Huong Lan Vietnamese Restaurant

Our family has been frequent customers for over 10 years & have enjoyed both dining in & take out meals. We have raved to many and have given much business. We are simple and dont like to complain as both my husband and I have worked in restaurants and know that it can happen. Sadly our experiences with meals over the past 3-4 years have become less and less enjoyable as the quality has become quite poor with many of the items we've ordered to say the least. The wait staff are always pleasant which kept us hopeful that it was just another "off day". From the rising prices for sub par food with overcooked & dry spring rolls to tasteless broth in the pho soups and over cooked chicken that is dry and chewy in most of our we have decided that the meals we recieved in takeout today would be the last. Our disappointment led to a phone call to the restaurant and resulted in such rudeness. We will no longer support this business or recommend to others. This used to be our favorite place with amazing food, sadly we will be taking our business elsewhere.

Excellent food. The kitchen is fast and even with a packed house gets food to the table quick. They also do a great job of packing their meals to go for delivery or pickup so you aren't sacrificing quality if you want to enjoy Huong Lan on your couch at home.

As others have said in there reviews the broth is extreamly bland. I ordered their sate soup, which I thought would have lots of flavour and spice. It was the most bland tasting pho I've had. On top of the bland sub par soup, you are paying far too much for cheap ingredients and small portions. If this was the "best pho in Nanaimo" you guys need to have some real pho on the mainland. All white people working at the place as well, so I suspect it was taken over by new management and thats why they don't know how to make the pho broth anymore as from what I understand the place used to be good.

Best Vietnamese cuisine in Nanaimo.

** Update 2023 **

I have been a frequent diner here over the last 10+ years. Unfortunately the food is not the same quality as it once was. Many of the recipes and even simple ingredients such as noodles, pork, peanut sauce as well as the portion sizes have declined and prices have increased quite a bit. Its still OK, but I wouldn't say its "the best" in town as I did previously. Downgraded to a 3 star from 5 based on my last couple of visits.

From 5 stars to 3.

Update 2023: A good place to eat but portions have gotten so much smaller since I used to come by in the early 2000's (This was before the severe inflation of 2021). The quality has also gone down a fair bit, less smokey flavors for the meat, peanut sauce not as thick and rich, and the prices have gone up to the point I eat at other Vietnamese restaurants now. They don't have the shrimp on sugarcane sticks anymore, which really set them apart from other Viet restaurants but no longer. It's sad to see the same process of a small gem becoming popular for its quality to charging higher prices because of the popularity and then only relying on the name as the quality goes further and further down; tale as old as time.

Absolutely love the food, staff are always very good at explaining things on the menu. Highly recommend.

The Vietnamese restaurant at this location has been a staple for Vietnamese food for many years. I have always enjoyed their food however, At some point over the past year the pho broth has changed, I would compare its quality to Campbells pho broth that you can buy at the grocery store. The quality has gone down and the price is still high.

Overpriced and Terribly bland food.
Huong Lan used to be a good place to eat but the price has gone up while the quality has gone way down. The restaurant has undergone renovations and new printed menus so it looks like a nice place to eat but at the end of the day, when it comes down to the meal, their chow mein was one of the worst meals I’ve ever eaten.
Service was good and pleasant atmosphere but I couldn’t eat the food as it was just plain steamed vegetables with warmed canned sauce on top.
I will not be returning and would caution anyone experimenting with their menu. Definitely not worth the price.

We ordered dinner for 2 for take out. Delicious as always. We live in the opposite side of the city and still feel it's worth the trip to have their food. Great value. Great taste.

I've been going to this resturant for years and not once did I experience service like that, or in any resturant for that matter. The owners need to speak with the manager. She did nothing for our table while the waitress explained she was having a mental break down and couldn't give us proper service. That manager was sitting at a table next to us our entire time there. We were ignored. Served last over tables that came in after us and waited for 10 mins for cuttlery and napkins. When we asked, we were given serious attitude from the waitress. Never have I had any server speak the way she did. We walked out. I was shocked the manager didn't intervene at all. Great food but service is lacking in all areas with bad management.

This used to be one of our favourite spots in Nanaimo. Unfortunately quality has plummeted. They have replaced their delicious broths with what taste like cisco broth.

