My second time dining here. The first time was better. The escargot dish now includes curry and last time it didn't and it doesn't say that on the menu. The baby clams dish also had ground beef mixed in, which overpowered the flavour and you can barely taste the clams. The clams are there though. The hotpot was great for the cold weather outside and tasted clean - nothing that would make us feel bloated and was exactly what we were looking for. Service was decent - server gave us what we needed quickly. We'll be back to try the seafood hotpot! read more

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I was looking everywhere in ottawa for some good spring rolls and i found then :) i just hoped that they would put the sauce with it read more

Vietnam Palace Restaurant - Grilled pork, chicken and beef on rice Grilled shrimp, chicken and beef on rice Vietnamese spring rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Apparently this restaurant has been around since 1989 but I had not heard too much about it. I had lunch here with my parents and overall it was very good. I think it would be a good place to introduce someone to Vietnamese food if they are unfamiliar and maybe a bit hesitant to try the cuisine. The restaurant is not on ground level, but upstairs, so it is not too visible from the street. Unfortunately, it is not wheelchair accessible nor that accessible to people with mobility issues because you have to climb a flight of external stairs. The restaurant is large and clean looking. I loved the lights along the walls. It looked like a flickering open flame, but was in fact a light bulb with a fan blowing a piece of flame shaped fabric. They play Vietnamese instrumental music softly in the background. All this made for a great dining atmosphere. The person who served us I think is also the owner, and he was friendly and humourous. We ordered some spring rolls to start ($4.50 for 4 rolls), and I got the vermicelli with grilled beef and grilled chicken ($11.95). My mom got the vermicelli with spring rolls, grilled beef and nem nuong (which is best described as Vietnamese ground meat kebob/kofta) $13.95. My dad got the large Pho Dac Biet (special pho) $8.95. I think they forgot about our appetizer because they brought out our main courses first and my mom asked about the appetizer and they said "oh yes, that's coming too." My vermicelli had a good amount of lean thinly sliced grilled beef and lean grilled chicken breast. I appreciated that the meats were very lean without any gristle or visible fat. It also had cucumbers, pickled carrots, lettuce and mint leaves. I asked for no bean sprouts, no sesame seeds, no peanuts and no fish sauce, and I did not receive any of these unwanted items. The server was trying to be funny though, as he put my plate down, he said "and extra sesame seeds and peanuts for you." Lol. The meats were good, but I will say the seasonings were a bit on the bland side. This is one of the reasons why I mentioned that I think it would be a good place for people who are unfamiliar with Vietnamese cuisine and are tentative about trying new foods to start because flavours here are mild, nothing too exotic, and would likely not offend anyone. If you are looking for robust flavours, you won't find it in the vermicelli dishes. My mom's dish was similar to mine except she got spring rolls (more on those later) and "nem nuong" (which they translated to "grilled minced pork"). The "nem nuong" tasted more like "cha lua," which is usually translated as "Vietnamese ham." Cha lua has more of the texture of deli meat, whereas nem nuong has more of the texture of ground meat kebobs. Anyway, their nem nuong tasted like fried cha lua. I thought it was ok, but my mom was not a fan. She found it too dry. My dad liked his pho. It had rare beef (sirloin), brisket, beef meatballs, tendon and tripe. My dad said the quantity of toppings wasn't too abundant, but was acceptable. He liked the broth and toppings. The broth did smell fragrant. They forgot to bring my dad a spoon for the broth and the server joked that the new trend is to eat pho without a spoon. He then got my dad a spoon. The spring rolls were hot and crispy. The menu said it contained pork and crab, but I didn't see or taste any crab. My mom said she might have seen some imitation crab. I did taste and see carrots and vermicelli and I'm pretty sure there was taro in the rolls as well. I was disappointed that the spring rolls were made of the wheat-based wrappers and not the more authentic rice paper wrappers. However, the wheat-based wrappers are more mainstream and I think appeal more to the masses, so I think this is their reasoning. I had asked if they had "che ba mau" (Vietnamese tri-coloured dessert) and the server said they used to but not too many people ordered it and so they ended up having to throw out a lot of the ingredients because they were no longer fresh and it was too costly to keep a steady supply of fresh ingredients. Hearing this gave me confidence that they pride themselves in serving fresh food and won't serve their customers ingredients that have gone bad. After we paid and as we were leaving, the server said "see you for dinner, right?" Lol. His sometimes funny, sometimes not that funny jokes were endearing, haha. They do have a small parking lot for customers on the side of the restaurant, but we just parked in the street (free on weekends and evenings). I would return to try other dishes. I definitely recommend the vermicelli for Vietnamese food newbies. read more

