Reviews of Yum Son (Restaurant)

Ivan DeLisle

Amazing cocktails and probably the best Caesar in town.

Zoe M

Unfortunately, we were disappointed with the customer service. We were first in line with a couple behind us. Two tables left and were being cleaned when we were asked which one we wanted. We advised which one we wanted, the one with the nicer view off of the road, however when our waitress came back with menus she said the other one we wanted was spoken for. I asked if it was for the couple who arrived after us and she said "yes". That was it, no apology just that was the way it was going to be. In my experience the party to arrive first should get to choose their seat. There are so many other really friendly places to eat in Nelson that after this experience I. Not sure I would be so quick to go back. The funny thing, however, is we decided to go elsewhere for drinks after and unknowingly ended up at their sister restaurant. It came out about our experience and they offered us drinks on the house to try to make up for our poor experience.

Golden Reviews

Wow, what a great place to eat! The restaurant is compact, modern and busy and the food is top notch and generous. There's also a surprisingly large bar that serves cocktails, including a daily feature. The menu is pretty varied Vietnamese food, with some modern / Canadian twists. There's a decent number of veggie / vegan options and the staff are knowledgeable should you have any questions. Highly recommended.

Abby Verigin

The plant-based pho is to DIE FOR. Thankful for this place to offer such amazing, healthy food.

Scott Fletcher

Excellent little find for those looking for something a little different from the 'usual' Nelson restaurant fare. Menu includes authentic and modern takes on Vietnamese cuisine with completely vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options. Full bar offers every kind of drink you can think up.

Jonathan Hyatt

We have been here multiple times when visiting Nelson and the food has always been amazing and service excellent. The fare is different then many of the standard Vietnamese restaurants I have been to with an exceptional level of freshness. They also have a really good selection of fancy non alcoholic drinks.

Richard Lyall

Patio seating was wonderful the evening we went. Service was great and the food was EXCELLENT! Highly recommend the Calimari and the Chocolate Cardamom Toffee Creme Brulee????????

Chelsea Evans

Whenever I come to Nelson I have to go to Yum Son, my favourite restaurant in BC so far!! We got the noodle bowls and chicken wings which were super yum and the lychee drink was delicious. Leah and the team were awesome too, highly recommend!

James Baxter

Menu remains excellent, sat outside in March. Was lovely. Try the mug of bone broth ;)

Jody Waskahat

I'm only giving three because the nice waitress mistook my niece who got her father's hair genes for a boy; and kept calling her a "little dude ". But the food was pretty good. I also took a star off for not having iced tea. Had other funky drinks, every sort of booze you could want, but no coke.

Guy Rose

Best place to eat in Nelson. Best Cesar, best wings, best soup. Great value for quality.

Georgia Hardingham (GG)

Delicious food and great service. Loved it ????

Dan P

Their bone broth Cesar was bloody delicious! Location is just slightly off the beaten path so it's a little more quiet if u are on the patio. Service was great and friendly.

alek k

Just what nelson needed. Seriously, this place has amazing vietnamese fusion style grub, with a tiny bar that is always staffed by the friendliest of bar tenders. Don't let the size of the place fool you, it's amazing. Not the cheapest place for a night out, but the amazing drink menu and sheer quality of the food and service make it a place that you'll fall in love with. My wife and I did.

Kate Burnham

Great pho, great cocktails, great service :)

Rhys Gerow

The best food and service you will find in Nelson BC. The vegan chocolate tart was a revaltion. Amazing cocktails. This is where all your dreams come true. Leah, Jess, Denisse and Prem are the bomb. So glad to have this in my hood.

Andrew Hendrickson

Great vibe, good music. Pork shoulder buns were stellar. Ordered the Pho Shizzle and made it spicy, which it was! Caesar was not the best deal, even on Sunday special.

