This the BEST BEST BEST restaurant ever. We live out of town and visit one or twice a week! There is no other place like it. Best food, best owners and best service!
How hard to mess up a order! I placed the order pretty quick because we knew what we what, but we been waiting for a hour and even didn't get the mango shake or any fresh rolls we ordered. People came in after us already had their main course started.
I was extremely disappointed with service, particularly the management. They came off as rude and inconsiderate of their customers in the restaurant. The staff seemed miserable working there and I dont blame them, management was clearly giving someone a hard time in front of the rest of the customers. The food was definitely below average, I'd say the only thing that was good about it was the extensive knowledge one of the waitresses knew about the wines they carried.
Fresh and very tasty food, great value, I'm a regular!! You've gotta try #404 Pho for the mosting interesting combination of veggies, seafood and pineapple.
Spring rolls are awesome, as are the Singapore noodles.
We ate veggie. We had the "Phad Thai" (found in the "Rice" menu), Vegetarian vermicelli, and Singapore Noodles. All were solid -- the pad thai and Singapore noodles I'm getting again for sure. At first, I was skeptical about this place, with all the raving pad thai reviews, as I figured it was one of those combo, jack-of-all-trades deals. It turned out to be spectacular.
Also, try the lime soda. It was so refreshing! It's pretty sweet, but I found it perfect that way.
Best Pad Thai in the city. I've heard they have moved to Northland mall area from Huron and Sandford. Looking forward to trying them their. Chu is a wonderful host - and the previous reviewer is right-on... he remembers your name everytime.
"Chu's" as we call it, is probably the best Vietnamese food I've ever had. The owner, Chu, is fantastic. He learns everyone's name and if you return a week later, he'll remember it.
The food is phenomenal. I've tried practically their entire menu and you can't go wrong with any of it. My favourites have to be the fresh spring rolls, the pho, any vermicelli bowl and the pad thai. It's hard to try anything new because of what you had the time before, its that good.
Before I had tried TK's, we had always gone to Ben Thanh for Vietnamese food. However a Vietnamese friend of a friend suggested this place and it has since been a home away from home. It doesn't look like much, but boy do they treat you well. Everyone greets you like they've known you forever. I'd say I've been there 15-20 times in the span of 2 years and they know me by name and remember my order. I've not been to any place that was as friendly as TK. The food is great too: all the lemongrass dishes are very tasty and the pho is very flavourful. If I had to nitpick, it'd be that they sometimes forget to make our coconut shakes - but they are VERY busy at times. If I lived closer I would eat there everyday.
My friends and I have been to this restaurant numerous times (and I've recommended it and taken many people here), but I usually like to come with my girlfriend. My white friends and I affectionately like to call it "The Thank You Restaurant" because we have issues pronouncing the name, and our Vietnamese friends find this amusing and have come to refer it as that occasionally too. The below items are just a couple of the things I've ordered over the times we've been here.
The first thing you'll notice about the restaurant is that it's situated at the end of a small plaza with a variety store on it (bit of a middle of nowhere sort of place). Second thing you'll notice is it isn't beautiful inside...in fact it's quite small with a couple of tables and chairs and there's a small bar area where they prepare the drinks/sauces, and a random fridge in the corner, but it's easy to slowly become comfortable with this. It's a very family friendly sort of atmosphere...almost as if you're sitting in somebody's kitchen...it's cozy and comfortable and is even more warm and inviting when they bring over the warm, freshly brewed, free tea.
The staff is great. It's a very small family owned business and everybody is very friendly. I've had some of the waiters tell my friends how to eat food if they don't understand, recommend things off of the menu, and even just have a short chat, an amusing word, or even just to smile and acknowledge us. If they knew our names, they would call us by them by now, that's for sure (but we don't know their names either...maybe we should figure that out?!?!).
When you go in they'll provide you with a menu with both Vietnamese and English descriptions of the food. They also provide you with photo book of some of their top sellers. I used the photo book the first time I went in, but I now find it easier to look through the menu.
I enjoy a lot of what's on the menu, but my favourite item is by far the curried chicken with rice. The taste of their curry is above and beyond anything I've ever tasted and is a really cheap price. At first it may look like a small portion but believe me it's filling. It's very authentic so I get a little messy pulling off the skin on the chicken (i'm not a big skin fan), but I don't mind this. I also like to scoop the curry onto the rice they provide on the side. It's so delicious...I crave it when I go there and it's hard not to order it every time.
I also highly recommend the deep fried spring rolls, the singapore noodle, and the lychee shake (but only if you decide to spend a little more for your drink...I found my love for lychee with this however and continue to order it every time I go). My girlfriend usually orders the vermicelli bowls (great value for money...just make sure to poor on your sauce they give you or you might have no flavour in your noodles) and my brother thought their pad thai was very very tasty.
Highly recommend this place and I will continue to go and invite people to accompany me here as well as continue to recommend it to people (but if you go make sure you go early for lunch or dinner as it fills up fast!). Keep up the good work Thuan Kieu!
