Pho Cilantro

My bun bo hue addiction at this place has me drooling. The broth is amazing. I swear it has a hint of pineapple in the broth. Sweet spicy and salty, all in one bowl. So good and for $ 9 it’s comparable to my other place. And for regular phở tai bo vien and dac viet, the broth has great flavor. It’s fancier than your dangling fake fruit phở places and maybe a bit more expensive. But the quality speaks for itself. It wasn’t very busy on a Sunday night and only a few tables. And just one tip. Avocado shake, is no Bueno. Not strong on Avo flavor and tasted like they added ice cream to it. Not authentic enough for me. But otherwise come for the bun bo hue!!!

That afternoon another intense cravings for hot soup, i was in the area coz i visited one store that sells balikbayan box,
Big and neat place, decors are contemporary, i love the black chairs and tables with white table cloth it looks very clean and very calming, theres a lot of colorful frames in the wall plus big glass windows that you can see the street ouitside… it was raining and a bit wintery weather so soup is ver apprpriate,
Parking is free by the street, wifi powered by shaw… service is very friendly, homey actually, the place can house morethan 50 heads, cash and credit okay… good for family, group and kids, noise level average. pretty quite when i came coz it was late lunch.
I had the beef soup and the friend spring roll… no single complaint. soup was good and the spring roll is just thesame with other vietnamese restaurant…
Pleasnt experience, cravings satisfied…

I drive by this place every day going to work so decided to try it for lunch with some coworkers. I had the beef short ribs and rice. It was good. My coworkers had the phở. The soup wasn’t salty and/​or didn’t have as much msg like other places so they didn’t feel thirsty after. They actually drank some of the soup when they ate which they normally don’t do.
The service was a bit slow. There was only 5 other ppl there, 2 who were already eating and we still waited 10 minutes before they came to take our orders. The other ppl waited too. Not sure why since it wasn’t busy. Due to that, we went up to pay, rather than wait for the bill to come.
The place is clean and was renovated however they don’t have air-​con and looking at the ceiling, there’s no air vents so they had a few floor fans on to circulate the air. Can’t imagine how hot it would be inside on a sunny day.
Will come back to try something else as the food is good and doesn’t make me feel thirsty after. Maybe will try on a sunny day so I can inform how it is inside.

Food was delicious! I got the veggie phở and the broth was just the right amount of salty and savory.
Ambiance was also nice but unfortunately the service was not. The only time I saw the waiter was when she took my order and dropped off my food. Never came back to check on me and I had to walk up to the register to ask her for my check because no matter how hard I tried to catch her eye, she just would NOT look my way! Oh well. Go for the food, not the service.

It’s hard to rate this one. On one end, I am into phở places which are usually hole-​in-​the-​wall but provide excellent bowl of soup without sacrificing the price…
Phở Cilantro on the other hand sacrifices that price in order to provide a restaurant that places itself differently among other phở restaurants.
The taste from this place is something I have not distinguished before at other phở restaurants (Phở Hoa, Phở 99, Delicious Phở and various ones in Kingsway) — which is a good thing. It has a very gourmet taste that matches its interior and menu.
The interior is very clean — it makes it look like a higher class phở restaurant.
The menu is very limited in terms of Vietnamese restaurant. it has this very gourmet take on it.
The bowl is quite small compared to their phở restaurants. ($ 8 with $ 9 being large as of 09/​17/​2015). I ordered the small one (see photos)
Overall I still enjoyed this place but I would probably frequent more of the inexpensive, popular phở restaurants (Phở Hoa, Phở 99)…

Been here twice already and I love their Bun Bo Hue. Yes, I do find it the spiciest in Vancouver and have to agree with other Unilocalers on this. I came here after finding out Phở Hong was closed and decided to go further down to Phở Cilantro. I ordered it less spicy and it was still spicy even after adding chili oil on my own. There is small and large size and small size was $ 9.50 including tax.
My BBH was so delicious. I have to mention there’s cilantro in the soup, if you don’t like cilantro. Their green plum candies at the counter is yummy too.

Been coming here for well over a year as I work nearby and also recently moved to the neighbourhood (ahem, #Fraserhood).
Originally only ever came here for their Phở. Tried the rare beef, beef ball, chicken satay, and a couple others I can’t recall, everything has been consistently delicious and I’ve never once been disappointed. The broth is tasty, the meats are fresh, and the soups are hearty making the meal a good value.
Recently as I’ve moved nearby, I’ve dined in a few more times and have branched out to try their subs (delicious!), and the spring and salad rolls. The spring roll is good but not the best I’ve had, but the prawn/​chicken salad rolls are quality and filling.
Take out is consistently good, no complaints. Dining in has been hit or miss. Usually dine in when the lady who owns/​runs the place is working there, and she gives good service considering she usually runs the place alone. On the odd occasion when someone else was running things, things weren’t as smooth (continually forgetful), but it never really impacted my dining experience.
Will continue to go back here!