Chris Arlidge

I was somewhat dissapoijted with the Pho,it lacked flavour bit was redeemed somewhat by the rare beef and we'll seasoned meatballs. My why enjoyed her noodle bowl. Service was slow and somewhat disorganized, yet they were friendly. It took us about 10 minutes just to get our first waters after being seated.

Luke Partridge

OMG if you've not eaten here you NEED to!!! (At least if you want high quality Asian food!) Amazing flavors and great service. The cocktails are also well worth it! This is our new favorite restaurant.

Max Grinko

Terrible. Waited an hour and ten minutes in the cold on the patio with space heaters that didn't work, servers that ignored us, and served us cold food at the end of it. Hard to believe, but Wok Box is actually better than here. Sad....so sad

Lauren Scott

10/10 AMAZING food, service and atmosphere! This food is insanely good! Such a great experience. Can’t wait to come back!

Jakob Isaak

Cocktails were super delicious, have as many as you can handle (the mai tai was fantastic). Appy selection is huge and my favorite one was the duck pate with homemade pickled pickles. The bao buns (pork belly) were unreal and we also tried the imperial spring rolls. The viet yellow curry bowl was interesting and super yummy. Jani our server was super personable and extremely friendly! She made our night unforgettable. Thanks for a great night out!

Angela Isaac

The appetizer buns were delicious and I enjoyed the imperial roll. I dont like Viet food because you're supposed to flavour it yourself with sauce on table. The pho was good but yum sum bowl left a lot to be desired. I was grateful to be squeezed into the restaurant on a fundraiser night and glad they are giving back to community. Really bummed that I ordered a drink special first and the table next to me got their same drinks much faster. Similar situation with Appy :(

Therese Mah

Love this place. Food is always delicious with delightful fusion surprises. Great selection for vegetarians, pescatarians. They host the occasional seafood night, fun but make sure to reserve! Excellent service, ambiance.

Alexis Okabe

Just fantastic! I have to wax poetic about their mushroom bao. It comes with two and they were totally delicious- savory, piping hot and the buns were perfect. My boyfriend remarked that he wished we hadn't already picked our enteees so he could get them again! I ordered the tofu banh mi and it was perfect. Highly recommend coming by!

Christine Pearson

Great service, fresh & tasty food! I had the crisy s&p chicken wings (amazing) mug of bone broth & a side of pickles. My friends had the burger from the burger week challenge & said it was incredibly delicious!

Eric Harris

Cool atmosphere with a ton of cool drinks to select from and a bunch of viet/asian food choices. Great servers and much chiller vibe being just off the main drag. Very similar to the it's taco sister restaurant. Price is my main beef here and it doesn't justify the taste of food. Expect over $60 for lunch with two pho's, spring rolls, two non-alcoholic drinks and tips. A bit much in my mind for good, not great food. Maybe more of a dinner place or skips the $16 pho. Not bad, not great. Doubt I'll be back.

Christopher Anderson

The joint gets better and better each time we visit; sometimes even over the course of the same day!

Kali Seisler

The veggie pho and lemon grass tofu on their noodle salad are delicious! My friends also enjoyed their meat pho. Really good, yet different, cocktails. I"ll be back again and again.

Alex Wallis

Excellent unique cocktails and some tasty non-alcoholic concoctions as well. The portion of wings could be larger for the price, but generally everything is reasonable, and delicious! Best french onion soup in town.

Big Dingo

Fresh, clean flavors with great ingredients. One of the strongest, most unique cocktail programs around.

Kirsten F

I am a super severe Celiac (can't even have gluten-derived distilled products, like white vinegar) and Yum Son fed me beautifully, numerous times. What a gift!! There are so few places I can eat out due to the to-the-trace level of gluten Celiac reaction and Yum Son does it perfectly. Thank you, thank you!! :-)

Bradly Nault

I ordered the Sesame salt & pepper wings and the Pho Shizzle. Omg, the wings were so crispy and tasty (one of the best I've had). The Pho was absolutely delicious - real bone broth, and the pork and duck meatballs were amazing!! Two thumbs up ????????. This place rocks!

