Pho Extreme Xe Lua

This place has an awesome, laid-​back, we’re-just-trying-to-feed-you-not-impress-you kind of atmosphere. If you would rather be impressed, it’s probably not for you. But if you want to enjoy some decent-​quality Vietnamese and friendly service, I think it’s a nice pick. There’s something about those crispy, crunchy spring rolls and the fact that I’m willing to drink Budweiser (they also have Kokanee but they were out of it on my last visit) with said spring rolls that will ensure this restaurant, no matter how humble, will get my repeat business. That and lemongrass chicken. I simply cannot resist this dish no matter what. Thanks for the Extreme eats!!!

Frozen beef balls, slow service, lukewarm broth, crappy noodles. 1 star for being 24 hours.

At 2:30am in & around downtown Vancouver, you don’t really have much choice for actual food. The place was packed late on a Saturday night, such that the arrangement of tables could be a bit of a fire hazard. The service seemed frantic. The food although good is pretty average for phở in Vancouver. The noodles are firm, the steak rare, however the broth is not the type that makes you want to drink it alone. Normally this place would be 2* but given the hours you’d have to drive much further out to find any better.

What is not to like? The food is fresh, the people (Esp owners Jimmy and Judy) are friendly, the phở broth is tasty and light, the spring rolls crunchy and not too oily, the portions are generous, the lemon grass chicken aromatic and juicy, and the price is just right.

Usually anything with Extreme or Xtreme in its name is a bad idea. This is one of them.
In a city with non-​existent good late night food options, it gets an extra star for convenience. It’ll somewhat balance out your late night drinking vs McD.
Vietnamese is usually a safe, consistent bet with few exceptions. This is the latter. Broth of soup was off and too salty. Spring rolls were flavourless. Wings were oily and lacked flavour. Short ribs were a little soggy?
There might be a few safe menu options but Extreme’s need to stick to adrenaline-​related things in life.

Came here on a Saturday night at around midnight after being at a wedding for the whole day. So overall, my expectations with places that are open this late isn’t as high as well, when it’s that late, you need to give the place some give.
I ordered just a simple Phở tai bo vien as something that late, I wanted something simple and clean. Got my dish and flipped the noodles over the meat to let the raw beef cook in the stock… except the stock itself wasn’t warm enough and my beef wasn’t getting cooked. I asked the server to get me some extra stock as the beef wasn’t cooking, After receiving the stock in another bowl, I put the beef in there to let it cook some more… except that really didn’t do it justice either. I ate the food. just… the beef wasn’t really cooked. I do get that I did order this at around midnight on a Saturday (the place was full). Just wished it was cooked a little bit more…

I remember the old location being pretty good. During night shifts, there wasn’t many options and I was pretty pleased finding this place. I finally tried the new ‘extreme’ venue. I was extremely disappointed.
On Saturday night, I came to the new venue for the first time and the food was unsatisfactory. My friends broth was Luke warm, and unable to heat the raw beef. The chicken wings we ordered were OK. Fish sauce based. Nothing note worthy.
My ban bo hue was lacking meat and not too spicy.
I wasn’t impressed.
I hate to rag on a late night joint, because there is very few to choose from. But man, this was not very good. Maybe they had an off day.

It’s 4 stars for being a reliable 24 hour phở place, but wouldn’t stand up against other vietnamese restaurants during regular business hours. Still, I’ve found myself driving over when I’m in the Kits or downtown as it is one of the more reasonably priced with decent food if you are not in East Van.
I stick with the phở and the lemongrass vermicelli dishes — I find them reliable. The other dishes can be hit and miss. There’s a seafood soup that I used to love but it went downhill and after trying a few more times I gave up. I also used to order their fresh orange juice early on (when it was available) which was so fresh and tasty, and the last few times it was sugar-​laden and I couldn’t even finish it. I don’t deviate from the basics anymore.
The place has decent hardwood floors, pretty clean, and nice enough bathrooms. Not bad for 24 hour phở.

Horrible service. Two of us came into this place and asked if they take credit. They only take cash, which is okay. We sat down and waited for more than 15 minutes to receive menus. We never received menus so we walked out.

