Reviews Pure Contemporary Kitchen And Bar

The food is amazingly delicious here . It's always such a treat to come downtown for a bite here .

Thankyou so much Lam for the amazing dinner you presented us last night! You continue to amaze us with your skill. Every dish you brought to the table was appreciated by the four of us. The cod was a favourite. The coffee infused dessert and coconut ice cream donuts were a grand finale!

Just have been there once yesterday but like the restaurant a lot! Highly recommend it to those who wanna try half Canadian and half Vietnamese food styles

Big step up from the hundreds of YYC Vietnamese. Lam is one of Calgary's top chefs in any cuisine.

The atmosphere, and food was amazing Loved the twist on all dishes ! Definitely a place to go back to!

It was a wonderful experience to try luxurious & authentic taste & enjoy plesent atmosphere. We just little bother by the small dinner plates, otherwise rest of as awesome as it !

An easy rating, because we've thoroughly enjoyed all 9 dishes ordered (4.75+ stars).

As I consider the stuffing of any Asian restaurant to be their noodle soups, and especially of Vietnamese or Chinese origins, I just had to try the pho. And as the chef emulates Vietnamese street food (as does the excellent Troi Oi in Iloilo, Philippines), no wonder it's so good!

First time.
Pure's sate pho: so worth it with great thin noodles, super broth is great untouched, but that which can be spiked from a small shallow dish of tangy and hot sauces, plenty of tender beef slices and tasty pork sausage chunks, all in a very large bowl 3/5 full, and flavours that zinged me into draining every last drop. The best outside of Asia so far...
Our accompanying claypot chicken was excellent: a complex blend of spices with tender pieces of marinated chicken in an oil-based sauce that was excellent.
And the bowls of fluffy jasmine rice so well complemented the flavours.
Even the plain water tasted good: perhaps we were primed, or the flavour is from a special filter system.

Our second visit.
The tender wok shaken beef sat on top of a raw watercress salad and a juicy sauce to live for. 
And the also tender hoisin-rub ribs were smothered in their own juices near a small stack of shredded papaya with a special tangy sauce. 
With the meal came 4 steamed asian rolls that were gently flavoured with a hint of sweetness that also were great with the sauces.

Subsequent visits...
Over time we had a few 'crispy dish' appetizers also - pork/lamb spring rolls with a special house sauce that was presented so well, small delicate vietnamese-style tacos with a delicious sauce mingled in, shrimp tempura much different from Japanese variations without the thick oily feel.
On our anniversary, we ordered another spicy sated pho, and to change things up, chef Olam Pham's seafood fried rice and masterstock chicken.
Sliced cross-hatch much like Peking duck, the chicken was tender and tasty in its own delightful sauce with succulent tasty mushrooms. Yummy.
With crunchy caviar adorning the seafood rice, what flavours! The long-grain white rice was suitably oily and fresh feeling, much better than found in most Chinese restos.
Stumbled in on Olam's eat-all-you-can wing night to a packed house at 9pm: donated to a couple of famished bellies some nicely-spiced wings that just so right on! Pleasantly waded through another order of seafood fried rice, claypot chicken, and gailan veggies ... all so yummy. Oh yes, on wing night, packed until 10pm, but open until midnight!
And on a birthday occasion Olam kicked in a free desert!
Oh yes, the takeout pho proves to be almost as good...!

Ah, but the flavours and presentation of these dishes are just wonderful!
All truly eaten to the last wee scoop.

Our servers were super helpful, esp. Claire and Romar, who work very much with the kitchen to make us sit up and yelp! As well, on three occasions Olam came out to personally serve some tables, and graciously helped us enjoy. As is usual, we had asked for the full-flavoured meal lest they back off for yet another caucasian desire for less.

The quality cloth napkins with fine chopsticks and utensils suitably added to the whole affair. 
The interior decor is okay although somewhat dark gray and austere; not sure why, but some bright colors with darker wall motifs would be much more appealing. Consider the decor in Khao San on 17th and one can get what I'm driving at...
The music is mixed between Vietnamese, pop songs and hip-hop.
But the true attraction at Pure is plainly the food!

Too bad the parking is terrible, but it seems clear that the lunch trade during the week would turn a healthy profit during these stretched times, at the same time as attract a different market than on 17th Avenue. But this factor didn't seem to hurt the mostly full seats in the main dining room and outside. That people will stretch their legs some to get here says a lot...
But if you come after 6pm on weekdays or possibly all day on the weekend, often one can find parking spots right in front of the resto.

We have gone back many times, and have concluded that the creative energy that Olam exudes carries over into his work and with his upbeat staff: one of our favorite restaurants in the city now, it's easily the best Vietnamese - indeed ethnic - food in the city. You should be very pleased (aside from business hour parking, not sure how anyone can diss this place!).

Get over there, okay? See if it hits you the same way...

