Pho is simply put, a Vietnamese noodle soup. It’s a take on the Chinese beef noodle soup, and is made with rice noodles, beef broth, and either beef or even sometimes chicken (Pho Ga).
If you’re a fanatic of Vietnamese cuisine and can’t resist beef noodle soup, then Pho Metro Restaurant is one of the best places to get pho in town. As one of the best Pho restaurants in The Greater Toronto Area, one in Scarborough, Markham, Milton, and Vaughn, they use only the freshest ingredients and their broth is full of flavour.
We’ve tried many delicious pho restaurants in the past like The Golden Turtle Pho Rua Vang, Pho 88, I Love Pho in Mississauga, The Pho Restaurant in Markham, and the list goes on, but at the end of the day, we just naturally always come back to Pho Metro at the Lawrence Ave E. and Warden Ave. since 2010 (the original location) because almost nothing compares.
Pho Metro Review
The soup base at Pho Metro is usually less oily but yet still packed with great flavour. Their beef is always tender and cooked perfectly, not to mention that their noodles are perfectly proportioned. Whenever we order their vermicelli (Bún), the spring rolls that come with the dish are always very fresh and crispy, which goes perfectly with the sweet fish sauce (Nước chấm). Of course, we always harp on homemade like this delicious recipe here (or this one for vegans) because it tastes so much better with probably less sugar given you can adjust accordingly.
If you’re looking for a good Vietnamese noodle soup restaurant, then make sure to check out Pho Metro!
Today, we are going to do a review on them since we decided to stop by for a quick dinner. We didn’t have time to cook at home. Being lazy and not knowing what to eat, we stopped by Pho Metro on “auto-pilot” mode as an easy option without making any decisions.
Before we review what we ate today, we wanted to show you their menu so you can see what Pho Metro restaurant has to offer!
Pho Metro Menu
As you can see, they offer a variety of different beef noodle soups, vermicelli (bún), rice dishes, some snacks and desserts, and even a selection of Thai cuisine. We usually come here for their pho or bún, but decided to try something different today like their Pad Thai. We were curious about how something like this would turn out compared to the best and most authentic Thai places to eat in Toronto.
Here’s what Rui and I ordered today to share with each other.
1. Pho Tai, Bo Vien (Rare Beef and Beef Ball Noodle Soup)
We ordered an XL pho tai bo vien because we don’t feel full from a small or medium. Plus, we were sharing this so I didn’t feel too guilty as I always complain about eating too much white rice or noodles. Argh, I despise those carbs but I’ve gotta admit, it’s addicting and tastes good at times when you restrict yourself from having carbs too often just to avoid the risks of developing diabetes, which is very common in Asian culture even in skinny and lean people. :S
Anyways, this order came with rare beef with beef balls in their noodle soup and it’s a nice bowl to share.
As mentioned earlier, what we love most about Pho Metro’s soup base is that it’s not too oily but still packed with flavour. The beef was cooked perfectly and their noodles were proportioned just right. Just FYI, the image for some reason looks oilier than in real life. You’ll be surprised to see this in person.
We simply love their soup base and prefer it slightly more than other top Vietnamese restaurants in the GTA because as said earlier, and I’m going to say it again, it’s not too greasy.
We’ve tried most of their different variations of Pho in the past, and we never really had any complaints about them. They’re all pretty solid in our opinion, so we highly recommend any beef noodle soup from their Pho menu.
2. Pad Tai ga (Pad Thai with Chicken)
Since we were feeling a bit adventurous, we decided to try their Pad Thai for something different.
This is something we’ve never done in the past because we thought who would come to a Pho restaurant to eat Pad Thai?
On top of that, we thought it would be fun to compare these dishes to authentic Pad Thai from actual Thai restaurants like Pai, Khao San Road, Jatukak, etc.
This was our first time having pad thai at a Vietnamese place and we weren’t sure what to expect. Obviously, we weren’t expecting Pad thai to taste better from a Pho restaurant! However, it turned out better than expected!
We have to say that it’s pretty good!
It’s not as authentic as some of the other Thai places we’ve been to though. It was just very different from the typical Pad Thais that you’re used to eating.
The dish from Pho Metro was unexpectedly lighter and not as heavy as others. It sort of tasted like a fusion of Thai and stir-fry Chinese noodles, but had more Thai flavour to it. The dish came with a generous amount of chicken, eggs, and veggies, which was great. This is also more filling than a bowl of pho, so if you were to order this for one person, it would be considered more than enough food for you!
We loved that there was a good amount of sauce to make this dish packed with intense, but not too greasy, flavour! Rui and I would actually come back here to order it again! Surprisingly, we do highly recommend this even though it’s not authentic!
But of course, if you haven’t tried Thai food before, we recommend Pad Thai from places like Pai and Khao San Road, which tastes amazing! Only try this version from Pho Metro if you’re tired of eating the same old thing and want to switch it up a bit – it’s actually got a different and unique taste to it!
Plus, this is for you if you prefer something that is not as heavy or oily as other Pad Tai dishes.
Banh Mi Metro Review
Pho Metro also operates a separate Banh Mi shop right next door inside the same restaurant. Banh Mi sandwiches are a unique and delicious option for those looking for something a little different than the typical pho noodle soup. The sandwiches are made with fresh, crusty French bread and are filled with various types of meat, vegetables, and spices.