I was pleasantly surprised when I finally stopped in here (I drove passed it everyday). Some of the best Vietnamese food I’ve had in Vancouver. I highly recommend. I order the beef satay every time with salad rolls.

Had a large BBH here, boy was that a mistake… they sure as heck don’t cheap out on the noodles or meats! Ample Vietnamese ham, beef brisket, and meat balls. Take a look at the picture I posted (mind you I had started eating already and forgot to take a picture first).
My gf said this place served the spiciest BBH she’s ever had, so we convinced me to try it out as I always complain other places aren’t spicy enough. It was definitely the spiciest I’ve ever had, aside from that satisfaction, the flavor of the broth, and the portion of noodles and meats were all well above most BBH I’ve had.
I strongly suggest you try out this place if you haven’t already, however if you can’t handle spicy too well then please do not give them a bad review based on the broth being too spicy cause I’m telling you now that it’s the spiciest you’ll have!

Love the satay soup. Sooooo flavorful. Sprinh rolls were super crunchy. Will definitely be back.

Tasty rich Phở minus the MSG. Eat here if you don’t care too much about the poor service.

I would not reccomend the vegetarian phở. Quite dissapointing. Mainly iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced carrots and celery. Better off going to Five Elements.

A very beautiful and quaint phở place in the sea of tackier-​looking phở places.
Parking is available on Victoria, as well as the side streets.
The inside could easily pass for an Italian restaurant, with the chandeliers and fancy tablecloths.
The spring roll was decent, but I’ve had better elsewhere. The mini-​salad attached was awfully plain.
The beef ball and steak phở met my expectations. Nice light soup, and finely chopped cilantro makes the establishment live up to its name.
3.5 stars for this place. Definitely will be back. Recommended.

On a day when lunch was needed, and my dear had a craving for the infamous ‘BBH’, we needed something on the way home, and using the trusty app, searching the dish, this one popped up! This one has been on our radar for quite some time, driving by this place we always wondered how exactly the food was, might as well go and really find out what the deal is! Arriving here, it’s right on the corner, and it’s a pretty front, you will notice this place from the dark look of the paint on the building and it made me wonder how the food is?
Coming in here, the place is clean, definitely not your ‘hole in the wall’ phở joint I’m used to going to. There are not just small tables here, but bigger round tables and as they say with any restaurant, if the same ethnicity is eating there it’s probably a good thing, as we encountered some other Vietnamese families… big families, eat here, ok, proceed to sit ‘ass’ down and prepare for good food! We both knew what my dear was going to order, and I was at odds on an order for myself. Once we sat down, we had two menu’s presented to us, a tri-​fold type, showing their multiple assortments of phở, vermicelli dishes, rice dishes, appetizers, not until she came by did I make my mind on the order.
I eventually decided on the lemongrass pork on rice, as seeing that my dear had soup noodle, might as well go with the opposite. Her BBH came first, and this thing definitely looked right, with a little added spice as I could see the chili skins floating around like boats in the Burrad Inlet (or kids swimming in a pool!). There was pockets of deep red chili oil floating blobby’s all around the rim of the bowl, including the ones swimming in the middle of this ocean, if this is not a sign of *danger spicy*, then I do not know what is. This thing was one of the spicier BBH’s I have had, I could feel the sweat coming from the top of my head, I could also see the sweat from my dear, and the sniffling while she was plowing away and trying to kill off this dish. The broth, clean, very flavorful, lemongrass very apparent, loaded with meat (this bloody thing was a meal!) and filled with rice noodles (no complaining here that they need more of something) where they used the thinner noodles, not the usually thick ones you see.
While we were sharing the bowl, the waitress came over and said, you should have told me, as she would have brought an extra bowl (no need, but she was attentive!). Then came the rice… yes… it looked good picture wise… till you cut into the meat and digested it.
I was not too fond of the meat, everything else, from the salad, to even the rice laying on the bottom was fine, even the fish sauce that came with it was alright, but it just wasn’t good, let down… oh yes. The meat had a weird taste to it, it would have been better if they just put the meat non-​marinated on the fire, it would have tasted better. It was dry, firm, had a very interesting… plasticky taste to it… I really can’t describe it, let alone recommend you burn some of your own money to try it… STAY AWAY… you’ve been warned…
If it wasn’t for my dish. this would be close to a 4 star review… but this was my order… Would I recommend this place, oh yeah… their soup dishes are good… and from what I saw on other tables. their spring rolls look awesome too… just steer clear of the pork chop!

