Gold Train Express

The food is excellent. Service is a bit below average, not very attentive. The place seems to be a bit messy as well. I myself very concern if a restaurant looks clean or not. Even if the food is 100% good but the place looks dirty, I am not going to be a regular there.

probably the grimiest of all their locations lol. yet still come here b/​c at least the chopsticks are in cleaner paper sleeves.
Still cool to see the old-​fashioned fish tank w/​gold fish. anywyas i digress…
Ordered the vermicelli noodles with sausage, which was yummy, spring roll was ok, and the shrimp a bit better, impressed they actually ripped out the black gut. Fish sauce was average, in fact, probably wouldn’t recommend. also didn’t find their portions of veggies all that generous or appealing.
Iced coffee OK, not a repeat.
Nice they accept all cards.

One star, and that’s just me being nice now.
Service was average, slightly below it.
Our server asked me if this was my first time having phở. Me, deciding to see if it would make a difference I responded with «Yes, it is my first time».
Yes. It does make a difference apparently.
I ordered a regular beef ball noodle soup and received something that could HARDLY pass for a bowl of noodles with meat balls.
Soup was bland, and there was LITERALLY. I am NOT EXAGGERATING. There was ONLY ONE BEEF BALL IN THE NOODLE SOUP.
Now that I think about it there was hardly any noodle either.
Will DEFINITELY not be returning.
Somehow this establishment is still up and running, and maybe I just went in at the wrong time. There could be better service as well as chefs in other times, but after that absolutely HORRENDOUS experience, I just can’t look back at that place ever. Yes, it was terrible enough that even I, just can’t find the heart to go back and give it another chance.

I HAD to re-​update because as I started going there more often, I realized I made a terrible mistake in giving them 3 stars previously. The phở is great, but I really enjoyed their tender beef stew. Their sandwiches are low in price, AND delicious. Their salad rolls are flavourful, which go excellently with the peanut sauce that they carefully make.
I don’t really recommend taking it to go since the soup always seems to be lacking in amount. I always end up having more noodles than the soup, but either way…
I’d say if you’re in Marpole, this is the best place for phở! :)

Good place when you want a quick simple bite to eat or if you want to grab take out.
The owners are very friendly and if you get take out they always package it up really neatly so it will not spill and will be hot when you get home.
I have tried a few things on the menu. The Vietnamese subs are always good, simple with good marinated meat and the right amount of pickled vegetables. Spring rolls are average as they can be more crispy. Curry chicken with french bread is good if you like sauce, I would love to just order the sauce as it is so tasty.
Phở is always piping hot even if you order take out, beef could be better as it is sometimes dry, I prefer the chicken as they give you large amounts of chicken.

They always seem to be closed when I’m craving a bowl of Phở (e.g. 10 pm on a rainy Friday). When you do catch them open, it’s not a bad place to grab a quick bowl of Phở (though not amazing, either).
Cash only, but HSBC’s bank machine next door gives $ 10 bills if you’re really broke.
To those complaining of the plain décor, it’s a phở restaurant. They have a fish tank, and therefore have satisfied all the décor requirements for this type of establishment. Besides, look at all the neon in the window!

This is the last Phở place in this area of Marpole but I don’t mind because we really enjoy their Phở and spring rolls. That is pretty much all we order. We would actually eat here a lot more often if they accepted Debit. We just tend to not carry much cash around.
Anyway, as another reviewer stated, and the reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4, is because the décor/​lighting, etc is subpar. To be honest though, I don’t care about those things if the service and food is excellent and the many times we have been here it has always been. I also like the fact that a twenty bill is all you need for a meal for two and tip! Love that.
On second though, I am going to give them 4 stars. I don’t care about the weird blue lights or mismatched cups! The price is right, the service is excellent, and the food is great!

I tried out the chicken curry and it was good. Still not the greatest I have had, but it was cheap, plentiful for a small order, and did the trick for lunch. The service is sweet, and it is clearly a family run joint. This time I got basil with my meal and I was happy about that. Fairly generous chicken portions in my soup, too.
The low cost of the food is reflected in their décor and serving ware. I have no problems with mismatched mugs if my meal is cheap, but if you are looking for fancy this is not the place. I think it’s cute. And as long as I enjoy my meal and get a quick lunch in, who cares?
Cash only.

Gold Train Express is one of those places where you just walk by without thinking twice, but today I finally had a chance to try it out.
The owner was very friendly and recommended his spring rolls. They had a rather peculiar orange glow, but were fresh and crispy.
I had the beef steak + beef ball phở, which is my phở benchmark. The steak was really dry (maybe the slices were a bit too thin) but the beef balls were well done, with no bits of bone or tendon. The meat serving is a bit low, but there also seems to be more noodles. In other words, you may not get the best value, but you will leave filled.
One of the better phở places around this area, but there are other alternatives around town.