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Wooden Fish

4.0 (73 reviews)
Open 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

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WOODEN FISH ATMOSPHERE

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Dogs allowed
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Wooden Fish

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Reviews With Photos

Robin L.

Man oh man, this humble Vietnamese joint in West Van packs a punch. Although the menu is not much different from most other Vietnamese spots in Vancouver, the star of the show for me, personally, was their array of hot sauces. Typical Viet pho spots usually have the basic combination of hoisin and sriracha as accompaniments to a bowl of pho. I was honestly looking around for the duo of squeeze bottles but was pleasantly surprised by how the sauces strangely worked with our meal. Noodles were good but nothing special. Definitely will come back to try out their other rice dishes because they looked DIVINE as they were rushed past us. Pho bowls are offered in mini and regular - mini was cool because it allowed you to try other options on the menu while still getting a little slurp of soup!

The story of Wooden Fish. The reason for the name and the intent behind the business.
Chris C.

One of those moments at the end of a lovely day and the conversation goes something like "where do you want to eat tonight?" The thought of being downtown is awful...hot summer night, BC Lions game on, beaches packed. So over the bridge to West Vancouver and to Wooden Fish because it's there, it's reliable and the owners and workers there are kind. All they want is for you to enjoy the food, but - and this seems true of many family run Vietnamese places - there is a story they want you to be a part of. So the story of Wooden Fish is captured on their menu, and I share that below, because it's an important part of the experience of eating there. The food is great. A small bowl of spicy beef noodle soup hit the spot and I wish I had noticed the specials sheet because the satay soup bowl looked amazing too. They were out of the home made lychee kombucha of the day, but that's on me. They always sell out of it. I love the staff here. They care for you as a team. They make your day better. Let them feed you, feed your bellies and your heart. It's good food, not standard Vietnamese fare, but home touched, played with a little, offered proudly and quickly but with care and genuine gratitude.

Rolls
Shruti J.

The one thing I would highly recommend out here is the egg foam Vietnamese coffee. It was creamy, did not smell like eggs and perfect strength. The rolls out here were alright, nothing to write about but the chicken curry was really good. They served it will white rice and it tasted really good. Service was good.

Outside
Greg T.

My benchmark of a Vietnamese restaurant is the pho broth. Wooden Fish has a Hanoi beef noodle soup that stands on its own - the broth was delicious without the need to add bean sprouts, basil, chili oil, Hoisin sauce, or anything else. The skewer plate with vermicelli looked fantastic. I tasted a bit of my friend's pork skewer and was impressed. They have an assortment of homemade sauces - something like Sambal sauce, garlic, and a couple hotter sauces. Prices are slightly higher than your standard Vietnamese, but not by much, and well worth the extra few dollars. They have outside tables that are covered with heats, so you're mostly comfortable in the non-summer months. We sat just inside the door and got a chilly draft every time someone came or left. Good thing we had soup to stay warm. Solid list of alcoholic beer and wine. Free parking off the main street. Just check the signage.

Vietnamese Egg Coffee
Hoa T.

Was looking for dinner when my family and I were in Vancouver for the weekend and stumble upon this Vietnamese restaurant that was near our Airbnb so we decided to go try it out! Restaurant was limited on seatings but workers there were super nice and got us two tables to connect with each other since we had a party of six, everyone there was super nice from the first time we walked in to when we were finished. Wooden Fish was a Northern Vietnam side restaurant where they had a lot of northern dishes that I was excited to try. I been wanting to try some Vietnamese Egg Coffee, this was discovered in the Northern side and WOW! I would highly recommend trying the coffee out if you love Vietnamese Coffee! The egg foam on the top tasted like tiramisu, it was fluffy and the perfect sweetness to go along with the strong and bitter Vietnamese Coffee! What caught my eye on the menu was their Bun Cha! I knew I had to try this since I always see people eating this online. Presentation was super nice, you get a bowl of warm fish sauce that has Hanoi grilled pork and patties with the pickled carrots and papaya in it! You get a side of veggies and vermicelli too and you dunk all those in the bowl of delicious fish sauce and man it was chef kiss* I also ordered some spring rolls too and the peanut sauce was on point! Overall, I would defiantly come back and try their bun Bo hue and other dishes too! Thank you Wooden Fish!