Jihye Bajkor

Nice space with friendly staff but food was not impressive. If you are familiar with Vietnamese cuisine and been to many Vietnamese restaurants, you will be disappointed. Foods are presented in similar way but flavour is not there. Curry was not too bad but peaceful noodle bowl was awful. Also everything seems over priced in my opinion especially spring roll and the salad roll. They were $14 and $15 for 2 rolls each.

Jason C

Had a great dinner. I got the pork steamed buns (but with lettuce) for my appetizer and it had a lot of flavour. The yum son noodle bowl for main, which was pretty good. The carolina dessert. Mocha for a drink which was great. Overall everything was really good and the server was switched on and friendly.

RHD YYC

I had the phö shizzle, it's not the traditional soup I'm used to. Catering to everyone and using poetic license brings it far from where it started. I guess I should have asked for tripe, but I didn't find any on the menu, it's my favorite. The next best thing is rare beef and meatball, duck balls was a new and exciting prospect. The meatballs weren't the dense bouncy ones you usually find in phö, they were more like Italian meatballs, regardless they tasted like duck and pork. Broth was ok but it lacked that distinctive punch in salty, sweet, spice that leaves you craving more.

Steve Morrison

By far my favorite eatery in Nelson! ???? The slimmed down menu has all of their greatest hits, pho shur ???? Yum Son, where nutritious meets delicious ????

Kristen Brennan

My favourite place to eat in Nelson. Chef Amanda puts so much thought into the amazing flavours that come out of that kitchen. I love that there are really healthy vegetarian and gluten free options for me!!!

Bradley Hawkins

The pho broth was bland and very basic, I would not order again. Spring rolls were good. Atmosphere and service was great. A little pricey but I would be willing to try other dishes.

Amanda Swant

Went with a party of 8 on a Saturday night. Service was great. Ordered the pork bao, chicken pho, fresh shrimp rolls, Vietnamese ice coffee. Pork Bao was delicious. Chicken pho was also good - the quality of meat was above “typical” Vietnamese cuisine and the broth was delicious. Didn’t care for be fresh shrimp rolls as I did not like the peanut sauce, it was just really different than usual peanut sauce I’ve always had. Coffee was great.

Mark Zealand

Like it fresh? Next level food right here. Cocktails are also amazing. Here is a Tai Caesar with a spring roll garnish!

M W

A major dining highlight of five day road trip through BC. Highly recommended by our Airbnb host, stopping into Yum Son was the perfect anecdote to our generally road wary stomachs. It’s warm and cosy atmosphere is made even more cordial by its friendly staff who were attentive and interested in chatting about the menu in detail and the local area - which gave us a lot of insider tips to see and do in the Nelson area. A lot of thought and care goes into the food and drinks. Our meal started with heart warming bone broth and steamed buns with mixed sauteed mushrooms - an incredibly tasty start that left us feeling already satisfied! Mains were a plant based Pho, made with an out-of-this-world shiitake & daikon broth, and their signature Yum Son rice noodle bowl filled with crisp veggies, grilled chicken thigh, honey glazed pork and a delightful nuoc cham sauce. I could go on, but really the only thing left to say is - wow and do not miss.

Matt Hon

Their broth is just a little different from traditional pho, much more fragrant and a hint of spice. love the drinks there's must try the mezcal cocktail!

Natalie Gauthier

Super tasty but found the drinks a little pricey. Very fun place to eat!

Tim Austin

Cool atmosphere, a local scene for sure. Great creative little plates of food. Lovely well done cocktails priced modernly.

Kirk Chantraine

Very tasty vegetarian pho and delicious cocktails. Staff are friendly and attentive, the space is modern and airy and everything flowed very smoothly. Would eagerly return!

