Top 10 Must-Try Dishes at Ottawa’s Most Beloved Vietnamese Restaurant
With over 100 dishes on the menu, choosing what to order at Vietnam Palace Restaurant can feel like a delicious dilemma. As one of the top restaurants in Ottawa for Vietnamese cuisine — and a family-run Chinatown institution since 1989 — every item on our menu has been refined over 35 years of serving Ottawa’s most loyal food lovers.
Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned regular looking to branch out, this guide highlights the top 10 must-try dishes that showcase the very best of Vietnamese cuisine in Ottawa. From iconic classics to hidden gems that even regulars might have overlooked, these are the dishes that define the Vietnam Palace experience.
1. Classic Combination Beef Pho (Phở Đặc Biệt)
Let’s start with the obvious — because some classics earn their status for good reason. Vietnam Palace’s combination beef pho is the dish that built our reputation and keeps our 664 Google reviewers coming back for more.
This isn’t just any bowl of soup. The broth has been simmering since the early morning hours, built from beef bones, charred onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. It arrives at your table piping hot, loaded with rice noodles and a generous assortment of rare beef slices, well-done brisket, tender tendon, and tripe. The rare beef cooks gently in the broth, turning from bright pink to perfectly tender right before your eyes.
Accompanied by a plate of fresh Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime wedges, and chili peppers, this bowl invites you to customize every sip and every bite. It’s interactive dining at its finest, and it’s the reason Vietnam Palace is consistently named one of the best restaurants in Ottawa for pho.
Pro tip: Ask for extra broth on the side if you like your soup extra soupy. The kitchen is always happy to oblige.
2. Crispy Spring Rolls (Chả Giò)
Vietnam Palace’s crispy spring rolls are legendary among Ottawa diners, and for good reason. These aren’t the thick, doughy egg rolls you might find at a food court. They’re delicate, impossibly crispy parcels filled with a savoury mixture of ground pork, taro root, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, and aromatic seasonings.
What makes them truly special is the wrapper — thin enough to shatter at first bite, yet sturdy enough to hold everything together. They’re fried to a perfect golden brown and served with lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, and Vietnam Palace’s signature nuoc cham dipping sauce.
The traditional way to enjoy them: wrap a spring roll in a lettuce leaf with a sprig of mint and cilantro, then dip the whole thing in nuoc cham. The combination of crispy, fresh, savoury, and tangy is everything Vietnamese cooking is about.
3. Fresh Salad Rolls (Gỏi Cuốn)
If the crispy spring rolls are the extroverts of the appetizer menu, fresh salad rolls are the cool, composed counterpart. These translucent rice paper rolls are filled with poached shrimp, rice vermicelli, crisp lettuce, and aromatic herbs — all visible through the delicate wrapper.
Served with a rich, nutty peanut hoisin sauce, they’re the perfect light starter that showcases the Vietnamese philosophy of fresh, uncooked ingredients at their peak. At Vietnam Palace, the salad rolls are assembled to order, ensuring the rice paper is soft and pliable — never rubbery or dry.
These are also an excellent choice for health-conscious diners. They’re essentially a salad wrapped in rice paper — low in calories, high in freshness, and completely satisfying.
4. Lemongrass Chicken (Gà Xào Sả Ớt)
This dish is a masterclass in Vietnamese wok cooking. Tender pieces of chicken are stir-fried at blazing high heat with fresh lemongrass, fiery chili peppers, onions, and a sweet-savoury sauce that caramelizes beautifully in the wok.
The lemongrass is the star here — its bright, citrusy fragrance permeates every piece of chicken and creates an aroma that you’ll smell the moment the plate leaves the kitchen. The heat from the chilies builds gradually, warming your palate without overwhelming it.
Served over steamed jasmine rice, this is comfort food with a Vietnamese soul. It’s the kind of dish that makes you close your eyes and savour each bite, wondering why you don’t eat Vietnamese food every single day.
5. Grilled Pork Vermicelli Bowl (Bún Thịt Nướng)
If there’s one dish that perfectly encapsulates the Vietnamese approach to food, it might be the grilled pork vermicelli bowl. It’s a symphony of contrasts: cool rice vermicelli noodles topped with smoky, charcoal-grilled pork, crisp lettuce, pickled carrots and daikon, crushed peanuts, and a generous drizzle of nuoc cham.
Every component plays a role. The noodles provide a neutral base. The grilled pork brings smokiness and richness. The vegetables add crunch and freshness. The pickled carrots contribute acidity. The peanuts offer nuttiness. And the nuoc cham ties everything together with its sweet-sour-salty-spicy magic.
At Vietnam Palace, the pork is marinated in a fragrant blend of lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, and sugar before being grilled over high heat. The result is meat that’s caramelized on the outside, juicy on the inside, and absolutely irresistible.
6. Vietnamese Curry (Cà Ri)
Vietnamese curry is distinctly different from its Thai and Indian cousins, and Vietnam Palace’s version is a beautiful example of why. Made with coconut milk, lemongrass, curry spices, potatoes, and your choice of chicken or beef, it’s milder and more fragrant than you might expect — but no less flavourful.
The curry sauce is silky and golden, enriched with coconut cream and perfumed with aromatics. The potatoes are cooked until they’re just tender enough to absorb the sauce while still holding their shape. It’s served with a crusty baguette (a nod to Vietnam’s French colonial heritage) that’s perfect for soaking up every last drop.
