This Vietnamese restaurant is located at First Ave Market. You cannot see it from the street. It's hidden from sight, but It's been around for quite awhile. The restaurant needs a facelift. The inside definitely needs a good cleaning. Staff was no-nonsense. Not very friendly. A good bowl of pho, however prices skyrocketed since I was last there and more expensive in comparison to other nearby places. my experience today, it's no longer worth going there for a bowl of soup noodle. *Cash only* read more

Consistency in the taste,friendly crew,free parking are just few things that keeps me returning Kudos! read more

See all

Go on 10% off Tuesdays and get number fourty six. Order the salad roles with pork and shrimp. read more

Thai Son - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Decent pho. As with the other outlet on Victoria, this place is equally run down. A total hole in wall place. Do not expect too much in terms of service or cleanliness. There is 10% discount on Tuesday but it is hard to know since the bill is a handwritten scrawl. And if everybody's items are in the same bill, it is hard to calculate or tell. Basically I forgot about the discount as I did not see it and paid my portion using the regular price. It is a cash only establishment. Parking is available in the parkade though it is confusing. Thai Son is on the upper level open air lot. The covered lot where T&T is located is on the lower level. If you park there, you will need to find your way up. Or you can do street parking too. read more

See all

This Vietnamese restaurant certainly fits both the "hole in the wall" and "hidden gem" categories. While the outside of the restaurant looks dilapidated and uninviting, the inside of the restaurant is spacious and clean. It's a great place to eat when you're hungry, as the portions (both the meat and the noodles) are generous, AND the food arrives at the table at light speed. I had the number 6 (beef brisket), and the broth truly hit the spot. The brisket was not super fatty but still incredibly tender and flavourful. Oddly, the bean sprouts came with a wedge of lemon instead of lime, but now I'm just being annoying. read more

Thai Son - Well done beef brisket pho (large) - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Thai Son has various locations across Vancouver and Richmond, and my partner has been coming to Thai Son for years. I finally had a chance to try Thai Son for myself last weekend it is a no frills Vietnamese restaurant. The sitting area for this particular location was quite large and as we came during off lunch hours, there was ample room for physical distancing. The food was good but not outstanding. However, nothing beats a good bowl of soup on a cold winters day. read more

Thai Son - Pho Tai Nam, grilled lemon grass chicken with egg on rice - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

The good news is the place doesn't smell like rubber gloves anymore. Yay! The seafood pho I had here was a bit disappointing. The ingredients were quite cheap overall, with the fake crab and all. Soup and noodles were okay though. Stick with the beef dishes. read more

See all

This is a chain of restaurant in many locations in Vancouver & the surrounding city. The menu is quite extensive, from soup noodle (many variations) including Pho (Vietnamese noodles) to dry noodles, marinated meat in rice or rice noodles, rice rolls wrapped with vermicelli & veggie to deep fried veggie & meat spring rolls. Service is ok, you get your needs met eventually. Come for the food , don't expect 5 star service. We come here often, never had a bad dish. Definitely satisfied our craving, one of my favourite is the dry noodles. Menu can be confusing for first timer or a person who never had Vietnamese food. Don't be shy, live dangerously! Have fun & enjoy the food. read more

See all

This is for the First Avenue Market near Renfrew St. Lots of parking in the T & T parking lot. They have the biggest salad rolls for a very good price. Their Pho bowls are good size too. The only regret is that they do not make roll dip the crispy pork and vermicelli needs filled rolls. They make the egg roll type not the ones I like. We order the the salad rolls here for pickup and the rest somewhere else. Their peanut salad is nicely thick so it does not drip off so much. read more

I remember when they opened acouple years ago I was real happy that there would be one right around my house. I loved to go to their first location, on Broadway, and now this just made it easier and more convineint to go to. The one thing that I do come here for is the spicy soup that they put in their pho. You have to request it when you order, and it definately ads a little zing to a regular bowl of pho. Since they started opening up more stores around town it feels more like a chain restaurant than from how they started. Based on that, they are probably one of the better "pho" chains in the lower mainland. I will come here every so often, as it is located right in the First Avenue Marketplace, and just due to being able to shop for groceries afterwards. Definately on the plus side is the location. read more

