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This is my first visit here in over a decade. I dragged my gf and her growling stomach along into one of the seediest areas in Surrey. It looks exactly the same, but worse. The ceiling is littered with water stains, the windows are streaked with towel strokes, the tables and chairs are poorly wiped down and seating is cramped together, but we didn't come here for that of course.
My gf picked up a pho dac biet while I went with the lemongrass chicken on rice and we split a few spring rolls. Food came fast. The broth looked clear but had great body and depth and was easy if not absent of MSG while the many cuts of flank and brisket were of decent quality. The grilled chicken was juicy and plentiful and sat on a large bed of rice. The only sore point were the rather lousy spring rolls. The unminced pork filling tasted exactly like potsticker filling while the outside rice wrap lacked the blistered, crispy crunch and instead offered a mushy texture. Value is high here folks.
The speed of the staff is some of the fastest I've had at a pho joint so don't expect much.
Despite the doom and gloom area, the pho here stands above the crowd.
My mom started takin here when i was a young kid about 18 years ago when pho tam was half the size with maybe enough room for 10 maybe 15 people! 18 years later i still come
Back for the same reason! The awesome soup and spring rolls! I never go to any other pho place for the simple fact they don't have the big jumbo spring rolls and huge bowls of soup with big portions of meat! I've had everything on the menu and can't find anything i don't like! I suggest this place to everyone, and anyone i bring, love it so much they end up being regulars and askin if i want to go! There spring rolls are the best the one reason i keep going! And anyone reading this im tellin u to go u will not be disappointed! Been goin for 18 years at least 1-2 a month! Yea the area isn't that great, Its crowded the inside isn't that nice, but u get ur food HOT and FAST! sometimes with I'n a minute (seriously 1 min) and I'm there for the best pho food hands down i don't really care where i go or sit for it. As Long as i get it! (warning- if u go here be prepared to be addicted and finding ur self at this pho spot more and more)
Took my girlfriend out to eat and she is Vietnamese so she asked if we could too a good pho place and driving around whalley was a bit scary but we found this haven called Pho Tam restaurant it's awesome there, ordered a large bowl of soup and spring rolls for under 10$, when they mean large ther mant LARGE. Ok I admit it I'm a a white dude I can eat a lot but I couldn't finish this bowl of pho! If I don't finish it I just take it home for a nice little meal!
Been coming here on a regular basis for the past 2 years. It's close to work and it won't break the bank. I've almost tried everything on the menu! The soup broth is definitely the best I've had so far in the lower mainland! The vermicelli dishes are pretty delicious too. Service is attentive and fast! I've never seen this place empty before! It's not in the best location in town, but it is sure the best Pho we can find here! Right next to the Surrey Central skytrain station, you can smell the delicious Pho as soon as you get off the train! =)
One of my favorite pho places in surrey. As with many pho places, you won't find ambiance here, but you will get a big bowl of pho (even the small bowls are comparable to large bowls elsewhere) with lots and lots of meat. Their soup is tasty and has less msg than pho hoang on kingsway (owned by the Tam's brother). If ordering spring rolls, ask for the ones made with real rice wrappers instead of the spring roll wrappers -- they're one of the few pho places i know of that still use authentic wrappers (when asked); and yes, very good spring rolls.
The only downside is the "ghetto" location and limited parking directly in front of the restaurant.
I have been to Pho Tam many times and I'm happy to say that it's consistent. You walk in and notice the cafeteria style seating, looks uninviting and seems as though it belongs in that neighborhood. This place is definitely lacking when it comes to ambience. The service is typical of any Pho house, you must ask for service and be very specific about what you want. The washrooms are always clean and this place is always busy, you can expect to see people from all walks of life. As soon as you have your first taste of the Pho you forget about everything else, this is the only thing that counts. They have many varieties I usually stick with combo 5 ( raw steak and flank ) large and spicy please! The broth is by far the best I've had in surrey, the noodles are just right and the meat is plentiful. The salad rolls are nicely done, iced coffee is great, I'm not a huge fan of their spring rolls ( to much oil still in the roll ). None the less great Pho and its consistently great, it keeps me coming back.
Ever since first visiting this restaurant nearly 5 years ago, I have been back frequently. The pho and spring rolls are just too good. I love their soup base and I never add anything extra in (hot sauce or hoisin sauce) because it already tastes wonderful. The noodles have a great texture and they give you too much meat (is there such a thing?). Their spring rolls are the best I've had in any Vietnamese restaurant, period. Their grilled pork patties are delicious as well.