Natasha P.

Hands down the best Vietnamese on the North Shore. The beef pho was light and flavourful, the veggie spring rolls were packed full of fresh vegetables including mushrooms, the spring rolls were tasty especially when accompanied by the peanut sauce, and the papaya salad was massive! We received the food quite quickly after ordering which was surprising on a Saturday night at 7pm. There were quite a few tables available and given how quick they are with getting orders out, the turnaround in tables is quick ensuring wait times (if any) are minimal! Love this place and I can wait to come back to try out some other menu items!

Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup - "Pho Bo"
Marilyn V.

Wooden Fish is definitely a surprise for me and my family. We expected the usual pho noodle soup, fried spring rolls and lemongrass chicken but there's more offerings here. Ordered the following: *Crispy Spring Rolls *Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio *Grilled Octopus (replaced with cuttlefish today) *Green Papaya Salad *Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup - Pho Bo *Five Spice Duck Confit *Shaking Beef - Bo Luc Lac *Bun Cha Out of all these, The Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup is something I can omit next time. Everything else is very yummy. The different flavors are interesting - salty sweet tangy spicy - are all entangled in a dish. Definitely have to try.

Beef carpaccio
Tasha C.

We were really craving something warm and soupy after a cold day walking in Stanley Park and shopping at Park Royal a few weeks back. Had Wooden Fish bookmarked for ages so dropped by for a casual dinner. Between the two of us, we got the grilled baby octopus, beef carpaccio, salad roll sampler, small bun bo hue for me and small pho dac biet for him. Loved the various condiments they have on the table - the homemade chilli oil got two thumbs up from my boyfriend and the pickled garlic was my favourite! We loved the baby octopus dish. It was a generous portion with lots of pickled veg on the side, perfect for piquing the appetite before the rest of our meal. The beef carpaccio was also a tasty appetizer. Similar to Phnom Penh's famous butter beef, I found Wooden Fish's to be a bit better balanced. The thinner slices were easier to eat and had a nicer texture than the beef in Phnom Penh's take. With the salad roll sampler, you get your choice of three full-sized salad rolls. We hadn't even started digging in when our server noticed one of them wasn't what we'd ordered and she promptly had the kitchen make another order. Great attention to detail and wonderful service! With that being said, we both loved the shrimp cake rolls, which had a great springy texture that contrasted nicely with the refreshing vegetables. We'd originally ordered regular sized noodle soups for both bowls, but our waitress advised against as we'd already ordered quite a bit. I'm glad because we were both honestly pretty full by the time they came. These were both tasty as well but not our favourite in Greater Vancouver. I'm a purist and like the classic pork blood cubes and pork hock in my BBH, so I felt something was lacking. Overall, Wooden Fish is a solid option for Vietnamese eats in West Van and I'd recommend it. I'll come back when I'm in the neighbourhood to try out some of their other rotating seafood specials.

Lemongrass beef soup

The flavors of both dishes we ordered were bland, almost tasteless. The lemongrass beef soup was greasy and virtually without flavour, while the lemongrass chicken was similarly awful. I will never spend money at the Wooden Fish again. For Marine Drive in West Vancouver, this was just one unpleasant surprise.

Cuttlefish (substitute for the Octopus)
Sarah P.

Sat outside on a lovely day - greeted almost immediately by friendly staff - cute little patio table but I wouldn't recommend sitting out front. I tried the sangria and one other drink; I can't remember the name of but it had tequila and egg whites (not a margarita). The sangria was lovely with the guava but I wouldn't order the tequila drink again. I love the cucumber infused water. The food is delicious! I had two salad rolls, one prawn and one shrimp cake, and my boyfriend had chicken skewers. The prawn salad rolls had the perfect amount of cilantro. I ordered the octopus as well but they had cuttlefish which I would not recommend - I love cuttlefish but it has to be cooked properly and some pieces were perfectly cooked while others were impossibly chewy. Overall a nice trip but we will have to come back to try the Pho!

