Pho Dau Bo

Went here last Sunday after a hike, was really hungry & I must have been kind of desperate. The staff looked at us funny for being the only Asians in the place.
Ordered spring rolls, house special Phở xl, steamed rice with pork chop & chicken & fried egg. Spring rolls were ok, they came with some vermicelli & good fish sauce. The xl Phở looks more like a large at other Phở places, soup tasted like msg & salt, it sure smelled like it too. Little meat floating on top. You really get what you pay for & I certainly expected the place to put quantity over quality — but they didn’t have neither.
Then came the rice dish. Meat was soft and tasty, however one could not tell which was pork & which was chicken from just looking at it. Took little to no time to finish the meat on my plate, since 50% of it was just fat. Fried egg was good, the one star is for the fried egg.
We had to get up & gave them the order, which we wrote up ourselves (typical Vietnamese restaurant). One waitress came around trying to restock the utensils while we were eating. Extremely uncomfortable having someone shuffling chopsticks in front of your face while you were trying to convince yourself to finish your food but couldn’t.
Once in a lifetime experience, because it sure will not happen again.

I used to come here all the time and eat the tasty veggie Phở! But on my last visit here, my boyfriend and I ordered Pad Thai to split and found a dead cockroach after eating a little over half of it. I kid you not.
Immediately after noticing it, I walked up to the counter and pointed out the little creature on my plate and the lady didn’t even apologize or anything. She was even surprised that we were not going to pay for our half-​eaten meal! SO unimpressed with Phở Dau Bo and I guarantee that I will never be returning there again.

LOVE Phở Dao Bo. If you’re after Vietnamese phở, this is your place. Yeah, the broth is on the salty side, and I’m pretty sure they use MSG, but portion sizes are great, prices reasonable and I’ve never had a bad experience.

Pretty decent food, service is not bad but could be better.
THE FOOD
The phở broth was decent, a bit sweet and not as intense as I like. The bubble teas were way too sweet, though the tapioca balls were the biggest I’ve ever had.
THE SERVICE
They seem way too tired to be warm and inviting. Nothing horrible, but not heart warming either.
THE ATMOSPHERE
Simple, clean, busy.

My girlfriend and I ate here for late lunch on Thursday, 13-​Jun while I was visiting her from San Diego. There was no wait for a table. The dining room and tables were clean. However, the service was bad — young, inattentive server with an attitude. Price for most menu items were below $ 10. The food was just ok — absolutely nothing special. We ordered crispy spring rolls (3*/5*), shrimp pad thai (2.5*/5*) and pork dumpling soup (2.5*/5*). They didn’t even clean the bok choy that went into the soup.
I wouldn’t come back unless I was part of a hungry group with no where else to go.

Ok, Phở Dau Bo is a good restaurant. I only come here if I am downtown but the location is very convenient to the heart of Hamilton. The atmosphere is okay but the food is pretty good. Also the prices is quite reasonable. Its not the most amazing Asian restaurant but it is pretty good. I would recommend coming here for a bite if you are in the area.

Good selection of vietnamese style soups but all you need is a phở dac biet to keep me happy. Nothing exciting about the location or the staff… Both get the job done.
Saddly enough this lunch experience would have been perfect until sipping on my favorite bubble tea I realized they don’t accept credit cards?! (Not even Canadian Express)
Stay tuned…

nothing special just a place to eat phoo

Our party of 4 had lunch here on a Monday and the food was just about average… nothing special.
To the Asian lady working at the counter:
You must have the case of short-​women syndrome but please do not use your dirty hands to handle our vegetable plates and sides after holding cash and other misc items because that is unsanitary and disgusting. If the other workers can use utensils and gloves (the other lady used chopsticks to get us more hot peppers and bean sprouts), so can you.
If you want average Vietnamese cuisine, go here… just avoid that crazy lady!

Had the Bun Bo Hue here. Ingredients were nice and fresh but I felt the soup was a little light and watery.

When I’m in the Hammer for work, I often find myself here because it’s «Tradition.» That and the typical phở prices can’t be beat.
I’ve had several of the different varieties of dishes at this place but I always come back to the beef/​beef-​entrails noodle soup. It’s hearty, it’s got noodles and if you get the large or x-​large don’t slurp up the broth unless you want to drink 10 gallons of water trying to purge all the excess blood-​pressure spiking sodium from your system.
I’m very fond of the fresh spring rolls here too. In all truth, they are all about the peanut sauce. Think of them as a fresh/​crunchy peanut-​sauce-​delivery-​vehicle.
I’ve never had bad service at this place, but don’t be afraid to be aggressive with the wait staff rather than the «polite Canadian» method of quietly sitting and hoping the server can read your mind and come by quickly… They won’t. You just have to put up your arms and flail.
Will I be back? Absolutely.
Will I enjoy it? Definitely.
Will I leave with a salty/​msg coma? Hell’s yeah!
Lasting impression: none. This is standard Phở.

No complaints. Ate here a few times. Your standard Phở Dau Bo chain restaurant.

On my return trip here, the service was so awful, and the rest of the customers were such jerks, that I didn’t feel much like sticking around to eat. I ordered anyways.
Food came, and was so delicious that I completely forgot that I was surrounded by low-​lifes and idiots. It was quite delicious this time around. I only had the phở, no apps. Delicious.

I love, love love this place. My guy and I go here whenever we want a cheap but tasty dinner out. Their spring rolls are to die for, their pad thai is better at under 10.00 than most I’ve had for over 20.00, and their phở is characteristically awesome. Great bubble tea for those hot summer days too. Open late.