Pho Lien is a Vietnamese restaurant that offers great quality food for the whole family at an affordable price. The menu features lots of soups, some noodle-based dishes, spring rolls and grilled mains flavoured with lemongrass and sesame.
Pho Lien is widely praised as a long standing Montreal favorite, with many describing its broth as incredibly flavorful and its pho among the best they have had, a comforting go to on cold days with generous toppings and fast service. The dining room vibe receives mixed notes, ranging from a lively authentic atmosphere and friendly staff to a colder, louder space with slower, disorganized service and sometimes a sterile feel. Cash only is a frequent gripe, though some reviewers mention an ATM on site or nearby, while others say the policy dampens the experience compared to places that take cards. Portions and value are often praised, fresh herbs and chilies are highlighted, and the idea of a reliable, nostalgic staple persists, though a few reviews describe issues like thin noodles, small meat portions, or broth that can taste flat or MSG heavy. Overall the reviews converge on a beloved institution that inspires strong loyalty and memories, with a hope that consistency and reopening stays true to its character.
Don't order/delivery from this place. Quite shameful portion for an extra large pho, looks like medium.... & don't even ask about the large pho, it's a joke for the price you pay... They gave minimal toppings & no thai basil... Only a few branches of coriander.... I work in a hospital (RVH) with health care professional, doctors & nurses. For a Vietnamese who wanted work colleagues to discover & enjoy Vietnamese food, this is a slap in the face & a kick in the butt.... I think it would have been better to eat in the restaurant itself?! Haven't tried it so I don't know & the reason for my 2 stars, otherwise I would have given them 1.5 star because the food tastes just ok... du ma...
I entered Pho Lien at lunch time only 4 people, usually this is a sign i should turn around & eat somewhere else especially with all the reviews of never ending line ups. I was told to sit as i waited for the menu. A group came in they were seated & given menus & water only after they considered giving me a menu. I ordered the dac biet its ok i dont understand the 5 star ratings & the never ending rants on how this is the BEST vietnamese. Some of them must have been paid or friends because this was just OK. Service sucked good is under mediocre not worth the uber for the overrated hype. 1 thing i am realizing with montreal is anytime a place gets out into the article anything titled " top ten best restaurants for this" or " best dining for that" etc they most likely will not be as good as the day before the article was published due to the overwhelming flow of people flooding in to try the number 1 & they slowly decline into a pit of sub-par eating/drinking.
Very disappointed. I've been coming to Pho Lien for years & tonight's meal is by far the worst I've had. There are better Pho restaurants out there than Pho Lien. The chicken Pho soup is boiled sliced chicken, not even grilled chicken. Not worth the price at all & I will not be coming back at all. Nobody from my table enjoyed their meal. We should have gone elsewhere tonight instead of going there!!
rating: 3.8 / 5 ☆ Prior to 2020, I used to have lunch here fairly often with my family. Out of the many pho restaurants located in Montreal, we preferred Pho Lien because of their appetizers, three-coloured drink & obviously, their pho. Over the past 3 years, we hadn't dined here due to multiple reasons, the main ones being the implementation of restrictions associated with covid (lockdowns) & the 45 minutes drive it takes (used to come here after tutoring lessons back in high-school). On Friday, October 6th at around 11:15am, my family & I decided to come for lunch, as we had plans in the vicinity. We (4) were seated immediately & ordered the following: - pho (beef) - spring rolls - papaya salad - rice cakes & eggs - three-coloured drink (+ more pho for takeout) For starters, overall, the quality & the taste of the dishes are what I remember them to be. Although I have noticed that the broth contained slightly less MSG than before (based on its taste alone), which i personally prefer. Also, the three-coloured drink was extremely sugary & the taste of coconut was much less prominent, which sadly altered the taste. On a positive note, the spring rolls I grew up loving taste just the same & the peanut sauce is still to my liking. (I'm quite picky when it comes to the consistency & the taste of peanut dipping sauce, truthfully I'd give theirs an 8.5/10) However, the portion of some dishes are significantly smaller than what my family & I remember them to be- which is rather disappointing, considering that the price has increased as well. I understand that the rise of food costs leaves businesses no choice but to increase the prices on their menu, however diminishing the dishes' portions on top of that is simply a bad business move. For instance: - the amount of noodles in the pho was nowhere near enough when taking into account the size of the bowl ordered (the amount of beef was fine though) - the rice cakes & eggs dish has shrunk by a lot (this is my mom's favourite dish, therefore she noticed right away) - the glass used to serve the three-coloured drink is shorter & smaller, as the handle of the spoon used to be barely visible when inserted in the glass & while mixing the drink before taking a sip I sincerely hope this review reaches the business well & serves as constructive criticism, as I truly wish to continue supporting this restaurant whose food takes me back to my childhood & other memories that I'm fond of. Service: Waiter was polite & the dishes were served fairly quickly, though we went before rush-hour took place.