Thai Son - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Good noddle soup. Hint is to order the soup with the most items to get your money worth. I usually order number 13 large and the portion is big. The decor is a bit run down and the restaurant is not that busy. The chairs need to be replaced or just the seats at least. It's a bit falling apart. But I don't mind. The food is good. It's like all pho places. The server or owner knows how to speak Chinese well. read more

Thai Son - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

It has been a few years since I have eaten at this location (1st & Renfrew) . Just because of proximity to downtown, I normally frequent the East Broadway location. I was happy to see one of my favourite servers (one of the owner's family members) and despite the years in between, she still recognized me and greeted me warmly as she was putting on her coat and stepping out of the restaurant. Thai Son is a 'cash only' establishment and this is often a deal breaker when negotiating where my friends and I want to go eat. I vote for Thai Son because I want the food, my friends prefer elsewhere because they prefer to pay with debit or credit cards. Today I got my way because I offered to pay! It was yet another, very wet day in Vancouver and cold wet days calls for soup! I ordered one of their specialty house noodle soups - Bún bò Hue THAI SON DAC BIET in size small. Bún bò Hue is one of those special vietnamese noodles soups that is 'not pho'. It uses a special noodle that is still a rice noodle (gluten free) but the shape is like spaghetti as it is round and thicker. Bún bò Hue uses a special spicy bone broth made from beef and pork bone that has light lemongrass flavour and spicy pepper. I like a very bright tasting broth and extra spice and the server was happy to accommodate my request for extra lime and two thai bird chilis along with the usual beansprout and basil accompaniments. I also requested that they omit the pork hock. My friend ordered a can of coke and an order of prawn salad rolls. The bill for the three items came to 17$ and I left a $20 to include the tip. A funny thing happened while we waited for our food. It was 3pm on a quiet weekday afternoon and with only one other table seated in the restaurant, I heard an exclamation (in Vietnamese) from the back towards the kitchen. It roughly translated to "OMG! I asked you to put on music and you put on 'Cai luong'?!?!" It turns out it was Vietnamese opera. Lol yes, some vietnamese music is soooo bad, even vietnamese people can't stand it! I wish Yelp allowed for half stars because I want to give 4.5 . The service was prompt, smiley and efficient. I give high marks for value and consistency. I have ordered the house special Bún bò Hue for 16 years now and it has remained consistent which says a lot. I didn't think my friend's prawn salad roll had that wow factor but then again, it's a pretty unexciting vietnamese menu item in general (anywhere you go) . I do appreciate that their prawn salad rolls are more true to Vietnamese standards because they include the slices of pork inside along with the prawn , but the peanut sauce is basic and nothing exceptional. On the way out, I noticed a sign in the window indicating that they offer a 10% off on Tuesdays. This is probably only at the 1st Ave location because I've never noticed anything like that at the E. Broadway location. I will remember to bring up the discount with my friends when I need to convince them to hit the cash machine to go eat here. read more

Thai Son - Thai Son (1st & Renfrew) ~ Bún bò Huế with pork hock omitted - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

One of my favorite restaurants in town. I think this is the BEST Vietnamese noodles place also!

Love the rice and Vietnsmese pancakes . The staffs are very friendly and the price is great . Lot of parking around and beside the restaurant has a little market so you can get some fresh vegetables or things after . They offer 10% off on every Tuesday so don't missed this place if you want to try some Vietnamese dishes read more

Spicy bun bon hue soup was watery and not spicy and the beef was rock solid and tasted stale. Been to other Thai son and much better food quality. Didn't even finish it. read more

Thai Son - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I had #13 rare beef, well done beef brisket and beef meatballs in noodle soup. Can you believe a small is only $6.55!? After reading another reviewers addition of extras I tempted myself with a side order of lemon grass chicken. I'm not sure what will arrive but I put my toe in the water. (Edit: wow it's fantastic-see photo) Oh and I ordered the $4.55 coffee, sweetened condensed milk and ice (aka yum!). For you newbies this is the ONLY way you should have coffee. It arrives: a small plastic container of ice, straw and spoon and another glass with a metal coffee ground containing strainer full of hot water. Ahhh. Within two minutes of ordering all has arrived (minus lemon grass chicken side order) but that arrived speedily thereafter. Yay. Cash only location! read more

