24 Train Express

I really wanted to like 24 Train Express since it was so close to my office, but I was so disappointed with my #5 Phở (the norm — rare beef & beef ball) selection.
Let me start by saying that I’m not a big meat eater. When I get any size phở I would always give away some of my meat to whomever I’m with. So given that said, I’m actually usually pretty lenient with places that don’t give as much meat as the usual phở restaurants on Kingsway. But 24 Train Express really tops any place I’ve been to in the amount of meat you’re given in a bowl of phở. I got exactly 5 pieces of rare beef and 5 pieces of beef ball in a Large phở. Halfway done my noodles the meat was already all gone.
Also, I noticed that the soup for the phở was very very clear, which indicated to me that it wasn’t the beef bone stock soup that usually takes hours to make being used for their phở.
Although this may be the closest phở restaurant to my office, I think i’ll still rather trek up to Joyeaux Café & Restaurant near Pacific Centre for my phở cravings next time.

Love this place for some downtown Phở goodness when its old and rainy in Vancouver.
You can see this place from a mile away with the wild assortment of neon lights.
Satay broth is wonderfully spicy with nice hints of anice.
Been here many times and its always delicious!

Just after sushi, I feel that phở can be found on every street in Vancouver. Rarely do you have to try hard to find a Phở place. This one is an interesting choice as this is a Cambodian/​Vietnamese phở place, so you get a couple changes on the regular phở menu. I frequent this place mainly as it is just steps away from my sister’s and well, when you want a cheap meal it’s either phở or sushi.
Came here on a Monday tuesday afternoon with my family for a late lunch. We ordered the phở ga, the satay phở with beef balls and rare beef and one of the rice noodle bowls (marinated pork, grilled beef and a spring roll). This place is quick and cheap and the food more or less reflects that. The broth is flavourful but it’s not the best phở I’ve had. The satay flavouring adds a nice touch, and something that i like that this place does that not too many phở places do is they add some fried onions to the broth. Portion size is varied (three sizes) and the overall meat to noodle to broth ratio is generous i feel. The phở ga is good… again, not the most flavourful but not disappointing either.
Word of note: My mom fell after one of the chair legs snapped. They comp’d the meal for us which was nice of them but careful. Rarity that this would happen but still, just be mindful!

Disappointing :(
I had the brisket and beef balls phở and the soup was so salty that it was inedible. I’m not sure if it was because we came here at 10:30pm (30 mins before they closed) and the soup has been steeping all day or I caught the bottom of the barrel… but I made it through maybe half of it before I gave up, downed a glass of water and went to another place to satisfy our hunger.

I have no idea what this place is actually called. The name on their main door doesn’t match their window which doesn’t match their sandwich board which is different from their menu and not the same as their chopsticks. Anyway you can find this place just off the Granville strip and down the street from the Penthouse.
Was here for lunch yesterday and ordered the grilled beef, spring roll, and marinated pork with vermicelli. It all tasted delicious, every last bit of it.
There’s not too many South East Asian cuisine in this general area so it’s definitely recommended by me. Only downside is that it seems very stuffy and warm inside. They do have outdoor seating but the tables weren’t clean when I got there and there was a little piece of broccoli on my tea cup. So 4 stars overall.

Overpriced with terrible service. Food is overly salty with none of the genuine nuances found in authentic SE Asian cuisine.

Maybe I was starving, but this food was really good.
I can’t speak to the authenticity as I don’t consider myself an expert in Vietnamese food and we were able to order our food in Cantonese… so…
I love me a 24 hour restaurant and this one hit the spot.
They have high chairs available too.

CHECK YOUR CHANGE. THEY SHORT CHANGE EVERY SINGLE TIME!
Cash only place. No jokes.
I’ve been to 24 Train Express a few times because its close to my work place. First two times, I ordered noodles and noticed that they shorted me a dollar or so. Last week, I visited this place again and ordered a small bowl of noodles at $ 7 ($ 7.35 with tax). I gave a $ 10 bill and was given $ 1.10 change back… AGAIN.
I had enough of being short changed and went in to ask the male cashier to do his math again. I asked him how much the noodle was… he said $ 7.35 and had him confirm I paid $ 10 and that he gave me $ 1.10 in change. He repeated that 4 times and still insisted I was the crazy one. I gave up finally after the fifth time when I realized I had to return to work.
I basically paid $ 10 for a small bowl of $ 7 mediocre viet noodles. I would have gladly tipped the amount, but something about being short changed makes it seem very unjust.

The most impolite and rude waiter ever…
I dropped in asking for take-​out, he waiter replied impatiently on menu and price…
Given the terrible taste of the food, I really don’t understand why there r so many people coming during lunch time. Because of the price? There are way more better choices in downtown than this place full of Mr.Impatient. Like I said before, don’t spread anger at ur customers just because yo have a pathetic job and pathetic life. You are always welcome to work as a doctor if you are capable to so do.
Again, treat ur customers with respect and don’t behave like an a**hole…

The food was good. Large portions and tasty. Great for comfort food. The location isn’t ideal so it isn’t the busiest. The restaurant is very causal. The service was very poor.