Rui and I grew up eating banh mi sandwiches from street vendors and we are excited to be able to try this traditional Vietnamese dish at Banh Mi Metro.
From classic cold cuts to vegetarian options like tofu, Banh Mi Metro menu offers several different sandwiches for you to choose.
FYI: Banh Mi Metro closes earlier than Pho Metro. So, if you’re looking for Vietnamese sandwiches from this place, be sure to arrive before 6:00 PM.
Banh Mi Metro Menu
You can take a look at their Banh Mi menu here:
They also offer other creative sides such as kimchi fries, which include options like pork, beef, and chicken.
Rui and I decided to order a banh mi for lunch today and here’s what we thought.
Cold Cut Banh Mi
The traditional cold cut banh mi (on the left) brings back memories of my childhood when we used to buy these for only $1 from Chinatown.
The crusty French bread is filled with cilantro, carrots, cucumbers, red ham, white ham, pork belly ham, and traditional pâté spread.
Rui ordered one of these and remained nostalgic about the good old days when he used to eat Vietnamese sandwiches every day as a child. He was not disappointed!
He says, “The banh mi at Banh Mi Metro feels like a modernized version of the classic with upgraded flavours. I like it! It’s got all the classic flavors that I remember as a kid and it costs only $5! That’s pretty cheap given how bad inflation is today. Can’t complain!”
I took a couple of bites and I have to say that I agree with Rui, the classic cold cut banh mi sandwiches at Banh Mi Metro are definitely a step up from the ones we used to get as kids. The flavour is simple, yet delicious just like the ones we had from the 1990s and 2000s before this became a popular thing in North America.
Grilled Chicken Banh Mi
I, on the other hand, ordered a grilled Chicken Banh Mi. I never had this kind of banh mi before and I was curious to see what it would taste like. I just remember eating the shredded chicken (similar to shredded pork) with sweet soy sauce topped with cilantro, cucumber, and a few chilly peppers as a kid, so the grilled chicken was as close to that as I could get.
The grilled chicken banh mi comes with cilantro, carrots, cucumbers, and a special chili mayo sauce. I wasn’t expecting much from this sandwich, but it came out pretty darn good!
It wasn’t too dry or juicy, but the chicken was cooked well and the flavours mingled well together. I was hoping it would be white meat chicken, but it turned out to be dark meat, which was a bit of a bummer.
Rui took a bite and instantly fell in love with it and even wished he had ordered the same thing. I agree that mine taste better too, hehe. But again, the classic cold cut with the pâté brings back memories of the good old days.
All in all, we would definitely come back to Banh Mi Metro again to try out their other sandwiches and sides! The banh mi here is a great value for only $5 (the chicken for $8) and it’s a delicious option for those looking for something different than pho.
Here’s a receipt of what we ordered from Banh Mi Metro today. Pretty budget-friendly if you asked me!
Food: 4.2/5
Pho Metro has been one of the top go-to places that we just come back to without giving a second thought because their food always satisfies us, so we would give their food a 4.2 out of 5 stars.
Whether you order a hot bowl of pho, a refreshing dish of bun, or even other different cuisines, you’ll definitely find something that you’ll love here. They have a good variety of food on their menu and they’re all pretty good in our opinion!
One thing we need to come back to try is their beef brisket curry. We saw a couple beside us order this dish and it looked intensely delicious!! We’re definitely coming back for more!
Service: 3.5/5
The service has always been pretty good whenever we come here, but it’s not amazing. I guess it just depends on who your server is and what time you come.
In the past, they were more attentive when the restaurant was still new, and we believe we interacted with one of the owners, who were really friendly and welcoming. However, since they’ve expanded over the years, the service has become more “average” as they’ve gotten busier.
We’ve had servers who are attentive and quick, and others who we have to wait a while for. But overall, it’s not terrible and they’re polite so we would give the service a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Price: $$
The price is very comparable to other Vietnamese restaurants. These days, when you order at least two dishes for two people, expect to pay over $40 after tax and tips without including desserts or drinks yet. We said their pho noodle soup is not usually that filling for one person, so we usually end up ordering three dishes for two people when we both have pho. Like what we did at Pho Xyclo at Niagara Falls here. This is the best pho restaurant in Niagara Falls in case you were wondering.
But if you want to feel more full, we recommend ordering one pho (any size) and a separate dish from their vermicelli or pad Thai menu. Those portions seem to be “more filling” than a bowl of hot beef noodle soup. By doing this, you could save some money from ordering more dishes than you need to.
Overall, the prices of food have gone up over the years, but it’s still affordable and worth it in our opinion.
Luckily, Pho Metro offers a 10% discount when you pay cash, so take advantage of that.
Ambiance: 3.5/5
The ambiance is pretty standard for a Vietnamese restaurant – nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary.
It’s usually pretty busy during peak hours, but it’s still manageable and you won’t have to wait too long for a table.
We would give the ambiance a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall Rating For Pho Metro Restaurant: 4.2/5
If you’re looking for a good Vietnamese restaurant in the city, we recommend Pho Metro! The food, especially their pho, is great and reasonably priced, and the service is usually good. Come here with friends or family and enjoy a delicious meal!
Have you ever been to Pho Metro? Do you like their food? Let us know in the comments below.
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