This is a dish that surprises people who think they know Vietnamese food. It’s warm, comforting, and deeply satisfying — perfect for Ottawa’s colder months and a must-try for anyone exploring the full range of Vietnamese cuisine in Ottawa.
7. Shaking Beef (Bò Lúc Lắc)
Named for the way the wok is shaken during cooking, bò lúc lắc is a premium Vietnamese dish that showcases the cuisine’s ability to handle beef with finesse. Tender cubes of marinated beef are seared at extremely high heat, creating a caramelized crust while keeping the interior perfectly medium-rare.
The beef is tossed with garlic, black pepper, soy sauce, and a touch of sugar, then served over a bed of watercress and sliced tomatoes with a lime and salt pepper dipping sauce on the side. It’s simple in concept but extraordinary in execution — the kind of dish that demonstrates why great Vietnamese cooking relies on quality ingredients and precise technique rather than complicated recipes.
At Vietnam Palace, the wok gets screaming hot before the beef hits the pan, ensuring that perfect sear that locks in juices and creates those addictive caramelized edges.
8. Sizzling Crepes (Bánh Xèo)
When the kitchen brings out bánh xèo, you’ll hear it before you see it — the sizzle of a turmeric-yellow crepe on a hot platter is one of the most exciting sounds in Vietnamese dining. These crispy, lacy crepes are filled with shrimp, sliced pork, bean sprouts, and green onions.
To eat them properly, tear off a piece of crepe, place it on a lettuce leaf with fresh herbs (mint, basil, and cilantro), roll it up, and dip it in nuoc cham. The contrast between the crispy, savoury crepe and the cool, fresh herbs is absolutely magnificent.
Bánh xèo is one of those dishes that turns a meal into an event. It’s interactive, it’s shareable, and it’s unlike anything else you’ll find on a restaurant menu in Ottawa. If you’ve never tried it, your visit to Vietnam Palace is the perfect time to start.
9. Caramelized Clay Pot Fish (Cá Kho Tộ)
This is Vietnamese home cooking at its finest — the kind of dish that grandmothers make and that few restaurants outside of Vietnam execute well. Vietnam Palace is one of those rare exceptions. Catfish is braised in a clay pot with a caramel sauce made from fish sauce, sugar, black pepper, and garlic until the sauce reduces to a sticky, intensely flavoured glaze.
The fish absorbs the caramel sauce as it cooks, becoming deeply savoury with sweet undertones. The clay pot retains heat beautifully, so the dish arrives at your table still bubbling gently. Eat it with plenty of steamed white rice to balance the rich, concentrated flavours.
This is a dish for the adventurous eater — someone who wants to go beyond the usual suspects and experience the soul of Vietnamese home cooking. It’s bold, it’s authentic, and it’s absolutely worth ordering.
10. Vietnamese Iced Coffee (Cà Phê Sữa Đá)
We’re breaking the rules by including a drink on a “must-try dishes” list, but Vietnamese iced coffee is so iconic and so integral to the Vietnamese dining experience that leaving it off would be a disservice.
Made with strong, dark-roast coffee slowly dripped through a small metal filter (phin) into a glass of sweetened condensed milk, then poured over ice, Vietnamese iced coffee is unlike any coffee you’ve had before. It’s intensely strong, unapologetically sweet, and incredibly refreshing — the perfect ending to a Vietnamese meal or a pick-me-up on a warm afternoon.
At Vietnam Palace, the coffee is brewed to order, so you get to watch the slow drip process as the rich, dark coffee mingles with the creamy condensed milk below. It’s almost meditative — and then that first sip hits you with a rush of caffeinated bliss.
Honourable Mentions
Narrowing it down to 10 was genuinely difficult. Here are a few more dishes that nearly made the cut:
- Bò Né (Sizzling Steak) — A sizzling hot plate of steak, eggs, and vegetables with a side of baguette
- Hủ Tiếu (Saigon-style Noodle Soup) — A Southern Vietnamese specialty with a clear, sweet pork broth
- Gỏi (Vietnamese Salads) — Bright, crunchy salads with shrimp, herbs, and tangy dressing
- Cơm Tấm (Broken Rice) — Grilled pork chop over broken rice with pickled vegetables
Honestly, with 100+ dishes on the menu, you could visit Vietnam Palace every week for a year and still discover something new. That’s the beauty of this place.
Plan Your Visit to Vietnam Palace
Now that you know what to order, it’s time to come experience these dishes for yourself. Vietnam Palace Restaurant has been one of the top restaurants in Ottawa for Vietnamese food since 1989, and after 35+ years, we’re still as passionate about our food as the day we opened.
Find us at 819 Somerset St W in the heart of Ottawa’s Chinatown. We offer dine-in, takeout, and delivery to make sure you can enjoy our food however suits you best.
Hours: Monday 11AM–10PM | Wednesday–Friday 11AM–10PM | Saturday 10AM–10PM | Sunday 11AM–10PM | Closed Tuesday
Ready to Discover Your New Favourite Dish?
Book a table at Vietnam Palace today and work your way through our top 10 — or create your own list of favourites. For reservations, call (613) 238-6758 or email info@vietnampalacerestaurant.ca. Check out our story or contact us with any questions.
We’ve been cooking for Ottawa for over three decades. Let us cook for you next. 🍲