Baby baby octopus
Azadeh S.

After a long walk along Ambleside, we craving pho. We saw this little restaurant and look like a welcoming place. Service: Clean, and friendly staff Food: We order grilled baby octopus, spring rolls, pho Hanoi and we end the night with Vietnamese coffee. Parking: On the main road you may have a hard time park but You can park on Ambleside area parking and walk a bit to the resturant. Baby octopus: soooo good with those pickled veggies The Pho: taste and smell amazing Spring roll: good And do not forget to add their complementary garlic pickles, which go perfectly well with Pho. Definitely recommended and we'll want to try more dishes next time.

Weekend Special - fish noodle soup
Carolyn L.

I stumbled upon this place on my way to 7-11 (across the street) and needless to say, I never did make it there after all. I saw the menu on the window and it looked different from the typical hole in the wall mom and pop pho place. The prices were more upmarket and there were more interesting dishes. There was some thought put into the interior design and it was a welcoming place. I had been craving grilled octopus (Greek style -- still searching for it here) and ordered it since it was on the menu. While it was good, they were not as expected as they were the baby octopus. Great with any of the hot sauces provided. The staff recommended the special for the weekend -- a fish noodle soup. Every weekend has different special. Check with the staff. The fish noodle soup was so good! It took me back to Asia with the deep fried fish (tilapia) and fish cake (tasted like omelette, maybe it was coated with egg and deep fried). The broth was tangy and light with tomatoes and dill and other herbs. I could taste the freshness and quality of the dish. At $19, it was steep but at least it was delicious. I love the house made hot sauces. They were all very good. The service was excellent too. My water glass was refilled without me asking, and the staff even brought a bottle to my table. The weather was so hot that I just downed the entire glass of water after being seated. The place seemed to have many regulars and I overheard the staff telling some customers who came in they were going to call them to inform them of the special. How's that for service? This place is a nice change from the usual ubiquitous pho restaurants in the lower mainland. I will want to try other dishes here next time.

a plate of food on a table
Sally C.

This restaurant offers a very innovative menu, with many fusion dishes in addition to traditional Vietnamese food. I ordered several special dishes but they came out to be a hit or miss. The foie gras fried rice was an unique offering that I haven't seen elsewhere. The foie gras itself was cooked to a nice level and drizzled with a slightly sweet and tangy sauce that complemented its heaviness. The rice itself, however, lacked any flavor despite its color, making the dish a bit bland since there is only a small piece of foie gras. The sablefish suffered from the same problem of blandness too, having a nice presentation but lacking any tastes of "miso". The fish itself was also a bit hard and dry. We also got some staple dishes including the papaya salad and chicken & shrimp skewers. Both came out to be solid but there wasn't anything too special. The coconut pudding dessert was pretty fragrant and not too heavy, which I loved.

The pho with extra meat

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3 months ago

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4 years ago

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8 months ago

The food was absolutely tasteless. I had to wave down the waiter numerous times, the ambiance is ok there's nothing special.

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

Excellent PHO, friendly, efficient service. Good place for lunch and/or takeout. Conveniently located.

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Great place. Small. Cost. Reasonably priced. Food comes fast. Place can seem cramped when it's busy.

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2 years ago

The food were amazing. Has the grilled octopus and soft shells crabs. Love their lemongrass sauces and salad dressing.

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

Amazing job! The green papaya salad and bun cha vermicelli bowl were incredible. Your team is doing an amazing job keep up the good work!

