A longtime Vancouver Vietnamese French cafe just opened a pho-focused noodle bar on the ground floor of the Fairmont Pacific Rim.
Linh Noodle Bar opened in mid-September and comes from the team behind Linh Cafe, which chef and owner Tai Nguyen runs with his wife (Linh).
They opened Linh Cafe on West 4th Avenue in 2014 before moving it to Granville Street in 2021.
“Our menu celebrates traditional Vietnamese flavours in a modern setting, with a special focus on phở made with Fraser Valley free-range chicken,” Nguyen told Noms Magazine.
The new spot is at 1029 West Cordova Street, open daily from 11am to 10pm.
It doesn’t take reservations, so it’s walk-ins only.
When we first reported the signs in April, the unit had been empty since Bacaro, the Michelin-recommended Italian spot, closed in March.
We hopped by the restaurant anonymously for a weekday lunch.
The interior has been completely redone, with a modern, sleek aesthetic that matches the higher-end clientele it will see regularly from the hotel.
Grey and white checkered floors run under round dark wood tables, with an orange leather banquette along the back wall and pale lantern pendants overhead.
Backlit panels on the walls carry line drawings of figures.
The team says the design draws on tranh Đông Hồ, Vietnam’s traditional folk paintings.
The menu is compact next to Linh Cafe’s, with a few sharing plates, two pho, one rice dish and drinks.
With some friends, we started with the spring rolls and the crispy tofu.
The tofu arrives as a stack of fried cubes buried under a pile of chopped green onion.
For mains we got both pho, the chicken phở gà and the rare beef phở tái.
Each comes in two sizes, and we kept it simple with the regular at $23.90.
The smaller $15 bowl is snack-sized and likely a skip for those looking for a meal.
If you’ve had pho at Linh Cafe, you know how much effort they put into the broth, and pho broth is already a long process.
This one runs smoother and less meat-heavy than most, and it’s still super satisfying.
You don’t finish the bowl needing to down a cup of water like some spots.
The noodles are the flatter rice kind, and the beef is Canadian AAA.
And when they come around to your table with their house-made pickled chili vinegar, trust us and add a spoonful into your broth.
If the regular bowl isn’t enough, there are add-ons like bone marrow, extra sliced chicken or rare beef, extra broth and noodle refills.
Locals know that this restaurant unit has had its fair share of turnovers.
There’s also extra added pressure (and financials) considering its connection with Fairmont Pac Rim.
So it will be interesting to see whether the team behind Linh Cafe can make it work.
Linh Noodle Bar joins other recent Vancouver openings like Mandy’s, Läderach and CoCo.
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Address: 1029 W Cordova St, Vancouver, BC
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