See all

This is my favorite pho place in Van. The broth is really flavourful and tasty and the meats are nice and tender. The noodles are perfect as well. Their salad (summer) rolls are awesome! They have lots of fillings in them like mint leaves, pork, shrimp etc. Some places just have a few bean sprouts and some shrimp, that's it. I also tried their vietnamese beef stew, the beef was very tender but the stew could have used a little more seasoning and was a bit oily. But if your'e looking for good pho...this is the place! read more

Decided to come try this place out since I was already on my way over here anyways to shop at T&T. I ordered this beef rib thing and while price was competitive at best, the food was actually pretty okay. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was still pretty tasty for the most part. The prices were competitive at best. read more

Thai Son - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

With Thai Son's Broadway location closed for reno's and Kim Penh Xe Lua closed for good, (boo) I drove out to 1st and Renfrew to try this location to see if it's as good as the Broadway location. Yup! It is :) Delicious pho, and a piece of lemongrass chicken to go with it. A little more out of the way, but a little less every-open-moment-jam-packed, too. I'm sure when Broadway does re-open I'll check it out, but I may very well continue going here. read more

Thai Son - Thai Son, 1st Ave - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I think the food and prices are fair and reasonable. They served good sized food portions. Service was fast. We were seated right away when we entered the restaurant and served hot tea. After we placed our orders, the food arrived shortly afterwards. I found my rice dish to be very large for just under $9. It also came with a side of soup. Pork chops were moist and grilled nicely. The shredded pork was flavourful. Salad was fresh. Nice sunny side egg with a runny yolk. The side of soup was okay. It was nice to wash down the meal with soup. I did not manage to finish my meal and packed leftovers to take home. I did not try the pho. However, my friend said it was really good and I can see that it was loaded with toppings. Overall, it was a very satisfying meal for around $10 a person. Cash only! read more

See all

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a 5 star place, but the pho definitely deserves it. A good place to stop at and satisfy your noodle craving. Take a grain of salt with this review since I've only really eaten their pho and none of the other dishes. FOOD - Delicious, and generous portions. The broth - very fragrant - is filled to the brim of the bowl, even if you order a large. If processed MSG is used, I can't taste it; nor can any of my MSG-sensitive friends when I bring them here. Plenty of toppings to compliment the noodles and I always feel full leaving the place. Noodles are slightly al-dente and left to finish off cooking in the broth. SERVICE - Prompt and efficient. Just the way I like it. The staff will seat you, bring you menus, and take your order. Otherwise you'll have to flag them down if you want anything else. They're pretty attentive so it's not a problem. Also the food tends to come less then ten minutes after ordering. Head up to the counter to pay, your bill is waiting for you there. Cash only. ATMOSPHERE - Typical Vietnamese restaurant, feels like a borderline cafeteria. Not necessarily a bad thing if the food is really what you're after. The staff's socializing can get a bit loud. So can other customers. If you're looking for true hospitable restaurant experience, you'd be better off looking elsewhere. read more

Thai Son - Large Beef Ball and Beef Brisket Pho. - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Excellent Pho. Had it for takeout. They package takeout very well. Great quantity for a large size soup. Had the brisket pho. Excellent quantity of meat and soup. Great flavour. Good amount of condiments. I will definatly go back again. All in all very happy! Lots of free mall parking. At least two large party tables available, perfect for large groups. read more

Thai Son - Lots of free mall parking. - Vietnamese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Being Vietnamese myself, I've had my range of Vietnamese food ranging from the wonders of Southern California Vietnamese food to the real rural dirty Vietnamese food in Vietnam. Thai Son, I must say, is pretty decent for what you can get here in Vancouver. Forget the pho and stereotypical spring rolls, its specialty is in its rice plates. To be a truly authentic, the rice must be in the form of 'broken rice'. If you look carefully, the rice grains are actually half the size of what you would normally see and that's exactly the type of rice grain that is required for an authentic Vietnamese rice dish. Add in the lemongrass chicken, pork, shredded pork and some 'nuoc mam' (fish sauce, doesn't sound tasty but it's so good) and you have yourself an excellent Vietnamese rice dish. Let me know what you think. read more