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Wooden Fish Reviews in Other Languages

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Anh and Chi - Vermicelli Bowl

Anh and Chi

4.0(783 reviews)
9.0 kmRiley Park
$$$

Tasty food, although you might want to look elsewhere if you're looking for an authentic meal. The…read moreBun Bo Hue has been a hit with my friends who've tried it, but it's not a Bun Bo Hue. You can see how it's inspired by Bun Bo Hue, but it's a different dish. The Pho broth here tends to be on the light side, but it's not consistent. I'm guessing they have a huge pot of Pho and what you get varies depending on how full it is? I wouldn't say that it's bad but, at this price point, I'd like a little more consistency. That goes for other things as well. Out of the four times we ordered a Pho from here, the sprouts were sad and wilted one of the four times. You expect that kind of variance at a place that's half this price point, but not at this price point. If you care about decor or presentation, this is probably the Vietnamese place with the best decor and the best presented food (when it's not wilted). It probably works for business dinners or as a date spot?

We came across this beautifully decorated and fun place in search of Vietnamese food while visiting…read moreVancouver. The restaurant is really well organized and the staff is incredibly friendly. We were seated right away which is always nice. The waiter went over the menu and was very knowledgeable about every item on the menu. We ultimately decided to go with items from the house specials because why not? We got the Bun Bo Hue and Bo Ne. Both entree came out freshly prepared and very served in pretty good sized portions. The broth for the bun Bo hue was under seasoned for my preference so I adjusted with fish sauce and a little bit of lime. When paired with veggies, the soup definitely fills you up. The Bo Ne was sizzling as it came on a hot plate. Every bite was delicious when balanced with a little bit of everything that came on the plate. The price was a little steep for what we got but the experience with the staff, restaurant, and food was a good one.

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Anh and Chi - Inside seating on the left side of the restaurant

Inside seating on the left side of the restaurant

Anh and Chi - DIY street-side platter - $42

DIY street-side platter - $42

Anh and Chi - Khay banh hoi lui nuong

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Pho with Us - Tofu & Veggie Rolls with Dry Noodles

Pho with Us

3.6(5 reviews)
9.5 kmUBC

Located at UBC just off University Blvd and Westbrook Mall. I decided to try them out after seeing…read morethey had some vegan options. I ordered the tofu & vegetable noodle soup with veggie broth ($16). It came out in under 10 minutes. The soup contained 4 pieces of tofu puffs, broccoli, cabbage, carrots and plenty of vermicelli. The broth was pretty simple, without much depth, but adequately salty and amped up nicely by their homemade chili oil. Given how many top-notch vegan phos are available at Vietnamese places in Greater Vancouver, this one didn't stand out. But it was perfectly serviceable.

I didn't know where to set my expectations for Pho with Us, but I was pretty impressed with the…read morefood here! I had the Tofu & Veggie Rolls with Dry Noodles and a Tofu Pudding w/ Ginger Syrup. The noodle dish (vermicelli) was totally delicious, especially the veggie spring rolls! Even though the tofu and spring rolls were deep-fried, the dish didn't have an oily taste. I saved one of the spring rolls for later and was still very full - I could have gotten two light but complete meals out of this if I hadn't gotten excited and eaten so fast to start out with. The tofu pudding was okay, kind of bland. I haven't had a dessert like this from a Vietnamese restaurant before so I don't know how it usually should be. I appreciated that the ginger syrup wasn't too sweet but I would have liked the ginger to be stronger. This was also a large portion so I took half home. Like other restaurants in University Marketplace, the environment is rather cafeteria-like, meaning not much ambiance to speak of, but the people who run it are nice and hard-working. For campus eats, it checks all the boxes: tasty, great value, and quick. And it's great to have a Vietnamese restaurant at UBC now.

