Review Phở To - Preston

This place is normally extremely busy, but we rocked up 30 minutes before closing and never felt rushed. In fact we left 15 minutes after closing time and others were still there. Food is excellent, staff are very friendly, but you came to here about the food. The food is amazing, a little Australianised but still true to the flavour palate. We mixed and matched our meels to have a little of everything and the bill for 3 people was still under $60. Amenities are clean and everything is easy to find. This is not our first visit, and we will return again soon.

So busy, so casual, yet the food was yummy and priced well. Don't expect anything fancy, don't expect lot's of chat from staff. You will get a great place to eat, drink and enjoy your friends company.

Exceptional friendly service and the salt and pepper calamari is second to none! A never fail crowd pleaser!

My favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne. Excellent vegetarian/vegan options - they will make pretty much any dish vegan for you if you ask, just make sure you ask for vegetarian versions of everything even if it's just Vegetables (beef stock!) Best salt n pepper tofu I've EVER had - order the "Crispy fried bean curd with spicy salt"

Service was quick and friendly, meals where ok, I had the curry chicken my wife had a seafood noodle. We would go back, for another go not sure if it will be a regular eating place though.

The chicken pho and beef pho were excellent. They came out quickly too but that could be because the restaurant was empty (lunch time). They have lots of seating so bookings are probably not required.

Good tasty good but the pho is a little overpriced now. I ordered 17 lemon wedges and they hand delivered me 4 and a half small size lemon wedges this upset me

Nice food, price OK, good environment and free Chinese tea...

Ordered $70+ worth of food. And this was the most expensive dish. The salt and pepper pork ribs. The dish was $21 for what looked like 1 small pork rib. So very disappointing to pay $21 for 1 little pork rib. Also pls don’t charge large size prices for regular size dishes. The pho was very basic. Will not be ordering from you again.

Ordered 2 takeaway. Fantastic packaging and flavor.

staff so lovely I feel welcomed like family when I visit☺️ Best pho ever I can’t go anywhere else!

custard apple was the best smoothie of my life & i've had a lot of phenomenal smoothies. crab soup was phenomenal & came with a giant prawn in it too. it could've been hotter but the flavours were perfect and i had to stop & process the goodness like multiple times throughout the meal.

I had the large Pho chicken pieces and enjoyed it alot. the broth was very good. portion size was good. i enjoyed the chicken pieces rather than the shredded chicken pieces you normally get. this is my goto pho place in preston for now.

This is a relatively new family business to the High Street Preston strip. The one thing that stuck me was the staff are actually interested in serving you. I've been three times and only had the rare beef phö, as it's my test of a new place. It has definitely passed the test and will now gladly bring family and friends. It will be my new go to regular in Preston.

Food is consistently good.  Been a couple times and had long waits, where they had either forgotten or missed the order.  It happens, but love the range, and the Pho is real tasty in winter.  Always a great cheap dinner out.  GF loves the tea :)

Amazing bun bo hue, best on the street !! Service is good, decent pricing and it's such a calm atmosphere to enjoy a delicious meal.

Pros: soup was flavourful with generous amounts of meat. Place is clean also. 3% discount is offered if paying in cash.<br/><br/>Cons: the pricing is a little bit more expensive than other places.<br/><br/>3.5

I have had good experience in the restaurant, nice and clean environment and good services. coz normally the Vietnamese restaurant are crowded setting and too noisy to talk with friends, but I ve had pretty good experience in here!

I have been to this restaurant a few times. I must say that the Pho is the best in Preston area. There's no MSG and soup is not salty. You can add the Hoisin sauce into the soup if you want salty flavour. You can have pickled onion as a condiment. The restaurant is hygienic with good ambience. Tables are well spread out. You never feel squashed like in many Asian restaurants. I also had the Tamarind soft shell crab and it also tastes delicious. The manager is also friendly. This and Hao Vinh are my 2 favourites in Preston.

Poor slow service meals came out for a large group 1 plate at a time instead of 3 as ordered. No rice despite repeated requests until after main courses . Food just ok very small serves with little meat. Many better value place around give it a miss

Service is always great, food usually good but today I found a piece of Tripe in my vegetarian pho. I stopped eating it immediately and spoke to the owner who assured me it's fine because it's clean and it's edible. Not OK. Won't be back ever again.

