Choices Oriental Noodle Eatery

I only gave it 1 star for its convenient location; if you don’t want to walk out side in –20 weather, this place is good with almost no wait and accessible throught the +15. However the food is less then adequate, I really wished I had gone to macdonalds instead.
Ordered the Korean spicy seafood noodle soup, but what I got was a bowl of rice noodle in hot water, soy sauce and a bit of hot sauce. The seafood was merely a few slices of imitation crab meat and some old squid meat. Veggies were a bunch of overlooked cabbage slices and broccoli. It really looked and tasted like something they threw together and put in the microwave.
To be fair, this is a fast food place and their vermicelli didn’t look half bad, but I am so disgusted by what I got for the money paid ($ 10.50, plus tip and tax)
In conclusion, avoid this place if you want noodle soup! It’s really gross!

Pretty good spot to come for either take-​out or sit-​down vietnamese. The service is VERY fast — they’ll want to take your order almost as soon as you sit down, and it will be at your table within about 5 minutes usually. The food is pretty decent and consistent — I’ve never had a bad meal here.

Come here for a quick lunch and expect to feel rushed, it’s supposed to be quick!
One of the best things about Choices is that it’s right there on the +15s and you have the option of dining in or taking out. Whichever option you choose, it’s going to be fast. As Choices is so popular with the downtown lunch hour, they try to feed as many people as they can before lunch break is done. I always grab some salad rolls (#2 @ ~$ 3) and then the Chef’s Special vermicelli (#41 @ ~$ 10). Now you get 2 great shrimp salad rolls and a huge bowl of vermicelli with all the meats and spring rolls for a meer ~$ 14. That’s great value considering you’re in the downtown core and eating some pretty good Vietnamese. They keep me coming back whether it’s for a quick lunch with a friend or if I’m bringing out take out back to my office to keep working.
Choices is quick and cheap but good Vietnamese.

Located in the Bow Valley building in downtown Calgary. It’s easily accessible via the +15s and convienent for the lunch crowds that don’t want to venture outside towards Chinatown. Explains why it’s especially busy during the winter, although it’s usually pretty steady at lunchtime. So if you’re craving Vietnamese noodles (phở), korean BBQ or even Chinese stirfrys and don’t want to venture outdoors during lunch, make sure to arrive a bit early or late to avoid the rush.
My usual is either the Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (phở) with rare beef or the Rice Vermicelli. The flavors here are decent, they’re not bad considering it’s location. As mention above you can also choose their rice plates, which I haven’t tried. They also offer traditional Vietnamese percolated coffee with the condensed milk, which has a nice strong coffee taste, where some places might tend to water down their coffee. It seems to be pretty authentic here.
All in all not a bad place for lunch if you don’t want to face the cold Calgary weather, but they also lack a lot of dishes that are at typical Vietnamese restaurants so make sure to check out their menu before you get a table. It might be that you’ll need to venture out to Chinatown to get what you’re craving after all.
Oh one more thing though, they are QUICK. So if you’re looking for a fast lunch. This would be a good place, if they’re not packed and even if they are. There’s always take out.

Came here for phở. It’s located upstairs so you have to take the escalator. Paid $ 8.05 for their beef phở. A lot pricer than other places I’ve been to. But it turns out their phở comes in a huge bowl with top quality beef. I mean, the beef is really really good, and I’ve been to a lot of phở places in Toronto. The soup is mild, not as flavourful as I’m used to. Probably not as much msg as other places but I wasn’t actually thirsty after the meal. One odd thing I noticed is they give you the usual bean sprouts and lime, but also parsley! No basil?
Service was super fast. Took 3 minutes for my order to come. Fairly large space but there’s a huge crowd during lunch time.
I definitely like this place. and now I am so STUFFED.

