If you follow food culture online, you know that a Keith Lee visit can change a restaurant’s trajectory overnight. The wildly popular food reviewer — who famously broke the Toronto internet during his 2024 tour of the city’s restaurants — returned to Toronto in March 2026, and his first stop was a statement in itself: Pho Ngoc Yen in the Entertainment District.
The verdict? Effusive. “I’ve always said that Toronto has some of the best restaurants and some of the nicest people and the greatest atmospheres, and this is exactly that,” Lee said before trying a heaping bowl of beef short rib pho. His final rating: 9.4 out of 10, with one extraordinary claim attached — “This might be the best pho I’ve ever had in my life.”
For a restaurant that has been quietly doing exceptional work in the city, Lee’s endorsement is enormous. And it builds on existing momentum: in fall 2025, singer Kehlani made her own visit to Pho Ngoc Yen’s downtown location and called it the “best Vietnamese” food she had “ever had.” When two major celebrities independently arrive at the same restaurant and leave with the same superlative on their lips, the message is clear.
For Torontonians who haven’t yet experienced Pho Ngoc Yen, this is the moment to go. The restaurant is located at 350 Adelaide St. — central, accessible and ready to deliver on the hype that surrounds it right now.
Toronto’s food scene has earned its global reputation, and Pho Ngoc Yen is one of the clearest examples of why. Visit, try the beef short rib pho, and form your own verdict.