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I recommend this restaurant. My favorite Asian cuisine ! The spring rolls are the best I've ever had . I have been going to this place for many years !!! read more

I give this place two stars because it has parking and we were seated immediately. It's goes terribly down hill from there. The restaurant had one young lady who worked as hostess and server for the entire establishment. She was serving our group of three, possibly two to three parties of 2 to 3 people, a table of 4 and tour bus of tourists from Vietnam. The service was non existent since she literally had to run the entire front of the restaurant. Which made me curious as in why she did not WRITE down our order and forgot to bring us our papaya salad. I had to get up and get our own spoons. The owner pretty much just stood there and worked as a cashier. God how this place was an epic failure. I'm Vietnamese but raised the States, so I have had my fair share of poorly managed establishment but this place is something else. If you are understaffed just leave the spoons and chopsticks on the tables like all the other Pho places. And also they are stingy with their side fresh vegetables. One small dish of vegetables for three broth dishes. We had to request for more. I mean we ordered 3 soups which require 3 side dishes of vegetables. Messing up our order. We order 4 spring rolls of which they brought out 2 cut in halves when we asked the owner he said "oh, it must've been a mistake they will bring out 2 more." WTH. Either you're lying since we complained or the Waitress messed up our order since she won't write shit down. I saw her take the order of the table of 4 adjacent to us without writing anything down. ‍. Sweet young lady but Girl. Now that the rant of the service is mostly explained. The food was bland. I order Pho which you can't mess up and it was standard. Passable. But the Bun Bo Hue tasted like they open a pack of seasoning and added to much water to the broth. I seriously doubt they simmer any real Beef in the broth. Again I grew up with this stuff so maybe my expectations are skewed but I would never bring a Vietnamese friend or family member to this place. I would be ridicule. Alright, kinda of a harsh review but this place's food and service need major help. Otw, if you ever go to restaurant and there's a tour bus of patrons it's more than likely the food is not that great. Not always but most likely. Or at least this one. read more

The real reason this restaurant has a high rating is because it caters to everyone but Vietnamese people. As someone who's had authentic pho from the motherland I can honestly say their broth lacks flavours and spices. Not only does the rice dish come with a romaine lettuce salad-- it lacks the traditional broke rice. I ordered the Com Ba Mau rice dish $11 with egg quiche (cha trung) but was served a fried egg, in which the server said they sold out of. Overall, nothing was authentic about Vietnam Palace because it lacks the traditional look and feel of your typical Pho restaurant. read more

Vietnam Palace Restaurant - Fresh rolls, quite small in portion size - Vietnamese Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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Great little restaurant in the middle of Chinatown! Menu offers a little of everything from fried and cold noodle dishes, to pho and wonton soups. We've been here multiple times and have tried different dishes each time. We've tried an assortment of fried noodle and veggie dishes, which were delicious and plentiful. We've also tried the noodle and wonton soup, which are also plentiful and are surprisingly cheaper than other Pho restaurants in the area. If you are in the area, stop in and try it out! You wont be disappointed! read more

Vietnam Palace Restaurant - Wonton and egg noodle soup. So good, I forgot to take a photo when it was brought to the table.... - Vietnamese Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Loved the food here. The pho was good and the beef curry was amazing. I couldn't stop eating the curry. It's one of the best that I've eaten. The place itself was fairly spacious but the restaurant was slow ... maybe because it was such a cold night. They do a lot of takeout orders though. read more

