3 Reviews from Lethbridge

O-Sho Restaurant
311 4 St South
Lethbridge, AB

I couldn't let a trip to Lethbridge go by without visiting my favorite Japanese restaurant, O-Sho. The part that I actually look forward to the most are the mixed vegetables with potatoes that come with the bento boxes. I ordered the Sashimi Dinner ($17.95) which started off with a portion of sunomono salad and a bowl of miso soup. The salad was refreshing and the addition of three prawns and thin slices of fresh cucumber put it above the other sunomono salads I've tried. The miso soup had many chunks of tofu, and was well-balanced with miso paste.

In the bento box were pickled salad, beef teriyaki, chicken katsu, mixed vegetables with potato, your choice of tuna or salmon sashimi (I chose salmon), and 2 slices of grapefruit. A bowl of rice accompanied the bento box. The salmon was fresh, high quality salmon (which is surprising to have in a place like Lethbridge), and the vegetables had buttery, soft, delectable pan-fried potatoes mixed in.

I find that O-Sho is very generous with their portion sizes, as I usually have a hard time finishing my meal. O-Sho is by far the best place in Lethbridge for Japanese food.

Sushi love boat shared by my cousins

5/5
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Saigonese
1210 Mayor Magrath Dr S
Lethbridge, AB

Whenever I go for Vietnamese food, my big dilemma is whether to have pho (noodle soup) or a vermicelli noodle bowl. Most of the time I opt for the vermicelli as someone in my dining party usually promises to let me have some of their pho. This time, the 4 others in my group all had #60: pho dac biet ($9.95). It has rice noodles with beef tendon, rare beef slices, brisket, and meatball. When I was given a sampling of the soup, I appreciated that it wasn't as salty as most pho broths. However, it was also lacking in flavor. It tasted like the usual pho broths but diluted by half or more.

My order was #48: bun bi thit nuong ($9.95). It was shredded pork and charbroiled pork on top of a bed of vermicelli noodles with fresh bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber, and chopped peanuts. A sweet fish sauce accompanies the dish. When I order vermicelli bowls, I usually order ones that come with a spring roll, but what got sent to me was this:

It turns out that I had ordered the wrong item. What I had actually wanted was #49: bun thit nuong cha gio (charbroiled pork with spring rolls). I was a little disappointed at first, but got over it quickly. I didn't touch any of the shredded pork as the look and taste of the light-colored shreds scared me away. The charbroiled pork was tasty, however. I was also asked if I wanted to order a plate of spring rolls on the side. I declined as an order of 3 rolls cost $6.45.

While I enjoyed my vermicelli noodle bowl, I doubt I would ever order the pho from Saigonese in the future. Next time I'm there, I would be sure to order #49. However, I have also become accustomed to the fact that I can get the same quality of Vietnamese food in Edmonton for a lower price. I'd go back to Saigonese only if I had a huge hankering for Vietnamese food while in Lethbridge.

3/5
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CoCo Pazzo
1264 3rd Ave S
Lethbridge, AB

We had a gift certificate for the Italian restaurant, CoCo Pazzo and so we made a visit there. We had arrived before the rush and were given an option of sitting at a table or in a booth; we chose the latter. The booths were too small to fit 2 people on one side and their winter coats comfortably. There were no separate coat hooks available either. The upper level seating was built on top of wood floors. During both of my most recent visits, I wore loud heels and both times when I needed to walk to and from the ladies' room, my loud shoes clicking against the floor generated much unwanted attention to me.

We were brought a small round loaf of flaky, crusty bread. It was gently warmed in the wood-fired oven prior to being served and was served with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.

After inspecting the menu, there was nothing on the front page that sounded enticing enough for me to order. They had a limited pizza selection; one pizza even had toppings that sounded incompatible (curry cream sauce with shrimp and mango chutney). I settled for the Rigatoni Rustica from the pasta section ($16.95). It included a generous portion of Italian sausage, chunks of crunchy sweet onions, and crisp red bell pepper. The pasta was cooked al dente (although personally I like it cooked softer) and the sauce was slightly too spicy but overall the tomato sauce was good.

Overall, I thought this restaurant was mediocre. There was nothing that made it memorable enough to make me want to visit again. If I were given another promotional gift certificate, I would try to pass it on to someone else before making a return to CoCo Pazzo.

2.5/5