Pho Tien Thanh

Probably the best budget Phở in the city. They only take cash, the quality of service can kindly said to vary (although always polite), you are often crammed together with other groups on a busy night, and its décor is mildly depressing, but they perform where is really counts, good food. The varied crowd usually has a good energy for a fun place to grab a bite.
Don’t go here if you want an elegant dining experience. Do go here for a place with an interesting character and damn good broth.

I really don’t get what the hype is on this place. It is very average. No better or worse than dozens of other Phở places around town. Although you get to see a menagerie of bearded hipsters in lumberjack shirts. I guess that sets it apart.
Phở is very simple — broth, meat, noodles. That’s it. This place has beef and chicken broth, while most other places use beef only broth. No better or worse, just different.
We had the phở with tendon, tripe and rare beef. The beef was a bit too rare, tripe was standard, tendon was a bit bigger than other places. Ok phở, but nothing to rave about. Just another Viet place.
The cleanliness could go up. The service was ok, nothing out of the ordinary.
Really, I don’t understand all the raves. Phở holes-​in-​the-​wall like this one are dime-​a-​dozen around Toronto. Asia21 Phở on king and dufferin has just as good Phở, if not better on the tendon part. Everything else is similar. Just one example of dozens.

Absolutely not worth the stars. No idea why it’s rated so high. The broth is overly sweet and artificial tasting. Look at the pic and see how many limes to neutralize the sweet. Phở Linh is way better. Cash only.

Excellent Bo-​riu soup, and friendly service. My only issue was that they took cash only and had no ATM machine on site. The seating is a bit awkward and people who don’t know each other may have to sit at the same table at times.
Other than that, you can’t argue that their phở is as good as it gets.

Not the best, had better in ssauga.
The soup is warm (should be hot)
Ingredients aren’t fresh.
Way too much MSG (and salty)
Ding-​y restaurant.
It is authentic but not to my liking.

My friend recommended this as the best phở in Toronto. I had an amazing experience. The broth was very delicious. The spring rolls were some of the best I’ve ever had. Also tried the avocado milkshake and it was possibly the best thing on earth at that point in time. Great place for well priced food.
Note: this place is CASH ONLY. They do have an ATM in the restaurant if you don’t have cash on you.

The broth is amazing here.
The Phở Tai — amazing. The broth is so flavourful and delicious. The beef was super tender. I also asked for veggies in my phở, and got way more than expected.
The spring rolls — amazing! Crunchy and delicious.
The mango shake — super thick but tasted fresh. No fake flavouring.
Décor — nothing fancy. Just your standard phở restaurant. But the food is great!
This Place is cash only. But they have an ATM on site.

Really good! We went around 2:30pm on Saturday and there was a bit of a wait, but it only took about 15 minutes. I had the fried spring rolls, rare beef phở, and young coconut milkshake. The spring rolls were amazing and the sauce was good too. I loved my phở! A lot of places skimp on the meat, but not here. There was meat until my last bite! Definitely recommend.

I had been wanting to go to this place for a long while but did not have the chance until recently. I heard a lot of praise for this place and to their credit the food did not disappoint. I had phở, Vietnamese spring roll and coconut shake. The food was authentic and well made. I found the portions on the smaller side for the price. The spring roll was unique, very finely made and I found it «elegant» and tasty. The phở was «real» and tasty but not delicate.
I would return only if in the area. I would not drive downtown (from Oakville where I live) to eat there.

Best phở in toronto! And them avocado shakes are to die for… i have searched toronto far and wide for a good phở broth and this definitely takes the cake!
Fast service, looks a bit shady on the outside but dont let that fool you– amazing food!

Honestly I don’t know why this place is rated so high. I had the large house special and there were barely any noodles/​beef in it. I left still hungry and was so thirsty from all the msg they put in it. The phở also gave me the worse fatigue I’ve ever felt, so I’m really wondering what they put in there.
I don’t expect much from a phở restaurant, but this one was especially dirty and the washrooms were super sketchy and dirty. There are many better options for phở, not sure why this one is rated so high.

Everything was ok, They seem
Famous for their soup. We ordered peanut sauce and got soysauce with crushed peanuts on it. It is a busy place and the food came fast

A bit grungey, but many phở places are. I found the broth too salty and the beef wasn’t tender as other places I’ve tried. Place also felt a bit unclean. Not sure I’d come back to try it again.