Vietnam palace has a few great features that many other Vietnamese restaurants simply don't have: an upscale interior, drink menu, and an extensive menu that caters to both westerners as well as people who have eaten in Vietnam. I've been three times, the Quang noodles, regular pho, and duck noodles are all good and each one was radically different than the other in terms of textures and flavours. This is a nice relaxed place to go with a date and relax and enjoy a few diverse items, the escargot are particularly delicious! read more

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I have been here twice recently and once many years before. Still just as good as I remember it to be. I love the variety of dishes this restaurant offers and so far everything has been great. The menu is huge! The first recent visit was for pho. The price is so cheap (when compared to what other places are now charging) and the sizes are just right. The second time we visited we decided to try something else. We ordered a vegetable dish, noodles, and calamari. The calamari is different than western style calamari. It was served with fish sauce and it was delicious. The noodles and vegetable dishes were also really good. The restaurant is very clean and the staff was really nice and the service was really good. I will definitely return to try new things on their menu. read more

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Great service, amazing food, friendly staff!! The absolute best. I will be coming back here for sure!!!! :)

Vietnam Palace has been a regular spot for me for over 15 years. The food is excellent, the portions are large and the service is very friendly. There is a good blend of standards on the menu that anyone would be familiar with (Pho and vermicelli bowls) but there are also some more elaborate and less frequently seen Vietnamese dishes that are delicious and a really nice change from the usual. The vermicelli bowls have lots of sprouts and fragrant herbs, as do the wrap 'n roll platters. This is by far my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in the city. A family run restaurant with a loyal following of regular customers, the staff tend to know their regulars very well. There are also lunch time specials that are quite popular. Many Vietnamese restaurants are closed on either Mondays or Tuesdays, Vietnam Palace is not so keep it in mind if you're craving Vietnamese food early in the week. read more

Vietnam Palace Restaurant - the entrance to the building - Vietnamese Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

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I was in the neighbourhood and had a craving for Pho. My friend suggested Vietnam Palace as the one to go to among the many many Pho places in Ottawa's Chinatown (I'm looking at you Pho Bo Ga La 1, 2, and 3...). I ordered the usual crispy pork spring rolls with a large bowl of Pho. As a voracious consumer of Pho, I can safely say that the soup here is very very good! The prices are identical to my favourite place in Toronto, which surprised me too. read more

Went today and tried the $8 lunch special, which includes a dish, salad, soup and a spring roll (fried). The vermicelli with lemongrass is a crowd favorite and it was pretty yummy - The noodles were cooked perfectly and the chicken was tender. The soup that came with the dish had a good flavor, but was a bit oily, and the spring roll was negligible. Pretty decent - I'd go back again! read more

Probably my favourite Vietnamese restaurant on Somerset. If you're simply looking for pho, they don't have the most options. But they do have the largest menu of any Viet restaurant in the area, so you can try other things. Their DIY salad rolls are fantastic, you get huge portions of fillings to put into your own rice paper wrap. It's also a lot of fun trying to figure out how to wrap it properly. I highly recommend trying it. Their vermicelli is one of my favourites. All the other food I've had here is consistently good, and the service is great as well. They also have a parking lot in the back, which is a huge bonus. read more

