Lac Vien Vietnamese Restaurant

My mom was raving about this place. She claims that this is the best place for phở compared to the others that we generally visit. After trying their House Special, I cannot agree that it is the best.
The House Special comes with pretty much everything; beef balls, tripe, tendon and rare beef. The noodles were a bit thicker than traditional phở noodles however, very tender. What makes phở tasty is of course the broth. The flavour in the broth fell short… I had to take a couple of sips prior to making this verdict. The broth tasted like hot water with a tint of pork essence and soy sauce. It does not capture that meaty essence that you’d normally expect from eating a good bowl of phở. During the whole meal I had to add condiments (e.g. hoison /​seafood sauce, hot sauce and chili sauce) to it in order to make it a bit more tasty.
Servers were friendly and warm and service was prompt. However, be mindful of the item they call out when it arrives because two people who served us called out the wrong order. When I asked for clarification on whether it was the House Special she said yes but, it turned out to be the Beef Ball Rice Noodles. Another server brought over another bowl of noodles in which she claimed it to be the Beef Ball Rice Noddles however, it turneds out to be the House Special.
Overall, I am not a fan of their phở. If they can capture that meaty essence in their broth then it would be one of the best phos out there. Moreover, I would like to go back and try out their vermicelli and rice dishes.

Do not mistake the good reviews on here for the rating because they are all from the non– Vietnamese who have never had better Vietnamese food. As I looked around I saw most customers are Spanish, Filipinos and others. I feel sorry that those people have to experience this kind of cooking unknowingly. This place cooks the worst Vietnamese dishes. The pork chop rice dish is plain, tasteless, missing all the crucial ingredients. The plate had huge chunk of one rice cup, grilled pork chop with few withered shedded cabbage pieces, one small pieceof tomato and cucumber. The pork chop was very tough, rubbery. It almost flew off the plate as I was trying to cut it into pieces. There was no fried green onion in oil nor shedded pork skin mixed with fried rice crumbs. There were not any pickles either. I am talking about carrot, radish pickles. This is the dish in which the broken rice has to be used. What the hell do those cooks in the kitchen do? Here comes another insult to the Cambodian dish: the Phnom Penh rice noodles soup was the silliness of all. It was colorless, plain and the broth was full of Japanese SMG. The pork sausage topping was smelly because it was not seasoned with the right spices. I am pretty sure they used tap water and full bag of SMG for the broth. No basils, lettuce or any vegetables given to go with the dish but boiled bean sprouts? My tongue was tingling and the bitterness after taste. That is what Japanese SMG does. This style of cooking is very unprofessional in taste and presentation.
One star for the ambience, one star for the service from female servers (as disappointed as I was I still left tip for their hard work) but of course a big fat ZERO star for the taste.
The food here is ridiculous.

Very good dishes at this location. Been going during lunch for years.

Great place for lunch.
They have a lunch special which is ready by 11:30am that’s always hot.
The staff are very friendly and helpful.
There menu is large and they don’t take long to cook.
I have never eaten in store so I don’t know how the service is.
Over all great place for lunch since I work around the area and want more for my buck

Delicious !!! My bf and I ordered chicken phở, veggie spring rolls, pad Thai & beef chunks w rice… It’s soooo Yummie! Good service, clean & spacious ! Servers are friendly and super nice!!!

This was a good restaurant, but after they change the people, it becomes terrible place. In passed three times, I can’t say how angry I’m. First time I go with my friend, we order two same noodles, until my friend finish I still didn’t see my noodles, they say they forgot. Second time I went I order noodle and spring roll, after I finished my noodle they still didn’t give me the roll. (Before they serve spring rolls are very fast). Today they take my order and clean repeat to me, and after 20mins wait they said they didn’t take my order, I really want to use F world this time. It became a terrible restaurant. I don’t think I’ll go there anymore.

This place is close to home and so, has become one of my go to spots when in need of great food.
Location: situated at the corner of Caledonia and Cartwright in the middle of little traffic. However, this place always seems to get customers from near and far.
Service: even though their English sometimes isn’t the best, their promptness on delivering the food in no time makes up for it.
Staff is nice, usually smiley and keeping busy attending to customers.
Food: delicious! Really well made and you have a variety to choose from. The restaurant is Vietnamese however you do get Thai options in the menu to spice it up. For spicy lovers you will enjoy this. Portions are a good size.
I usually get either the Pad Thai, or the Vermicelli with grilled beef and a spring roll.
I could never finish the pad Thai it’s a big portion for me, which is great for left overs. The rice with chicken, beef and an egg is also a great option. Seasoned really well and it comes with a small soup on the side.
All in all this place is a great Vietnamese place, nice staff, great good, decent prices. I have introduced this place to numerous people and they love it to.
Ps there is room for free parking as well.
Bonus!
Sorry no pictures yet as I usually go to this place when I’m really hungry after work so I always start eating before I remember to take pics

I’ve driven past Lac Vien many times on my way to Yorkdale and had never realised that there lied a great Vietnamese restaurant.
I’ve been here two times already and I always love the food. I ordered the stir fried beef with vegetables on steamed rice and it was very good: ingredients were fresh and tasty!
I dared to try their spring rolls: wasn’t impressed, but that won’t stop me from coming here as their main dishes and Phở are delicious.
This place is definitely a hidden gem and the price is pretty good. Two people can dine here for 25 $.
I shall be back for more!

