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Hanoi 3 Seasons
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
588 Gerrard St EToronto, ON M4M 1Y3
Neighbourhood: Riverdale
(416) 463-9940
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
22 reviews for Hanoi 3 Seasons
Review Highlights
"For my main, I had the grouper goodness."
(in 6 reviews)
"...with the vermicelli and shrimp paste sauce made all the..."
(in 3 reviews)
"The seasoning, the perfectly fried fish - a wonderful combo."
(in 3 reviews)
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22 reviews in English
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Review from bold c.
Toronto, ON
Something is wrong with the Yelp reviews on Hanoi3.
This is my third separate attempt.
30 Sec Summary
----------------------
1. Awesome food
2. The recommended Fish special is absolutely brilliant
3. The pho is wonderful
Enough said.
Recommendation: STRONG BUY RECOMMENDATION -
Review from Erin B.
1/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
In many ways this location of Hanoi 3 Seasons blends blandly in with the general pho landscape. Bare bones service. Small chipped tables that are serviceable but not especially comfortable. And all the character you would expect when someone throws a bunch of tables and a potted plant in a room and considers that decorating.
Add to that, however, the mediocre, overpriced pho (one size only and that size costs $7.50) and the fact that while I was there they were playing Mariah Carey's 1993 album Music Box from start to finish, and you get yourself a solid two star rating.
There's much better pho for less money within two minutes of here. -
Review from David D.
9/7/2011
In search of a good Vietnamese restaurant among the many along Gerrard and Broadview, this was one of the first ones I saw. Perhaps my last trip, I might add.
The restaurant was small with approx. 15 small tables at most. Service was friendly and since there weren't too many peole during lunch, food came out fairly quick.
Here comes the disappointment. As mentioned, there is only 1 size for pho for $7.50. It was small-medium at best. If you think that perhaps the overpriced pho would be offset by something outstanding, you'll be walking away disappointed. The broth was standard and the noodles were soft and thin (small qty as well). Overall, a sub-par experience.
My search continues...Listed in: The Pho Scale, Riding along the Riverdale
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Review from Lauren M.
2/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
Thank you Tony F for reminding me to review this shite hole.
I know a dirty little secret about Hanoi 3 Seasons - they named it after the average wait time for a customer to receive their food.
That's right. Go here, wait approx. THREE SEASONS and then your food will arrive to the table.
When the food finally did arrive it was only OK. Yeah sure, this place seems to be the only place that serves the grouper dish in Toronto. But maybe that is because none of the other vietnamese places think it's even worth the bother of having on the menu. I found it a bit bland. Nothing special. -
Review from Tony F.
9/14/2010
Review on the Run:
It was more like running in molasses!
To be fair, we went as a medium sized group (UYE) on the same night another large group was there. It took 45+ minutes for our food to arrive after a long time before our server even took our order.
Upon someone's recommendation we all pretty much ordered the same thing. By the time the food got there, I just couldn't enjoy it very much. That's hard to excuse, but even more so, unfairly or not, because it's a Vietnamese restaurant where I expect my food to arrive almost before I even order it. They should be able to read my mind. I swear the Xue La across the street does.
The food we did get (the fried fish as per Neil T.'s recommendation), wasn't bad. It was cooked well, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Conclusion: Eat Here? I will give this place another try, but I won't be going out of my way to do so.Listed in: Ridonckulousness! (Oh no you…, Pho-get-about it.
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Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
8/31/2010
After Reading all of these reviews, I visited this Hanoi 3 Seasons locations to see what the buzz was about. I live *right* by the location on Queen, so I had not bothered to walk up to Gerrard, but last night we gave it a try. Hanoi 3 Seasons is what my Asian SO teasingly refers to as "No Tea White Pho" - and we knew this was the Siddhartha of East Chinatown before we arrived.
I was SUPER disappointed. The staff seemed nice, and I feel bad, but the entire experience was pretty sub-par to tell the truth. They were full, but there were 5 staff on and the restaurant likely seats 20 at most. They should have been able to handle it. The crowd was mostly Caucasian, Some families, some college students a few couples. Only one Asian family.