Very delicious! The soup is clear & tasty, & I don’t feel thirsty after I finished the soup. It happened to me when I had pho in somewhere else. I will come back for sure!
Oct 17, 2023
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Le pho lui-même n’est pas mauvais(qualité standard), mais les rouleaux sont vraiment de très mauvaises qualité ; le service est insupportable & inhumain : le patron a une attitude différente envers les clients de différentes origines. C’est à la limite du racisme. L’ambiance est comme une cantine d’école tout simplement.
Voilà ça c'est un restaurant à la hauteur des attentes des clients, la soupe phô est succulent & savoureux à l'excellence, bien garni & d'une qualité quasi parfaite. Malgré des prix excessifs, Bravo mes compliments, félicitations, c'est un plaisir de venir déjeuner chez Pho Lien, je vous le recommande, ce restaurant connaît le sens accueil, sourire, bienveillance & le plus important, l'écoute du client, c'est primordial. Certains concurrents devraient prendre exemple sur Pho Len...
Sep 2, 2023
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Extremely poor sanitary measures.
First I find a bug, now I find a string of hair.
Few years ago, I found a bug in my soup but I did not write any bad reviews because I thought I may have been unlucky.
Today, I found hair which was clearly not mine.
If you look at the picture, above is the hair I found & below is mine for comparison. You can see that the hair above is not mine because:
1) my hair is clearly much shorter (note that the hair I found was split in two while I was pulling it out of my mouth)
2) my hair is black while the hair above is light brown.
3) the hair string above is much thinner than mine.
(For this website, I could not attach a photo)
2 years ago, when I had found a bug in the soup, at first, I thought it was some sort of a thin black bean & wondered why there would be a bean in my pho. I pushed on it with my chopstick & saw wings sticking out.
I wanted to puke.
The restaurant refunded me the soup (which is why I did not post any bad reviews at the time) but they never apologized.
Instead, they asked me why I had eaten the soup if I had found a bug, insinuating that I put the bug in myself. (This is because I had only found the bug floating on the soup when I had almost finished eating it.)
I don't understand how anyone could eat from here. You think this won't happen to you, but think again. Go to a clean pho. These pho's rarely keep their sanitary measures & this one was not an exception clearly.
This restaurant will never change as long as you keep paying for their dirty soups.
Parmi les multiples restaurants vietnamiens qu’on retrouve sur Côte-des-Neiges, le Pho Lien est à mon avis, le meilleur dans sa gamme.
Le service est rapide, toutefois c’est difficile de bien ce faire comprendre en français & il y a toujours ou presque une file d’attente pour manger, ce qui n’est pas l’idéal pour dîner. Il faut prévoir du temps du temps d’attente si vous n’arrivez pas avant 11h, car le restaurant est vite plein.
Mention spéciale pour leur dessert aux fèves & pour leur café vietnamien.
Les amoureux du soleil sauront appréciés la terrasse.
