Pho Lien

Heard great reviews about this restaurant so I decided to try it out. I ordered the spring rolls, the pho, the chicken vermicelli bowl and the bun Bo hue. All the dishes tasted great and the service was extremely quick! We got our food in around 5-10 after placing our order. The only downside is that they only accept cash and that the portions are quite small relative to the price. For instance, the chicken vermicelli bowl costed around 17$ and the portion was quite small. I am used to paying around 15$ for a much larger portion. Also their XL pho was not much larger than the L. All in all, the food was good but not the best viet I have had.

Visited with my friends, we tried all three types of rolls, one with meat one shrimp one pork, not the best, you only feel the lettuce inside. The soup was almost tasteless unless the beef slides inside, you definitely need to add any of the sauces on the table to have something worth trying. Prices are fair for what we got. Not the best service but enough for the place as it is. It’s my first time trying pho cuisine but not doing it again anytime soon.

Honestly shocked that this restaurant has such a high overall rating. My family and I visited Montreal for a weekend (we’re from Toronto). We heard good reviews about this restaurant, so despite having many activities and food options planned out, we decided to make time to stick this into our itinerary. We visited around 3pm that day. Majority of their tables were empty when we arrived, with only 2-3 tables occupied during the time we were there, both for outdoor patio/indoor seating combined. Since we had a very filling brunch earlier in the day, and made reservations at a restaurant for their 10-course menu for dinner, we were fully aware that it was unlikely for each one of us to finish a bowl of noodles/plate of rice ourselves. For this reason, we decided to share 3 Large bowls of noodles between 6 people, and also ordered a coffee on the side. When the owner came to take our order, we told him what we were hoping to order and he already gave us attitude and replied in a very impolite manner. Later on, the waiter came back with 4 sets of utensils and we were confused. When our food arrived, we asked for extra utensils, and he said that he could only give us 3 bowls, which we were fine with. Shortly after that, the owner came over and announced that there will be sharing fee in a very rude tone. At that point, we already started splitting our food from the large bowls, so we felt that we couldn’t even do anything. Later on, I asked him politely if it was stated on their menu that there was a sharing fee or minimum charge per person - I was thinking perhaps we missed it? He replied, again rudely, “no, but I informed you.” I replied back, “you informed us AFTER we ordered and started eating...”. He just turned away and ignored me. We didn’t actually mind paying for a splitting fee, it was more so that I felt that I had the right to know about it before ordering maybe? Or at least I don’t believe we deserved the attitude we received. In terms of the quality of the food items we’ve tried, it was honestly average at most. Combined with the attitude we received during our entire experience there, I am certain that we will never return again.

The Phos are good in this place. amongst the top in the city? Maybe in the past but not anymore. As for the rest of the menu, I find out the portions have gotten smaller and the quality has gone down. Not my go to place for Vietnamese food anymore, specially with all the new places that have opened up in the area recently!