van son vietnamese cuisine

recently have begun to stop by this place since it's near where i've been working and since the last time i stopped by it was renovated. it's actually a nice location and the atmosphere is great for quiet conversation. i have a personal weakness for sate pho which i have tried at many different locations, and this was the first place where i didn't want to add sriracha or hoisin sauce, as i thought the flavor was great already. for heat, the thai chili they give you is enough to kick it up a little without changing the flavor, which in my opinion is the best part of this pho. they also offer two different types of sate pho so you can get the kind that you are craving! my personal favorite is the non-peanut sate however.i've tried it multiple times and it does not vary much day to day, which is great because i was already very impressed with the quality of their pho. additionally, the staff are extremely polite and attentive, and the bubble tea is great too. it  comes in those sealed bubble tea containers so it's easy to take it with you after your meal. i would recommend this location to anyone who enjoys pho.

this viet restaurant is just along the highways of 16 avenue north and very accessible to bus stop 19, if you are a commuter like me. since it is wednesday, i feel like its been mid week and my body needs to be fueled by rice and meat. so i ordered skewers of shrimp, pork and beef with fried rice. and fried pork spring rolls and jasmine tea for my drink. while waiting for my order to be served, i envy the other costumers who are souping soundly a big bowl of their pho noodles. it looks tasty. so when my order was set in front of me, the verdict begins. the plating was average. the spring rolls are crispy but i cannot taste the pork, it tastes like veggies that is why i'm wondering if they have my order correct. and the main dish, both pork and beef are tender and tasty, but the shrimp was over cooked. the fried rice is too oily so for me it is a no no to order it. i love their tea. so yes, if i will come back here, i will order pho instead of rice meals. since almost everyone ordered pho, so probably that is their best seller.

my girlfriend and i get takeout from van son every thursday or friday and have been for over a year now. the vermicelli, sate peanut pho, and subs are all great. the staff is really nice too.

really good peanut pho sate. that's probably my favourite dish from here. rice crepes were very disappointing. barely had any toppings. vermicelli is good but nothing special. most other dishes i've had were good, but nothing special. prices are slightly more expensive than some places in the city, but not too bad. i would definitely come again, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

great pho and friendly staff... that's all that really matters. decor is not great, but why wouldn't you be looking at your food? if you get take out be sure to ask for sauce.

this place was ok but subpar on a lot of levels. i ordered the vegetarian curry dish with rice and there was not enough sauce. i've dined at a few other vietnamese restaurants to know how they portion out the sauce and this dish lacked it. i wasn't an huge fan of how they did their curry either but it wasn't terrible.
my boyfriends dish hardly had any meat like the picture showed on the menu. it was a lot of and rice with seldom chunks here and there. again - very skimpy. to their credit though the vegetarian spring rolls we had for an appetizer were very good.
we thought we would try to rectify our sub par entres with dessert - another fail. we ordered the fried bananas and they were pretty cold - below luke warm temperature and bland. i was expecting a caramel sauce or something similar to go with it but all we got was 3 fried cold ish bananas with a skimpy drizzle of what tasted like smuckers hot fudge with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. not worth it at all.
the service was pretty good and friendly - just the quality lacked.
with all the other great vietnamese restaurants out there i wouldn't recommended this one nor would i go back.

this is our new favourite vietnamese restaurant in the city. spring rolls are to die for. the subs are amazing as well. want to try more on the menu. thanks

first time trying van son, the beef satay soup was amazing!!!! spicy, fresh flavourful! ordered takeout, everything was hot, fresh and ready to go.

our favorite vietnamese restaurant! every meal is delicious and served quickly!! the service we receive is always friendly and efficient. we recommend all our friends to eat here because we have never had a bad experience!

the good:
very friendly staff
large menu with endless options
nice tasting broth with lots of meat in it
tasty salad rolls

they've definitely renovated this place since the last time i was there. i found my food all tasty and liked the options :) will go back.

the food was okay. the staffs are not friendly. we walked in and we're waiting to be seated for 5 mins. quite busy sunday but seems like not enough servers. i will prefer not come back.

came here with a group of 6 later on a friday evening and we were seated right away. the service with pleasant and pretty quick and the menu had good selection of items. the soups were really tasty and the vermicelli dishes were fresh and flavorful. will definitely be back!

update: ordered from skip the dishes because we were craving pho and it was close to us. the pho and bun and everything arrived perfectly and was delicious.

food was ok, it's not the worst i've had but nowhere near the best. i ordered a pho dac biet #28 and it was a lot of noodles so you get your money's worth. if you're looking for something quick to eat, this place will do. however, there are definitely better pho restaurants in town. service was friendly.

been here a few times already and it never disappoints! they have the best spring rolls and pho in calgary! also the service is always fast and friendly.

very welcoming staff and comfortable feeling venue. in love with the satay peanut chicken, and the only reason why i come back is for the peanut broth! big bonus, i haven't ever felt like guzzling water after my meal because of the msg.