Came in, sat down and ordered beverages. Avocado Milkshake for me, Beer for the SO. We give our food order at the same time. Beef with Rice for him, Pho Chay for me. Within a few minutes our drinks arrive. 25 min later our drinks are done and no food. We are obviously restless and order some fresh spring rolls to tie us over. 10 min later one of the girls walks buy and drops the spring rolls on the table without dipping sauce. We are ravenous and pour Hoisin on the plate to dip in. At this point I swear the two women (who are looking right at me) are having a conversation about forgetting the sauce and decide just not to bring any.
10 min after that (this has been a RIDICULOUSLY long wait for our food) our mains arrive. My soup is scalding hot, and my SO has a plate of cold, soggy beef and rice. I tell him to send it back but he is starving and its now almost 9pm.
I eat my soup, and (the owner?) comes by noticing that we look agitated and asks if he can do anything. Tea perhaps? On the House? Sure. We would both love some tea. 10 min later I finish my soup, my SO pays the bill and no tea ever materializes.
And to be honest the Pho Chay is kinda lacking. It definitely has a half portion of noodle. Ginger does it better and its around $4 something there. Broth with some tofu and a few floaters of broccoli should not be expensive., especially if tea isn't included.
Anyways, its sad as I expected more.. and I was happy to have vegetarian Pho options, but this neighborhood has MUCH better options. We will not be going back. -
Review from Jessica M.
Toronto, ON
8/11/2011
Freakin' OUTSTANDING. Fabulous food that's very affordable, great service. Keep it up, people!!!
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Review from Ariel G.
7/22/2009 ROTD 7/31/2009
Well I finally had the "cha ca", a great North Vietnamese fish dish. It is a nicely fried grouper, in a succulent dill seasoned batter. It is served as either a "Pho", or without the broth. The consensus amongst the diners was that we would all try it as a dish, not a "Pho". Neil who had spearhead this Yelp outing suggested that it might be better to not get the fish soggy with all that liquid.
This is a unique, stand-alone, one of kind dish. It appears a simple preparation, but it is loaded with many levels of flavour. The other ingredients of the dish are simply the non-liquid parts of a good "Pho". But the fish............no wonder this dish has acquired such a reputation and following...It is truly unique. And when you complement the whole thing with "purple sauce" it is delicious.
I also tasted, for the first time, a Vietnamese beer and it was delicious. The restaurant is small, homey and the service is pleasant. It is a nice casual place, not fancy, but it does deserve a stop. The conversation and company made the whole experience just that much better.
A great place to break bread, and enjoy! -
Review from Shari M.
Toronto, ON
12/22/2009
Super friendly staff + super food = a great spot
Tonight was another awesome Yelp outing. The company, as always, was outstanding.
I had the spring rolls, which were some of the best I have ever had. They had a bit of a sweetness to them that was quite refreshing.
For my main, I had the grouper goodness. Or as I like to call it, the "groper", kinda like Mr. Roaper from Three's Company, but a bit more fishy.
The dish was great. Actually, it was a lot of food - I couldn't finish it all! The seasoning, the perfectly fried fish - a wonderful combo.
I had a sip of Kat's fruit shake, and it was like summer in a glass. Super refreshing!
Can't wait to go back and try the rest of the menu! -
Review from Neil T.
Toronto, ON
8/20/2008 2 photos
This is perhaps Toronto's only northern Vietnamese cuisine restaurant (with another location in Leslieville opening later this summer). The food is different than other run-oft-the-mill Vietnamese restaurants in Toronto, which predominately serve more southern style cuisine.
I believe this is the only place in Toronto where you can get "cha ca", the famous fried fish seasoned with butter and dill atop a generous portion of vermicelli noodles. This is the signature dish. Locals will eat it with the "purple stuff", which is fermented shrimp paste that smells absolutely rancid, but tastes surprisingly delicious. American GI's used to call it "Vietnamese tear gas".
For pho lovers - I find the broth a little less flavorful than the southern style, but it is excellent regardless.
Service is very prompt and the staff is knowledgeable, much better than you would get at most other Vietnamese restaurants in the city. The chefs can often cater to the taste of each person, be it adding more dill to requesting a certain Vietnamese dish that isn't on the menu.
Prices are about $1 more per dish compared to the regular Viet joints, but it is easily worth the extra money -- about $8-15 per person. Oh yeah, they take credit cards!!! -
Review from Deanna W.