Celeste Bourgeois

When arriving I find the menu intimidating as a picky person, the usual soft drinks are very different than most joints to enjoy food. The ambience really picks up at the evening when more folks come in with the added adorable candle, to really kick in the sunset feel. Suggested to bring more friends so you have a chance to observe the other dishes, so for next time you have a keen sense of what you want next time. Suggested first time dish, the Chicken Pho, basic warm filling meal. Perfect place to mainly talk, the main wifi for guests is spotty which kind of discourages you away from your phone. But its surely a lot of laughs and joy you can exchange with each other. However if you prefer to enjoy food alone, still an amazing joint!

Megan Adams

Yum Son is my go-to date night spot and my favourite place to bring family and friends who are visiting from out of town. The steam buns are delicious (and so is all of the other food I have tried!), the drinks are amazing and inventive, and the staff are always super friendly. Make sure you save room and treat yourself to one of their delicious ice cream sundaes. You won't regret it!

Kate Filion

Fabulous drinks & food! Delightful service from Stella & Leah. Highly recommend for delicious food & a very welcoming atmosphere. Thank you for having us ????

Jenn T

Menu looked great so I was looking forward to it. Ordered imperial spring rolls, curry bowl and pho sizzle. Imperial spring rolls: at $14 for app (or $6 if you add on. We should have specified the springs rolls as add on with our meal,and saved $2) as these were just ok. The “shell” on them was slightly undercook. The filling was good. Sauce was lacking and the garnish of lettuce (traditional way of eating Vietnamese spring rolls) was nice but the bunch of wilty cilantro with full stems was unappealing. Curry Bowl (with 5 shrimps) $22: shrimps were nice size and filling. The curry itself was on the sweet side. Half a bok choy, a few slivers of red bell peppers and onions, and garnish of again the wilty stemy cilantro garnish in the rice bowl. Rice was slightly undercooked but palatable, not enough though. - not worth the $22. The Pho sizzle I did not have as my friend ordered it. I did have a taste of the duck and pork meatballs which were tender and I quite liked it. Can’t speak for the broth. My ginger lime soda was watered down quickly by the abundance of ice, so I can’t speak for the taste. Plus two beer later, bill came up to over $90 with tip. Coming from a Vietnamese/Canadian cultural and well travelled foodie background, this place was lacking in execution of its dishes with the wimpy garnish and uncooked rice, I can see they tried but just fell a little short. I don’t mind the price, but if you’re charging a certain price range, I just feel the execution should match. 2 star for the service.

Tanisha Davis

I went on the sweetest date today at Yum Son. Not only were the food and drinks delicious, but all the staff were SO friendly to me and my boyfriend and made us feel so welcome. You could also tell they treated each other very well by how they communicated with each other and worked as a team! Can’t wait to go back and try more of the food. Also beautiful decor! Thank you YumSon!

Dave

Very good food. Reservation recommended. I'd recommend trying nearly everything on the menu over time. Definitely worth checking out!

Lysh Labrum

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. Best wings we’ve had anywhere (we ordered more for “dessert”) and the pho and bowls were delicious too. One in our group wasn’t feeling well and the bartender was so sweet and brought him some soda and bitters to settle his stomach. Our waitress checked back to see if there was anything else she could do. So thoughtful—we’re glad we found this place!

Cora

Super great food! & good prices! Loved everything we had!

Etoile McPherson

Delicious vegan options, other dishes sounded great too! Cocktails are unique, super delicious. Good portion sizes.

Howard OnaBeach

Absolutely Delicious. I try to come when in town. Best server in Nelson.. (Natalie)

Paul Heron

Enjoyed the flavours in my soup. Different from authentic pho flavours but i believe that is the intent of the fusion. Nice, modern, ambiance. Good service. Would return.

Jennifer Burton

Excellent food and menu. The service is fantastic, and the food tastes incredible. Great for families with small kids.

Michael Dowie

Best spring rolls I've ever had!!!

Nicholas Clarabut

Great food, great service, great environment. I'm sorry, but to the guy working the bar today, I have forgotten your name. Your killing it man... We wish you would have told us about the ceasars before we ordered other delicious drinks. I guess we'll have to come back. Haha.

