Co Cham Restaurant

Reviews

• Sophia P.

  star star star star star 28 May 2026

  I have tried a few Vietnamese restaurants but none came close to the freshness/the flavors of the foods and the friendliness of the staff. I ate the hot rolls as an appetizer and it comes with an ample dipping sauce on the side. I had the 3 meat grilled with rice and cucumbers.  Absolutely amazing and  flavorful. The condiments are on the table so you don't have to ask for hot sauce or hoisin which is great and convenient. It was clean and I do look forward to going back
  
  Keep it up guys

• D'Arcy L.

  star star star star star_border 25 May 2026

  Co Cham represents what I love in inexpensive Vietnamese food. Rice, noodles, basically anything you want to order off the menu that is delicious! It's all that folks and then some! I've dined here on five different occasions now and each time I've left highly satisfied and with a full tummy. The bun vermicelli's are outstanding! The phõ soups are equally as delicious. The spring rolls fresh and fried and large and in charge. We ate here just recently and the matriarch of the family was very nice to my family wishing us happy new year on many occasions. It's a family owned and operated restaurant. Outstanding. Come check it out. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

• Jennifer P.

  star star star star_border star_border 21 May 2026

  Update 2018-10-14: I bought 3 containers of the black-eyed peas and coconut cream dessert and got home to discover that they had all gone bad. Had to throw them out. Hopefully this was a one-off and they don't regularly sell rancid/spoiled/rotten food. Docking off a star for now. I hope it does not happen again!
  
  Original review:
  This review is just for takeout, as I have not dined in at the restaurant.
  
  I was craving some banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), and as many people already know, it's slim pickings here in Ottawa.  I had heard of Co Cham, but had never been, so I figured it was time to give it a try.
  
  Co Cham is a restaurant, but they also have banh mi for takeout (banh mi is takeout only, you can't order it to eat in the restaurant).  They have several types of banh mi: assorted meats, chicken, meatball, and some others.  I went for the traditional assorted meats.  They are $3 each, but if you buy 5 you get 1 free.  I love banh mi and I love bargains, so I got the 5+1 deal.
  
  I love that the bread was light and fluffy, and they were generous with the meats.  The meats were lean and not full of fat like at some places.  The paté was also flavourful and rich.  The aioli was not excessive, which I appreciated.  The pickled carrots and daikon radish added a nice crunch.  It usually comes with cilantro, but I'm one of those cilantro-dislikers, so I omitted it.  
  
  Service was not the nicest.  No smiles. While the lady was making my sandwiches, I told her (politely) that I would also be getting some of the Vietnamese desserts (they are behind the glass counter.  Staff have to get them, you can't just help yourself).  She kind of snapped at me and said she would deal with that once she finished making the sandwiches.  Uh yeah, I was just telling her, I didn't expect her to do it right away o_O
  
  Anyway, I got a taro and tapioca dessert, and a black-eyed peas and coconut cream dessert ($1.50 each).  The taro in the former dessert was blended and not chunked like I am used to (but the lady did warn me about that before I bought it).  It tasted like a taro flavoured tapioca pudding.  It was good, but I liked the other dessert better.  The black-eyed peas and coconut cream dessert was really tasty.  The peas and sweetened glutinous rice were soft but not mushy, and the coconut cream was rich and not too sweet.  A really great deal for $1.50.
  
  While I was there, I saw a customer eating spring rolls and they looked delicious!  They were made of rice paper, the way traditional Vietnamese spring rolls are supposed to be (not with the wheat-based wrappers).  I could literally hear the crunching as the customer bit into the spring roll, lol.  The other food looked good too.  I will have to come back and dine in sometime.
  
  The restaurant is small, seats about 32 people.  It's in Chinatown, so street parking only.

• Drew K.

  star star star star star 20 May 2026

  I think this is Ottawa's SECOND best Pho.
  But it's truly a great little Somerset gem.
  Caesar is an awesome server. Super friendly and loves to talk. His Mom (or aunt or grandma) is typical Viet old lady - not friendly...super curt and a bit rude.
  But to the food:
  Pho is delicious. Broth is fragrant and flavourful.
  Only comes in one size - take it or leave it.
  Grilled meats with egg over rice is delightful.
  And the Banh Mi are amazing. To go and only $3.
  Who the fuck would go to Subway when you can get 3 of these for the same price?  
  Small place so don't expect to always find a seat.

• Julie L.

  star star star star_border star_border 19 May 2026

  I ordered the pho. The bowl is big, portion is good. Lots of noodles but soso on the meat. Also it seems that they dont have mixed meat for pho- on the list you can only get 1 type only? I personally like the tendon tripe and beef all moxed together.