I definitely categorize Lac Vien as a hidden gem in the Dufferin/​401 area.
Nestled deep in a hidden area that’s surrounded by industrial complexes, you would never know this place existed to the average folk. Unless, you work in the area or you find yourself lost driving around the side streets to avoid the heavy traffic on Dufferin/​401.
I discovered this place through a friend who loves Vietnamese food. He frequents Yorkdale mall with his wife and somehow found this place one day. He strongly recommended it as they excel at their vermicelli dishes.
And he is right! Absolutely the best grilled pork vermicelli in the city if not this side of Toronto. Very flavorful, deeply marinated pork grilled to perfection. This is my favourite item to get. I also customize it by getting it with the deep fried spring rolls, grilled pork balls and grilled shrimp paste on sugar cane.
They also do a decent bowl of phở, that famous Vietnamese beef noodle soup. Fair caution though, that they use the slightly thicker noodle and not the thin noodle that I like and I am used to. Being Vietnamese myself, I can sense this place is more of a North Vietnam influenced as they also have «bun cha» on the menu, a dish rarely if ever found at other Vietnamese restaurants that are owned by Southern Vietnamese folks.
Service is good, the staff speaks fluent Vietnamese accented English. In the evenings the area is dark, shady even as there are barely any streetlights. But don’t be discouraged, Lac Vien is definitely worth trying at least once or twice, especially if you want to get away from the crowded food court at Yorkdale Mall nearby.

My go to Phở place !!! This place has great vietnamese food. It tastes fresh and is really good quality. Been here over 20 times at least since I moved to the area and it is always consistent. The prices are good and food is authentic. Been to Vietnam and this phở is as close as you are going to get in Toronto.

Solid Vietnamese food.
I come here when I’m craving phở in the upper west side of Toronto.
Phở is awesome. The Bun is always a winner. Fresh ingredients and excellent base broth.
See a lot of cops here too. All times of day. This is their go to spot too!

I love coming here while we’re in the area for hockey practices or Bday parties! They have fresh noodles…

Came here looking for bo 7 mon (after reading some of the reviews) and they did not serve it.
So we ordered the phở and Thai style chicken wings. They use ho fan in the phở which was pretty good. Meat portions were average. The wings were the perfect size but needed to be more spicy.
As dessert, we had banh fan. This was surprisingly good as well. All in all, after finding out no bo 7 mon i was still pretty happy with this place.
Price wise, your average Vietnamese prices. Not the cheapest and not really expensive.
Will i come back… yes. If in the area, I’ll be back for more. Took a quick glance at the other table and saw the rice dishes… need to get some of that next time.

This restaurant is one of three Vietnamese restaurants my family and I patronize in our local area, this one being three times as far from our house. Despite the distance and no delivery option, we enjoy our food here. Very nice variety of menu items to choose from… appetizers, salads, Phở, vermicelli, egg noodles, soup, rice, pad Thai, stirfry and beverages. Helps as I’m quite fickle and appreciate variety. Quality has always been consistently good. Service is quite prompt too. They seem to have a loyal lunch and dinner crowd, even on weekdays. Only complaint is they recently increased their menu prices, an extra 20 cents to $ 1.50 for many menu items. Makes it a bit pricey for Vietnamese food but still a steal compared to standard Canadian fare.

My go to restaurant for the 7 Beef Course aka Bo 7 Mon. Sauces are made perfectly which is an important part for this dish, plus they give you loads of veggies. Service is always attentative and its affordable!

Felt a little under the weather and wanted to comfort the body with more than just neti pots, vitamins, and rest. The hotel staff recommended Lac Vien for phở and away I went.
The place is no frills and has a staff of ladies flying around to get you what you order. Phở has three sizes of noodles you can order — otherwise they come with the standard trimmings of basil, bean sprouts, limes, and chili.
The broth was solid although I would have preferred a thinner noodle than what they provided. Phở (large), goi cuon, viet coffee and tip ran just shy of $ 20. Seems like a lot, but then again, I tend to eat more than I should. Helped me go back to sleep and sleep off the cold. Bueno.

I have been to Lac Vien a couple times as a change of pace to my usual Viet place. My family and I have tried a variety of options such as phở, bün (vermicelli noodles), soft noodles with beef, salad rolls, seafood birds nest and fried rice.
While most of the items are pretty good and quite fresh, the restaurant has a habit of making incorrect orders. Three times I have ordered pork bün and been given beef bün. Also, I am not a big fan of their peanut sauce which tastes more like peanut butter than actual satay sauce. The «satay» sauce is also so thick it is difficult to dip my salad roll into it without half the ingredients falling into the sauce. (I double dip, *don’t judge!*) Literally, I have put my roll into the sauce only for it to break in half and only be left with the stub. :(
Lastly, if you are looking for a true seafood birds nest, this one does not deliver on the seafood part which is barely there. The picture is really deceiving.
So while the food is okaaay… and there are some good items like the fried rice, there really there are better places in the area. I don’t think I will be going back a fourth time. I gave Lac Vien a fair chance already.

Food was ok but it’s not the best. There were lots to choose from as well. Just a WARNING to be careful because my iphone was stolen there. Please watch your belongings.

Close to work, this place is a welcome option in a sea of Italian restos and chain restaurants. We order for take out there at least once a week! What to order? Great phở, fantastic bun, and always a pork and chicken bahn mi.
Nice and clean, it gets VERY busy at lunch time so be prepared to park on the street. We always call ahead for take out and that works out for us.
We also used them for catering recently and it worked out perfectly. Silver take out trays of anything off their menu for a reasonable price and they delivered right on time to our office for our open house. Fantastic!

For where it is, this place is actually quite good. And they often have vietnamese cooking shows on. Bonus!