Phobulous

This place is OK. There are definitely things I like about this place. I like the taste of their curry, it’s got a really nice flavour to it. I also really like the chicken kebab things. The spring rolls are also really good, but I find that spring rolls are pretty much good everywhere. I like that this place is open really late too.
However, this isn’t really my first choice for Vietnamese food. I’ve found some weird stuff in my food though, like hair. I’ve also had some extremely questionable pieces of meat in some of my food. Like uncooked chicken. There was another time where the vermicelli noodles were sticky. Like really sticky it felt like they were unwashed and covered in some sort of weird filmy substance? It didn’t taste or feel right when I put it in my mouth.
So yeah, I mean this place is good when you’re in Garneau and in a pinch for phở. But it’s not my first choice.
I will say that the staff is amazing and helpful and the food comes out quick. So it’s decent. A definite «A-​OK».

I am a major phở lover and the broth here is the most authentic in town! The flavors are amazing, the vermicelli bowls are filling and delicious, and the specialty La Lop beef balls are my personal favorite. The service is always fast and excellent, the Vietnamese coffee tastes like it did in Hanoi, and the atmosphere is casual cool. All around my go to Vietnamese place — I’m here at least once a week!
It’s open late, the food is great and you can bring a date!

Here’s the things I like about Phobulous: I like that they’re open late! You see a movie at Garneau and maybe you need a lil post movie snack… It’s a great option!
I like their salad rolls! They have a couple options for salad rolls, which is great because we all know sometimes you gotta change up your salad roll game.
I like their vermicelli bowls. I thought the broth on my phở was great as well! I added some hoi sin for a lil extra sweet sweet and I was not upset at the result.
I also like the clever names on the menu and the general vibe and friendliness of the staff.
My ooooonly complaint was the chicken in my chicken, shrimp, and squid bowl. It was a kiiiiinda janky. It was hella dry and just not on the delicious side of things. Also I only got one squid bit. So I guess that’s two complaints.
But all in all who am I kiddin? I would suggest Phobulous and I’ll eat there again. It’s close to where I live and usually on point.

Great spicy beef soup and friendly service! Prices are average for Vietnamese but flavour is well worth it. We got sat in an unrenovated area which wasn’t as nice as the main dining area, but it was almost more homey feeling.

I love this place. I love their Phở. It’s delicious, fresh and healthy. they also bring you free bean sprouts and lemon which is great. I love the atmosphere of the restaurant also. It’s always crowded and has a happy vibe to it.

I have been to Phobulous a few times, because of the convenient location right by my house. I have no complaints about the Phở. It’s always been super hot, tasty, and fresh. I really like the Phở Real with the thin strips of beef. The spring rolls are really tasty as well. I haven’t dined in, only taken my order to go. I’ve had better Phở broth, but for the price and the location, this place is great.

I’m not the biggest fan of Phở or Vietnamese food in general. there’s nothing that I particularly don’t like about it and nothing that I love about it.
However, I’ve had Phobulous’s salad rolls with grilled chicken a couple of times now and O.M.G. they are AMAZING. So good. They feel healthy and are insanely filling (I can barely eat 3 and you get 4 for $ 11) and are the absolutely perfect takeout option when you want something quick but know you’ll feel greasy for eating pizza a 3^rd… or 8^th day in a row. I’m also super picky about meat quality, and the chicken in these wraps is great. It’s flavourful, moist, looks like it came from a real chicken breast, and doesn’t have any ‘questionable’ textures.
So, while I can’t really recommend Phobulous on the whole, I do recommend their salad rolls (to-​go — I’ve actually never sat down and eaten here either.)

I used to always go here for lunch on my breaks at the university. Staff are friendly and service is quick. I usually get the vermicelli bowls or salad roles. They don’t chince out on the vegetables which is nice.

Love the staff here and the vermicelli bowls are always delicious. The bowl portions are generous. I can never finish a bowl. I was given a sample of the avocado shake today and it was excellent.

This was so disappointing! I ordered the veggie phở. It was rice noodles, the blandest phở broth, like 6 cubes of tofu, and raw spinach. There was barely any flavour to the broth and they gave me barely any basil at all. I ordered for take away and they were fast in preparing it and the service was good, but of all the amazing Vietnamese places in town, I will definitely not go back.

Really good Phở. Will be coming here again: D

Phobulous, I gave you another shot, and you totally blew it
The phở is sub par. Especially since there are so many other phở joints in Edmonton. The broth is strangely salty and sweet, almost sickly sweet. Bleh. And today, a busy Friday lunch time, NO BASIL. Gimme a break. Basil is a Vietnamese resto’s life blood
And the kicker of my entire poor second and final experience, when I paid my $ 11.25 check with a $ 20 bill, the server asked ‘How much change would you like back?’. Ummm, all of it. I’m a grown independent woman, I can dole out the tip myself. Just poor etiquette that rubbed me the wrong way.
And parking, as always, sucks.