Portion sizes are too small with very little beef and noodles. I’m a small girl but I almost felt like I needed to order another bowl of soup just to make me full.

Cheap, reliable, delicious and convenient. Great comfort phở joint with plenty of options to choose from on the menu. I come here often and have tried only a few of the different dishes. It’s my go to joint in the area and am glad it’s so close by. Service is fast and what you would expect from this kind of restaurant.

I was looking for decent phở in the downtown core and this did the trick. I love that they still use some of the decorations from the old burger joint, and that they put up a bunch of neon signs (you aren’t a legit phở place if you aren’t rocking some neon signs).
The service is pretty decent — my spring rolls took a long time to come — we were half-​way through our noodles by the time they arrived. The phở is good, the broth has a good flavour without looking murky. The satay soup noodles are pretty spicy! My mouth was on fire but it was delicious regardless. I think they went a bit light on the tripe. The prices are decent for noodles (maybe a dollar more than what you’d find outside of downtown), but the spring rolls I felt were a bit pricy for their quality.
The place had a decent flow of people while we were there, several getting take-​out and we even bumped into some friends there! I’d certainly come back if I have another phở craving.
Note: cash only!

Pretty decent phở. Came here for lunch and you have 3 options for phở — M, L or XL. Large was approx $ 8.75. I had the one with everything in it. The tripe was nicely slice into thin strips. The tendon was nice and soft. The broth and noodles were decent too. So far, best place in downtown. Only thing you need to watch out for — a cash only establishment.

It’s such a great feeling to be able to crawl out of bed and walk across the street for a mad phở craving!
The phở is decent… more of a gingery taste than most phở broth but still good. And you can’t go wrong with the spring rolls. Not overly greasy and fried crispy right.
As with most fine Asian establishments, it’s cash only! I found this out the hard way and even though I was a few quarters short of my bill they told me not to worry about it. Great service and with a smile, too!

My husband and I were really disappointed. The Phở Ga broth was bland, chicken was bland, noodles were too chewy. I’ve had Phở Ga numerous times at other places in the same price range with much richer flavors. This gets two stars but one star for the grilled pork chop we almost didn’t eat more than a bite of. The meat was tough and even hard to chew and the «fried rice» it was siting on was laughable — looked like soy sauce and scallions poorly sprinkled on sticky white rice. Stick to the phở I guess and I would hope the beef phở is better. The spring rolls were okay. Service was good.

yay another phở place! downtown needed another one near Granville area!
i noticed that they still have hamburger & fries etc dec stickers on the windows for
the previous store «sunset burgers». I thought it was kind of funny!
the service was great and the food came fast! the price is decent too:)

This little diner is supposed to serve Vietnamese and Cambodian (khmer) cuisine. Having just travelled Cambodia and Vietnam extensively — I’m guessing this is run by Vietnamese folks who lived in Phnom Penh for a bit and decided to put a couple of Vietnamese interpretations of Cambodian food on the menu.
Amok is a classic khmer dish but the people here have no idea what it is. And the Cambodian dishes are super spicy — which is nothing like in Cambodia.
Overall the food was pretty decent but definitely in that average range for this type of cuisine and price. I’m hoping they bring up their game because I’d love to have a close place to go a get some decently priced authentic food. BTW, the last 2 places in this location went bankrupt in the past 3 years so we’ll see how it goes.

I’m giving three stars for the phở and one extra star for the fact that this place is:
— the only decent cheap phở option in the culinarily clueless cesspool that is Yaletown
— basically across the street from my apartment, which means that I can fall out of my building with a hangover and land in phở.
The prices are good ($ 7 – 10) depending on the size, the portions are pretty generous, and they never try to charge me when I ask for extra beef balls because I’m a pig. The broth is pretty bland but beggars can’t be choosers in Yaletown. I’ve gotten phở to go three times from here and, while it’s nothing to rave about, it certainly isn’t anything to complain about, either. And bless 24 Train simply for taking over the space previously occupied by the inexplicably creepy Ace Burger Bar. What was up with that place?
Service is perfunctory/​efficient, but friendly. Cash only.

Greetings, fellow foodie Instagrammers. It’s Thursday evening a week after opening, and 24 Train Express is packed! The value proposition of dinner in downtown for $ 7 is undeniable. The people have spoken, loud and clear. And they have unanimously vetoed ACE Burger (the previous tenant) in favour of lemongrass chicken and spring rolls. It’s a privilege to dine under pink walls and rainbow neon lights on the indoors. For those days when you are too tired to cook, and want decent phở, all aboard the 24 Train Express!