Hanoi Restaurant

I really wanted to like this place and gave it two tries with the pho and bun rieu, but both times the soup was so salty I couldn’t even finish it. I’ve had pho all my life and never encountered a bowl that bad. Unfortunately that was the case with this spot. I love the homey decor and the hole in the wall vibe, but the food was really just bad. I don’t mind bad service with places like this either but what did it for me was the fact that a service charge was secretly added into the bill without any mention. And it’s funny that the owner ignores you when you’re there but is suddenly super friendly and asks how you are the moment you are about to pay the bill. Maybe this spot is better for Vietnamese, who knows, but it’s a big shame..

December 7, 2024 on Google

Had the Pork Bahn Mi and it was very good. The baguette was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the pate was umami rich and the pickled vegetables were good. For $7.50 you won’t find a better Bahn Mi in Toronto.

November 22, 2024 on Google

Food was good. The service was non-existent, but the prices are lower than average which offset. The reason for my one star is that they over charge at the til without explanation. My total didn't make sense to me and when I asked why they said there was gratuity added automatically without any prompt. When I asked to take it off they argued and wouldn't. It's illegal to force service charges or tips on customers without prior notice.

August 17, 2024 on Google

We’ve passed this little hidden place several times and finally walked in for the time this month. It’s quite conspicuous from the outside as the glass is all barred up with metal and besides a board sign that sits outside the door, you don’t really get a sense it’s a restaurant. It appears more like a pawn shop from the outside. Walking into the restaurant, you are welcomed, first, by a strong scent of incense. The owner/chef is sitting on his gaming chair (a very comfy one at that) with a large flat-screen blasting the local Vietnamese news. He pours himself a cup of tea from a traditional mini clay tea pot and in an instant, you are transported back to perhaps an extended relatives’ home in VN. Over 35% of the interior is made up of statues of buddhas and structures for traditional offerings. The restaurant doubles as a manufacturing facility for their Vietnamese rice cake business - offering banana/pandan flavoured cakes, mung bean cakes, and the like, which are packed and packaged for delivery on site. If you peer into the restaurant from the outer window, you will see the cakes for purchase on display. The toilet is in the back near the kitchen, where you navigate boxes of cakes being packed, a mini toaster oven on a trolley (used for making their bahn mi (Vietnamese subs), and past the cash register and a large deep freezer to arrive at your destination. Inside, the bathroom doubles as a furnace room and storage room of boxes - old cat litter boxes and grocery boxes (emptied) The service is welcoming and you get what you need. But don’t expect anyone asking you how your food was. We saw 3 different men come into the store. 2 of which never smile, while the other definitely does more of the servicing. One of them grunted at me when I began my journey/scavenger hunt to find the toilet and almost went to the basement — to signal I was starting on the wrong path. Food is made to order and comes out on plastic plates and bowls with traditional East Asian patterns. The mint is likely homegrown - the leaves are huge! Food is homemade and something out of the kitchen of a home cook rather than a chef. Don’t expect fancy but you will get all the traditional ingredients one might expect from a Vietnamese meal! Water is served in plastic milkshake cups and are starting to brown. Likely due to the longevity of them being at the store/restaurant. The walls are decked in paintings (wherever it fits) and handmade signs for product offerings written in Vietnamese. It’s everywhere so you’ll have to play some Where is Waldo with your Google Translate app if you can’t read VN. If you’re looking for a zero frills experience and just want to fill your tummy with some sustenance while being transported back in time, check it out and dine in. If you just want some flavourful food, maybe do take out. (Note: the quality of the rice noodles I had were ok. It was boiled but overcooked so almost mushy and the rice starch was not washed out.) Payment: while not advertised, an automatic 15% is added to your bill. I believe this applies to takeout orders too, but I’m unclear.

May 27, 2024 on Google

Most Vietnamese places in the West are Southern (Saigon/HCMC) based. This is a rare Northern Vietnamese variety and thus has specialties you won't find elsewhere. The front of the store is all locked up with grilled bars and messages like "Keep Out !!!" and then when you enter, it feels like some hoarder's bedroom with hundreds of shrines, incense sticks, cardboard boxes etc. You feel like running away immediately, but resist that urge. The food here tastes EXACTLY the same as street-food in Hanoi. Don't order Pho or Banh Mi. Order regional specialties of the North - like Bun Cha (grilled meat with green papaya), Bun Reiu (Crab Roe noodles) or Cha Ca (Grilled Fish with herbs). I also got some green-rice sweets to-go. This is the REAL DEAL. I don't know what's going on with the restaurant, but please support their business. I would hate to see authentic places like these close down and be replaced with generic corporate-pho places.

May 9, 2024 on Google

my most favourite vietnamese restaurant in toronto. really vietnam vibe. lovely northern cuisine & lovely owner aka the chef. highly recommend fried rice (cơm chiên dương châu) and steamed rolled rice pancake (bánh cuốn)

May 1, 2024 on Google

The food is fresh and delicious here. I’ve had the banh mis, the bun, and the bun rieu. The baguettes they use are perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Salty pate that compliments the rest perfectly. Fresh veggies in the bun, delicious broth in the bun rieu. Gotta try the pho next. The cat is adorable and the Buddhist shrines are a bit extra but compliments the authenticity of the place. the only thing is the service is hella slow but it’s two elderly Viet guys running the show and the cheap eats and quality of the food makes up for it.

February 17, 2024 on Google

This is my favourite spot to eat in Little Tibet. The owner is very kind and willing to help you to the best of his ability. It has a lot of charm and the food is wonderful. It is not a gentrified spot and it feels both authentic to Parkdale and its roots, and authentic to their Vietnamese culture. I have yet to be disappointed by a single dish on their menu.

August 20, 2023 on Google