This place is pretty mediocre <br/><br/>THE SERVICE IS THE BEST SERVICE YOU’LL GET FOR A VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT THO<br/><br/>We ordered:<br/> 🍚 2 X Broken Rice ⭐️⭐️⭐️<br/>🍚Crispy chicken on rice ⭐️⭐️⭐️<br/>🍚 Prawn spring rolls ⭐️⭐️⭐️<br/><br/>Okay so even tho the service is amazing and I would rate more if the food was up to standards but when the broken rice dish came out the portion of the pork chop was so small compared to the generous serving of rice very disappointed 😟<br/>

Maybe we went on a night they were understaffed?? This was shocking. We've been to most equivalent places on this strip (mainly Basil House, a few doors down which is consistently excellent). We placed our order (it took the server about 10 minutes to get to us, but that's no issue) - red wine, a beer, entree of vege spring rolls and 2 mains - which were the "chef's special" of prawns in spicy Singapore sauce, the other a tofu and vege thing. We waited 20 minutes just for the drinks to arrive. We then waited another 10 minutes for the entree to arrive. 30 minutes so far. We finish our drinks soon after the entree and I wander up to the counter and order 2 more drinks (as I couldn't catch the server's eyes). I politely check in on how long the mains will be. This is about 40 minutes in. She heads out the back while I use the bathroom and I can hear screaming in the kitchen - "IT'S COMING!!!!!!". Yikes, tough night in the kitchen then. It happens. I get back to the table and 5 minutes later the mains arrive. Couldn't believe it. Honestly tasted like KanTong Sweet & Sour sauce dribbled over undercooked (and not fresh) vegetables with those generic prawns you get frozen at the supermarket. The whole dish was lukewarm. Now I wasn't expecting plump king prawns or anything, I know what to expect at these places. But this was so lazy and uninspired and lame after waiting so long. At least cover up the sins with something super fresh, piping hot and a sauce worthy of it being called the chef's special. The vege tofu dish was disgusting too. We ate about a third of each dish as we were starving (and on the way to the airport), paid our $80 (!!!!!!) bill and laughed our way out the door. I wish I was the kind of person to complain in person but honestly, they sounded like it was a bad enough night for them. If the food was any good, I'd give them another chance. But it was so bad. Maybe their soups are okay? Most other tables people were ordering soups. Don't chance it though, I say.

Quick lunch stop here. Pho was passable. Could have done better with the quantity. Pho broth did not have enough flavour. Nice seating areas. Service was efficient.

Awesome local Viet joint. The soups are excellent and full of flavour. I’ve now tried many dishes and haven’t been disappointed. Well worth a look for a cheap and cheerful meal.

Coming here is a must. The staff are incredibly friendly and the food is delicious. Great to stop by after the Preston markets. The owner is very welcoming. A joy to eat everytime we've been.

Pho Tau Bay is one of several Vietnamese restaurants in Preston. There is arguably less foot traffic here because it is located a bit further away than the hubbub of High Street. Ample parking can be found in the Preston Market area. <br/><br/>The decor is very modern and the restaurant is spacious. Traditional Vietnamese artworks can be found on the walls. Large glass windows provided plenty of natural sunlight and a view of the streets. We were greeted very warmly by the manager upon entry. She was a kind senior lady that radiated friendliness. I really enjoyed her pleasant demeanor.<br/><br/>I ordered the Vietnamese Broken Rice, while my friend ordered the Crispy Seafood Egg Noodles.<br/><br/>For those that eat with your eyes, this place will definitely please you. My Broken Rice was, quite frankly, the prettiest layout of Broken Rice that I had ever seen. Everything was stacked neatly and had its own place. My friend's Crispy Seafood Egg Noodles was also a treat for the eyes. Seafood and vegetables stacked neatly on a bed of crispy egg noodles. The presentation of the food was fantastic.<br/><br/>I enjoyed my dish thoroughly. The pork floss, egg and pickled vegetables were all delicious. However, I was slightly peeved at how small the portion of pork was. I felt that is was scantily thin and just a poor portion size. It was undoubtedly tasty though. Just... lacking volume. If it was bigger, this restaurant would have scored a 5 from me.<br/><br/>My friend enjoyed his Crispy Seafood Egg Noodles. The sauce was delightful and the ingredients tasted fresh. Our little gripe was that the egg noodles were perhaps TOO crispy - normally once the sauce coats the noodles, the whole dish turns into a delightful softness. However, this time around the noodles were slightly too overcooked to properly absorb the sauce. Nevertheless, it was still a tasty dish.<br/><br/>While we were eating, I saw the manager once again greet two new patrons zestfully. She was familiar enough with them to offer them 'the regular'. They exchanged short and banter and I could see these were repeat customers because they felt valued at this restaurant. I was positively pleased at her friendly service and feel like she should be commended on her customer service.<br/><br/>After we finished, the manager cleared up our plates and continued her friendly mannerisms towards us. Upon paying the bill and exiting, she beamed and encouraged us to come again. I definitely felt valued as a customer in the restaurant and wish to praise the manager for her supreme friendliness.