Definitely get the combo (large bowl of pho and a spring roll for $8 or $9). Just to warn you, the bowls are pretty darn big. You can't get better value while stuffing yourself silly.
Didn't feel like cooking tonite. We were craving Vietamese food, but there wasn't any good pho place in Burnaby. So we drove across the bridge to Pho Tam. Its my husband and son first time there and my third time. The restaurant was busy, but we manage to get a table. Since I do not eat red meat, I have found my favorite pho, #16, the pork and seafood rice noodle soup. I love the broth, so flavorful and gave generous amount of sliced pork. My hubby ordered the curry chicken with rice. Huge portion. He enjoyed it, but I thought the curry was too powdery for my liking. Took leftover home. Also, had a side order of salad rolls. This salad roll had more fillings than noodles which was a nice change. My son had order bbq pork steak and spring roll w/ vermicelli. He had polish the whole bowl. I tried a small piece of his spring roll, boy, was it ever tough!! The skin was so tough and chewy and the filling or lack of it, was skimpy. I think I'll stick to #16 pho. It was worth the drive, the location was great because you can stop by at New Town bakery and pick up baked goodies at half price (after 6 p.m.). Their parking lot sucks, good thing Pho Tam reimburse our parking ticket. I gave 2 for ambiance, afterall, it is a little whole in a wall place to come for a nice hot bowl of pho on a chilly nite.
Better service here than in some Vietnamese restaurants, especially if they recognize you as a repeat customer. Definitely one of the, if not the, best broth, absolutely packed with flavour. I always find that they give a lot of meat or tendon (or whatever you order in your pho). Spring rolls here are some of the best around as well. The rice/meat/chicken dishes are very good as well. Solid all around.
After my bf brought me here last year, I couldn't stop to always wanting to come back. So, I come once a week and I live in Vancouver, which is over half hour away. I went again today for breakfast. I always have their med sized rare beef & beef balls in spicy soup for $6 and my bf always hv the combo A which is a large noodle soup with spring roll for only $8.50. Price is cheap but what's even better is the soup base. It's incredible, I don't think they use MSG, cuz I didn't feel thirsty at all after eating & drinking the soup. N, the soup was full of beef flavour, it's just the best one in lower mainland. N, I do like eating pho so I checked around for pho in Vancouver & Richmond area but nothing compares. I'll definitely come back here and would recommend everyone to check it out.
Went to Pho Tam for the first time at lunch today. It was very, very good!
Very busy and crowded (a good sign...), but service was prompt and pleasant. I had pho, my husband had chow mein with deep fried prawns and meat dumplings. Our bill was $17-something for an ample amount of food.
Found the pho to be just what I was looking for on a rainy day. They were VERY generous with the meat. My husband enjoyed his choice very much. Lots of leftover chow mein to go home.
Ambiance is arborite tables and linoleum floor, but who cares? The food was very, very good! (and the bathrooms were clean...)
Lived in Surrey for 2 years and this was our normal haunt for something quick & delicious. Always consistent and good portion sizes. My usual is the house special. They put more ingredients than any other restaurant I know. Pho Ga and bo bun hue are good. rice dishes with pork
A couple of weeks ago I went to Hue cafe in Richmond based on it's positive reviews and boy what a disappointment. My friend's gf lives in the Whalley area and they gave this place a try and he really liked it, so me and wife all went yesterday and all I have to say is...WOW.
Pho Van/Pho Le in Chinatown was by far my favourite Vietnamese spot until sadly it closed down. This place is even better. Large tasty portions with lots of meat and cheap combo prices equals excellent value. They offer $8.25 for any pho with a spring roll or $9.25 for pho with a salad roll. My wife ordered the salad roll combo and the salad was big and filled with jumbo shrimp - EXCELLENT QUALITY and easily worth $4 on it's own. The spring roll was crispy and delicious as well.
I have been to at least 10 different Pho places in town such as Pho Hoa, Pho 99, etc.. and this place puts them all to shame. If you are ANYWHERE NEAR the Whalley area, I suggest you check this place out. It is near the skytrain station (King George I believe) behind the Safeway, tucked into a side street/alley. I live in the Lougheed Mall area which is not too far from Whalley and from now on, there is only one place I will be going to for Pho. Mo Pho, mo happiness.
Came here for lunch with my buddy today. I had the large no. 10 for $7. It was pretty good, it came really fast, the soup couldv'e been hotter and some of the beef was a bit tough, but overall pretty good. My buddy I think had the no. 1 and said it was pretty good, he works in surrey so he'd been there before.
The area is certainly been cleaned up a bit, though the little plaza its in, not so much. Parking is tough.