I am with Jennifer Y. on this one. Their BBH, though a delicious bowl of hot ass, yes, it’s the spiciest I’ve had in my life.
I love phở. I love my good bowl on MSG loaded goodness ain’t matter if it’s a damp raining day (at least half a year in Vancouver which we are known for) or a hot smelly day which we get from time to time; regardless — phở rules.
My Bun Bo Hue craving on this particular day was a desperate hungry baby who wouldn’t shut up so I fed what it wanted by looking up the nearest phở joint on Unilocal App.
Found this place. Found parking. Found a table for two. BBH large for me and lemongrass pork on rice for my man.
BBH looked legit. There’s something about that bordello red that hinted a sweaty teary ride ahead. First sip of the soup, lots of lemongrass and a good amount of shrimp paste in the broth. The soup is clean, flavorful, and none of that soup base powder shit and there, that tingling sensation at the back of my throat I’ve been waiting for finally hit hard. This bowl of hotness was painful to eat and would be painful to get out from the other end, but oh yeah. nothing beats that pain and pleasure. I was crying and sniffing through my entire meal. I think I just depleted my tear glands. The noodles were smaller/​skinnier than what’s commonly used but they were cooked really well. Not quite al dente but definitely not soft or mushy. The meats: sliced briskets, beef balls, and Vietnamese ham all tasted very fresh. My only dismay was that the soup was difficult to drink up at the end because the chopped lemongrass bits and chili fakes made the soup very woody and textured. It’s like a horror film that started off strong but had such a weak ending you just want to throw garbage at it.
I had a few bites of the lemongrass pork on rice and I was not a fan. I think the broken rice was just fine but the pork was on the dry side and the meat had an off odor. It’s not only game-​y but it had another odor I couldn’t identify. I wasn’t sure if it was the marinate or spices or what, it wasn’t pleasant. Other than than that the greens that came with it, julienne iceberg lettuce, cucumbers were all extremely fresh.
In a nut shell, BBH gets 4 stars, no argument here. Overall experience I’d give it 3.5 stars. The place is clean with dark hard wood floor and mirrors to open up/​brighten the room. If you’re a germaphobe and loves a good bowl of phở, I’d recommend.
Now if you would excuse me, I must now be off releasing my BBH.

My dear friend Stephanie W. spoke very highly about Phở Cilantro so I thought I’d give it a try.
My foodie friend and I came here for dinner on a random weekday night and it wasn’t busy at all. Perhaps we were there later than the typical phở dinner time (730ish?). There was just one other couple at a table on the other end of the restaurant and they seemed to be enjoying their phở.
As usual, I ordered my BBH and when the bowl came I was ecstatic! It looked pretty damn good! I was too hungry to notice the thick layer of chili oil sitting on top of the bowl. Consequently, I was on fire right from the start. I can take spicy food — I love it! But holy crap, this was by far the spiciest bowl of BBH I have ever had! Fortunately the heat did not overpower the rest of the ingredients in the bowl because even though it was spicy, it was still very tasty! But is BBH supposed to be super spicy? Hmm…
(I’m not complaining about it, but merely stating a fact.)
I did manage to finish my fiery bowl of BBH. The lady (maybe owner, maybe not) most likely saw my struggles and told me she would tell the kitchen to not make it so spicy next time.
I did manage to visit Phở Cilantro a second time (a week or two later) but I was too scared to order the BBH again! I had the rare beef with beef balls and that was a pretty solid choice. One of these days I’ll find my way back to Phở Cilantro again and try the BBH… again!

We’ve been driving past Phở Cilantro so many times and finally I decided to try it. This place is clean, neat, and newly renovated. The Vietnamese lady look likes the owner who working on the floor.
It wasn’t busy on Friday night and only 2 tables occupied when we went in.
They sever general Vietnamese foods and basic items on the menu.
Rare beef and beef balls noodle in soup — it’s good and nothing special.
Spring rolls — Crunchy and tasty
Lemon Grass chicken and spring roll with vermicelli — Chicken was thin as paper and super try!
Fish sauce was special, it looked a bit darker than usual and tasty more favorable.

Have been here about five times and its becoming my go to Phở place. Not only do they have the usual beef Phở there are many new types like the soup with fish cakes, which has become a new favourite.
The sandwiches are all top notch.
My café sua da was not the best, a little weak and not enough condensed milk.
Will update as I eat my way through the menu and hopefully can add that last star.

* It was the best of times, it was the worst of times *
I ordered the grilled pork and cha gio bun. It was nicely plated:
The cha gio was one of the better ones I’ve had in the Vancouver area. They use the more traditional tapioca wrapper instead of the standard Chinese style spring roll wrapper. So this gives the wrap a nice consistency. The filling was light, and had a hint of crab in it. Great cha gio. Photo:
The grilled pork on the other hand was one of the worst I’ve had in the Vancouver area. It had a strong butane taste and was extremely overcooked. Some of the pieces were like pork jerky soaked in butane. Meh. Photo:
I’m baffled.

I’ve been back twice since my first review (10 days ago). Phở is still solid, service is still shoddy. But I keep coming back, so clearly the food is making up for the service. Give the Soursop Shake a try!