Would've been nicer had they not cut corners. I've never had any issues with the fried spring rolls as I know they are always wrapped in rice paper. That's the traditional Vietnamese way. But no, Mr Red Cafe decided to use wheat flour skin on their vegetarian rolls. Yes I'm gluten intolerant and no I've never had any issue with any other Vietnamese restaurant in the city (cos they don't substitute their traditional recipes) until today's experience with Mr Red Cafe. If you have gluten allergy, be warned. Otherwise good is good.
I’m giving this place five stars solely based on the menu. We ordered four different plates (lemon grass chicken sandwich, chicken pho, # 5 and # 19). The food was delicious and we had leftovers to munch on at home.Now, there are some minor issues with the service. The updated menu is online only, but the restaurant doesn’t provide wifi. I came with visitors from outside BC and they couldn’t properly access the menu.The restaurant hours in-person and online are different. A customer came in at 8:20 pm to an “OPEN” sign announcing a closing hour of 9 pm and was asked to leave because the restaurant was already closed. Finally, the restaurant writes they prefer cash or interact, but when asked to provide the contact information, the server said they meant debit card.These all are easy fixes that I brought up, and were dismissed by the personnel so I am writing them up here.Being said that, the service was excellent, timely, and kind.
The environment is quite nice and all the dishes are finely prepared in terms of the look. However, the taste is just ok. The lemongrass chicken has a very plain taste and there's no lemongrass taste at all. I almost thought that I had COVID. It's also a bit undercooked and very oily.
Im not Vietnamese but as far as I can tell, my experience validated their window sign “Quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine”. I had a great pho’ soup here, the servers were very nice, and the food arrived pretty fast. The interior setup is really great too!!
My bf and I always come to this restraunt for vietnamese food. Today my bf ordered bunbo and asked to change noodle thinkness to thin three times cuz the server didn't right down orders and seemed like she is very confused. But in the end, the food didn't reflect what we asked for.. that was pretty simple request and after that when we mention about the problem customer service was very indifferent. Maybe this is the time we change our regular pho place:((
Delicious and looking forward to coming back to try their Bánh Xèo. I had the Bún Gà Nấm Mọc - the noodle is a thinner, round style, rather than the flat rice noodle. Chicken broth was very flavourful!
Take out order this time around as we normally dine in.Found the overall quality and taste lacking in the pho bo. Meat portions were ok.Spring rolls were great and were the rice paper variety which is a nice change from the standard wrapper. Cha com was delicious and devoured so quick I was only able to take a photo of the last piece! Though it was a bit oily, it had a nice outer crispiness and chew. Would recommend it as it's very tasty and not a common dish at most Vietnamese restaurants I've been to. Same goes for the nem cua be, a deep-fried pork and crab spring roll, very delicious.Low point of the meal was the banh mi dac biet. French roll was stale, little to no pate, no head cheese, no cilantro and heavy on the fried shallots. This was not a quality sandwich at $7.50. I won't be ordering this ever again.Place isn't bad, has a lot of uncommon dishes which is great but price point and quality could be improved.
Disappointed. We have eaten at the Broadway location before and quite enjoyed it. This time, however, the prawns in the salad rolls (#1 on the menu, GỎI CUỐN) had no flavour, and the pho broth (#14, PHỞ BÒ) was not much better. Service was fast but not very friendly. Much prefer the pho at House Special on Hamilton, or even Little Saigon on Pacific.
Good food and affordable pricing. Excellent service and interior decor!I had the banh mi with lemongrass chicken—the pickled vegetables and fried shallots were a great addition. The bread itself was a bit too crispy for my taste (not as fluffy as I would’ve liked) but overall the meal was tasty!
Went there for lunch on a weekday. The decor is very rustic, and service was good. The staff were really friendly. Food wise 5 stars because I have been looking for Vietnamese restaurants that serve bun cha and banh beo, and I found it here! Prices are reasonable, $8 to $14 for appetizers and $14 to $20 for mains. A fairly large portion of food for the price. I strongly encourage people to try the appetizers. I had the banh beo (rice caked) and loved it! My friend had the shrimp cakes and they were amazing! They have a good variety of food that I have not eaten since I was in Hanoi. The only drawback here is that the tables are quite close to each other and the toilet is slightly slower than usual so it is not as accessible if you were on a wheelchair or use a walking aid. But otherwise, I would definitely go back!