near the washroom there is a noticeable urine or unpleasant smell coming from washroom. read more

Great little Vietnamese place - fast service and tasty pho and banh mi. It can be difficult to find a seat, but it's no real issue.

This see to be our go-to pho place. Yummy food, average service (except the male server, he is awesome!) and reasonable prices. However, that has all changed as their prices have gone up SO much. What used to be $8 is now 10.95 & dishes that used to be $11 are now 15.95. The value used to be good but you can not raise prices and decrease portion sizes. Sorry not cool. On to the next I guess... read more

The only reason not five stars is because they don't have tripe!!!!! Wtf you mean you don't have tripe!! Other then that the pho is good. A little cramped if busy but I'll definetly hit this one up again! In my top five soup joints in Victoria. It may be fifth but it's in the top five! We like it! read more

Rushed me to decide what I wanted to eat even though I asked for EXTRA time. I panicked and chose a random menu item and just had to go with it. Turns out I ordered beef and broccoli and I don't eat beef!!!! I feel that the service does not match the quality of food served here. Rude and very pushy. Unbelievable. Very sad... good food though! read more

Interesting. Clean. Quick, efficient service. Small. Popular. Pricey. Average. A couple of other Pho places on our list were closed on Sunday and this one got ok reviews so tried it. Nothing really wrong with the place but we found both the vegetable and brisket noodle soup to be very ordinary. bland, actually. Lots of young Asian folks for pick up and I guess that is the main customer base. The pho was 25% higher than other pho places in Victoria and 30% higher than the best Vancouver has to offer. 25 to 30% higher, I consider to be a built in tip so they got no more. read more

It may have been a one time thing but the Pho that they served me was quite bland for my Vietnamese tongue, had to drench my broth in hot sauce and hoisin sauce which is never a good sign. The noodles looked like they were plopped right into the broth from its packaging (still in its square form). The noodles were a bit tough, however, the meat was perfect in being tender and the price was fair for the amount given (a regular sized bowl). read more

Best broth in town. Service is always fast, but the prices have creeped up a bit. The chilli oil is top notch.

I'm a big fan of Vermicelli bowls. I love Pho, but the salt is crazy, and I have to watch that. So I am always on the prowl for a new place for an awesome Vermicelli bowl. Well, I found one! This place hasn't been open very long, but they're doing really well. A lot of people order a head of time and so they're very adept at "to go" orders. If you are staying - which they will ask you when you walk in the door - they'll ask you to sit down and then you get full on table service. They are super fast, which I appreciate, and the food that comes out of the kitchen is incredible and also fast. For appies we've tried the prawn salad roll and the shrimp on sugar cane. Both are excellent. I always get the Pho-nomenal Vermicelli bowl and it has all my favorite things. Grilled pork, spring roll and shrimp on sugar cane. Amazing! the salad in the bowl is fresh and tasty and I love the whole flavor combo. They do a great job on the Vietnamese coffee and i'ts delicious as well. they also do these sandwiches which look great, but I've never tired them. - Bread has a lot of salt in it - but I've never seen them anywhere else. All in all a great place and has now become one of my local favorites. If you need a quick lunch or just want some awesome Vietnamese food, try this place out. read more

This a pretty reliable place. Excellent soup. Banh mi is above average but not killer. Appetizers are good. It doesn't have super atmosphere, but I like coming here. Good honest, clean-tasting food. read more

This restaurant was priced fairly decent and the food was great. Nice clean atmosphere as well and the service was friendly

I like their soup. The place is small so it fills up pretty quick. Of all the pho I've tried in Victoria, I liked this place the best. The soup wasn't as salty as others. They gave plenty of meat for their house special, which I think is reasonably priced. One minus was the waitress who saw that the restaurant was filling up and people waiting, she rushed us to leave. read more

Delicious food. Space is a little cramped, but not a major issue.