Pho-Bo-Ga La Restaurant

Delicious phở. I am from Toronto and Ottawa got the best phở. I ordered a large rare beef & beef & beef tendon phở and it was really good. Lots of meat which I love. The broth was hearty and perfect. I wasn’t thirsty after meal so I assume not much MSG. The lady owner and her son? were friendly. Overall this is the best phở in Ontario. No joke. Come here when you are in Ottawa.

Decided to give a different Phở Bo Ga a try. Have to admit, the soup tasted a lot better at New Phở Bo Ga La across the street. Ordered Shrimp spring rolls ($ 4.99), medium #13 phở ($ 9.99) and shrimp rice roll ($ 4.99).
The spring roll was ok. A bit thin but it comes in 3s. The shrimp rice roll came in 2s and tasted ok as well. None of the appies really stood out. The phở was ok. Just ok.
I think I will stick with the other places across the street.

2.5 star
Maybe I should not have give Phở-​Bo-​Ga La Restaurant a 2 star but my bowl of Bun Bo Hue ($ 9.50) Vietnamese spicy beef noodle soup was a little disappointing. I had way way better Bun Bo Hue but this was the only one I tried in Ottawa…
For $ 9.50 there was not much inside my bowl of noodle. 2 piece of raw beef and beef tendon each and they should just put in more noodle maybe for that price? I could eat 2 of those before I would be satisfied!
I should not be eating Vietnamese food when I am in town. But I was dying for some hot comfort food and not much open after 10 pm.

Nice little place. Nothing fancy. Had a pulled pork spring roll and phở. It was good and good price. I would try other places near to compare before going back.

This is a place to go for the traditional Southern style Vietnamese Phở. We had gone to this restaurant at least once a month for many years and we have never been let down. The place is small though and they do serve take-​out. Prices have gone up a little and the XL bowl is a little smaller but we don’t mind. Service is always friendly. Try the «fatty beef» with your Phở.

I went on a phở binge a few years back and this place was up there with my favorite phở, so I expected them to make a decent vegetarian soup too. This was later in the evening, 10pm, so the other contenders in the area like Saigon Boy or Phở Thu Do were closed for the evening. After I went to New Phở Bo Ga La and discovered their sizes are now way too small, I came here expecting decent veggie phở but I think I’ll pay the extra money and stick with New Phở Bo Ga La :(
I ordered the medium vegetable phở and a strawberry shake. I’ve had strawberry shakes from other Vietnamese restaurants and they’re more like a smoothie, they’re usually pretty tasty. The strawberries they pulled out to put in the smoothie looked old and I wish I had stopped him there but I was too chicken.
I got my phở to go and drank the strawberry shake on the way home. It wasn’t that bad surprisingly, but definitely not as good as other ones I’ve had from other restaurants, and it was not worth the price ($ 5).
The veggie phở really sucked. It was unremarkable, bland and tasty fishy. It was nothing like the delicious vegetable phở I had at New Phở Bo Ga La a few weeks ago. Really disappointing. The worst part is that a few hours later my stomach started turning. I ended up getting really sick. Never again.

Whenever I come to Ottawa, this is generally my stop for any Phở. Although I admit there’s much better phở back in the GTA.
The restaurant is quite small, yet busy as well. It seems to be one of the more well-​known joints, which I’m not surprised at all. From the 4 – 5 times I’ve been here, I’ve waited on 1 of those occasions, and it was roughly a 5 – 10 minute wait. They do try and move everyone in and out as fast as possible.
The menu is somewhat straight forward, but the items are all over the place in terms of organization. I was upset they don’t have iced lemon tea though; it’s a staple I always get back home.
The phở itself is excellent for Ottawa. For Toronto it’d be average to above average, but since Ottawa isn’t meant for Phở I won’t argue there. The tomato soup I had in my order was quite good too, there’s actually the taste of tomato in it. Makes me feel like I’m back home.
Whenever I come back to Ottawa and if I ever miss Phở, this is definitely my stop.

So this is the original Phở Bo Ga La and has the same owners as the ‘New’ Phở Bo Ga La pretty much right across the street. The décor is average at best and the seating space is a bit tight. It is one of those places where you go for the food and dont worry about the rest. The price is very competitive as well. That being said, the place does not have quality or cleanliness issues. The service is quick. The menu may be a bit difficult to decipher since the sequence is a bit whacky but the food makes up for everything. You have to write down your order while you get a constant supply of green tea. The regular phở bowls are really good. I tried the special rare beef with rice noodles in spicy thai soup (s6) last night and it was really good. The spice was just right and didnt destroy my sinuses. I had a bit of an issue with the tomato-​ey broth but it wasnt a big deal since its more of a personal preference. For $ 7.50 for a medium bowl, I can’t complain. The pork spring rolls are really good too. Crispy and not too oily.
This place gets 4 stars only for the food and should be on the list of the unpretentious restaurants. I am taking 1 more star off for décor and service. Be prepared to pay 25 cents for using your debit card for any amount. No credit cards can be used!