Bobbi Vecchio

A lovely, busy little place with a reasonably varied menu and options for people with food allergies, as they use rice noodles here. This restaurant also makes the absolute best spring rolls I have ever eaten.

Holly Ramsden

My husband and I enjoyed every moment! Got here just before they opened, good thing we did, because as we got our food the place was packed!! Amazing food, fresh vibrant flavours, fast friendly service for us early birds as well! Thank you so much for the experience!

Bryan Keep

Food is always delicious, best spring rolls in the Kootenays! Drinks hit the spot on a hot day!

Kay C

Stopped by here to sit on the patio. The patio was a little cool but they had blankets which was a nice added touch. Food was great and service was good! The architecture and design of the restaurant was unique and high quality.

vicki Lee

Food here is amazing!!! I highly recommend! The service is great and the atmosphere is lovely. We always go here for our lady dates and never feel rushed!! recommend that everyone go here.

Stephanie Pedneault

I had to leave a review because I’ve had a lot of caesars in my life and the one here just took the spot of the best I’ve ever had! The food is so delicious and the service was great. Definitely encourage anyone to check this place out when in Nelson!

Sara-Anne Belanger

I love the regular menu but tonight's feature completely blew me away. The roasted chicken with noodle & vegetable stir fry might be the best thing I’ve eaten here to date. It was incredible! Please consider adding this to the menu! ????????????????

Brian Eastcott

Outstanding food, great service, pleasant environment, will be back in September

aaron kapty

Amazing place!! Absolutely delicious food!!

Allison Fletcher

Love this place. Amazing service! I've gone here about three times in the past couple weeks lol. Great atmosphere and cute patio. Drinks are a little pricey but beer and entrees are affordable.

Casandra Knooihuizen

Very cool space and great atmosphere. Food was good but was looking for a little more flavour. Lovely staff too.

Kassandra Schwabenbauer

Our male server (we didn’t catch his name) was top notch. From incredible food recommendations, to even better care! We had such a wonderful experience. He even ran the pho I forgot on the table out to us as we were leaving!

Liam Tynan

Really great!! Food was so yummy. Good vegan options Bao buns in particular were so good. Staff very nice. Nice vibe and layout to restaurant also

Geoff Acres

Best cocktails in town and food to match. Talented bartenders and a great waitstaff too. A modern twist on vietnamese. Yum Som never disappoints!

Karen Doepel

Amazing drinks! Food is great too.

Jordain Brulotte

Seriously fantastic upscale pho and other meals.

kerri hope

have always ordered to go...food is absolutely delicious, unique distinctive flavors! staff is always smiling and super courteous. it is not always easy to come by these days for whatever reason. highly recommend :)

Beau B

I had yellow curry tofu and my girlfriend had pho. Food was hot and savoury. Service was really good despite being pretty busy. Price of food was reasonable.

carol Pascall

While visiting Nelson this restaurant came highly recommended .Wow no disappointment the server My daughter her a great conversation about her tattoo art she took awesome care of us. I was quiet the food had me the coconut curry . Fresh, delicious the calamari the best take on calamari to date it was worth the 8 hr drive. I will do it again all the food on our table was delicious and eye catching. Thank you for the best Birthday lunch. If you are ever in Nelson visit it’s a must .

Cory Gray

If you're a vegan/vegetarian in town, go here. The food was amazing and the service was impeccable. Thanks to Meg & Lia, we will be back!

Foodie Liang

We sat outside and so many bugs even it is October already. The noodle soup so so and small portion for sure. I go there because the rating is high. The price is high for the quality of the food.

Chris Leeson

I love the food and the cozy tables, but I found the music a little too loud and 'dancy' for a chill social vibe. Maybe halve the volume and play more eastern inspired 'yoga cafe' style music?

Travis Giesler

One of the best restaurants in town for sure. The staff are always polite and welcoming, and the food is to die for. Never any bad words from me about Yum Son!

