Pho Truc Lien

Amazing phở. Hidden gem. Love the staff. They make you feel like family everytime. Food is special. Feel good and fuzzy and warm.

I went here for lunch on a weekend recently with my parents. I really wanted to love this place because the servers (who I think are also the owners) were so sweet and nice but the food really fell short on taste.
I had the «grilled beef all day lunch special» ($ 11.75). It came with wonton soup, 2 spring rolls, a small salad and your choice of steamed rice or vermicelli (I chose the vermicelli). My mom had the meat balls on vermicelli ($ 10.75) and my dad had the phở with rare beef, beef brisket and beef balls (medium size for $ 9.95).
The wonton soup was ok. The broth was a little too salty for my liking. However, the wontons were good. They had adequate filling (ground pork) and weren’t overly doughy. The spring rolls are really slim, like literally not much thicker than my finger. They were filled with ground pork, carrots, onions and mushrooms but the filling was so minimal, it was mostly just the spring roll wrapper. And the spring roll wrapper is of the Chinese type (wheat based), not the Vietnamese rice paper type (which gets all blistery when it’s deep fried, and is so delicious).
The grilled beef was razor thin. I’m actually amazed at how thin they were able to slice the meat. The taste was good, but there was not much of it. The salad was shredded iceberg lettuce, 1 slice of tomato, 4 slices of cucumber and some slivers of carrots. The vermicelli was nicely done. Not too mushy, but not too dry. Overall, my meal was ok, but nothing to rave about, and I’ve personally had much better elsewhere.
I had a meatball from my mom’s meal and it was slightly sweet but mostly savoury. It was very good. The Vietnamese name for the «meatballs» is «nem nuong» — most places make them into long logs, but this place makes them into meatballs. Her meal also came with 2 spring rolls and some shredded lettuce.
I didn’t taste any of the phở, but my parents both said it was not that flavourful and it was lacking in the meat department. My parents think that this place is no competition for the phở places in Toronto, but even in Ottawa, they said they’ve had better phở in Ottawa’s Chinatown.
The restaurant is super cute though; it’s in a converted house. There’s free parking next to the restaurant. It’s pretty clean. And like I mentioned earlier, the staff are so nice.
They need to make their spring rolls bigger (and I’m totally partial to the Vietnamese style wrappers, so if they switched to those, that would be even better), provide more meat with the meat dishes, and make their phở broth more flavourful. If they did all this, I think their restaurant would be so awesome.

It was pretty good actually, fall in love with the rice paper rolls, BEST EVERRRR

My go to phở restaurant in Ottawa; Used to go here about once every couple months with my family. Still haven’t tried anything other than the Phở, but the Phở is so delicious it’s worth sticking to.
The portions are bigger than the other Phở places in the neighbourhood and the broth is a little stronger. It’s prefect for my taste and they give a generous portion of meat as well.
One of the restaurant’s greatest assets is the owner and service. The owner is really friendly and treats her customers like her friends. She really tries to interact and get to know her repeat customers, which I find really great for a restaurant owner. It really puts this restaurant over the top.
Definitely recommend this place if you live in Orleans or are near Place D’Orleans.

Oh my! First time in and it was amazing.
The spring rolls and the rice paper rolls are awesome. I could of eaten them all night long. The service was quick and delightful. My wife has eaten there quite a few times and I think it will be my favorite too.

I had a chance to come here after our trek to Turkish village failed again. They’re either closed or just packed! Back to Phở Truc Lien though.
Seriously, GPS this place or you might miss it! It’s a house that is on the side of the road and when it’s dark out it’s not obvious unless you’re really paying attention and see the sign on the side of the house. The parking is a little cramped but you should be able to get in.
The menu is pretty solid here with a variety of foods from phở to bun to rice dishes. They have a decent appetizer list and most importantly Vietnamese ice coffee.
We had the sampler platter and I enjoyed the wraps (non fried ones) and the shrimp was OK. I didn’t try to spring roll as I was trying to avoid fried foods that day.
I ordered a phở with what I thought had everything in it. I ended up getting something that was similar to browned ground beef in broth which is not what I was expecting. From my tone you’ll probably realize I didn’t like it though the noodles and broth were alright. I would try a regular phở the next time I’m here though.
The ice coffee… heavenly. I mean what’s better than a chilled coffee over ice and loaded with condensed sweetened milk?
The service was pretty slow on the day we arrived but they staff are extremely friendly and worth visiting again.

Best vietnamese restaurant in Orleans. Excellent value also.

Most Vietnamese food lovers would be found within a two block radius of each other on Somerset and it’s delicious reputation for Phở. Definitely worth the drive to St. Joseph Blvd, is Phở Truc Lien.
Tucked away in a bungalow across from Place D’Orleans Shopping Center, this restaurant has ample seating with friendly staff. We arrived around 5pm on a Thursday night and were able to pick wherever we wanted to sit. The tables are large, which is key since you receive quite the spread as you would other Phở places.
We started with Vegetarian Spring Rolls, and Vietnamese Iced Coffee, along with the standard tea served at most Phở restaurants. The rolls were piping hot, and came with a tart dipping sauce… sorry, I didn’t catch the name! Once they cooled down enough to eat, they were nice and crispy on the outside, without being greasy. On it’s own, the dipping sauce is funky tasting, but I can see how it compliments the rolls when eaten together. I have spring rolls every chance I get, and these were by far the freshest tasting. The iced coffee was made with sweetened condensed milk, which is a nice change from cream and sugar. There was no sugary kick, but instead, balanced out the bitter taste coffee can leave.
If you are a Phở lover, you know attempting the medium and large sizes is a crazy idea. My date (6’2 and 220Lbs) forgot how much you get, and ordered a medium… needless to say, there were left overs! His contained rare beef, brisket, chicken, and meatballs… yeah, you wont leave hungry! I opted for a small rare beef regular. No funky tastes, very tasty broth. Came with the usual mountain of crispy bean sprouts/​lime/​mint plate. I drowned my soup with bean sprouts and a dash of hot sauce, and attempted the chop sticks. YUM!
While finishing up, a couple sat down across from us, and I overheard the guy mention that it was a well kept secret… he was right! The service was quick and like I said before, very friendly with a smile and warm goodbye. The bill came to $ 25 for the drinks, appetizer, and main meal for two people. Worth the try, especially if you want a quieter Phở experience… no neon lights! haha