While working hard through the typical lunch hour, I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to go out for lunch! It was 1:20 when I arrived at Choices which I observed was a great time to show up because there was only a handful of occupied tables.
I got promptly seated and water was delivered. Pretty much right after I made my decision my server came over to take it, which was nice… No waiting!
My food came out fast and was delivered to me within 15 minutes, I applied my second love (hot sauce) generously and did the chopstick dance, which is also known as chowing down!
I have to say that it was alright. I enjoyed the flavor of the beef but wasn’t to crazy about the chicken. The spring rolls were quite «doughy» and tasted like they were from a box. The vermicelli and veggies were good (can you ever have bad vermicelli?)
The portion was pretty big and I was surprised in myself that I ate pretty much the whole bowl! (With some chicken left aside)
Overall I found it satisfying but not great.

Since I work a block away, I am in Bow Valley Square on a daily basis and go to Choices at least once a month. I usually order the lemongrass chicken. It’s really good. Their crispy spring rolls are some of my favorites around.
The service at lunch is always quick even if there’s a big lineup. I’ve tried a few other items on the menu and have only been disappointed once. I had the spicy chicken from their buffet which was too sweet and not spicy enough. I’m not a Phở fan so I can’t comment on that but if the rest of the menu is any indication, it’ll probably be good. I’ll continue to come here time and time again as it’s good value and fast service.

I am always in Bow Valley looking for something to eat with my friend and we decided today that we felt like having some noodle soup of course! So we marched our way over to Choices because I really wanted to try out their Phở and see how it compared to normal establishments.
Now listen, you don’t come to Choices to look at the fancy interior /​décor because frankly there really isn’t one. It reminds me of almost like and old style cafeteria and the old ladies here are just playing a mad dash game of get people in, get people out and repeat.
We were seated almost immediately as soon as we showed up (11:45am?), try to come cause it does get packed up with people and although the turnover is fairly quick you still have to wait.
Each table is set with a tall glass of water for each available chair, you have your menus in hand to decide what you would like to eat and the rest is history.
We both ordered the same bowl of Phở Tai (Rare Beef Noodle Soup) and as quickly as she took our order she disappeared and what felt like a few moments passing she came back with our two large bowls.
Now I have already set no expectations as to how this Phở would taste. I know it won’t compare to anything I’ve had before or any of my favorite joints in the city. I do know that I was hungry and need somewhere that is QUICK to eat at, half-​satisfying and not expensive.
I was pleasantly surprised when I had my first bite it was on a scale of 1 to 10 like a 7 which is really good! The broth itself tasted a little off from what I’m used to for Phở broth’s but nonetheless it wasn’t disgusting or too bland.
Whenever I’m in Bow Valley and have a craving for some noodle soup I’ll definitely just pop in real quick, eat and leave just as quickly as I came.

I am in the downtown core frequently, and I love going here for lunch! The food is delicious, the service is lightning quick and the servers and extremely friendly.
The only thing I would change, while they are efficient, is the slight lack of organization when picking up your order. Currently, you remember your order by it’s number on the menu. If 10 people have # 41 you have 10 people wondering who’s #41 is next? It would be much quicker and less confusing if the cashier assigned you a number and that number was called as your order came up.
But, as far as beefs go, that’s all I got. Otherwise I would eat there every day if I could!

Choices is both the most convenient and the most delicious Vietnamese restaurant within the downtown proper (Chinatown not included). It is located in between the two plus fifteens of Bow Valley Square, which means that most people don’t even need to go outside to reach it.
There is both a takeout counter and a dining room. During lunch both are swamped, BUT they are super quick and efficient so you are always seated or given your food within a matter of minutes. They know that their audience is mainly stressed out professionals with no time for anything.
The dining room is pretty utilitarian, but it is nice and clean. They get you in your seats quickly, get your orders super fast and have your food out to you in minutes. They definitely maximize their turnover.
My favourite dish has got to be the Chef’s special, a vermicelli dish with imperial rolls, special sauce and chicken. It is delish, and rings in for under ten dollars including tip. That’s pretty good for the core! Lot’s of other great stuff includes the fresh phở and the crispy noodles. Everything is fresh and seems relatively healthy so my approval is always on go!
This was a favourite of mine when I worked close by.