The pho soup is no longer clear yet rich, bursting with beefy flavour and star anise; now it is a generic, dark brown european-style beef stock. The wonton soup used to be a complex, aromatic broth - the best in Nanaimo; today it was sweet and flavourless.

It is very disappointing to pay the top rate for Vietnamese food in town and receive a mall-food level meal. The authentic flavours we used to love here are unfortunately no more.

This place is hard to beat. I have never had a bad meal. Everthing is so delicious. I highly recommend 54,41 & of course 1 & 3. The service here is superb, amazing team work & so friendly.

Food is great for takeout, haven’t done dine in yet. Unfortunately pricing is on the higher side. Only thing is I wish they have a vegetarian crispy spring roll option available because I don’t eat pork.

Great food and service! The food tasted fantastic, exactly what I needed for a cold day. My pho came out with the wrong order, but the server quickly realized before I did and corrected the mistake. Definitely worth a try!

Loved this place. The food was delish. And the staff was super friendly. I'll order from them again for sure!

It' was ok. I think I was looking for more.
It's was something I could've made at home.

Great authentic pho, however it's fairly pricy. $20 for one large bowl of pho which, in my cheap Manitoban opinion, is a lot to spend. There's lots of beef in the pho and they don't skimp on the noodles either. You do have to specifically ask for water which I found to be a bit odd, but nonetheless I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. Good food, good mood.

Service was amazing! The food was delicious and we will be back, the Tofu stir fry was Amazing!

Unfortunately they were closed, went out of my way to go there, won't be mad, have to go back whdn they are open. Most Excellent place to eat!

We are regulars here and food is always awesome! Our favourite go to is their spicy beef soup #13 on the menu!

Good service!
Food are good too!

One thing highlight, they have bubble tea and taste good!

Overall, it is good to be here.

Unfortunately they were closed, went out of my way to go there, won't be mad, have to go back whdn they are open. Most Excellent place to eat!

Foods were seasoned bit too sweet for me. Grilled meat aren't like typical grilled meat I have in other Vietnamese restaurants or in Vietnam. Deep fried wonton was super tasty. Service was exceptional, servers were friendly and attentive.

Excellent Vietnamese food. One of the servers needs to learn how to correctly pronounce a vermicelli. There is no s in vermicelli. LOL. I will be back.

I got food poisoning.good thing I made it home just in time. My advice.don't order the chicken in anything.
The service was mediocre at best.we were not even given glasses for our soft drinks.and we were ignored after they took our order and dropped it at our table. Getting the bill was another problem.they buzzed around our table before they clued in as we tried to get their attention.
No.we would not return.
The ambiance is quite nice.and it appeared to be clean.but when a cook is handling chicken it can be iffy.obviously the chicken was the problem in my dish because the rest of the meal was bland.

Went in just before closing without realizing it, I offered to leave but the server was super nice and said it was no problem. Food came unbelievably quick and I'm so glad I stopped in because it is fantastic food, couldn't have been better. I've been to the Parksville one too and haven't been disappointed there either. Great food and friendly people all around, will definitely be back.

If you have a peanut allergy, don’t waste your time here.

After being seated, I looked through the menu. Everything looked delicious. As per with any restaurant, I let the waitress know I have a peanut allergy with anaphylactic severity. The waitress then informed me they wouldn’t be able to serve me, as their kitchen has “peanuts everywhere”. I was surprised as I’ve been to many Vietnamese/pho restaurants throughout Canada that have all been happy to accommodate my allergy, as it is a common one. And don’t get me wrong here– I’m not expecting every cuisine to accommodate this request. I avoid Thai cuisines/restaurants where often every second menu item contains peanuts in some way. But usually pho restaurants are a pretty safe bet for non-peanut options. Sure, there are peanuts on-premises but that’s a calculated risk that comes with plenty of restaurants. That’s why I take my epi-pen if I eat out anywhere.

I brought up this fact and the waitress mentioned that they use the same deep fryer for everything. I asked if ‘everything’ meant the ingredients for the pho too, and she admitted that no part of the pho is deep fried, but there was still no way to assure me that it wouldn’t come into contact with peanuts and for that reason they refused to serve me.
So the good news is I’m still alive to write this review. But in that moment I was thinking to myself “What, are they having food fights in the kitchen and peanuts are flying everywhere? Is someone just too stubborn to make sure they use a clean knife to cut the food? ” I’m not going to accuse them of anything like that, but it’s not 1992 any more. There should be some kind of process in place.