I have been trying out Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver in hopes of finding something above average. So far, Thai Son ranks in the middle of the pack. I ordered the shredded pork with spring rolls on vermicelli. Nothing special here other than the portion size. I really don't understand why when ordering take-out, they give you the pork mixture cold, wrapped up in plastic wrap, separate from the rest of the vermicelli/veggies. Maybe someone reading this can explain. I've never seen that until I moved here to Vancouver. The spring rolls were pretty tasty. Thai Son puts whatever that green herb that tastes like black licorice in their dishes. I hate that herb. Yuck. So this meal wasn't one of my favorites. Service was very friendly and quick. I will most likely return here to try something else that hopefully won't be cold & come wrapped in plastic wrap. Wish me luck! read more

Was here this weekend. Craving not Pho (pho from Thai Son is usually better at the broadway location) but com (rice dishes). I ordered the lemongrass chicken shredded beef on broken rice - usually came with soup, but I guess they altered the menu. It was really good. The lemongrass chicken is so awesome there. My boyfriend ordered the pork and beef version of my dish, they were also very very well marinated. When you feel like vietnamese food, but don't want noodles in soup, try the bun (vermicelli noodles), and com (rice dishes). They are even better than pho sometimes! read more

So I went to this pumpkin carving party and somehow we got onto the topic of Pho (my latest obsession). I was then invited to meet up with friends for their weekly Pho. It was nice cold day, perfect for Pho. We had to wait for a table to open up but as soon as we sat down, hot tea was delivered. As per usual, I ordered the Beef Pho and Salad Rolls. These rolls were interesting because aside from the shrimp they also had pork inside them. The dipping sauce was amazing!! We also ordered the spring rolls - again delicious. Even though I ordered the small soup, it was too big to finish. But very delicious. This was also my first time having iced coffee. My first sip was overpowering - but I quickly developed a taste for it. By the end i was chewing on the ice cubes to ensure that not a single drop was wasted. Make sure to take cash with you - it's the only thing they accept. read more

Food here is legit, they do serious volume, so everything is fresh. like may asian joints, service is meh...i mean come on...thats just how it is. 5/5 for food. 3/5 for service. oh and cash only. read more

Casual Vietnamese restaurant with your usual Vietnamese dish. We normally get a bowl of Pho or Seafood Pho, which comes with prawns, squid, and imitation crab meats. It's a simpler soup to enjoy if you want a different noodle soup. For the adventurous try the pancake crepe dish with with assorted meats and veggies. Also the beef rib noodle wraps are great. You get to wrap your own like tasty size morsel. Also there's dish are ginormous. Enjoy! read more

Was trying to get lunch at Song Huong but failed to find non iced over parking and ended up in the covered parking for the T&T market to find food. Ventured into Thai Son as it looked crowded. Not sure why Yelp has this listed as a Thai restaurant - but I've submitted a correction so hopefully it won't be for long as this is a typical Vancouver type Vietnamese restaurant. I ordered by favourite test dish: Pho Tai Gan. The rare beef was as I like it - very rare. It also was very flavourful, almost of the quality you find at Pho Trang An. The tendon was also the gelatinous type (the kind I like), although I wish there was more of it. They were very generous with the noodles, and they were cooked al dente as I like. The condiment plate had very fresh basil, deseeded jalapeno slices, hot bean sprouts (I actually prefer them raw), and lemon (I prefer lime). The broth itself was a bit greasier than I like, but had good flavour. Service was friendly, but it took a while for the pho to arrive. Overall if I was looking for pho with covered parking I would return. When the weather gets better I would probably just go down the street in either direction to Song Huong or up to Kingsway and hit my favourite Pho Trang An. read more

I am on some real mean obsessive streak on Vietnamese rice dishes. It's so ridiculous that I'll go overboard with my ordering. Before I'd order a small pho with a side (a regular portion really) of lemongrass chicken and maybe some spring rolls. Now that I've gotten away from Pho (ramen is so much better), I load my rice dishes up with "extras." Extra lemongrass chicken, extra egg, extra porkchop, extra rice - that type of thing. On this trip to Thai Son it was just your run of the mill lemongrass chicken with grilled porkchop, and the portion was above average and taste was well above average. Good food! Inside it's old, sunglass bright, and like most pho places diveish, but it's good. I just wish it was open later than 10 p.m. read more