Britty

Delicious food! Spectacular broth flavors!

Justine

Do not go here if you’re a backpacker or traveller unless you want to be ignored. We got our food 45 minutes after ordering, and only because we asked how much longer it would take. On top of that, all other customers in the restaurant had all gotten their orders. when it finally arrived, it wasn’t hot nor filling. Next time we’re in Nelson, we definitely know where we won’t go.

Leah Garrigus

The food was SO GOOD! This definitely a memorable spot. Great food and amazing drinking. I highly recommend the calamari and the cauliflower wings. They are worth coming back for ????

Geko Pablo

Food was ok but have had much better elsewhere. We felt the $$ for two imperial rolls was rather pricey as there was more lettuce than anything else. My chicken noodle bowl had fresh ingredients but the cilantro was yellow and rusty for my partners bowl of Pho. He also said the broth was warm rather than hot.

Alex Nelson

What a great restaurant. Fresh food, great service, nice atmosphere, and good portions. It’s not often you get to leave dinner full and feeling good. I cannot understand why anybody would rate this place less than 5 stars. The prices are appropriate for the quality. Great imported beer menu and fun cocktails. The foodie in you wants to eat here everyday. Bone broth made in house. Just eat here!

wilsonamyc

Delicious Vietnamese food. Fresh and filling with lots of veggies and options. The pho broth is very authentic. I like that they have a veggie version too. Nice atmosphere inside. They also have great cocktails. A little bit in the expensive side, but worth it for the quality. One of my favorite places in Nelson.

Trevor X

4.5 Highly recommended the calamari and pork buns. Pho is good as well. Curry is pretty standard. Friendly staff and charming location.

Cedar Trees

Delicious food, but really really slow. Takes so long to get the food & service is slow. For both dine-in & take out. It’s been like that for years. The staff always have a lot of excuses why things take sooooo long, but things never seem to improve. I only go there if I have double the allotted time for most restaurants.

Patrick H

Amazing Vietnamese fusion. Appreciate the fresh salad rolls and the pork belly bao especially. Lemongrass chicken wasn't bad but the slaw it was part of was so healthy and full. Ate until we felt like we were going to burst. Can't wait to come back for dining in at the resto itself.

Asha DeLisle

We started off with the deconstructed bao, which was delicious and fluffy. After that however, I had the special, which was a clam pho. The broth was under seasoned and the clams were gritty. The alcoholic drinks were also pretty awful. The waitress wasn't the most pleasant, however she was nice enough to remove the pho from the bill. Everyone else I was with thought the food was decent, but not great.

Daddy Gunputrao

OMG SO GOOD! Imaginative cocktails to die for. Awesome Pho and yellow curry. Friendly helpful staff. AND the Gelato store is just next door for afters..... :)

B&C Oliver

Went there during a boil water advisory. Offered us filtered water or if we wanted boiled we could have that. I assumed the filtered would be safe do I accepted the filtered water. Came down with Giardia which is incredibly unpleasant. …

Betty White

I don't think I'll be going to Yum Sum anymore. It used to be so much better tasting and better size portions. Last night I ordered the beef pho and it was so mini and I only received two pieces of meat. There was no bean sprouts and they forgot my chili oil. Never again. :(

Gary Lambert

Fabulously tasty food. Almost entirely gluten free menu! The food combines a cornucopia of amazing flavours. Service was friendly and exceptionally helpful. Well worth a visit.

S Mckay

Delicious food and cocktails! It's so hard to decide what to eat here as everything is super delicious! Thanks for being so welcoming Paulie, you rock!!!

Paul Bollinger

Great Asian fusion food. Large portions. Very welcoming staff. Check it out.

Bobby Pruitt

So hipster it's not even funny. But for a tiny restaurant, they were able to get us in on a Friday night with no reservations, which we appreciated. The food was excellent, not not necessarily what you'd think of as traditional, it was certainly traditionally flavored with a modern 'foodie' flair. I'd go again if I were in Nelson.