Inside, it's what I expect of a pho place in GVRD. Nothing amazing, and certainly not the cleanest nor well decorated pho place in town.
No problem with the service, same thing, inline with what I expect from a place like this but nothing amazing.
We had the house special pho and a bun bo hue. The bun bo hue was just on the border of being too spicy (we're wimpy) but was quite tasty. Pho had a good, unique taste to it, very good stuff. The noodles in both were elasticy, good texture.
Our only complaint, both bowls were loaded with lots of stuff (more than most places), but short on the noodles itself.
Would probably return if we were in the area and had a pho craving. Not quite sure it is enough to make the drive out from Vancouver for regular tries though.
This restaurant came highly recommended from a Vietnamese friend. He and his family will take the skytrain from Vancouver to Surrey to eat at this restaurant almost on a weekly basis.
The springrolls are very good here, and they are bigger than most other places too.
My wife and kids love the Pho, but I've had better lemongrass chicken elsewhere.
Service is efficient and place is clean. These are good enough for me in an Asian restaurant with good food.
I will brave the Pattulo to return to eat here.
After reading the reviews on this place I just had to try it. I was expecting amazing food, and was slightly disappointed. It wasn't terrible, just not as good as the reviews had made it out to be. My wife had the medium rare beef pho, medium size, and I had the house special pho in the large size. There was a significant size difference and I would recommend upgrading to the large for the extra 50 cents. My wife found her beef to be a little tough and was all clumped together into balls of meat. The house special had beef tripe, tendons, beef balls and flank. I found the quantity to be smaller than I had read on these reviews. We also had the salad rolls with prawns and pork for an appetizer and those were very good, although they were more expensive than other restaurants. The servers did not speak very good english and were very pushy and impatient, wanting us to order immediately. We asked for more time and then another girl came a minute later. We had 2 girls constantly asking us if we were ready to order. Parking is definitely limited at this restaurant and the location is not a very nice one. We usually go to a place called Noodle Island in Fleetwood but thought we'd give this a try. Overall it was good, but we will be returning to noodle island in the future, which is very clean with friendly service and excellent Pho!!
I went today to this restaurant with my wife. I had the Bun bo Hue, which is now my new favourite noodle soup dish. The cost of a large bowl of is $6.75. When they mean large, they mean "large". The bowl was loaded with noodles, cooked just right, not too mushy and lots of meat, sliced beef brisket, sliced pork, sliced vietnamese ham. As for the broth, it was really good, probably not spicy enough for my taste and for some reason, tasted like tomatoes??? Although the broth in general for this dish is supposed to be on the reddish coloured side, depending on where you go, it can be a light hue of red or really dark red, I've never had a bowl that tasted of tomatoes.
In any event, it was darn good. Very filling and came very fast, within minutes of ordering. I also got the spring roll for a $1.25 more, which was okay, but a bit on the oily side though.
One thing that ruined the experience is that we had parked in the Safeway parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. It wasn't until i got inside that I noticed the signs saying that Safeway was now a "paid parking" lot. We'll I did notice some of the signs in the parking lot that said "pay parking", other's facing Safeway did not say anything and there were no signs facing the spot that I had parked in that told me to pay, so I didn't. The ticket is for $50, paid within 15 days and $65 paid within 15 days after that. That's total b.s. and I"ll be fighting that ticket for sure.
Pho, a steaming bowl of goodness. We've been going to this Pho place for years. The spicy beef noodle soup is particularly good, the seafood or chicken soups are delicious too. A bonus is that the strip mall its located in across from the Central City skytrain station also has a steamed buns place (new town bakery) as well as another viet restaurant that sells viet subs. So if you have more then one craving or everyone wants something different its pretty easy to accomodate. One time my mom even forgot her purse for a pick-up order (first and last time she's done that btw) and they just shrugged and said pay next time.
My hubby and I have been coming here for years now, and we have our favourite, which is the beef ball and rare beef slices pho along with the salad roll or deep fried spring roll for $8.95. And it's verrrry large, so go hungry. The difference between this place and other pho establishments is the amount of beef and soup you are given, as well as the quality. I don't know how they do it, but I've never tasted anything like the broth there. And I've tried many many pho places (I work in Richmond and go to a lot out there!) as has my hubby, and we agree there is absolutely no comparison. This place is cash only, and parking is at a minimum. You can park in Safeway across the street and pay a buck or two to park, and Pho Tam will re-imburse you. It's not the best area of town, but I've never ever had a problem there. The staff are fast, efficient and friendly enough. They seem to focus more on getting their job done efficiently and correctly than making friends, which is ok with me!
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