Xe Lua Restaurant

Best phở in all of Toronto. Don’t even bother going downtown! Not a big fan of the bubble teas or smoothies, but it’s not a bubble tea shop! Chicken phở is good, the curry beef brisket soup is amazing, spring rolls are the best hands down, the chicken skewers (sorry I don’t know the name) are yummy, and the traditional «chicken breast with pork and rice» for $ 8 is soooooooo good.
You’ll leave here feeling contempt with life and you’ll want to return.

Chicken phở is really good, service is fast and accurate. Love that they have the fresh phở noodle option!

Best phở place I’ve been to (and I’m Vietnamese and I’ve been to Vietnam) I’ve been going here since I was a kid… Still go here 15 years later! Love them!

This is my favorite restaurant for phở in Toronto. I’ve recently taken a liking to their curry goat soup. I never order a meal there without their incredible spring rolls. The reason that these spring rolls are special, is because they use rice paper instead of conventional Chinese style wraps. This makes for very crispy rolls without the greasy, flaky mess which you would expect from a Chinese spring roll.
Very friendly and attentive staff. Location is small, but charming.

My favourite phở restaurant!
They offer fresh noodles which is one of the reasons why I keep coming back.

Had takeout and it was really good … The spring roll was a little over cooked but the noodles and bbq pork was great! Would totally come back! So man good Vietnamese places in this area

Best phở in the city, hands down.
Get the rare beef phở with glass noodles. I’ve been going to this place for 8 years and rarely been disappointed.

Went by around 1PM and the place was packed. Though tempted by the banh xeo and vermicelli dishes, most people were having phở so I decided to go with that.
Ordered one of the standard beef phở dishes and was happily surprised to be given the option of fresh noodles instead of dry. The broth was very flavourful and tasty. There were a ton of noodles and lots of tendon. Maybe there could have been a bit more beef.
The Large size was plenty big — probably more than I needed. The table next to me had all ordered XL phở and the bowls were crazy big. Something to keep in mind when I’m looking for a place to feed teenagers.
My first time at this location of Xe Lua and it was very good. I’ll be back!

This is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the city. Tasty food, very reasonable prices and an extensive menu. The service is usually fast however during busy times you can expect to wait a bit longer.

Pros: fast, good prices, good broth, sufficient portion size, free parking
Cons: soup a little greasy, bean sprouts not fresh
Overall, good authentic atmosphere and food. Would recommend order 108

I’ve been here many many times, and every time it is amazing. For the phở they give you the choice of fresh noodles (which I always take) and you can tell it’s made there because the noodles aren’t always even widths — but that’s the kind of dedication I love about this place.
Another great thing here, their mango smoothies! Actually all their smoothies are good, but the mango one is the best.
Definitely recommend this place! The waiters are super sweet an friendly.

Great portions at great prices. If you’re stopping by, the spicy (actually seasoned but not that spicy) tofu is a must! The phở is a given but also try the vermicelli bowls!

Is there better phở? for sure,. but you wont find many places around east chinatown that has the variety that Xe Lua has.
I have been coming here since i was a very young teen… over 15 years ago.
This was the go to place back in high school, until 88 opened across the street, but now i think this place is better. (only comparing these two within east chinatown) btw 88 is now «phở house» which imo is not good.
They have many Vietnamese specialtys including my favorite. the fermented raw pork with pepper corn… i only see this offered in very authentic Vietnamese places.
i had it with vermicelli… not bad. they also give you a choice of fresh noodles or dry noodles. not every place gives you this option.
i would come here again…

This is a nice phở place. Have been coming here for the past 20+ years. It always has a homey atmosphere and the food is already delicious. The food always comes out fast, so if you’re ever extremely hungry, you know you’d be fed in quick time. This location would be one of my favorite Xe Lua places out of the franchise. Keep up the great work!

I used to go to Xe Lua in Spadina Chinatown often, as it is nice to have phở after Phở Hung’s opening hours. However, the one in Chinatown tends to be very dirty, and sometimes there is a really strong, unpleasant smell associated with that place.
I therefore go to Xelua in the east Chinatown. It is often less crowded. This place is clean, and the service, mighty fast.
The broth was delicious, but I have to say that it was really lacking in green onion and cilantro. The beef was good, but expect the beef balls to be much smaller than Hung of Xelua downtown.
The Satay is also great. A mice kick and yet not too spicy.
Still a great choice for Viet food.