I've been coming to this Thai Son location for years since it's in my neighbourhood. I find the food is very consistent and never fails to disappoint. Nothing like a yummy bowl of pho or lemongrass chicken with rice to brighten up a dreary Vancouver day. The service is the only part that is inconsistent. Some people are friendlier than others and I often to have ask multiple times for ice water, an extra bowl, etc. Basically, anything that deviates from regular service seems to be hit-or-miss. That being said, the food is good and the service is decent and that's why I come here. read more

I hardly eat Vietnamese food since I'm usually sick of how much of it I ate growing up but whenever I crave it, I will head to Thai Son. Don't expect much for decor or ambiance, you come here to eat and leave, not to admire the place. It gets pretty busy during lunch hour but the place is fairly spacious so you won't have to wait long for a seat. I love and will only order the rice dishes here. I would say it's the best in Vancouver and don't even bother trying it anywhere else. They serve the usual dishes but with broken rice like it's supposed to be served and in an extremely fair portion. Depending on what you get (grilled pork or chicken) they all come with fish sauce and veggies (cucumber, tomato, and lettuce). My favourite has the fried egg on top with shredded and grilled pork. And as other reviewers said, it's cash only. read more

Went for a quick lunch there before my mother's eye doctor appointment. Mom ordered pho and I ordered grilled lemongrass chicken on rice. It was around noon when we went and the place was getting busy; we had no trouble finding seating immediately. Mom's pho arrived first, very promptly. My grilled plate came and the size of it was a bit overwhelming even though I was hungry! There was rice, cold salad, grilled chicken and some shreds of 'I-don't-know-what-it-was,' sauce and what I assume is soup. Portions were plentiful. Although it was lunch, my mother was unable to finish her pho; I shoveled everything I had in me (only because I don't like taking home doggie bags) but the whole dish was delicious, hit the spot. It's not a fancy place by any means but the food was good and portions are very good. Prompt attentive service can be found here too. CASH ONLY. read more

The more I come to this place the more I like it. The vermicelli is super tasty! Start loving the customized service after coming here a few times. Very friendly and hard working to make my lunch as comfortable as possible. I will be back of course because I work close by :))) read more

I've never been to this location and my dad passed this place the day before so he took the whole family. Parking is easy, since a T&T is right below it. We came about 7pm, place wasn't packed, but wasn't empty. Decor needs to be improved, the chairs were ripped and the atmosphere felt like I was in the back of the kitchen. I ordered #16 which was rice noodles with brisket and beef balls. They are very plentiful on rice noodles, even though I ordered the small size. When you think of pho, the soup must be very flavourful, but the soup here tasted like water with a little salt. I had to drown the soup in sriracha and hoisin sauce because I couldn't taste anything. The beef balls did not look house made, found bits of bone in them as well. Brisket was fine and the noodles were tender. This place needs a lot more improvement. read more

Heard from a friend that this place is really good so I decided to try it. Ordered beef noodle soup which was very standard and nothing special. Average Vietnamese noodle. Service is standard too. read more

This is my all-time favorite Pho restaurant. The staff are kind, the food comes quickly and best of all, it is DELICIOUS! I've probably eaten 100 times and it's always good. My faves are Lemongrass chicken on broken rice, rare beef noodle soup (pho) and their "to die for" grilled beef short ribs. read more

Like a lot of Vietnamese restaurants the decor is subpar and dated but the food is really authentic and tasty. This is the only Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver they use real pork shavings on their salad rolls instead of Vietnamese ham so I'll go their just for the salad rolls. The lemon grass pork on rice is really good and the portions are generous for the price. I would recommend this restaurant to my family and friends. read more

Was just ok. The spoon was not clean when my friend was taking it. The service was just ok as the server was not friendly at all. I tried Pho and I would score it 7 out of 10. read more

I love their rice dishes here. You can't go wrong with less than $10 to get you filled to the top! AND they open pretty late too! Don't expect great service, just expect decent food and Bob's your uncle. read more