Tamarind Vietnamese Grill and Noodle House

A beautiful meal with colours, textures and flavours that surpassed any Vietnamese I've had - vegan or no!

The in house made tofu is fantastic and best pad thai I've ever had. Will definitely be trying more dishes next time I'm in Calgary. If you plan on dinning in make sure to make a reservation!

This place serves the best food in Calgary--not just vegetarian and vegan food, but food in general! I simply love it and would eat it 27/7 if I had a choice. The place itself is small and unassuming but in my humble opinion, everything is cooked to perfection by people who run it and their extended family. That probably adds to lovely flavours of all their food because I imagine they cook the same stuff for themselves on a daily basis. And there is so much to love and enjoy about home cooked meals that you yourself would like to prepare but are either unable or unprepared to do.
Highly recommended!

Absolutely delicious every single time, great friendly service, and easily my favourite spot in Calgary. The bean curd is bonkers! Hope these guys are around for a loooong time to come!

Curry soup is amazing comfort food!
Big portions.
Great family run restaurant!

Whether or not you are vegan, you should visit this little restaurant because the food is really delicious and the staff are lovely.
If you are vegan, beware of eating far too much, as there is a wide choice of delicious dishes and you will not know what to choose! I only wish we were here for longer, to work our way through the whole menu.
(We walked for miles across town to find this restaurant, to discover that it is actually right next to the Downtown West/ Kerby station on the free zone of the C Train).
Last orders are at 8, but they certainly don't hurry you out.

Wonderful people, beautiful delicious food, was told the menu is all vegan.


Updated from previous review on 2015-04-19

Enjoyed our visit here while travelling.

Service was genuinely kind. Nice seating and environment.

The pho was quite tasty and is the house special. Large menu to chose from.
I was directed here by a local who claims this is the best Vietnamese in town. Even my non veg friend thoroughly enjoyed it!

Tamarind is really vegan-heaven. The food is delicious and the owners are so lovely. The only problem is deciding what to have. Definitely recommend!

I tried Tamarind today and really enjoyed it. I decided to get the Pho Dac Biet, which was described as their House Noodle Soup. The broth was great and it was loaded with noodles and veggies. The portion size was very large. This dish contained mock ham and beef. I did not actually care for the flavor of these (and I typically like mock meats), so next time I would probably pick one without, perhaps the Pho Tao Hu Sate which is made with their spicy sauce, or the Laksa. The place was small and definitely not fancy, but the server was very friendly. I would like to go back the next time I am in Calgary; there are many things on the menu I would like to try.

What a wonderful restaurant in downtown Calgary. Very friendly staff. Amazing, high quality, yummy food. Spring rolls crispy and fresh. Curry soup was out of this world good. Sticky rice platter gad by my partner also outstanding. I really should come much more often!

I absolutely love coming to Tamarind for lunch! The food is always absolutely phenomenal and the mock meat is really well done. I really appreciate the entire menu being vegan, it just makes ordering so much easier. I always get the crispy wontons and the beef vermicelli. I do however find the service lacking the last few times I've visited and would rate significantly higher if it was not for the rude waiter I had this afternoon.
Updated from previous review on Wednesday February 24, 2016

I love Tamarind- the customer service is friendly and the food is always great (the paradise rolls are a must)- even approved by my non-vegan family! Great place to take non-vegans, and they even make their own tofu! However, the food is quite oily (as with most Vietnamese places) and the restaurant itself is quite small.

This is exactly what I've been hoping for. I love that they have a 100% vegan menu!
I've been twice for pho. Both times, my food was prompt, beautifully plated, and exceptionally tasty. The perfect treat on a cold day.
This will become a preferred choice for outings I think.

The food was amazing - you could tell that they paid attention to the little details and made sure that you weren't just getting a typical vegan vietnamese meal. It was probably one of the best vegan vietnamese restaurants I've been to! The service was also great and friendly. Highly recommend.

Go there just for the smoothies or the food food is great. I went twice while in Calgary - once with 2 friends. We all thought everything was excellent.
Updated from previous review on Saturday September 19, 2015
I forgot to include that they are entirely vegan.

I love this restaurant! I have never had a bad experience and the food is ALWAYS delicous. Family run and super friendly!

First time here yesterday, the food was nothing short of fantastic. The staff was knowledgable, and the food was still amazing. I ordered the curry noodles and the green papaya salad, which was way more than enough. The soup for the noodles was the best noodle broth I've ever had!