7/21/2009
Awesome place!
Thanks to Neil for recommending as a few yelpers came out to H3S tonight for a light refreshing Vietnamese meal. Strangely enough we were all in agreement as to what we would order so we all had the house specialty the dill fried grouper. It was solid and hit the spot!
The dish involved pan fried chunks of dill spiced grouper atop a bed of vermicelli, carrots, cukes and cilantro. If you wanted to kick it up a notch, there was infamous shrimp paste (though this incarnation was more like a juice) and sweet fish sauce to douse your dish with.
Decor isn't much and this place is small but it's definitely a must-try for Vietnamese food in Toronto. If not at least for the house special dish! -
Review from Dream S.
7/4/2009 6 photos
Dear H3S,
The BF insisted that we eat Northern Vietnamese food tonight. As we passed up Angkor Restaurant, I cringed a little because I am Cambo and would have loved some Cambo food, but I trusted his tastebuds. There was no need to look at the menu because we came for the Hanoi style grouper. It was the most flavorful fish I have had in a long time! The dill made it extra tasty! And the crispiness of the fish along with the vermicelli and shrimp paste sauce made all the flavors come together.
Please don't ever change the recipe! It's stellar!
Love,
Dreamsrey -
Review from Jenny T.
2/13/2010
What is so good about this place and why isn't it out of business yet? I went here for some pho, the service was good, and it's really cool that they serve tea in Ikea mugs, rather than the little cups that you keep on having to refill but... I'm still asking myself the question "why isn't this place out of business yet?"
The pho was $7.50 and it came in one size, the equivalent of the small in most places. The broth was good, but very different. Instead of a beefy broth with lots of flavour, it was actually a nice balance of beef and lime - which was a little different because I'm used to putting in the lime myself. Another thing that was different about this pho place was that the server was white... weird, but not unpleasant.
The pho noodles were just terrible... they were just breaking apart and that made it difficult to pick up with chopsticks - this is unforgivable, I've never seen any other pho place make this amateur mistake. They also took longer than 10 minutes to bring the pho out. That makes me question why anyone would pay the extra money to eat here. For $7.50, I can go across the street and get a pho bowl large enough for my family and I to bathe in, or a small pho and an avocado shake.
Are people being sucked in by the decor or ambiance? I mean... I can tell that they are trying with all those framed pictures spammed across the wall and with the little tealight candles - also from Ikea btw, but it's not doing it for me. -
Review from An N.
Scarborough, ON
8/17/2009
I had the Hen, Pho and satay beef with bok choy and vermicelli.
It makes me want to go home and cook these dishes myself. The service is great but I miss Hai's(owner) attentiveness at the queen street location.
There is definitely more flavor than most Viet restaurant but it is not over powering.
I also recommend the leslieville location as well. -
Review from Chris P.
12/29/2009 1 Check-in Here
This is a great little spot. While the Yelp crew that I dined with on this evening all consumed the grouper I (along with Christine C.) opted for the lemon grass chicken.
Aside from the mountain of cilantro I had to shove off my plate the dish was excellent. I found the spring rolls appetizer to be quite bland though the spring rolls were two to three times larger than most vietnamese places I've been.
Our server was quite friendly having a few laughs with the group, but didn't intrude like he was trying to befriend us for a larger tip. -
Review from Matthew S.
Toronto, ON
1/26/2010
I recently ate at Hanoi 3 Seasons for the first time and I'll definitely be back. The food was wonderfully flavourful and delicious; the staff was friendly and helpful; and the price and portion size were both good.
The menu is just the right size; plenty of choices, but you won't be overwhelmed. Our picks for lunch:
To Start -
Fresh Shrimp Rolls ($3): Meh. Nothing to rave about here, decent but pretty standard. The only thing we had that wasn't amazing.
Steamed Mussels ($8): Awesome! The best thing we tried. A least a dozen large mussels with onion and green onion in an amazingly flavourful and fragrant broth of ginger, lemon grass, and lime leaves. I'm not ashamed to admit that I drank the broth once the mussels were gone.