Anyhow, we went to another pho place not far away and they were happy to accommodate. Maybe Huong Lan should figure out what the other places know that they don’t, so they can retain their customers with allergies. I know, boo-hoo poor peanut allergy boy. Life goes on. The one star in this review is for the waitress who was very polite about everything.

Big portions for a decent price! Flavors are okay, but nothing spectacular. Service is friendly and efficient:) If you're in the mood for decent Vietnamese food, check this place out!

Terrible customer service. We had to ask for chopsticks because it wasn't set up. Food was good though. The Boba drinks was OK the mango one tasted bad, the coffee took so long to actually get prepared and our drinks took a long time to come out. Our waitress seemed pretty rude too, and when we were clearly wondering about our drinks, she just stared at us and walked away. I don't really remember much but I remember thinking to myself that it felt as if a bit of racism in there. (I'm Asian and I look very Asian)

Had the beef pho (number 18), and the veggie pho. Both had a very good base, and good portion. Overall, good service and good meals. Will try more in the future.

This restaurant was recommended by friend and we were not disappointed in the least. The occasion was for reunion with 6 friends. On entry we were well received by friendly welcome and assigned seat seats. The waitress that took our order recommend a specific dish which we order among other that we selected. The service was prompt, courteous and served in a timely manner. I highly recommend this restaurant

Hands down best pho in town. This place is always busy for a reason, awesome food and awesome service.

Fantastic. I have been craving hot and sour soup for MONTHs and today was the day that was fulfilled.

A mixed review for this restaurant however, they are still FAR BETTER than the other 2 Vietnamese restaurants we've tried in Nanaimo.

I personally love their shrimp & roasted vegetables on skewers that are served over rice noodles, so I was surprised when my partner said he can't stand their lemongrass chicken. Granted, the shrimp don't have a traditional flavor to them, I didn't really taste any Asian type spices, but they are still quite good. Just don't expect authentic Vietnamese when ordering.

I can't really blame him as it doesn't taste like they even use lemongrass on the chicken, which was a major letdown. No traditional flavors going on whatsoever according to him, and he should know considering he lived most of his life in an Asian country eating a traditional diet very similar to Vietnamese food. I tried his lemongrass chicken & agreed. Flavorless, unfortunately. I personally wouldn't order it.

That being said, the front staff are really nice, easy to talk to, very friendly. I myself will return for the shrimp & roasted veggies, but my partner says 'absolutely not'.

#54 I'm a creature of habit and once every month or two I get this dish. I hear their pho is good too:)

If I could have given this a zero I would have. I have been here before and the food was fine however today I have never been so disappointed. I had the number 47 and it was like eating chicken cooked in tomato soup or catsup on rice. Disgusting. And I ordered 2 which came to 35 bucks. Never again. I don't mind paying good money for good food but I refuse to insulted by 3rd grade cafeteria garbage at that price.

Very authentic cuisine. Pricer than in Vancouver for the same dishes. Haven't found any Vietnamese restaurant yet that does spring rolls with rice paper the way it should be except Vina restaurant. The egg roll wrapper and tiny amount of filling is unsatisfying. Smallish space with a busy turnover of customers.

Huong Lan has set the gold standard for Vietnamese Nanaimo for well over a decade. Going from a hole in the wall to doubling their seating space successfully, they're now in a position to expand into Parksville. Great place for pho, also for all manner of great combos.

My first time today, for lunch. It was very busy, but I only waited maybe 5min for a table, and had my food less than 5-10min after that. The food was excellent, the service fast, and I enjoyed every minute! I'll be going back!

Excellent food and service, with a huge selection of dishes to choose from. I am a personal fan of their hot and sour soups. My wife loves their curried chicken dish, which I also like, even though I'm not a curry lover. Getting a seat at lunch time usually presents a wait, so get there early.

Never been disappointed when I go there to eat. Quick friendly service and best Vietnamese food in town!

We go here every time were in the area. Solid Viet food. Great soups, good prices, and good service. The pho is better than the bun bo hué (which is good, but you're better getting something else), and the bun (rice vermicelli bowls) are where to go if you don't want soup.

This restaurant has become a tradition in my life. Whenever I can make an excuse to go, I do. My fave is the Pho with lemongrass chicken. Truly amazing. You can face waits of up to an hour on weekends.