It's a Vietnamese fusion restaurant, so is the pho. Soup is richer sweeter and darker in color, I liked it. My family also tried other dishes, nothing has failed our expectation yet :) When I am in a mood for pho, this place is always one of my a few choices. Pho's price is comparatively high but it comes with a lot of beef. Their flank is a bit fatty, which I really like that. But if you don't like to eat fat at all, then it's another story maybe.

I loved how they put an amazing twist on traditional Vietnamese cuisine with their original menu. The service was friendly, the food was great and the restive was clean. Would definitely recommend trying them out!

Very nice decor with an upscale feel. Plates are reasonably priced. The menu is a bit confusing and the server wasn't very helpful. I feel like the staff should explain the concept before you order. Food was pretty good, it was nice to be able to order off the lunch menu during dinner service.

I ordered Sate pho on Christmas Eve for takeout and it was so so good. Spicy and tender beef and fresh basil. The price was great at $11.75 and the portion lasted me at least for 2 meals. I live in walking distance and will definitely be back! It looks cozy and very clean on inside I just felt like eating at home.

This is my favorite restaurants in Calgary right now and I don't think it gets the recognition it should. It is fairly new, having opened in March this year. A friend and I decided to use a Groupon they were offering and went for lunch. He got the Pot au Pho and I got the Pot au Pho sate, each for $14. I know, I know that $14 is a lot for Pho, however, this was probably the best sate Pho I've had....ever. There were lots of meat and the broth was very tasty. I loved it so much I went back for dinner the next evening with my husband. This time we got the banh xeo tacos, which you must try if you're here. I got the coconut pork belly and R got steak. Both dishes were delicious and flavourful and we couldn't stop raving about it. So much so we've got plans to to go back again. Give this place a try! The Vietnamese/western fusion is great.

Truly a great restaurant. The food is more French-Vietnamese. The mango papaya salad should not be missed to start along with duck spring rolls. All the mains are unique and yummy but the cod is a favorite. Best new restaurant in Calgary.

Pretty good food!  Had the shaken beef, it was good!  but at 18 bucks its kind of steep.  Same with the pork salad rolls.  pretty much 8.50 for 2 salad rolls with some pork in it.  Kimchi fried rice is a hit too.  I'd come back.  It was pretty dead though, so hopefully they make it through this recession.

Ordered the Char Siu Sesame Donut to start and had the Braised Pork Cheek Baos for the main. Incredible! Lots of flavor and served rather quickly. I could've eaten two baos, it was so delicious. The apple salad was equally as tasty. Will definitely be going back to try everything else. Highly recommend!

The food here is so good that I'm surprised it's not busier, although my visits have only been at dinner time during the weekend, and we know how it is in downtown during those times... anyways, I love Vietnamese food, and I especially enjoy fusion/contemporary style when it's done right and not over the top.  That perfectly describes Pure.  The food has familiar flavors and ingredients yet there's also nice surprises here and there and it works so well.  I have tried about ten items off their menu and enjoyed everything.  I just want to come back for more and more.  Oh and another nice thing is the prices are so reasonable for the quality of food! If you haven't been here, you're missing out big time!!

Great little spot! Atmosphere is a little odd (neon underlights etc) but the food was impressive! This is Asian fusion done RIGHT. Went as a group and tried at least 1/3 of the menu items and shared. Every dish was consistently very good. Will definitely be back.

I've always been chef lams fan! His food is consistently good and he always comes up with new ideas. I love the modern twist to Vietnamese food. I had the stuffed chicken wings and pan seared scallops for apetizer. The stuffed chicken wing was unique and tasty. The scallops were perfectly cooked. For my main I had the crispy pork belly. I absolutely loved the contrast in flavours. Everything went so well together. I'm definitely coming back.

Chef Lam Pham left Watercress (which is still open and still delicious, incidentally) to spread his wings with something a bit more formal and a bit more adventurous and has given us Pure Vietnamese Kitchen in what was most recently Gohan Sushi at 815 8th Ave SW, across from Nexen and Century Gardens Park. Don't be put off by the bland exterior; the interior is classy and comfortable, with good music at a tolerable level, nice seating, and most importantly, absolutely delicious food at incredibly good prices given the quality (and this factor he did carry over from Watercress).

I want to recommend two things, but note that I still have a lot of the menu to sample: The char siu sesame "donut" and the lobster and shrimp fried rice. The former is a fried sweet-ish sesame donut like you'll sometimes see on dim sum carts, but it's split and stuffed with char siu barbecued pork and spicy mayo- it is DELICIOUS, addictive and a rich treat that's a good deal at $5. The fried rice is as perfect as it ever was when Lam was at Watercress and is full of shrimp, lobster claw and dried scallop, topped with salty fish roe so you get "seafood" on many levels and the whole experience is decadent and again completely delicious.

PCVKB is currently open 7 days and I hope it remains so- the west end of Stephen Ave (west of 5 St) is dead as a doornail on weekends but somebody has to take the risk to change that and I love the idea that I can visit this place anytime I care too, weekends included. Highly, hugely recommended.