Main -
Spicy Shrimp with Lemon Grass ($8.50): Excellent. I wouldn't classify these shrimps as even remotely spicy but they were excellently flavoured regardless. These guys aren't stingy on the shrimp either, you get a good number of large shrimp. Served on vermicelli noodles.
Chicken with Lemon Grass and Coconut Milk($8.50): Another winner. While excellent, I didn't like this quite as much as the shrimp. The chicken was super tender and moist.
Drinks -
Avocado Smoothie ($3): Interesting. My friend order this and it turned out to be much better than I expected. I don't think I'd order it myself though.
Mango Smoothie ($3): Good. Not too sweet and the mango flavour is more subtle than what I'm used to in a mango lassi for example.
I can see myself coming back here often and I'm particularly interested in giving their vegetarian options a try.Listed in: South-East Asian Eats
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Review from eune y.
Toronto, ON
4/15/2009
I'm a huge lover of the pho and never thought that anyone could make a vegetarian version that could possibly substitute the beef based broth but given the choice I would choose Hanoi's vegetarian pho over the regular meat based one. It's the light lemongrass flavour accented by tangy bits of tomato that is incorporated into a broth that is full of depth and is wonderfully refreshing. As usual, it's a very big serving and I like that they keep it simple and give you great amounts of bokchoy and a nice amount of fried tofu pieces. It's just so good and it's really cleanly prepared. Even the regular beef broth has been stripped clean of any extraneous fat which makes for a light tasting stock without that kinda old stinky beef fat taste that you can sometimes get with pho when it's prepared in a hurry. I still think Pho Hung on Spadina is great but the broth can be a little greasy at times and while there are occasions (like after a bender) when you just want greasy pho with lots of hot sauce I think it's better on my digestion system to eat something a little lighter tasting especially in the summer time.
And I like the space, it's small and not styled to the gills, just simple and clean and quiet. Nice folk too which always makes food taste even better. -
Review from James K.
Toronto, ON
5/25/2009
Excellent food. We had the mussels, chicken something (it was a while ago) and some shrimp. Recommended.
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Review from Luke A.
1/19/2010 1 Check-in Here
Delicious pho, with a generous portion of meat and a tasty broth that isn't too salty. My companion had a very appetizing spicy shrimp dish with coconut milk sauce. The servers were all very friendly. No complaints really: a solid choice for Vietnamese if you find yourself in the Gerrard/Broadview area.
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Review from Jimi S.
ON
11/17/2008
ive been to the one on gerrard street (they just opened up a new one on queen thats much nicer looking than the this one). this one fine enough decor wise with simple black tables and virtually no vibe. if there is any vibe, it comes from the staff and the food (which, for most asian restaurants is the standard by which you judge i believe - except actually i would just pare that down to the food, not the staff otherwise...well i think we all know.) strangely, this was the first time i have ever been to an asian restaurant where there was a white server. (peculiar informational tidbit is all.). he was very cordial, pleasant and inviting. one of the other servers, who was asian was actually quite a ham and made the entire eating experience very pleasurable, not even considering the food.
so the food, in my estimation was great. we shared some veggie spring rolls which were awesome and i had a clam dish which i enjoyed, but the most memorable was a pho house special with three kinds of beef - rare beef, well done beef and beef balls. i found the broth quite flavourful, the meat tender and tasty and the accompanying sauces great to combine with the dishes.
i hear good things about their signature fish dish which i will try when i return.Listed in: My Neighborhood-Leslieville
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Review from bob R.
Toronto, ON
3/10/2010
small place. great service. very tasty food. the pho was a nice size with very good noodles and lots of meat. we ordered the chef special pho. spring rolls and shrimp rolls were awesome. great prices. i think we found our regular pho place.
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Review from private p.
Toronto, ON
2/1/2010
This review will be limited to respecting allergies. I have ordered take out 3 times from this place. Informing all 3 times I have shellfish allergy and particularly from fish sauce which contains shrimp shells. I was assured that they would remove the risk and omit fish sauce. Twice we received the food with sauce that contains fish sauce , that spilled on to the dish. This after we requested to have it removed even on the side. I can't comment on the food as I was unable to taste due to the shellfish allergy. Worse when confronted they only offered to make the dish again, but we would have come back to pick it up. I have no confidence that any of the food they prepared would respect an allergy.