I will definitely be back soon!

perfect Thai vegan food. Was a joy to eat here. Diverse and complex menu. lovely family run business. Do not miss it when visiting Calgary.

It is my favourite! The curry noodle and Laksa still taste very good even after I asked them to rid of the pungent plants. However, I don't mind the ram rau leaves. I don't like the wontons. The skin is not fluffy crispy and the filling needs a bit more ...something...overall..everything is super yummy.

Love this place! Very good food with lots of flavour! The people who own it are really friendly and kind.

I always order the vermicelli bun - it is SO good. And the owner is so sweet.

Great hole in the wall vegan Vietnamese joint in Calgary. The broth in the tofu pho was outstanding. I'll definitely be back!

Always delicious, fresh, friendly, reasonably priced.
Updated from previous review on Friday April 03, 2015

Great food. All vegan food. Pad thai is quite good

This place is amazing! Their restaurant is easily the best in the city for Vietnamese food. No matter what you do, you've got to try this place. Located at 106-1111 6th Ave SW Calgary AB T2P5K1 in a ground-floor suite. The cozy atmosphere is nice to go on a date or for lunch or dinner with friends. The owners really care about the food they make and the satisfaction of their customers. You will be disappointed. Their Pad Thai and stir fry's are unbelievably good.

Tamarind is a mostly-Vietnamese, vegan restaurant in downtown Calgary. Some dishes have faux meat and seafood.

I went there with some friends on a Saturday, and we ordered some spring rolls, a large soup, the Pad Thai, and a vermicelli noodle bowl.

The server was attentive, but the food was very slow to come out - at least 30 minutes for the last entree to arrive. He apologized and kept refilling our tea, so we were happy.

I liked the fresh spring rolls, and loved the noodle bowl. The star ingredient was the flavourful marinated grilled tofu, but also good were the fried spring rolls and glutens (seitan).

The soup was, to be honest, bland. The "fish cake" and "prawns" were very convincing (probably made with seaweed), but the vegetables didn't pick up any of the flavour from the light broth.

I've been told the service is usually much quicker, so I'll be going back to Tamarind for some vermicelli noodles.

Finally calgary has vegetarian options for vietnamese...and now a ALL VEGETARIAN place since October 2014.

The pho I had, Bun Hue, was super flavorful. Large bowl of soup that was just kick ass. SMall place but food quality was outstanding. Phung, the owner, was very kind and provided great smiling service!

The new all veg menu is amazing. Almost everything is vegan and any vegetarian item can be made vegan. Exquisite flavours and fresh ingredients. The owners are so kind and friendly. It's a small and cozy place which offers fine in or take out. My favorited the Tamarind House Special Noodle Soup, wonderful flavour packed broth and tons of veggies and faux "meats"

Tamarind offers the best vegan cuisine I've ever tried. Had the vermicelli dish with spring rolls and "beef" strips, and it was absolutely delicious: top notch spices and flavours! The atmosphere is also lovely and the staff are very friendly. Had a great conversation with the owner, who is passionate about offering vegan and vegetarian fare—truly a case of following one's heart in business. :) Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys Vietnamese cuisine!

One thing I missed most from Vancouver was the good vegan pho. Now I can go to Tamarind! Most of the menu is vegan, and they can make anything on the menu vegan if you ask. My favourite thing was the regular tofu pho. The crispy noodles were also good. The owners are really friendly.

First Vietnamese place that is truly vegan and veg friendly that I have been to in the city. They had just switched the menu over to completely veg and it was unreal, even the mock meats are great. Authentic family run Vietnamese restaurant that is fully veg..... Highly recommended!

I am happy to say I added this restaurant to Happy Cow! I love Vietnamese food and have been to this restaurant three times now. The restaurant is quite small and the chairs are not very comfortable but do not feel dismay the food makes up for it. On my first visit I had the Vegan Satay Pho which was so flavourful and the tofu is the best I have ever had. The last two times I had the vegan sub and it is hands down the best sub I have ever had which includes the ones I had even when I ate meat. The vegetables are so fresh, the tofu is cooked to perfection, the bread is amazing, and the sauce in it is amazing I.
Today I met the owner of the restaurant who is very friendly. She sat down and talked to me about how she is Buddhist which means she is vegan. She is finding it hard to reach out to vegetarian/vegans so I hope that many of you see this restaurant and try it out because it really is great!
She told me that anything on the menu can be made vegan so definitely ask!