Pho Kim Restaurant

Looking for Phở with a home-​made feel? Check this place out.
I was craving hot, filling soup on a cold evening in February and on a spur of the moment we went to Phở Kim for the first time. We had passed by it before and the reviews on Unilocal showed promise.
The verdict? Phở Kim hit the spot!
We came around 530pm. There were free parking spaces at the back of the restaurant, but there’s also a large paid lot in front.
We went straight for the beef noodle soups, large (#1 for me and #4 for the hubby). We also had the #21, thin rice sheets with pork sausage and veggies. The latter was just okay but the Phở was great!
Sure, the place is a little low key, but the service is pretty on point and their soups are hearty, filling and tasty!
I plan to come back for sure to try the rest of the menu.

I can say for me that this place is somewhere I will never attend. My friend enjoyed his meal, but as a VEGETARIAN they are downright awful. They made me feel horrible for being a vegetarian because both servers kept sighing to thinking of option for me to eat. The girl server left, and the guy server was left to deal with me, the demanding customer. He suggested vermicelli with fried veggies, peanuts, and it’ll almost be like some sort of pad thai, it wasn’t. When the food came out. It was a plate of what looked like canned vegetables, which were cold, and the vermicelli had no sauce (sort of pad thai my ass) it was simply the noodles alone. I had two bites and it was distasteful. They didn’t care about me as a customer and my needs, which are very basic. I’ve been to enough phở places where they have plenty of vegetarian options. I hate to rant, but for once I felt bad for inconveniencing them. When I went to pay, he didn’t even ask me about my food, after he took away a full plate. I can’t believe he didn’t ask what was wrong, or even try to accommodate me. He charged me FULL PRICE! Even though the people who may read/​skim this post may think I am a hippy that complains too much. no… simply just letting you know of service you shouldn’t have to go through.

Tried this place tonight and thought it was dam fine: D. We started with salad rolls that were very fresh, tasty and promptly delivered to our table. Next we had some phở and bun, both were very tasty and a generous portion. My dates bun was the beef noodle and had a delayed heat to it, that was great ! We will be back !

Phở Kim used to be a weekly haunt after Saturday morning Tai Chi but my group was slightly turned off when one busy Saturday we had barely finished our meal and were asked to leave so that they could have the table as there were people waiting. I think it was more how we were asked than the fact that we were asked. Asian food establishments are really about turnover and the philosophy is very practical: we sell food, you eat and go, no lingering for conversation and more tea!
Phở Kim has been in business a long time but it can be hard to place unless you are familiar with the area as it is off-​Centre St. It is in a converted house that is kitty-​corner from the Central Landmark Mall which is on the corner of 16 Avenue and Centre St. N. (SW corner). There is a City of Calgary parking lot right across the street with reserved spots for Phở Kim so parking is free if you can snag one of those spots; otherwise parking is on the street.
Weekends can be a traffic nightmare navigating between people and cars trying to get into the Central Landmark parking lot or the Lambda parking lot on the other side so be forewarned that you need the patience of a saint if you choose to enter the area on a weekend.
Phở is good here. I had the well-​done beef and beef ball phở in the small. I really like the fact that there is a small size and it is a perfect size. The portion of beef meat to noodles is fair and the broth flavourful. Cost is around $ 8. They also include a fresh Thai chilli pepper with the fresh sprouts and basil that automatically comes with Phở. Some places make you ask for the pepper.
One of my friends had the Bun and was quite pleased with what she got. Judging from the looks of the chicken, beef and shrimp, I would definitely give the Bun a try. The chicken was large chunks of chicken breast and looked moist and well-​seasoned. The bun is around $ 11 – 12 and served in the medium sized bowl.
We got there about 11 a.m. so the place was pretty much deserted but I know from past experience that an hour later the place starts to fill up with people trying to get lunch in either before or after their grocery shopping.
Service was pleasant and efficient.

If you are hungry phở noodles are fast service. As long as you get your orders in. Lots of light snacks too.

Went here at 2pm on a weekday and the place was pretty empty. Phở broth is flavorful and the vegetarian is better than most phở places I’ve tried — you get a variety of vegetables instead of just phở without the meat. Garden spring rolls pretty mediocre but Cambodian boyfriend says the durian smoothie is one of the best in town. Fried quail was flavorful and cooked well, would eat again. Overall, good phở and decent price.

I had been hearing about Phở Kim from my son for about 3 years. I finally took him for lunch along with his Grandma last year. I have been back at least 5 or 6 times, even though the drive is about a 35 minute commute. We usually order Sate Beef Phở and enjoy it every time. This is my favourite dish spring, summer, fall and especially winter! Hot delicious spicy broth which is not like some dishwater soup broth I have experienced elsewhere. Service is about the same as anywhere else I have been for Vietnamese, quick but extremely un-​engaging. According to my son they used to be cranky and mean there a couple years back and accused him of trying to make limeade with his glass of water when he asked for sugar for the Jasmine tea. Haha right, guess you should not judge him like he is a cheapskate when he still tips for cranky service. Now that my son is no longer a teenager he says they treat him much nicer. I have never had a bad experience here and always enjoy the Phở. My other dining companions have had the vermicelli and gave it the thumbs up too. I know I will be back again sometime soon.

