Balo Vietnamese

Utility vietnamese.
You won’t die.
In the late afternoon sunlight, the room is nice.

Went for salad rolls and lemongrass chicken vermicelli bowl. The salad rolls were just ok but the vermicelli bowl was really bland and the noodles were overlooked and mush. The spring rolls that came with the vermicelli were also overlooked and greasy. Would not go back again

The food was really good and quite inexpensive for the portion size. The crispy shrimp wontons in particular were really great. The food all came out quickly, too.
The service, however, was pretty tepid. The lad working as host/​busboy when we came in clearly did not want to be there. The young lady who served us was much better, but was mostly absent during our meal. The water glasses we were brought were dirty, and our water was only refilled once.
I’d definitely order food from there again, but given this experience it would have to be take-​out.

It must be my lucky day — this has got to be one of the best phở’s I’ve had in a long, long time, and think about that – I eat Viet food 2 – 3 times a week back in Van.
Ordered the Special House Phở, with all the trimming, and here’s what separates the pretenders to this one: their beef balls! A unique taste to it, I wanted to ask them, but it got so crazy busy on a Sat lunch… some type of special seasoning, cilantro, every bite was succulent. Next time, I highly recommend paying for an extra side.
then the tripe and tendon; not only moist but the quantity of this is just ridiculous. You won’t get this much anywhere else. Fresh too.
And the broth was so yummy, I forgot to add the hot sauce lol.
Décor-​wise, it’s also one of the nicer ones (San Fran’s are even more loungier); have bench seating for some tables, great for the couples or for a date (not 1^st date, but i’ll digress).
Nice layout, the sides of the room you can have some privacy. Believe there’s patio section for the summer.
Will repeat before I leave for sure!

Best Vietnamese!!! #68, pork chops are amazing. Love this place. We come here often and are never disappointed. Love the atmosphere, prices and food.

Here’s the deal at this place…
Food is good, not great. I’ve had over 300+ bowls of Phở/​Vermicelli/​Satay in my day and although this is not the best, it is very good food.
The papaya salad is worth an order though.
I’ve been here twice now and both times bashed my knee on the underside of the table/​economy outdoor patio table. This place tried to do the Night at the Roxbury and brought the outside décor in… but I’m not sure I like the execution, and my knee hates it.
Prices are ok but you will wait for your food.
Overall good average downtown restaurant.

Nothing above average with the food. Had the phở and vermicelli one other time. Minimal care put into the dishes.
Place is clean, I’ll give it that.
Did not appreciate the server hovering over as we were trying to settle the bill.

GREAT SERVICE with NEW OWNER and NEW SERVERS! I went to Balo yesterday and had phở and egg rolls. It was the first time ever I was very happy with the service at this restaurant. And we actually gave a good amount of tip as I can see a HUGE improvement compared to the previous owner. They were very quick at serving and brought us an extra bowl and a spoon that we asked for pretty quick. Our water was refilled very often and they talked to us with very nice smile and attitude. A mid-​age looking man who looked like the new owner and a young man served us.
History: I’ve been to this restaurant about 5 times for the past a year. And this was the first time that i didnt feel insulted when leaving the restaurant after my meal. I didnt want to go back just because i didnt want to ruin my good mood by their rude servers regardless their delicious food — The 40+ old woman server and a young guy who looked (if not, acts) like a son of the owner ruined my day with bad service whenever I dined there-​. However, about a month or so ago, I saw a sign on their door saying that the owner and staffs are changed. So, I thought I’d give it a try. And, yes, it was a completely different experience. The service and the food was AMAZING! I am going back again today for their yummy food and kind services!

The food’s not bad, but the service is very inconsistent. One day when we walked in, we were told they were «closed» for eat-​in service, even though there appeared to be friends of the restaurant eating at various tables. Also, this place had terrible seating (its actually patio furniture, and it uncomfortable, especially for my boyfriend, who is 6’3).

Thought we would try this place out since we walk by it a lot. Food was nothing amazing although the price is high but that could be more because of the location. We were greeted at the door by a rude waitress. We started off by ordering our food and drinks. She abruptly stopped us mid order and said she could only do food right now. Two of us food hair in our food. Not a great way to start. As a group we decided that we would skimp on the tip as the service was not great. The server then commented on the low tip saying the amount out loud. we did not even have a chance to tell them about the hair. Never returning.

