Springroll House Cafe

Service is fairly quick but would’ve been nice if the server smiled a little more. It seem like they did not want to be there (or had a bad day). But over all the food was decent and well priced.

BLAND BLAND BLAND.
Under seasoned spring rolls.
Small and expensive in comparison to anywhere else on Somerset for example.
Greasy!- were talking a puddle when you pick up your food. Not an acceptable amount at all. Really grossed me out.
Veggie spring rolls– bland. Deep fried celery and black pepper. That’s all. No cabbage no carrots no mushrooms? NO FLAVOUR!
Pork spring rolls, still bland. No flavour no pop no kick. It was just pork and vermicelli.
CLEANLINESS LACKS– noticed a lot of heavy dust on surfaces (wall accents, top of fish tanks etc)
Noticed the chef was sitting down in the kitchen just lazy and not doing any work. Not cleaning. Just lazy. Dirty cloths hanging on things.
In short: too expensive. Too bland. No passion.

The vegetarian options here are limited so I ended up getting the lemongrass tofu with mixed veggies on vermicelli noodles (#61). Vegetarians beware that the *curry* lemongrass tofu (#65) is not actually vegetarian as I think they use beef stock as base.
Our food was ready quite fast, even with 3 of us dining and each ordering a different dish. We came at lunch time during a week day and there was ample seating available.
My dish presented very nicely. It was a generous size and had lots of veggies. Unfortunately, my taste buds were very disappointed. This dish has so much potential, it just needs a proper sauce! The sauce was very watered down. The tofu was super spongy and soggy; and seemed to have absorbed the majority of the flavor. The sauce should be thicker so that it can actually coat all the veggies and vermicelli. I added a lot of hot sauce, soy sauce and hoisin sauce to liven the dish; but those really should not be the main sources of flavor.
If my review were based on their beef phở, it would be rated at 4.5−5 stars based on my dad’s experiences. This is his favorite place for phở, and it has been consistently good every time he has come here for it.
Overall, I am not sure I will be back which makes me sad because I really would love that dish if the sauce could be improved.

I have to agree with Ashley in saying that although their springrolls are super greasy, they are SO. GOOD. I sincerely appreciate the generous portions, since spring rolls are my jam.
I’m a big fan of their Phở. I find it really flavourful and fresh and it’s definitely one of the spots I hit up if I have a craving, or feel sick and need comforting noodle soup.

I had to double check if the Springroll House Café still had the best spring rolls in town (its been a while since I have been), and YUP, they still do.
Hands down, they do spring rolls right! They are big, scrumptious, and their dipping sauce is out of this world! Yes, they are a tad oily… OKAY, REALLY oily, but its like heaven on earth!
Owner is super friendly.

I was feeling a little lazy about cooking tonight, so I decided to try out the myriad of restaurants that my «trendy» and «up-​and-​coming» neighborhood had to offer (I’m a recent Hintonburg transplant). I thought I’d try this place because I’d heard from a coworker that their spring rolls were good. To be honest, I didn’t even know they were a fully functional Vietnamese restaurant serving phở and other traditional Viet dishes until I came in. The lack of «phở» «bo» and «ga» in the restaurant title confused me, you see…
It was supposed to be a quick take-​out too, but after I saw the $$$ in the menu, I rose to the challenge and decided on the full dine-​in experience just so I could review it (if I was going to spend the $, I might as well right?). So here we are.
First of all, I’m sorry to break it to you that their spring rolls are NOT the best in Ottawa. I can barely taste the chicken in the rolls that I bought. The spring roll pastry sheet that they use is incredibly thin/​soft, so it breaks very easily when you bite into it. It’s still crispy, but makes for very messy eating. It’s greasy too, but all spring rolls are greasy I suppose. Still, it wouldn’t kill them (and other Viet restaurants) to roll it first in a paper towel to absorb the grease before serving.
I also had the phở while I was there. I only always have the Phở Ga (Chicken) so that’s what I’ll be reviewing. The broth is flavorful without being too salty, and very clear — so top points from me for that. The noodles were a little soggy, and the chicken was so-​so. Ingredients were fresh, as far as I can tell. Overall, not bad.
Service was prompt, friendly.
The biggest problem for me? I don’t find the prices reasonable at all. 4.95 for two spring rolls that are mediocre compared to three spring rolls everywhere else in Ottawa for 4.00. Then 7.95 (8.95 for Phở Ga) for a small bowl of phở compared to 6.95 (regular and Phở Ga) everywhere else in Ottawa.
I personally don’t think the quality of food justifies the $ 1 markup. It’s just OK. You guys reading this or have written reviews for this place should raise your bar a little higher. It’s not OK to pay $ 9 for a small bowl of OK phở just because you’re eating it in Hintonburg.
EDIT: After making some spring rolls, I realized that reliable spring roll pastry sheet is practically non-​existent — even the brand I normally use has failed me. I guess it’s not this establishment’s fault if their rolls don’t come out pretty. My rating will have to stay the same though.

Phở is one of those things that is really hard to differentiate between the good and the not so good, however sometimes you come across a phở place where you can definitely taste the difference. Ottawa (or at least Somerset street) has a bit of a love affair with the Vietnamese noodle soup and I often struggle to tell the difference. Most of them have pretty much the same menu and the prices are all pretty much the same but there is something different about the soup at the Spring Roll. Maybe the fact that it has a little bit of separation from Chinatown but I notice a difference here. The ingredients seem fresher and the broth seems to have more flavour to it. The service is also exceptional and for a bit of extra variety they usually have the discovery channel on TV as opposed to the usual Vietnamese music videos.
There are only two minor things that keep the Spring Roll from getting a 5, the first is the Spring Rolls. They are incredibly greasy and not all that tasty (considering it’s in the name of the restaurant it’s a bit of an awkward problem). The second is the price, everything seems to be conveniently 1 dollar more than the Somerset phở houses. It’s not that big of a deal considering that the phở is a lot better, but it’s still worth a mention.

Consistently good soup and tasty springrolls (as you’d expect!). Staff are friendly and the place is clean.
Prices are reasonable and the location is great for me as it’s near work.
Lunch hour on weekdays can get a bit busy and we call ahead if the group is larger than four.