Oh late night phở. After a long day of physical labour and a really cold night we wonders here for a late late night dinner at 130 am. As soon as we walked through the door you can smell the phở. It smells good. I got the extra large number 1 which is flank steak and phở. When I got it, it looked like there was no meat. Then I dug underneath. And it was mostly meat and less noodles. I wasn’t complaining! The meat isn’t anything special, nor was the soup or noodles but it is filling and a fairly good deal. The soup is great though on a cold night and that’s just what it was.

24 hour operations so whether you’re seeking a post-​clubbing meal to soak up your drinks or simply a night owl like myself, this place has you covered. Bring cash or you can stop by the Coast Capital Credit Union next door. The staff is cool also; I swear my server; he’s a ninja when not working there!

Service is fast, food is good, priced reasonably. I’d suggest it for take out as the atmosphere isn’t great and the service leaves a bit to be desired. Also — they only accept cash.

The food isn’t bad the service isn’t horrible and I would be a regular customer if the workers/​servers there aren’t trying to rip me off CONSTANTLY. The first time my boyfriend and I went there, we ordered two special subs and two soda water with lime. The price on the menu for the subs are $ 4.50 each and the drinks are $ 3.55 each. The subtotal should be $ 16.10 before tax and tips. When we went up to the cashier to pay, the subtotal was around $ 20. Back then I didn’t think about the price and paid $ 20+ tips.
My boyfriend and I came here a second time, ordered the exact same thing (because the food was really good) and AGAIN we got ripped off the same price. Again, I didn’t argue but I took the take out menu and calculated it again when we were in the car and realized that we were being scammed around $ 5.
The third time my boyfriend and I went, he ordered the special sub, the soda water with lime, and I ordered a chicken phở. The subtotal price should be $ 16.30 but our bill was $ 16.50. Whatever.
Last night, my boyfriend and I went again and ordered 2 special subs, 1 soda water with lime and one soda water with salted lime. The subtotal should be $ 16.10. We were ready to argue with them should they overcharge us. And they did. When we went up to the cashier to pay, the guy was adding up the price on CALCULATOR hidden from our view instead of using the cash register. He said that our total was $ 19.52. My boyfriend thought maybe it was a mistake, so he kindly asked «so that price is including tips?» And the guy said no. Then we started to break them down.
He took out his cell phone and showed how the prices are broken down and the total should be $ 16.10 + tax + 15% tips would equal to $ 19.44. The guy seems to remember prices of the items AFTER tax and said the drinks cost $ 4.50 after tax. I took out my phone and showed them that a $ 3.55 drink + 5% tax is $ 3.72 so how would it be $ 4.50?!! I don’t remember the exact price of the sub they told me, but it definitely did NOT reflect the menu price. The guy who was charging us seemed a bit flustered so another server guy came over and we explained the situation to him. After we showed him the breakdown of the costs and such, he said «oh the price of the menu just changed 10 days ago.» This is an absolute lie since the first time we got overcharged, it was around two months ago.
I told them that this overcharging has happened before, then the guy #2 said «I’m not the manager, you have to come in and talk to the manager.» Guy #1 was still saying the drink costs $ 4.50 after the menu. He kept contradicting himself since he insisted that the price of the drinks IS the same price on the menu ($ 3.55) but after 5% tax it’s $ 4.50 when it’s CLEARLY isn’t. Whereas guy #2 said they are going what the manager said… and then the menu just happened to change 10 days ago. So many lies!
All in all, the food is fairly decent and they have quite a bit of customers, so I don’t see why they’re ripping money off people. If you’re going to eat, just do the math before you pay!!! I’m giving it a one star because I can stand mediocre food and perhaps mediocre service, but being scammed of my money is a huge NO-​NO in my books.
Be careful– do math before you pay the bill.

A BIG THANK YOU for this place for being open late Thursday night when I just got off the plane at around 10:30 pm after a four-​day business trip! It was one of the few phở places still open… my brother (who picked my up from YVR) and I enjoyed some good phở and an order of spring rolls. Service was prompt even though there were easily about 10 other customers in the place. There needs to be more phở places opening later in Vancouver; this one got our business simply because, as my brother was driving me from Richmond into Vancouver, I googled «Late night Phở Vancouver» and this one came up.

Horrible place. Done client had a parrot or rooster in a mini dog café and they allowed he client to keep it by the door so that when you open the door, the poor thing screeches at you and calls out some inaudible English at you. Service is alright but a bit slow. Cash only. Bit sketchy as well. The soup was bland and unsatisfying.

