I am a native Vietnamese visiting Ottawa with my wife and three boys (13,10,5) from Minneapolis and came across Crazy Pho You based on the good Google reviews. What a phenomenal Vietnamese restaurant you Ottowans have. I have never written this on a Google review, but the rare beef and brisket pho I had was the best pho I have ever eaten in a restaurant! For determining the quality of pho, it’s all about the broth. The broth here had complex depth of flavor- subtly sweet, herbal notes from the herbs and spices, big beefy flavor from the meats, and the perfect amount of salt. Wow! I asked the owner Khanh what he does to his broth and he says he cooks it for two days. That’s how he gets his complex flavors.Another first for me is the brisket. Traditional pho with brisket contains chewy (sometimes shoe leather) brisket. I never eat the fat from the brisket. However, at Crazy Pho You, the brisket texture is melt in your mouth tender- meat and fat. I actually ate the fat! I make my own Pho and I smoke/bbq my brisket for 12-15 hours and cut slices to put into my pho. Crazy for You pho is just as good as my homemade pho.My kids ordered the Lemongrass chicken with rice. That dish was excellent! The chicken was tender and had great lemongrass flavor. We also ordered the cha gio (egg rolls) for appetizers. Definitely worth getting as an appetizer. Super tasty.Crazy Pho You is a must visit if you want to have fantastic Vietnamese food!
Really tasty food! My order was perfectly cooked and the portions are huge. Plan on visiting again very soon to try the pho :) Thank you!
What a great place.We had the Lemon grass chicken vermicelli- pork spring rolls - rare beef pho.The flavours were great.Quick service.Highly recommend
On the positive side, the restaurant was clean and organized and the servers were nice. Unfortunately the food was very disappointing.The server recommended the vegetarian pho to me, but sadly, this was the worst vegetarian pho I have ever had. The vegetarian "broth" was essentially just the hot water they cooked the bok choi in. The noodles were overcooked. The main ingredients were a few pieces of bok choi and a few fried tofu puffs. There was no flavor at all. I couldn't eat it, it was just a big pile of soft mushy noodles in hot water, no taste at all. I hate wasting food though, so I took the noodles home (I left the "broth"), made my own broth, and added more ingredients to make it palatable. But this was a very expensive ball of plain noodles.The tofu summer rolls were ok, but the proportions were off, it was improperly wrapped (way too loose), and the ingredients and taste were very basic. There was way too much vermicelli compared to the other ingredients and because it was poorly wrapped the ingredients were flopping out after the first bite. The tofu was flavorless as well. I would recommend they marinate it at least. They have a marinated meat option for summer rolls, they could easily marinate some tofu while they're at it. I've had some amazing tofu summer rolls at other places, and they're quite easy to make at home too, there's really no reason they can't make a decent one here.They theoretically have other vegetarian options. I haven't tried them, but I would definitely say avoid the vegetarian pho. I don't have high hopes for the rest of their vegetarian menu though, since the vegetarian offerings seem like afterthoughts cobbled together from whatever they have on hand with minimal effort or interest. They could make some simple tweaks and have some great options, I'm actually a bit puzzled why these were what they ended up with, since I've seen such good reviews for their meat options.I've had a lot of vegetarian pho and vegetarian summer rolls over the years, I am sad to say these were the most disappointing ones I've tasted.
I tried a lot of Pho in Ottawa, this is by far the best Pho ever! The broth is homemade and so is the chilly oil! And they open until 11pm! Amazing pho!
Let me tell you my pho choice for ottawa. Yet to find one as CONSISTENT! In flavor, quality and service. The vermicelli was the best I ever had the noodles were tasty. All three meats (chicken,beef, pork) were insanely delicious every bite a perfect balance. The beef had little charred bits on the end. My mouth is LITERALLY watering as I write this. The salad in the bowl was fresh: the lettuce, carrots and cucumbers added the perfect crunch to every bite.The broth in the pho was aromatic af ?The chef is a real one much respect ??
If I could give them 100 stars I would. This place is my GO TO for pho! Delicious, huge portions, and for an amazing price. Always welcomed with a smile and great service! If you haven't tried it, you should!
Lived around corner and was a regular at the time it opened for a few years after. The restaurant(s) in this location before it kept closing but Crazy Pho You stands out and no surprise it has kept doors open! Updates to menu were frequent but not overdone and to exterior/interior of restaurant itself still now almost every time I drive by it seems. Cheers
This is my new favourite Vietnamese restaurant anywhere!! Tried the beef vermicelli, spring rolls (so addictive), and banh mi. Everything was tasty, fresh and not too oily, and amazing price considering the portion and quality of ingredients. Highly recommend!
Excellent Pho. I will certainly be returning to try the rest of their menu!