I either eat in or take out from Balo at least once a month because it is really close to my office and I love me some Phở! The food is good, usually really good. But the issue is the service… When we choose to eat in it’s guaranteed that once we are done it takes at least an extra 20 minutes to get the bill. If we try to be proactive and get the bill with our food then it take 20 minutes to get change or a debit machine. When I get take out it’s delicious but I have to eat at my desk. There has to be a better way!!!

I was there with Calgary F. and felt equally insulted about the service. I have never been to a restaurant where I had gotten into an argument with the owner/​waiter about tip and/​or service. A tip is a gratuity, a bonus for good service. If service is poor I don’t see how I am obligated to leave a tip.
If you change my order, at least tell me about it, and especially if you’re substituting with something that was cheaper on the menu. Would you switch a vegetarian dish with a meat dish without telling the customer? No! Then why would you do the same to any other customer?!
Service, however little, makes up part of the dining experience. If you don’t want to be insulted, don’t come here.

Amazing food and great value. Awesome staff and it will definitely be my go to for phở.

Food slightly below average, service given more so.

Me and a bunch of my friends came here to celebrate the beginning of spring break together. It was a Thursday afternoon, and we walked all the way to this place in the cold and breezy Calgary weather because our friend reccommended this place to us.
I’ve passed by this place whenever I am walking to the train station and I was glad to finally try it out. It took us more than 5 minutes to wait for our seats to be taken care of. There was only 2 waitresses there, and barely any people in the restaurant. One of the waitresses passed by us and glared and continued walking her way. Then another waitress came to take our seats and had this kind of fake upbeat personality, maybe she didnt like serving groups this big? There was only 10 of us…
The first thing I noticed was that the chairs and tables looked like they belonged outside. They were unstable and felt cheap. Seriously, a patio set in a restaurant? Yup, that definetley screams high class fancy. The atmosphere of the place was dim, only allowing the light from the outside to seep through.
Next came the menu, from the pricing of the food, I had somewhat high expectations to come. She served us all iced water and it was literally disgusting — having this weird after taste to it that probably should never be in water in the first place. Me and my friend ordered the beef Phở, and it was mediocre. I’ve tried better Phos out there that are cheaper and come in bigger servings too. That was a huge dissapointment. The rest of them ordered something different each, ranging from dried phở with spring rolls (spring rolls are a must-​try), fried chicken, to oriental rice with chicken. After our meal, none of us were even close to full. We ordered the dessert which was the vanilla ice cream with banana spring rolls and they were pretty good (except something inside those spring rolls tasted like alcohol).
And then the service came. The lady who served us wasn’t exactly our cup of tea, but she was kind enough to take into consideration that we were all paying seperately. In the middle of finishing up our meals, she randomly came up to us and gave us our bill. She even forced each of us to pay for her tip! That ticked me off right there. Normally if the service is good, I would be happy to give the waitress a tip. But her asking for a tip WHILE we were still eating our food was down right rude and impatient.
We came to a conclusion that althought the food was somewhat OK, we will not be returning back to this place due to the horrible service we experienced.

I went back for take out and decided to try the spring rolls, prawns and pork vermicelli bowl. I waited about 10 minutes and my food was ready. The price was $ 12.95 and no tax was charged so the price was aligned with most places for this dish.
Inside the bag came with a fortune cookie, chopsticks, fork, hot sauce, and napkins. The square take out container was filled with 4 prawns on a skewer, 2 spring rolls, ample amount of pork, and veggies over a bed of vermicelli noodles. I was stuffed and could barely finish all the food.
I noticed they have pad thai on the menu so maybe next time I’ll have to try that!

I was debating whether I should write a review about this place but after lunch today, I told myself, I should write one. The reason for my struggle is that I do visit this restaurant quite often for lunch but that does not mean I found their food and their service top notch. It is just because this phở place is the closest to my work and it‘s convenient when you are craving for a bowl of phở.
The quality of their food is a-​ok, which really is the only reason I gave them 3 stars. They have variety of dishes, from Vietnamese to Thai to Chinese to Korean. I have tried their Korean dish which was delicious, however their phở… honestly it is a hit and miss.
But what I really want to comment is their service, it just shocks me every time just how impolite one of the waitresses is. Sigh yes it is very unfortunate that every time we go there, we get the same waitress. The first few times, we thought it was because it is lunch hours and Balo tends to get really busy during lunch time. But nope, we get rude service from her even though when it is not super busy. I don‘t think I am picky, I don‘t need you to bend over backward for me, but I do hope that at least I get some sort of smile instead of a glare when I come in…