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Pho with Us - Tofu Pudding w/ Ginger Syrup

Tofu Pudding w/ Ginger Syrup

Pho with Us - Tofu & veggie pho with vegetable broth (vegan)

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Phnom Penh - Fried Chicken

Phnom Penh

4.2(1.9k reviews)
6.9 kmStrathcona
$$

As usual, I'm late to the party. I've heard about Phnom Penh…read moreand its famous chicken wings ever since I moved to Vancouver, nine-ish years ago. My fellow Yelpers raved about this place when I first moved here, and my kid came here with her school pals 5-6 years ago and also raved about the wings. It's been on my list to come here forever - and last night, finally, I did. It did not disappoint. My kid warned me, there'll probably be a line up waiting to get in (they don't take reservations here. I checked), so we decided to go at an off-time and get an early dinner, around 5pm on Friday. We walked there and, miracle of miracle, there was no line and we got seated right away. (Granted, we got the last vacant table in the place, and when we left after our meal, there already was a line of people waiting to get in). Food-wise...wow. I am NOT one for adventurous eating, so there were dishes on the menu I couldn't comfortably order (I wish I could, but hey, I'm better now than I used to be!). Still, there was lots for me to choose from. And first and foremost, I HAD to try the famous chicken wings. And I can honestly say, they were the best I've ever had: SO SO crunchy and crispy on the outside, and hot and moist on the inside. OMG so so so good. I can't speak highly enough of these! My kid ordered the butter beef. It was tasty and soft ("like butta!"), and the marinade was lovely, but personally, I couldn't get over the...rawness and redness of the meat and juice (which looked like blood to me). For fellow non-adventurous eaters out there, this might not be for you, despite how flavorful it tasted. It was just hard for me to get over how it looked. (I know I'm in a minority here. This dish is one of their most popular and asked-for dishes). We had the garlic dry spare ribs. I love spareribs. These were delicious but a tad too salty and greasy. I brought most of them home and had them today for lunch. I gotta say, they were so much better for me today: less salty, and I blotted off the excess grease. Delicious! My kid ordered a "small" sweet and sour soup with prawns, and wow, it came in a huge black cauldren. I can't imagine ordering a large size. Anyhow, this soup was a stand-out soup - especially for my kid who said she had dreams about it all night (lol)! So complex in flavors - spicy, sweet, savory, chock full of prawns and sprouts and lotus shoots and pineapple chunks and and other delicious stuff.... For me, it was a wee tad too spicy, but wow, even I thought, this is a special soup. So delicious and warming. 10/10. Our servers were prompt and impressively able to efficiently tend to a full house of diners. They got it all down to a science here. One issue of note: my kid had to use the washroom at one point and she left for a very extended period of time. I actually thought at one point that something had happened to her or she was ill, she was gone so long (VERY unlike her). When she returned, she told me it was "quite a hike", around the back of the restaurant and up a flight of stairs, too. I only make note of this in case anyone has mobility issues, know that the bathroom will be difficult (or impossible) for you to access.

A most stunning tasting experience, I had here at Phnom Penh in Chinatown…read more PP has been on my radar for some time & I finally made it here. PP has been going strong since 1985 - not an easy achievement in the restaurant industry. PP has that older type restaurant feel inside, but it is very lively as waiters fly by with orders to deliver to tables. Yelpies, order these three items & the say less while you wait for them. Butter Beef (Thinly sliced rare beef) Garlic Wings (heavy on the garlic - FYI) Filet Beef Luc Lac (Tender stir-fried beef) I had a Vietnamese coffee, but it was lame. I've had better elsewhere. The taste of these dishes is orgasmic. I didn't notice nor feel a high sodium content but perhaps maybe a hint of MSG. Regardless, there's a reason why PP has won several awards year after year, including the prestigious - Michelin. Get here ASAP & find out why PP continues to impress foody lovers from everywhere. Warning, this whole area is certified - pure ghetto. Bring your car down here at your own inconvenience. Take transit or uber to get here. Zombies are everywhere. A weird side note - it appears GoDaddy hijacked PPs website. Use IG or Open Table reservations for reference & menu options.

Photos
Phnom Penh - Inside

Inside

Phnom Penh - Canh Ga Lan Bot, Fried chicken

Canh Ga Lan Bot, Fried chicken

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Wooden Fish - vietnamese - Updated May 2026

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