I dont gove out 5 stars that easily but I’ve visited a LOT of vietnamese restaurants in Edmonton and this place can’t be beat. The vegetable ingredients are consistently fresh and crunchy; the meat savoury and tasty. The vermicelli beef bowl is my favorite, I’d eat it everyday if I could.

I was pleasantly surprised that Phobulous was nicer on the inside than it’s somewhat sketchy exterior. I always get a little disappointed when I have to pay more for phở in Edmonton, since in Vancouver you can find a great bowl of phở for $ 6.50. However, the phở at Phobulous lived up to my taste standards so I was full and happy. The broth here was more Southern Vietnamese, i.e. it contained more spices and was darker in colour. Phở from North Vietnam is more is more clear and pure– the kind that my mom makes! :)

Not the best, not the worst, but good enough for me to probably come back when my phở craving strikes when I’m around the area. The space is nice and they seem to be quite busy and popular with students all the time. It’s definitely a good spot to hang out!
In addition to phở they also have other Vietnamese dishes and they’re licensed so if you want a drink I suppose it’s good for that too? I personally think they’re a better places for cocktails but their prices are alright and if you’re looking for some comfort food this isn’t a bad place!
Ps. They have some vegetarian options as well! Their veggie phở has fried tofu and spinach and its definitely better than other veggie/​plain phos :)

I’ve been here quite a few times over the years and you know what? Although it is a bit more pricey than many other phở places, the food is pretty good and the menu has a nice variety of interesting other dishes to try for the less adventurous or those less in the mood for soup.
Service has always been variable here. My latest visit was with a group and we were seated in the overflow room which is an interesting place to be to say the least. This restaurant can get rather busy even early in the evening so I hope that the restaurant expands PROPERLY into the overflow room rather than leaving it as is. One of my friends found a piece of ceramic in her food but the staff bent over backwards to make this right. They also didn’t charge us for tea so that was refreshing (even though they were supposed to charge us for the tea). I liked how staff heeded my no-​cilantro request and I got a good sized portion to eat.

My husband and I have been going to Phobulous weekly for over three years now. It’s nice to be a «regular» and for us to be known by name and order. We definitely like the service. We usually come during busy periods and most of the time it’s fast and friendly… no matter who is serving our table.
I always order the beef & prawn vermicelli bowl. It’s reliably good and consistent… there have only been a few occasions where the meat was a bit tough, or it didn’t taste as good as usual. I especially love the spring rolls… they are just delicious dipped in the fish sauce. My husband changes his order around sometimes, but generally orders either the lemongrass chicken vermicelli bowl, the beef & prawn vermicelli bowl, the pan friend chicken and tofu (with rice), or the tofu vermicelli bowl. We also always start with salad rolls… either the veggie ones or the beef ones, both are delicious and fresh and come with a yummy peanut dipping sauce.
Funnily enough, neither of us have ever tried the phở so I can’t comment on that. I can say that Phobulous is a great place to go if you’re looking for a filling vermicelli bowl!

I had their new chicken curry thai dish and was grossed out by the whole pieces of chicken thigh with skin that was plopped into my bowl. How is it humanly possible to eat pieces that are larger than your mouth holding chopsticks? I contemplated asking for a side dish to cut all the chicken off the bone and to separate the tendon and skin then decided to send it back to have them do it for me. Long story short, if you order a chicken dish, ask for it boneless and skinless.

I always end up coming here for phở. Not because it’s the best phở ever, but just because the location is close to school. The phở is good though and they have all the usual phở sides. Actually the best part about the phở here is that you can laugh at the ridiculous names they have while deciding what to order. (Phoshizzle!)
If you get the phở, your food will be served fairly fast. If you order something that isn’t phở/​some kind of soup, be prepared to wait 14 years to get your meal. I mean 14 years.
I really enjoy the Bun Bo Hue (spicy noodle soup) from here, as well as the salad rolls. Their vermicelli bowls are also alright. Everything is pretty alright, which I guess is good because nothing is bad, right?
The staff here is always very friendly. However, they can be very inattentive and when it’s busy in there you kind of have to flail around in your seat to get their attention (the staring them down until they notice you thing doesn’t really work).

I ate here and had the absolute worst food poisoning of my life. Obviously for everyone’s sake I won’t go into details, but even writing about this place makes me queasy. My sister and I ordered the vermicelli bowls, hers was tofu, mine was chicken and shrimp. I got sick, she didn’t. It would have had to have been one of the meats.
I get that this happens, but I think anyone that has had food poisoning knows that when you get hit by it, you get angry at the oversight by the people who work there. Even if I was the only person to ever get sick by their food, I’m pissed that I did and it is totally their fault.
I won’t ever eat there again, and it will likely be a long time before I can stomach Vietnamese food again. Shame.