The Pho Shack - Ottawa

This restaurant in Ottawa serves some of the best pho around. The service is excellent and it is a must-try for anyone who loves pho.

Cheerful decor, water comes without asking in a wine bottle! which is fun.  Service is good, cheerful and quick. The menu includes some harder to find dishes like Saigon Crab Foam soup as well as Hue style beef soup, neither of which I've yet to try.  I keep getting seduced by their other dishes... The chicken pho is very good. Veggie pho is also nice.  On the must try list: a number of northern Chinese BBQ dishes which come sprinkled with a cumin based seasoning, from BBQ quail egg and BBQ tofu my two faves, to skewers of lamb, beef, pork or chicken.  They have a beef carpaccio like dish which is worth trying.  Another fave the Banh Cuon, steamed rice noodle rolls filled with ground pork and wood ear mushrooms, and topped with both crisp fried onion& sliced scallions as well as slices of Vietnamese sausage which tastes akin to mortadella, and a cucumber beansprout salad on the side.  When I don't know what to order I pick the rice platter, which is large and has a bit of everything from a light salad, to chicken soup with onion, a good amount of rice topped with 2 choices between marinated grilled beef, pork, chicken or shrimp, or else over easy fried egg. The egg yolk is great with the beef which has a wonderful flavour from the marinade.  They also have a very nice rich beef stew which is a bit like a french beef stew big chunks of beef, potatoes and carrots and other veggies in season but with the spicing of course are not at all French   featuring star anise and basil. Comes with a mound of rice very filling!  My boyfriend is addicted to the mango shakes, which use condensed milk and fresh mango and make a nice desert.

Had the quail app and beef pho. Both were pretty good and the beef pho had a lot of beef in it. There is more fat in the soup than other places, and that greasiness sticks with you after you leave. The server was nice.

The service at this restaurant is fantastic and the food is delicious! I have never been disappointed whenever I dine here.

Great pho!! One of the better broths I have tasted. The service was quick and they were very attentive. I found the flavours to be great, the prices were some of the cheaper ones I have seen and they had a variety of options for your pho. Would definitely go back!