Cheap and cheerful. The phở broth is addicting, very tasty food and cheap as well. A large phở puts you back $ 8 and will certainly fill you up. The place is a bit of a dive, but the food is served in about 10mins.
So if your in the area and are looking for something quick and tasty on a budget, this is a good spot.
Main problem is they only take cash. If they got a card machine and renovated the place then I think they’d become a top spot.

I understand that since you’re in Vancouver sometimes Asian cuisines tend to be westernized and then dubbed «not authentic». Well… When I comes to Phở trust me you do NOT want to try what real phở in Vietnam is like… Lets just say it should be called MSG noodle soup. I find that here at least there is less MSG and more real meat stock so we should all be thankful.
I think this place is pretty alright. And that my friends is coming from someone who hates Phở… with a passion.
I grew up eating this stuff so you can probably understand why I despise it so much and how I maybe eat a bowl… in a half a year?
They have all the right veggies, kudos for not cheaping out and buying all the «western» veggies. Plus you can get them dipped in hot water (in Viet we call it «truong»).
Service is normal — sit down, order, eat, pay, leave (as with most Asian places).
Restaurant is nothing out of the ordinary… but hey they’re open around the clock!

I guess this place is ok for a ²⁴⁄₇. I’ve grown up eating phở and this place just doesn’t cut it. Reminds me of phở hua (essentially the MCD of phở)
The broth wasn’t tasty, noodles were kinda mushy
And the spring rolls were weak
If your truly a connoisseur of phở, this is Not the place for you!

This is the former ²⁴⁄₇ Kim Penh Xe Lua just on the other side of Cambie @ W Broadway now known as Phở Extreme Xe Lua.
The old KPXL was a great standby when you were just craving the sweet comfort of phở after a late night of ‘activity’ and a burger wasn’t going to cut it. I was happy to see they stayed in the neighbourhood so I popped in for a visit tonight.
The first thing I noticed was the massive flashing ²⁴⁄₇ sign and the old wooden sign on the sidewalk. This should let people know the restaurant is still alive.
The new layout gives a little more privacy than the long communal table layout of the old restaurant. There are actually booths in addition to a lot more 4-​person tables.
The food menu is more or less the same as the old place. I ordered a phở with steak, flank, tendon, tripe, and fatty flank. A large bowl runs you $ 7.50. Decent for what you get but slightly more pricey than other phở houses elsewhere in the city.
Fast service and high turnover have always been hallmarks of this place. Elapsed time from taking my order to food on the table: 3 mins. literally. While it makes you wonder how legit the food is if it comes that fast, it was still a decent bowl of no-​frills phở.
There wasn’t anything spectacular about the bowl nor was it bad to eat. The broth was good and didn’t leave you thirsting for a huge cup of water. It could have been hotter to properly cook my raw-​ish beef. The basil and bean sprouts were fresh, and the noodles were somewhat clumped together but were ok.
Overall, new name, new location, but still a decent bowl of phở from PEXL.

So it turns out I’m the 1^st EVER customer at this restaurant? Happened to walk in 5 minutes after they opened on opening day! Scratch one off the bucket list!
Parking is available along Cambie for free, in front of City Hall if you come on the weekends.
So the restaurant isn’t «brand new» per se, but is actually the new name/​location of Kim Penh Xe Lua, which was formerly across the street at 540 W Broadway. The same family runs the joint, and of course, the food is just as awesome. This location is MUCH classier than the previous venue. Special mention. The dead giveaway is the sandwich board outside. It’s straight out of the old place.
As the place was brand new, the mom told me they were still stuffing the menus into the folders. We got a take-​out pamphlet instead. She even let me control the TV! Sweet.
So I asked the dad what he recommended, and he pointed out the #30 bun bo Hue, which is round noodles in spicy soup. This one was actually really good. The noodles were nice and firm (even a bit springy), and the soup was spicy without being overwhelming. The beef slices were free of gristle, and the toppings were quite fresh.
The interesting thing is that the washroom already has a funny smell, and I was probably the 1^st ever customer to use it too. Just sayin’.
Phở Extreme may not be the most extreme, but it definitely has the character and awesomeness of the old place, but with a touch of class now. And yes, this place is still ²⁴⁄₇. Recommended.