I will not be returning to this restaurant because it is visibly less clean than almost any restaurant that I have ever eaten at. I should have been guided by first impressions, which included smeared and dirty windows. Above our table was an air conditioner with two tubes running down the wall to an open plastic bucket about a foot from my feet. Our table was clean, as we’re the dishes, but all around the room were examples of surfaces, which were smeared and dirty. It really appears as if the thinking is that as long as the food is not contaminated, anything goes for the rest of the place. I’ve over-​looked lots of less than ideally clean restaurants, because the food was worth it, but that is not the case here.

Whenever the weather is cold and wet, I always find a big bowl of soup very comforting. So in a cold Calgary day, we decided to check this place out for lunch.
The restaurant is pretty big and very good for large groups. The menu has all of the standards Vietnamese dishes, However, I was there just to try the Phở, I ordered my favorite, Phở with everything (tripe, tendon. …)
The soup arrived fast and hot, However, I was really disappointed with the aroma and taste. It was relatively bland and even with addition of ton of hot sauce and fish sauce, still not that good. In my opinion the proportion of noodles to goodies was off. Too much noodle for too little goodies. Phở looks like a simple dish, but the broth should be prepared with a lot of care which was not the case here.
I have tried much better Phở in Calgary and most probably I am not going back there.

I really love this place. I usually get phở tai or phở sate and the prices are better than a lot of places nearby. I am a very messy phở eater and usually use lots of napkins and Phở Kim gives you as many as you want unlike most places. I recommend this place to all my friends. One time I accidentally squirted sriracha sauce all over the wall and they didn’t even care. I give this place a 9.5÷10.

Been coming here for years! Great Phở, fast service. If you want gourmet restaurant service and menu options, go to a gourmet restaurant. If you want tasty phở, check this place out! Also, the saté beef salad rolls are amazing!

Terrible service and mediocre food. The food comes quickly, but it is lacking in taste and freshness. We weren’t asked if we wanted anything to drink other than the jasmine tea. Our waiter never came around to check on our table. Worst, when we went to pay, they told us the debit wasn’t working. None of us carry cash, so the lady rudely told one of us to go to the bank so we could pay. Don’t expect to use debit or credit here, if you plan on coming here (which I absolutely do not recommend) make sure you bring cash.

Every time I’m there, they make me feel as if though I am family. I also appreciate the presentation of the food.

After enough bad experiences with the food and the services in the past year, I will no longer be returning to this establishment.
For years, I have been a returning customer to Phở Kim. Back in the day when I was a pipsqueak of a child, Vietnamese cuisine was still wonderfully new. I stumbled upon Phở Kim through word of mouth. At the time, Phở Kim was one of the better places to go and the food was godly in my eyes.
After a number of renovations, not to mention turnover of staff, the popularity of this establishment began to dissipate along with the food quality and service. In this year alone, I’ve had bland soups, soggy vermicelli, thawed out frozen vegetables which resembled wet sponges than they did a cucumber, and limpy beansprouts. Although I tried so much to keep on loving Phở Kim, their food was overall bland and lacked a freshness that is so needed in Vietnamese food. Even my boyfriend who is not a picky eater had also stated that the shredded pork and porkchops had an odd taste which lead to some minor food poisoning upon our last visit.
The service at Phở Kim has worsened over the years where I have found the staff to be extremely abrasive and not very accommodating to their customers. I had the odd occasion recently of staff not returning any of my change (I pay by cash) — I’m sorry but I’m not going to give a $ 10 «tip» for a $ 12 dollar dish. Its bad enough that staff assume they are going to be tipped which reflects in their attitude upon paying the bill, but its just plain rude for restaurants to withhold the change of a customer thinking its theirs to keep, no matter how big or small the amount is.
Overall, Phở Kim is off my list for restaurants to dine at. Their poor food quality and service was the last straw where I will definitely not be returning. For other diners, perhaps you will have more luck than me, however I suggest that you try someplace else for better quality Vietnamese food.

I am still on a soup diet as my cold has turned into a sinus infection — NOT good for a foodie to not be able to taste nor smell anything… but tonight this place was recommended to us and Phở cures all right?
Parking was not an issue as it was 9pm on a Thurs. The parking lot right across the street is fine to park in after 6pm. Phở Kim closes at 10pm and staff (owner?) were happy to seat us. Service was great throughout the meal and super quick too. The restaurant was not too busy but the people that were dining there — were characters, good for a few chuckles.
We ordered a chicken Phở soup and a beef satay which was my #15 and said to be the most popular. The guy in the booth behind me, «Jimmy» (who owns a popular deli in town) mentioned that I HAD to have it. How bad could it be if I could not taste right? Although, texture still very important of course. We also got a side of piping hot fried spring rolls. Wow, cannot wait to come back and try those again! My #15 Phở had beautiful med. rare beef slices in it (plentiful) and the rice noodles were done to perfection. I loved how they mixed a couple of whole fresh red chiles in with the bean sprouts and lime plate.
The restaurant is in a modified house tucked into Centre B St just south of 16. Quaint and clean.
Not a lot of seafood on the menu.
Props for hot tea on the table just after you are seated!
Will be back even though there are still 1 000 012 Vietnamese restaurants in Calgary to try!