Its best for take out. As its usually full and there isn’t too much space. I suppose this is normal for the Phở industry though.
We had the Phở rare beef (no tripe) and it was pretty tasty. The ratio of beef to broth to sprouts and vermicelli was good. (usually there isn’t enough broth or there is toooooo much… this place seemed to have it down nicely. The leftovers also kept. I’ve ordered from other places where once you leave the noodles in the broth over night or in the fridge they expand and soak up the broth and then you get this overly gelatinous noodle stew. The next day it was still Phở-​esque.
The spring rolls were a little heavy on the grease but still good. I believe they have meat in them, so be sure to request veggie if that is an issue.

Gangster Phở … love this place. Décor hasn’t changed since it probably opened, and for good reason — it doesn’t need to. Phở is probably top 3 in the city… and definitely edges the shop up the street.
Broth is clean and flavourful. with plenty of basil and bean sprouts on the side. Noodles are in good portion too. Bun Bo Hue is also good. and if your adventurous, try it with the pork blood.
Safe picks are always the vermicelli bbq bowl, packed with grilled meats and fresh herbs.
DT gives it two thumbs up!

So, everyone says this is the Phở place to go to. Sure you have that other one one block north, right at the bus stop, but this is where people say you should eat.
It’s definitely better than the other one near by, because they don’t rush you out, there’s plenty of room to stretch out and not feel cramped. It’s a temperature that doesn’t make you sweat more than the soup itself.
The large bowl isn’t as large as I’d have liked, nor is the price as good as some other places. But I didn’t regret my decision to come here, and at the end of the day, when trying a new place — that’s about as much as I could ask for.

Had high expectations coming here but I suppose the hype about their good Phở might have been true 4 years ago, now it’s edible, looking like they just added cold water to the soup and seasoned it as they went. Positive point was the soup didn’t taste salty or full of msg, flavourful & I enjoyed it. Negative point was for what they sell it’s overpriced. Didn’t not bother making new menus, they just use black marker to write over the old prices, making it kinda hard to read. Had more than 3 people working but none bothered cleaning up the floor :(very dirty. 3* for the Phở broth, 2* for the content (plain & little). A05 was shrimp paste on sugarcane but came out separated from the sugarcane? The paste tasted pretty gross, almost knocked down a star but the soup was deserving of a 3*.
All together for the small and large phở plus the a05 it totalled to over $ 26. Food was not worth the price. Would come back to try #33 Bun Bo Hue, but the place is so dirty so maybe not.

By far the best Phở restaurant in Toronto. Their rare beef is amazing as it also enhances the flavour of the soup. Whatever you decide on, your taste buds will be treated well.

Around the world reviewing phở.
Alright. After some 100+ Vietnamese restaurants. This phở, is the best I’ve ever had.
The broth has complexity and depth to it that tastes Phở-​cking incredible. It also varies from day to day but it’s always amazing.
Tips
*get the mango smoothie (especially if the older man owner is making them, his wife makes them chunky, still amazing though

I love phở. Enough to exclaim phở puns every time I pass by a phở joint:
«WondaPHO!», I’d exclaim.
«PHOnomenal!», I’ve shouted.
«I can eat this PHOever!»
«Please stop.» the hubs would plead.
Not everybody appreciaties phở-​uns (phở +puns). Bah.
Phở Tien Thanh has been so consistently listed in the Top 10 Phở in Toronto in the webosphere that it may have been overhyped in my mind, thus leaving a mild sense of disappointment when phở angels didn’t appear (check out the new animé Shokugeki no Sōma and you’ll see what I mean). It’s still good though, phở sure.
The broth is clear, but not water-​type of clear. To be more specific, it’s more of a light, golden type of transparency that’s quite lovely, free of any floating oily layers or broth scum by improper care. I do wish that they’d add more spices to the mix though, as I can’t taste the star anise or cloves that fills you with an inner warmth. On the plus side, it also doesn’t taste super MSG’d, which the hubs complains often gives him nightmares.
The customary plate of fresh bean sprouts and basil leaves is pretty large, and they don’t skimp on the basil as they provide a good 3 – 4 stalks of it for you. Nice.
The cooked, lightly fat beef should really read «super light, barely fat» beef. Like, this beef has been lifting, bro. Cause it’s got barely any fat on it at all. It’s alright though, since it’s still tender and doesn’t have what I refer to as that“stinky beef”/gamey taste that you can get from cheaper cuts.
All in all, at about $ 8 for a small bowl, I’d come back again for another casual meal that’s easy on the wallet. Phở sheezy.