Viet Cafe

I loved experiencing this excellent restaurant in Victoria. The service was impeccable and we had a nice variety of options. The Vietnamese coffee was one of the best coffees I’ve had the city! Definitely recommend Café Hanoi for food and drink, especially the Vietnamese sub!

This place used to always be 5 stars in my book, however I had to change my opinion from the most recent visit. Apparently there has been a change in ownership of the restaurant, unfortunately so have the portion and taste. Last 2 pictures are of the same dishes how they were served before, for comparison. We ordered our most favourite dishes, bun cha and egg coffee. When they were served, we were almost in shock. Aside from the portions of both being reduced to 2/3 of what was served before, the bbq meat was almost tasteless, and it wasn’t made with enough caramel sauce so it was pale instead of deep dark brown colour even taken into account the different lighting. The egg coffee was mostly egg foam instead of egg custard 5th picture was what’s left after I stirred it up. If you look closely at the 3rd picture of 2 coffee glasses, you can tell in the one on the right, the egg foam was all curdled. I had to ask for another one to be made, unfortunately there was no difference since they couldn’t get the right temperature for the egg to not get curdled as it got poured into boiling hot coffee. Given that the new coffee was priced at $5 $2 cheaper than the original, I’d rather pay $7 and have it done right. They knew we weren’t happy with the coffee so they offered to take both coffees off our bill, which was nice of them, but at the end we were left with an unsatisfied meal and a whole lot of disappointment. I realize that it could be challenging taking over an existing business, given that they just took over for a week, so it is understandable that they need time to get settled. But I do think that if the same items are kept on the menu along with the name of the restaurant, there needs to be at least some similarities in the quality of what is served to the customers. If you buy a successful restaurant, its name and its menu, I can only imagine that you’d buy the recipes for the items on that menu to upkeep the standard. What we were served for this visit was definitely not up to the quality that we expected. I used to come here for food that makes me feel like home, unfortunately their food now is nowhere near Hanoi enough for my heart. If you never had food here before, you may have different views since there is nothing to compare to, but I will be taking a break. I may come back in a few months to see if there is any improvement, if there is, I will then change my review.

We were searching for nearby restaurant from our hotel, and this place popped out. And I am so glad we tried this place. They need more review for sure lol I have been to lots of vetnamese places but never tried beef stew. My husband usually does not like Pho but he loved his beef stew! It taste much thicker and meaty. Def recommend!! Price was right and it comes with a lot of meat. Only thing to complaint was the bar stool was too high.

Had lunch here while in town for work. A small spot serving authentic flavors that I am sure is a local hotspot. Enjoyed my bun cha and egg coffee thoroughly and left stuffed. Located in a newer developed part of downtown off the inner harbor, was very pleasant. Parking: Free street parking available around the surrounding area.

I've never rated a restaurant before but feel this is is warranted. Don't waste your money. The vermecially and veggies came 20 min before the microwaved, luke warm pho broth. And then another 10 for my water to arrive... I was the only patron in the restaurnt. The pork consisted of three dry, and thick pork patties, which had the consistency of burger patties..as you can see in the images. I took one bite and left. This was my third attempt at trying their food and it will be my last. They clearly take no pride in their business. I've never had bad pho until I found this gem.

If you've never tried Northern Vietnamese dishes before, this place will be life changing! My wife and I came here for the first time in while visiting in February and they had the best Phở I've ever tasted in maybe my whole life. The owner was also very friendly and kind to us as well! 5-star experience and food!

Best Vietnamese restaurant that I’ve tried on the island. Best pho and lots of authentic specialty items. Very clean and sanitized. The Vietnamese subs, coffee, salad rolls, pho, pastry’s are all amazing too. The bun thit nuong vermicelli pork is really good. The banh cuon rice sheet rolls are amazing too. If you enjoy real authentic Vietnamese food you must come try out this hidden gem. The famous Hanoi egg coffee is a must try and is highly addictive. Great experience. Amazing food. Good experience. Highly recommended. 10/10 service, food, and price. Will be coming back every opportunity I get.

Coming from Vancouver, I’ve had a lot of Vietnamese food as the restaurants are abundant. I can confidently say Café Hanoi is the closest I’ve had to homemade Vietnamese food so far. The beef stew is absolutely incredible and the garlic chilli vinegar sauce is savoury, spicy, and addictive. Be patient with Auntie as her English isn’t very good but rest assured the food is definitely worth it.

Cute little spot in downtown Victoria. Small, cozy, and family-run. Had a delicious egg coffee and some spring rolls, and was very pleased! Would definitely come here again to try some of the other menu items.

We are visiting from WA and the wait time was 1+ hr. After a long wait and beung hungry, we found out they forgot 2 of our orders. They also forgot to give us the coffee and the coffee had to be re-heated. They could have given us a heads-up that the serving time will be long. They ended up serving other customers first even though we were there before them. Their pho was good enough but I wouldn't recommend this restaurant due to bad service. I wish this restaurant can find a way to improve because it made our trip to Victoria awful.

Directions to Viet Cafe with public transportation

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