Some people seem to be reviewing the Spadina location. To avoid confusion, there are multiple locations. This is the one at Gerrard, near Broadview.
Really, it’s a fairly standard Vietnamese restaurant. You’ll hear some people call it «Train», and they have pictures of trains on the wall. Xe Lua means «Train» in Vietnamese.
The food is average. I wouldn’t say the quality of the meat is particularly high, to be honest. But if you want a noodle dish that is good enough, cheap, and fast — this place will definitely do. It’s always under $ 10, and it’s very fast.
It feels a bit dirty, particularly downstairs in the washroom. Of course, that describes most Vietnamese restaurants that I’ve been to in Toronto. If there were an upscale place, I’d probably pay a bit more to go there. Come to think of it, I shall make it a mission to find one.

I was starving the other day, and recovering from a cold, so in the mood for soup and noodles.
I ordered Phở (rare beef and tripe), and fried spring rolls. My bf ordered wontons with rice noodles and a vermicelli. He was starving.
It looks clean, and had the green «pass» in the window. It did the job.

driving down spadeena, my crew & yours truly came here Wednesday evening for our monthly Phở night.
The way the door stands, incorrectly directs the masses to the right side of the door.
Walk into the door (even if it looks as though it has not been operational for 2 generations) follow the stairs leading up. Once your at the top of the stairs, the bathrooms are straight (if you happen to miss the dinky «washroom» sign).
The table occupancies are really convenient for large groups as well as 2 people. The space is open and roomy. The walls are ¾ all glass so you usually get a nice view of the fun activities on Spadeena. :p
This place is supposed to be the «cool» spot. Most the the staff speak proper English so it’s easy to order.
Keep in mind, this is my first time trying Phở. So, naturally I had to get the safest option. the crew ordered,
Shredded chicken and Egg noodle Phở (me)
Grilled chkn skewers — yUMM
Shrimp spring rolls — myeh — cold spring rolls don’t get no votes from moi
egg noodle with dumpling phở
curry lamb (FANTASTIC — the rice comes separately. The bowl of the curry is 80% broth, lamb and yukon style potatoes)
Bbq chicken with rice and steamed egg (FANTASTIC)
beef and chicken with rice — tad spicy.
Shrimp and chicken vermicelli — myeh
vegetarian stir fry (horrible…watery, and the bok choy looked like it was melting into the watery sauce)
Green tea is served accordingly. Which is of good quality too. Not the diluted version you get at most places.
The service was partially bad. They forgot a few of the meals. With a large crowd that’s usually a really awful feeling. To be the only 2 without any meals. We had to remind the waiters twice that we are still waiting on food. +_​0
Bill came up to $ 89, which is pretty good considering we had double and triple of each on the list above.
fun fact that I learned: if you want more green tea, you raise the flap of the kettle upwards and they know to come refill.
xoxo
M.

This is my default phở restaurant. It’s quick, really quick, the service is excellent, and the phở is consistently delicious.
I like this location way better than the one on Spadina where they don’t care about service at all. My friend has even told me that she once came when the restaurant was about to close and they prolonged the closing just to serve her one dish. They even re-​fired up the grill.
The fruit smoothie is really good too! The only thing is sometimes I feel dirty when I sit too close to the wall. The wall needs a bit of cleaning or something to make it feel cleaner. And I’m scared to go downstairs to use their washroom but I guess that’s just me nit picking.

1. I’m a Phở & Bun Fiend.
2. I have practically had a bowl of Phở in every city I’ve been to across North America & parts of the UK.
3. I love Phở, BUT I only categorize Phở in 3 categories. Awesome, Okay, Bleh.
4. I only have the fully loaded special.
So to qualify for the Awesome Category, the special really has to be FULLY loaded. Tendons, tripe, the works! Next is the broth. You’ve got to taste the meaty marrowy goodness in the Broth. 3^rd is the Noodles. I’m not so picky, it just has to be the thick kind and not the thin round ones. Lastly, the service has to be okay. You don’t have to treat me like a prince, but you do have to come serve me in a reasonable amount of time, and be reasonably clean. Reasonably. This is Phở after all. I expect a certain level of dive in my Phở.
Service levels at the Gerrard location is night and day vs the Spadina Locale. The Gerrard one feels like a family run business, and the service has always been spectacular. Meanwhile the ultra busy Spadina one generally treats me like a McDonalds drive by.
What makes Xe Lua work is the fresh noodles that you can’t get everywhere. I think the broth is good enough (not the best), and most importantly, I get the good yummy bits, as in the tendon and the tripe.
They’ve also got the best Spring Rolls this side of Toronto, and I usually wash it all down with a Red Bean Shake.
Not the perfect date place as there’s a nice dive factor, but I’d only want to marry a girl who can appreciate a classic Phở Restaurant.