This non-pretentious home-style restaurant is a hidden gem at the easterly end of Huron Street. It was our first visit and certainly not our last. The menu is extensive and the prices are more than reasonable. You can't go wrong at Thuan Kieu.
this was our first time being at thuan kieu. the menu was huge, but we were able to look at a photo book of different dishes which helped out a lot.
the shrimp & pork vermicelli was good, but lacked flavour, same with the shrimp & pork with rice. however, the spring rolls were the best i've ever had, and the shrimp rolls were also very good- light and fresh.
the waiter was great, very friendly and talkative. we felt very comfortable being there for the first time. it was really clean and bright in the dining area, which i found very appealing. the prices were also great, we didn't find anything on the menu that was too expensive to order.
i think the next time we go there we'll order something a bit more flavourful, and hopefully enjoy it more than we did this time.
We eat at TK at least once a week. I love everything about this restaurant.
The staff are amazing. They are fun, upbeat and no matter how busy they are (and they can be VERY busy!), they are always pleasant.
Others have mentioned the decor, or lack thereof, but for me, it's all part of the charm of the place. I feel like I'm in a big, busy, family kitchen. I love the hustle and bustle, and all the conversation going on around me. When you visit this restaurant you can not miss the fact that they have a devoted and regular clientele.
The food is wonderful, and we've had too many items from the menu to begin to name them all, but some of our favorites are the Pad Thai, Singapore noodles, beef in lot leaf, pho, and various vermicelli dishes. Each one is delicious. I don't recall ever ordering something that I wasn't fond of.
Whenever I cook for my family and they say "this is really good" I always say "that's because it's made with love".
I think the same thing can be said about the food at Thuan Kieu. The staff are super busy the majority of the time (customers are sometimes lined up out the door waiting for a seat), but you can still tell the food is made with love.
Especially the shakes that Chiu makes! If you haven't experienced an avocado milkshake before, you have no idea what you're missing!!
SO Good!
Thuan Kieu is an amazing little place, tucked all the way out on the east end of town, unfortunately far away from campus. Despite that we were weekly regulars at TK during my four years in London.
The seating at the restaurant can be crowded and is not the snazziest looking, but enough with that, on to the food. Over time I've tried at least half of the dishes on the menu and they are almost always delicious. My favorite was the pad thai which was quite different from the classic sweeter Thai version, but nonetheless was delicious and blended well with the hot sauce. The portion size was gigantic.
The pho was very good as well and the meat always tender (I like mine rare). The spring rolls are always crispy and a perennial favorite. The few Chinese dishes were also excellent, especially the beef flat noodles.
The staff are always friendly, and Chiew (I'm sure the spelling is wrong) always greets you by name with a smile. Outside the noon rush, service is usually very speedy.
For the best of the best, Thuan Kieu is the place to go. Chiu, Le and the whole family will make you welcome from the minute you walk in the door. Their soups are amazing, the Pad Thai is the best. I have never had a meal that I didn't like. The service is great. This has been our weekly outing for at least 7 years. Often it is just the 2 of us, however we have taken groups there & everyone has gone back. The food & service is consistant. Hot food is hot, cold food is cold. It is a pleasure to go some place and be made to feel so welcome! Keep up the great work!
We have been regular customers since they openned and have recomended the restaurant to at least 50 others. Each and every one of them are now regular customers. We have tried most items on their menu and have been extremely pleased with all.
Not much to look at...but the food and service is amazing. Chu is ever polite and remembers customers. A couple mix ups over the yrs..but always corrected with complimentary replacement.
Love the soups, Pad Thai and beef noodles.
I love the fresh spring rolls and they are always happy to modify them to my liking....no mint, add cucumber!
My husband & I frequent here a fair bit, every 6 weeks or so. We always get the Singapore noodles - it is their best dish. Pad Thai people move on to Singapore noodles - so much more going on! Always get their fried spring rolls (2 per order). Then we always pick an entree dish that we haven't had before. All those choices have been great too. But hands down Singapore noodles are the best. GREAT prices (please don't raise them!) Portion size is super, you get lots! Of course complimentary tea. However I like sugar with my tea & this seems to confuse each & every staff person there. Is sugar in tea THAT odd? Perhaps its also the fact that I require an actual mug for the tea that baffles them too. I just can't hang on to those Barbie doll bowls they expect you to put tea in? So the sugar/mug combo throws them every time. Hopefully they'll read this & remember me! :) Our last visit - the young guy saw me & was so excited he remembered I require a mug - so he brought one - FULL of hot water???? What was I to do with that? (The tea comes ready made in a pot) I just brought it to the bathroom & threw it out, so I could proceed to put my tea in it. As others have mentioned the decor could infact scare you, freezers etc. as you walk in. But if you get past the look, you'll fall in love with the food.
This restaurant is easily the best Vietnamese restaurant in the city. The food is absolutely delicious and the customer service is a++. I highly recommend this place to all my family and friends!!
Ali Saadat