Pho Tau Bay is one of several Vietnamese places in Preston and it certainly does not disappoint. The must haves include the pho, spring rolls and the betal leaf entree! And wash it all down with the amazing avocado smoothie!

A new vietnamese restaurant in high st Preston. Worst pho (beef and chicken combination) I have eaten in Melbourne, just couldn't finished it, pho Hung is much more better than it. Not recommend to any pho lover.

This place is lit! Great flavours, service and range of dishes. I’ve had a few of their dishes but my favourite so far has been the pork and prawn salad.

New pho joint along High Street in Preston. It took over from another Vietnamese restaurant a few months ago. The interior has been redone which gives it a much brighter and modern feel. <br/>Lovely service throughout but the pho broth was bland and the rice noodles were of an inferior quality. <br/>The prerequisite condiments were on the table including pickled onions and freshly cut chillies. <br/>Not sure if I will visit again given that there are better choices nearby......

Just had some great pho here! So many delicious options and sizes (M or L) which was great! Very cheap so you’re getting your money’s worth. I particularly liked the service in this place! So polite and friendly. Definitely going back again.

Delicious laska from Pho Tau Bay, new restaurant with a smart new look. <br/>Food was so fresh & tasty. Large meals for very decent price $12 for the laska.<br/>Staff were friendly offered me a tea while waiting for my takeaway. Clean & tidy restaurant.<br/>Cant wait to go back.

From steamed Wontons and Spring Rolls to mains dishes of chicken Laksa, stir fried sweet and sour BBQ pork and vegetables and stir fried beef and vegetables in a punchy spicy Sichuan sauce. Fast service, friendly staff and wholesome hearty food that didn't disappoint on this occasion. One to try!

Been twice now, sorry to say that I won't be back unless anything changes.<br/><br/>First visit - rare beef pho. Arrived in minutes. Distinct fridge and seafood smells once the dish arrived and a funky taste once eating... Question how things are being stored in their fridges/prep areas. Noodles were like eating sloppy egg whites - way overcooked and not enjoyable. Nothing salty/soy at the table to help fix the lack of flavour in the broth, just bbq, sriracha and chilli.<br/><br/>Second visit - pad thai. This time, it took 20 minutes. Again, noodles were way overcooked - super unenjoyable. Sadly, they were the highlight of the dish with good flavour in the sauce and a nice selection of veg. The dish was presented deconstructed which is a problem when you have way overcooked noodles, cos they form a clump and won't allow you to toss it all through well and everything remains disjointed. Chicken and tofu weren't barely warmed, prawns were watery and flavourless... crying out for some time in a hot fry pan for heat and colour. So found myself eat huge mouthfuls of clumpy noodles, then bites of tasteless protein... and then discovering the hard way that there was a massive whack of chilli salt somewhere in there. Just doesn't work. <br/><br/>Might try again in a few months, see if their execution improves, but not really impressed at the moment.

Had dinner tonight at this place, the waiter seated us down and waited for awhile until he realised he forgot to give us menu. It took 15 mins for a bowl of pho to come out. This glueless waiter gave our pho to another table. He took that bowl of pho from the other table back to the kitchen. Came out with a bowl of pho and gave it to us within seconds. Yes, we suspect that the bowl of pho is the same one that he gave to the other table. We did hear the lady of the other table stating that they didn't touch it but yet we can see all garish had already been mixed into the soup. Unfortunately we have no proof! Definitely will not come back again!

Best Vietnamese in town! Great service! Staff are prompt and friendly. Huge variety on the menu. Food is extremely fresh and flavourful. A new hot spot in Preston that you must try! Definitely recommend the shredded chicken pho and any of the fresh salads.