Having finished a morning seminar, we were looking for a quick place to grab lunch. Apparently Saturday around noon is very busy in the area, so finding parking was a bit problematic, tow truck trolling the streets and all.
We were seated quickly; the menu is pretty typical for phở establishments. However, I am a big fan of stirfried lemongrass chicken and all they had was grilled on the menu. They did, however, have stirfried lemongrass beef (which I cannot eat) so I was disappointed I couldn’t get the chicken.
The food came fairly quickly — it was satisfactory. Nothing special but tasty nonetheless. We were left alone for the entire meal, which was an issue as we were wanting water halfway through eating but couldn’t order it until we were pretty much finished. Likewise, getting some food wrapped up and asking for the bill were difficult.
The part that brought this down a star or two was paying for the meal. When we got to the cashier, we saw a sign that said any bills that were to be split up had to be paid entirely in cash. Not sure why… So, we decided that I’d pay the entire bill by Mastercard and the other half would pay me cash (I NEVER carry cash). However, the other half wasn’t sure they had enough cash on them. But the woman behind the cashier seemed unwilling to tell us what our respective totals were without payment being in hand first, until I demanded to see a menu so I could add it up myself. Then she finally pulled out a calculator. An unnecessary frustration and time-​waster. Finally, when I handed over my Mastercard, she said rudely they only took Visa and Interac. Why Visa and not Mastercard? I rarely use my debit card — I probably racked up $ 2 in service fees, now.
So, all in all, for poor service and average food, another visit just wouldn’t be worth it.

This was a pit stop for us on the way to Banff. It was a cold night in Calgary and phở is always a great idea. I thought it was easy, fast, and good. Satisfying for what it is.
The portion was just perfect for me, I ordered a medium. I always get the phở dac biet, combination of everything yummy that can go into phở.
It’s good for groups because there were 13 of us and they had no problems seating us.
Nothing is special about this phở place that would make it stand out to me, but there’s nothing bad that would make me not want to make another pit stop here when I’m back in Canada.

Had lunch here today and while it was better than my first time, it’s still only average at best compared to some of the other Vietnamese place in town. I ordered the 25b, a vermicelli dish with shrimp and beef and it was good, but not stellar. I had the curry chicken dish last time around, and was let down — too soupy and not a lot of chicken at all.
I also tried the coconut slush (without the damn bubbles) and loved it!
Price was decent. $ 22 for 2 lunches and a slush.

What makes phở so good? The broth of course! I heard a joke once about phở broth being cooked and simmered for 40 days and 40 nights and that’s what makes the broth tasty (sorry can’t remember the joke but my Vietnamese friends were laughing hysterically).
The broth at Phở Kim comes out steaming, & the taste is beefy and flavourful. Best yet, I was not dying of thirst afterwards which truly attests to the authenticity of their broth! I wonder if they cook their broth for 40 days and 40 nights ;-) haha. Bowl sizes are S, L, XL from $ 7+. In comparing portion to price, it’s a little more expensive than other places but I’m willing to pay an extra $ 1-​$ 2 for better phở. If you’re looking for a ‘regular’ size of phở, go for the Large size for only $ 0.50 more than the small.
Parking is on the street w/​meters or there’s a paid lot across the street. It does get busy at lunch but once you order, the food comes out quick.

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: 3.5÷5
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Overall experience: ⁴⁄₅
(1– Terrible; 3– decent; 5– Fantastic)
No doubt about it, there are plenty of phở restaurants in Calgary. There must be at least one on each block!
Anyways, my friends and I have had a fair share of Phở (vietnamese noodle soup) and Phở Kim is one of best places to get Phở so far (been here a couple times). I usually don’t drink the soup in my Phở unless it’s fantastic, and Phở Kim has gotten it right! Absolutely delicious– has a perfect balance of flavours and is not too salty or sweet. I really like how they have different sizes (small, medium, large, XL) because I usually can’t finish a ‘large’ which is a default size for most places. There is also plenty of meat which is awesome because I hate getting a huge portion of noodles and a few slices of beef.
The service here is quick. You get your Phở within 10 min of ordering so it’s a great place to grab a quick bite. It’s usually always full during lunch, and is not really an upscale Viet restaurant like you would find in Downtown. Prices for the Phở is average and about the same everywhere else (around $ 7-​$ 8).
I haven’t tried anything else on their menu besides the Phở and according to my friend the portions of other items on the menu are not worth the price. Overall, I suggest you pay a visit for some great Phở here!