Pho Tai Bac Review

You can’t go wrong with a bowl of Vietnamese beef noodle soup – pho.

Pho is a traditional Vietnamese dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, and meat that has become popular around the world. Not only is it incredibly flavourful and satisfying, but it’s also surprisingly budget-friendly when compared to other restaurants.

When you add in the fact that many pho restaurants offer generous portions at reasonable prices — including these best pho places in Toronto, Mississauga, and even as far as Niagara Falls — there’s really no better way to enjoy an inexpensive yet tasty meal out on the town!

Pho Tai Bac Richmond Hill Review

For those looking for a delicious, affordable dining option, Pho Tai Bac in Richmond Hill is the perfect choice.

They are located at The Observatory Place Plaza, 9555 Yonge St #14, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 9M5. So, if you’re nearby, or you like to cruise around in Richmond Hill, then this is just the spot for you.

Rui and I enjoy a good meal of pho once and a while. Since it was our time off today, we decided to drop by to try their pho. Here’s our honest and non-biased review of Pho Tai Bac.

More pho restaurants to try in the GTA – read more of our honest reviews:

Pho Tai Bac Menu

By the way, here is a glimpse of their menu if you’re curious.

Despite their small restaurant, the menu is quite impressive. They have a variety of rice noodles dishes and other classic Vietnamese dishes such as Bun Bo Hue, Bun Rieu, and a large selection of pho.

1. Pho Tai Bo Vien

We went for the classic beef pho tai bo vien with beef slices and beef balls.

If you don’t know how to make homemade pho, or you just don’t have the time, then dining out is worth every penny.

We liked that their soup base wasn’t overly salty, but it was slightly oily. I think that’s just how pho is at most places.

We also liked the taste and texture of their sliced beef:

The broth was packed with beef flavour (and MSG, of course), with a hint of sweetness which makes it enjoyable. Rui thinks it was good, but probably not as good as Pho Metro’s recipe – one of our favorite pho spots in the GTA.

The noodles were cooked just right, and the portion size was quite generous. Well, it should be generous since we ordered a large.

2. Bún Riêu

I grew up eating quite a bit of bún riêu since my mom used to make it a lot. I personally don’t think any bún riêu from the restaurants tastes better than homemade, but I ordered it just because I wanted to give it a try.

This version of bún riêu at Pho Tai Bac was a little different than what I was used to, but it was still quite enjoyable. The broth had a nice sweetness to it and the flavour of the soup was just right.

It’s definitely got A TON more flavour, and A LOT more added MSG, compared to your home-cooked bún riêu.

But look how good this looks:

And not to scare you off if you’re new to this, but they also give a big scoop of pork blood, which I think is disgusting. You can see this in the first picture above – it’s the brown cube inside the soup and a lot more underneath. I do not eat this, so I had to put it off to the side. Had I known, I would’ve told them to not serve that!

Other than that, it’s a decent size mixed with a very generous amount of meat (yes, loads of meat), canned crab, fried tofu, dried shrimp, and a whole lot of other tasteful ingredients. You probably won’t even know what you end up eating because of how strong and mouthwatering the flavors are.

Despite how unhealthy this is, it was a beautiful bowl, and it’s okay to feed your soul with happy food once in a while.

3. Bánh Xèo

Bánh Xèo is a delicious Vietnamese crepe with juicy shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. It can be enjoyed as is, or even better when wrapped with a big piece of lettuce and dipped in a sweet and sour fish sauce (nuoc mam).

Pho Tai Bac’s version reminds me of my mom’s recipe. It had the perfect crunchy exterior with a generous filling of shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. The dipping sauce had a cool and sweet taste that complimented the crepe very nicely.

My only complaint is that it was too oily for my liking. I do not like oily foods, so this bothered me a lot, however, I think that’s just how they are when you dine out. You can never escape that oil and grease at most restaurants.

Other than the oil, it was a pretty decent bánh xèo. Quite addicting too I must say…

Food: 3.5/5

This place isn’t the best in the GTA, but we think it could be one of the better ones in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

The only reason why give this a lower rating is that we thought the food is on the oily side compared to a few other pho restaurants. I think we’re just being too picky since we are extreme haters of oily and greasy food.

For most, I think they will enjoy the food a lot with the oil and grease – it’s what makes their food more authentic and packed with a ton of flavour.

Service: 3.5/5

The service was pretty good. The servers were polite, quick, and efficient. I would say it’s pretty comparable to any Asian fast dine-in restaurant.

Ambiance: 3/5

Pho Tai Bac restaurant isn’t classy or glamorous, but it’s still clean by most average pho restaurant standards. You pretty much come here to dine and leave, since there are no other amenities or facilities.

Price: $$

We forgot to take a picture of the receipt, but for three meals and two people, it was under $60 with tax and tips (from what I recall).

I do remember walking out of the restaurant and saying to Rui, “wow, that was a cheap meal compared to the other restaurants we go to like sushi or Western style.”

Overall Rating of Pho Tai Bac: 3.5/5

Overall, Pho Tai Bac is a great place to grab a delicious Vietnamese meal at an affordable price. The restaurant is clean and the staff is friendly. The food is decent and the portions are generous. I do wish they used less MSG and oil in their recipes (I can only wish, right?), but other than that, I think it’s worth checking out.

For those reasons, we give them an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Since we don’t live around this area, we may not drop by again. We will likely go to a dim sum or Chinese restaurant within this vicinity.