ottawa foodies

I've been to Pho Bo Ga King numerous times. Most recently, was December 2016. I like it because it is open late and because it has the Extra Large size for pho. I've only ordered pho here. The fatty beef and tendon cuts are a bit low quality, and the broth could be more flavourful, but if you are wandering Somerset looking for a late night option or need to get an XL pho, it's a good option.

tried the recent new merivale location. i was really disapointed with the flavor of the broth here. it seemed to have less flavored then the downtown based broth. i really do enjoy a good pho, but for some reason it seems dumbed down for the area and that's a same. my dad had the shrimp spring roll and was mostly carrots then shrimp.

Well I really like the food at this place - lots of flavor and the soup broth is not too salty - which it is at most of the other places.

Prices are very reasonable and the 10% off for "new restaurant" is still on. I spoke to the waitress and she said they have been open since Sept. 2009.

It did not seem very busy, and they open till 2:00 am weekdays and 4:00 am weekends. Do they get customers at those late / early hours? Apparently yes. The waitress said they get very busy after the casio closes on the Quebec side. Makes for a long day to stay open till 4:00 am though !

This one is the shrimp and tofu ( I also went a bit crazy and put in two teaspoons of the very hot chili paste . . . made me cough it was so spicy - good though ! ) My wife thought it was funny (she told me two spoons were too much).

This one is the dry soup (broth on the side) ordered by my son . . .

I had another super meal at this place with my family last night. Chicken rice noodle soup with BBQ pork(daughter's choice) . . .

I went there today (twice), and they still have the 10% off. Somewhat empty, but the food is great and the prices reasonable. Big selection on the menu and even vegetarian choices too. I'll go back a few more times before posting a more detailed review. I'll also take pictures. The place was clean and service was fast and friendly. The shrimp rolls with tails were delicious. BTW eat the tails. Ground up shrimp shells are sold in health food stores and absorb and lower cholesterol. I think it's called chitosan. Also those deep fried shrimp chips are made from chitosan if I'm not mistaken. Good for you :-)

We visited this newish restaurant on a Wednesday evening and discovered the average sized dining room to be almost empty. Service was friendly and efficient, and the food arrived super fast. The 5 or 10 minute wait is one of the many reasons that Vietnamese food is great for kids.

They're subtracting 10% from your bill for the time being because they are still new (6 months old?). The menu has lots of photos.

Cash only.

The Special A (spicy saté beef, bbq pork, and shrimp) was tasty, although not terribly spicy. As you can see in the photo, the meat portion was quite generous and the shrimp were large. I had the Large, which was a good size. Unlike many other places, this one offers an absolutely massive XL size! They have all their bowls lined up on a shelf so you can choose your size without guesswork.

They provide a decent pho at a good price. I'll be back!

Wifey had the BBQ Beef and BBQ Pork Chop with Rice. Again, the meat was in generous supply and was good enough. One very cool thing is that they included a small bowl of brothy soup (with some cabbage and cilantro) on the side. Kudos for that!