Pho Bac in Montreal's Chinatown is widely praised as a solid, reliable pho spot with flavorful broth and generous portions at a good price. Diners note fast, friendly service and a welcoming vibe, with extra attention paid to the grilled chicken pho and other menu staples, and there are veggie options as well. While the food is described as delicious and comforting, some visits are affected by a strong odor and an older looking space, and a few reviews report uneven service or disappointing moments, but the majority keep returning for the consistent quality and value. Overall, Pho Bac is a go-to place for pho in the area, especially for XL bowls and a quick, satisfying meal.
Pho Bac 97 is easily one of the best comfort food spots in Verdun. From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere was warm, welcoming, & relaxed. The ambiance is simple but cozy, & the whole place feels genuinely authentic & family-run in the best possible way.
The lady serving us was incredibly kind, attentive, & polite the entire time. You can tell they really care about customers & take pride in what they do. Service was also impressively fast - our food came out super quickly even though the restaurant was busy.
Most importantly, the food was absolutely delicious. Everything tasted fresh, flavorful, & homemade. The broth was rich & comforting, the ingredients were fresh, & portions were generous without being overpriced. You get amazing quality for the price here, which is becoming rare these days. Very affordable & 100% worth it.
This is the kind of local restaurant you want to support because they consistently deliver good food, good service, & a great overall experience. Definitely coming back regularly. Highly recommended if you're in Verdun & craving Vietnamese food.
My family have enjoyed Vietnamese cuisine across a number of US cities. Our favorite has always been bowls of hot, steaming pho. While visiting MTL, we stopped in & Pho Bac 97 truly serbes the best pho we've ever had. The pho broth comes from hours of simmering beef bones -- the old fashioned time-honored method to make the best stock. It has a depth & unctiousness which no one else's pho stock every had. Stop by & treat yourself to our gold standard of pho at Pho Bac 97.
Apr 3, 2026
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Usually the pho & the Vietnamese food is not bad here & usually I would give 3 stars... But unfortunately I found a fly on my Pho noodles in the soup! Therefore I must remove 1 star. In addition, they still ask me to pay despite I showed them the insect in my food! In addition, the price has gone up & the quantity & quality of the food is the same or worse as before, so I will stop coming.
Pho Bac 97 has always been one of my favorite spots whenever I visit Montreal. It is right in Chinatown, which made it really easy to get to since our hotel was only a few minutes away.
The people here are honestly the best part. The owner, the male staff, & Hannah were so sweet & welcoming. They made us feel at home right away & it's clear they can connect with anyone because they switch so easily between English, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, & probably even more languages. That kind of warmth really makes a difference.
We ordered two Pho Dac Biet XL bowls & one Bi Cuon roll, & with taxes & tip it came to around $50 for the two of us. The food was comforting, flavorful, & authentic. As someone who is part Vietnamese, I really appreciate when a restaurant captures those traditional flavors, & this one absolutely does. At the end they even gave us fortune cookies, which was such a simple but thoughtful little touch.
I'll be honest, there is a strong smell around the bathroom area that can be a bit distracting, maybe from the age of the building or cleaning issues, but it didn't take away from how kindly we were treated.
I still want to give five stars because this place feels special to me & the staff treat you like family. Thank you again for such a lovely experience. Sending love from Candy & family from Toronto. 😋🍜
I support for Vietnamese food as the restaurant keeps the reasonable price. They have veggie dishes if you don't eat meat. The service is quite satisfied, friendly.
A small Vietnamese restaurant located right in Chinatown. I ordered the bun bo hue. It is very authentic & tasted perfect. I highly recommended ordering this dish if you are looking for some good quality Vietnamese cuisine.
Jul 8, 2025
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I grew up going to an incredible authentic Vietnamese place called Pho Barclay, when I was 15 they closed shop & moved away. For almost 6 year I have been looking for a bowl of Pho which compares to their level of excellence. Pho Bac has done it, what an outstanding bowl of pho accompanied by such a lively & familiar feeling atmosphere of tight seating & rich smells coming from the kitchen. If I had one night in Montréal City, this is where I would have dinner 100 out of 100 times over.
Easily my favourite Vietnamese place in Montreal. I've been coming here my entire life! Update: still unrivaled. Update #2: currently live in Ottawa & have found a place that *just* surpasses this, but Pho Bac still has my heart
No frills Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown with a wide variety viet menu. The spring rolls were fairly good & so was the pho. Interesting that they give you lemon (& not lime) & also no jalapeno.
Restaurant with around 30 tables on bld. St Laurent since 27 years. The little details count to maintain a loyal & satisfied clientele in these crisis times, knowing that I have tried ALL the tonkinoise restaurants in St Laurent (in the surroundings of the quartier chinois) & this is my prefered spot. There is also a big variety of other Vietnamese dishes. This is one of the rare places that includes tea, which is more than enough for one person. It can be repeated as needed. But also each table has its own napkin dispenser, without being stingy & having to ask for another one every time, as is the habit everywhere in these days of economic restrictions. & since the specialty is tonkinoise & my favorite dish (a medium beef is $16), it is abundant, tasty & well seasoned bouillon. With large portions of meat, dressings, according to specialty, in a pleasant, bright & clean place. By now, the parking spots are very rare, for the street reparations. I have always been lucky because the waiters have been diligents, helpful & available. For all this, I return every time I visit Old Montreal... !
Definitely my favorite pho place. Service & atmosphere is typical for chinatowns the world over. But the pho was excellent. Broth was flavorful & the pho itself was to die for. The vietnamese coffee was strong & sweet, the best I've had outside of Asia. Definitely my new favorite pho place on mtl.
I ate many Pho & Vietnamese food of many different stores. but this store , Pho tasted plain. The portion of beef compared with other store didn't good amount. Too much soup & lack of toppings: noodles, meat.
