Great Vietnamese near Sainte-Catherine/Peel?

[cveenstra]

Can anyone recommend a great Vietnamese restaurant in the area of Sainte-catherine and Peel?

Thanks -- looking forward to some yummy Vietnamese ;-)

[marblebag]

I haven't found great vietnamese near Ste-Catherine and Peel but I found crap Vietnamese:

Chez Thai on Stanley south of Ste-Catherine
the Thai+Vietnamese restaurant on Metcalfe south of Ste-Catherine

Chez Lien on Stanley south of Ste-Catherine is passable but it's not the best location for that chain.
I'm told to try out Caravelle in the Place Ville Marie food court.

[andrewm]

Wasn't there a pho joint in the basement food court at Cours Mont-Royal (which is essentially Peel and Ste Catherine)? I haven't been there in ages so wouldn't know if it's still there.

[chilipepper]

There used to be one on the upper level of Cours then another opened down in the foodcourt but disappeared after TheGreatPurge&Revamp(both were subpar).Which reminds me of the combo Sukiyaki/Pho place in the foodcourt underneath Simons,also subpar.Caravelle,I only tried the small,sticky,soggy,expensive summer/salad rolls.

[lsk]

Caravelle's perpetual "Special of the Day" is passable -- marinated pork, chicken, or beef with your choice of rice or vermicelli with a side salad of iceberg, carrots, and raw bean sprouts, a spring roll (or "imperial roll"), and your choice of drink.

I found it surprisingly delicious if you get either the chicken or pork plus the vermicelli, then mix it all up (minus the spring roll) with some nuoc nam.

[eoj]

The only "great" Vietnamese I've found in Montreal is annoyingly located at Cotes-des-neiges and Cote-St-Catherine: Pho Lien. Closer (though still not downtown) and yummy, but not quite as good, is Pho Lam on du Parc, just above Mont-Royal. In Chinatown, Pho Bang New York is the best one I've tried.

[chilipepper]

There is the new pho place in the bastement on Metcalfe above deMaisonneuve underneath Cheap Thrills.

[lil mikey]

I don't know of any near Ste. Catherine and Peel, but there are quite a few over on St. Laurent south of Rene Levesque. It's a little walk, but totally do-able. Give yourself 15-20 minutes for the walk. It's a dream on a nice day like today.

Pho Bang has good pho (go figure). I plan to try a banh mi place in the next few days.