Came here because of the high ratings on Yelp and Google, but the food was quite disappointing. Service was slightly lacking; we had to remind our server to give us utensils for our noodles (and before that, we had to eat our hot spring rolls with our hands). Not a big deal but a minor annoyance. Nice decor; clean-looking; comfortable seating; and relaxing ambiance. The Special pho: the meats were scarce, especially compared to other Vietnamese restaurants of the similar price range. The meat that was given was dry. The broth and meats were too lightly seasoned, nearly bland. By the time we're served, they had no more bean sprouts left--huge annoyance; I would've ordered something else if I knew beforehand I wouldn't get everything I expect in a pho. Noodles were nicely al dente. Vietnamese spring rolls: the rolls are quite small in length and width, so there wasn't much filling. The wrapper, although nicely crispy, isn't the nearly flaky kind specific to Vietnamese spring rolls--they were the generic smooth kind you get with North American "Chinese" spring rolls. Egg noodle soup with BBQ pork and shrimp: nice flavourful broth. The egg noodles were well-cooked and therefore had good texture and chewiness; they also absorbed well the broth. The (pretty significant) issue with this dish is the lack of everything but the soup; it was a large bowl of soup with an appetiser portion of noodle and meats...the portions were almost laughable, and so the dish is definitely not worth the price of an entree, even though it was only around $10. The prices for each item were just a bit cheaper than other Vietnamese restaurants, but I wouldn't say the value is good because of the problem with portions of the specific components of each dish. I'd say it's better to pay ever so slightly more for superior taste and composition at another Vietnamese restaurant. We arrived in late evening but still at least a couple of hours before the restaurant's stated closing time. By the time we were finished eating, we were the last customers left even though it was still an hour and a half before closing time. Perhaps all of the problems were because the restaurant was closing early for the day. Either way, I wouldn't return because there are too many Vietnamese restaurants, especially in the area, to try--some tested and true, some also with favourable ratings. read more

Definitely recommend this place! A lot cleaner than all the other pho places and great atmosphere. Lots of families there the times I've been there. The rice dishes come in a good portion. The grilled pork vermicelli rolls are one of my favourites! read more

Good value for money. Service was excellent, food served hot. Lots of flavor. Lots of locals in the restaurant. Definitely recommended.

I've been a Vietnamese food lover for about 20 years and this place is one of the best of best. Very authentic.

For some odd reason the restaurant was empty during our visit but the atmosphere was still very quaint. The salad rolls were fresh and tasty, even for a carnivore like me. The pho was good with a rich broth that was better than most and an ample amount of beef added to it. The rice dishes were also solid though I'd advise you avoid the pseudo Chinese options on the menu and stick with the quality Vietnamese choices. read more

I was pleasantly surprised to discover this lovely restaurant. Free parking, clean and service was very good. Now the food....it was amazing. Spring rolls were crispy, the food was hot and served all 5 of us at the same time. Everyone had a different dish and everyone enjoyed their choices. We weren't rushed and the decor was in good taste. Thank you for the lovely meal. read more

On a vacation to Ottawa with my parents and brothers, we looked around and decided on this place. Although I don't usually like Vietnamese places, I loved this one. The pork in claypot was especially good; it was nice, salty and just a little bit spicy. The only problem was that the bathroom was upstairs, and if people reserve the upstairs for a party, you have to walk past them. If we ever go on another vacation to Ottawa, we will definitely stop by. read more

Vietnam Palace is both me and my girlfriends favourite place to eat. The atmosphere is great, the service is kind and fast, and the place is always very well kept. The portions are generous, and the food is always very fresh and hot. The highlight of Vietnam Palace in my opinion is the spring rolls-they're done right. Served with lettuce, mint, and carrots strips, you are meant to wrap the roll in all the contents and dip it all in the fish sauce, something that the manager taught us! Incredible restaurant with great prices, and all around warm atmosphere. Highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys food in general. read more

We ate here because they are really great about customizing meals for food allergies. Everyone enjoyed their meals. We had the sizzling plates with wraps and the mi quang. read more

Always our favourite. You can't go wrong with their menu - everything we've tried has been excellent. Our favourites : Beef pho, salad rolls, lemongrass Chili chicken, sizzling beef/onions. Discovered delivery on Skip the Dishes - free delivery. So worth it. read more

Lots of families made this restaurant their Mothers' Day choice

Had dinner here during my trip to Ottawa for the tulip festival. Extremely dissapointed with the food, especially after reading the reviews and seeing as the staff and decor were genuinely Vietnamese. What made it even worse was that the waitress actually recommended the dishes to us saying that it was their specialty. The food lacked flavour and was not prepared the way it is suppose to. If you are Vietnamese or have an understanding of what quality vietnamese cuisine is suppose to be, then don't go here...it clearly caters to the caucasian crowd. If this is "the best vietnamese food in Ottawa" as some of you claim it to be then I probably won't be trying any other restaurants there. read more