From the creators of ThaiTai comes a new dining experience!
I am so excited that there is now a Vietnamese restaurant close to my work place! Those that follow allow with my Unilocal reviews know that I LOVE a big warm bowl of phở! The true test of any excellent place that serves phở is to order the beef satay.
When the bowl came to my table I was terribly excited from the aroma and color of the broth. It was really hearty stuff! I especially like that it had some fresh pieces of tomato and cucumber at the top, which is unusual for phở, but refreshing! The satay sauce was super flavourful without being over spicy.
I like that the interior furniture is basically really nice outdoor patio chairs and tables.
This has the stamp of approval from this phở lover!

Once upon a time, this used to be Gnocchi’s. Now, it’s a trendier looking Vietnamese restaurant. Be warned… choice is rather limited. There are only 106 items on the menu to choose from. Just kidding! If you can’t find anything you like with that many items… well, I hope to never be your dinner mate.
Whenever I head to a new Vietnamese restaurant, I always order the same dish, or as close to the same dish as I can. Shredded pork, charbroiled pork and spring rolls on top of vermicelli. Best dish ever. The version at Balo’s warrants a 3.5 star. The bowl was large and filled way too full of noodles that I couldn’t finish (that’s never a bad thing), a healthy helping of crispy spring rolls, and enough of both the shredded and charbroiled pork for me to think, «Yes, that was enough shredded and charbroiled pork for me.» My pal and I shared an order of spring rolls to start and we each got our own bowl of dipping sauce. Win!
Now that Balo’s passed my vermicelli bowl test, it’s definitely on my list of places I’d branch out and try other things on the menu!

For months, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the opening of Balo Vietnamese Restaurant in the Beltline. Today I was finally able to attend with some colleagues, and after months of anticipation, we were really let down.
The Good
— Inside, the décor was very nice and it was well laid out. There were a variety of table sizes, and it has some fun style. The choice of having patio furniture inside the restaurant is a little unusual, but it works.
— We arrived about 11:50 and our group of four was sat at a table immediately. It’s nice to not have to wait.
— My avocado bubble tea was delicious
— I had specially ordered no sprouts and they got it correct. It’s nice when the do listen to special orders.
— The Spring Rolls in my dish were tasty, along with the Vermicelli and Lettuce.
— My colleagues enjoyed their meals
— Quantities for the food were good.
— Location: There are not any Vietnamese restaurants close, so it’s great to have nearby.
— They have a nice big patio (when it’s open) which will be handy in the neighbourhood and attract people in the summer.
The Bad
— Admittedly, the restaurant is new so they are obviously experiencing more business than they expected. It took about 15 minutes for us to put in our order, which was a bit disappointing. The drinks took another 15 minutes (a coke and my bubble tea).
— I was rather disappointed with my meal. I had ordered the Shredded pork on rice vermicelli and despite it taking forever (see «The Ugly»), when I was finally able to eat it, it was cold and the pork was flavourless.
— The menu was missing my favourite Vietnamese dish, ground shrimp on sugar cane, but that’s a personal choice.
— Prices seemed a little high, but not unreasonable.
— Took a while to get our bill paid, only one till and limited servers to man it.
The Ugly
— The most disappointing part of our meal was how long it took. 45 minutes after we arrived, we were told our food would only be another 5 or 10 minutes. After waiting for another 15 minutes, we told them to put it into take out containers, and we would just pay and go when the food was ready. It still took another half hour to get our food after we paid for it, which meant it took an hour and a half to get food which usually comes out minutes after you order it (nothing was a special meal). The serving staff didn’t apologize or try to make amends (even a 10% off the next meal would have been something, or a free drink), it was like we should have expected it. By the time we got our food, we were irate and no longer hungry. I believe that this will probably get better with more experience on their end, but a little courtesy would go a long way.
Recommendation:
I will likely eat here often, but always order in advance and pick up my food rather than eat in. As I only have an hour for lunch, it’s not acceptable to wait an hour and a half before the food even arrives. I do look forward to their patio being open at some point.