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A-Chau
Categories: Restaurants Vietnamese Restaurants Sandwiches Vietnamese, Sandwiches [Edit]
4644 El Cajon BlvdSte 111
(between 46th St & Menlo Ave)
San Diego, CA 92115
Neighborhood: City Heights
(619) 281-4066
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
126 reviews for A-Chau
Review Highlights
126 reviews in English
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Review from Aileen T.
San Diego, CA
5/6/2012
This is my favorite place for bahn mi. Their spring rolls and egg rolls are comparable to my vietnamese mother laws. She is actually the one that introduced me to this place. In fact, she has a friend of hers purchase her sandwiches from here to take to her in Encinitas.
Yes, this is a hole in the wall establishment, but don't let it turn you off. It's well worth checking out. -
Review from Aaron H.
San Diego, CA
4/29/2012
Delicious. I feel like an ass that I haven't tried this place sooner. The beef bahn mi special was amazing. Everything was done perfectly with a great spicy bbq sauce.
Spring rolls are very fresh and flavorful. Perfect amount of mint for accent and great texture and crunch. Got a tall can of coconut juice to hit the spot. Wish I tried the pork balls and both style of egg rolls. Great prices. This corner is awesome. -
Review from Way F.
San Jose, CA
3/27/2012
I waver between 2 or 3 stars. I don't see what the hype is. It's just a typical Vietnamese sandwich shop...perhaps a bit dirtier and with less products on the counters.
I wanted to try the eggrolls made with rice paper wrapper, after reading the rave reviews on yelp. Really - it was just an eggroll...good but the wrapping was greasy and oily. I couldn't really tell what the filling was inside, I could only make out some pork meat. Good if you want a fried snack but nothing special.
Recommendations: If you're in the area, maybe stop and get an eggroll or two. At $0.45 each, it's not bad. But I wouldn't bother to drive out of my way.
Also, the cashier behind the counter looked so apathetic. -
Review from Helen N.
San Diego, CA
2/19/2012 2 photos
What A-Chau do have a hot and yummy food is Egg rolls. You will like it very much. They have two different egg rolls. One is Hong Kong wrapper, and the other is Vietnamese wrapper. Both are very good.
Parking is pretty hard for you if you come here on the weekend. Annoying sound of the honks, and everyone coming here is kind of rush like crazy chickens. -
Review from Pauline L.
San Diego, CA
3/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I do like the hot and crispy eggrolls they always have here. Always a fan of the Chicken Banh Mi (too bad, I try to stay away from dark meat), but I too prefer the skinny baguettes, as it has better filling-to-bread ratio. I always love the desserts they have. Either the mung bean paste wrapped in sweet rice flour and swimming in sugar-ginger sauce, OR the corn soup, when they have it. Another fave are the green and lime green rice-flour striped squares. Darn this sweet tooth of mine! The guy who's always at the counter's chill. Helps you when you need it. A Chau will always have my service, though!
Parking in that lot is just really difficult... =( -
Review from Kim D.
New York, NY
2/23/2012
I've tried the BBQ Pork and Chicken and really did not find anything spectacular about them. In fact, it seemed like my chicken was a tad undercook. The reason why I'm still giving this place 5 stars is because I simply LOVE their meatball (xiu mai) sandwich. I'm from San Jose (unofficial capital of the VN population in the US? Well, Westminister may beat us there) and yet this place serves my favorite Vietnamese meatball sandwiches of all places. Keep in mind, they have it with a tomato sauce and have peas in it. That's exactly how I love it. Many may not share the same taste as me.
One thing that is fairly more universal is that most can agree they have LEGIT Vietnamese eggrolls. They serve the Chinese style, too but forreals...you've got to get the Vietnamese style ones. The difference is in the outer wrap. When my parents came to visit, I took them here and my mom was super impressed with their eggrolls. The perfect crispiness.
It sucks that their sandwich is on the expensive side (at least from what I'm used to) but they've held me hostage. No one else has a xiu mai sandwich like them. If someone else does, please send their info my way. Until then, it's A Chau for me. -
Review from Brian A.
San Diego, CA
1/10/2012 13 Check-ins Here
I come here often whenever I'm craving banh mi with some egg rolls or just need a pick me up from their iced coffee.
I always recommend the BBQ Pork sandwich with some egg rolls. I've tried a few other places but they have the best sandwiches and egg rolls by far. I don't care what anyone else says. Parking is a hassle because of the size of the lot but it doesn't bother me that much since I usually get a spot anyway.
P.S.- Their Vietnamese iced coffee is strong, but delicious, IMO. -
Review from Kathleen C.
San Diego, CA
1/18/2012
BEST VIETNAMESE SANDWICH SHOP!
I crave vietnamese sandwiches from time to time, and I often ask my friends for the best places to get them; the answer is always A Chau.
The bread is always perfect, not too soft and not too hard, and every bite you take of the sandwiches are always flavorful. My mouth is watering as I write this. -
Review from Ann L.
San Diego, CA
3/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've only had the eggrolls here, but oh man they're addicting and cheap!
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Review from Brian K.
8/23/2011
==============The Banh Mi Awards===============
Judge: Not Judy but me.
Locale: Central San Diego
Parameters: Head meat, pork loaf and pate (When in Rome...). Would you order a burger at an Italian restaurant?
Curriculum vitae: ~60 banh mis from April to August 2011
==============The Winners ===============
Obviously, these are only opinions, albeit very good ones ;)
Best in Class Award (A-Chau): Tasty and to the point. Ample portion of meat. As a bonus, tasty egg rolls. Their ready-to-go selection of prepared food is very satisfying.
Most Gourmet Award (Pho La Jolla, aka The French Footlong): By far, the priciest but as gourmet as it can it. Excellent bread and a well-rounded ratio of vegetables to meat.
Most Americanized But Still Mighty Tasty Award (Cali Baguette - multiple locations): Bread is baked throughout the day.
Best Value Award (Ba Le - multiple locations): It's warm, it's a good size, it's relatively cheap. The most bang for your buck.
Most Unthoughtful Award (K's Sandwiches): Stale bread even in the afternoon; not enough dressing; and poorly organized. And to rub salt into your wound, many of their sandwiches come out to $3.01 (cash only, go figure!). For this experiment, I went back numerous times and still not satisfied.
Most Haphazard, Almost Eclectic "Array of Goods" Award: This goes to almost all banh mi joints...I don't know if the owners think they're entrepreneurs but they sure like to peddle sweets, boba, pate, baked goods, etc. Random. Very random.
Notable mention goes to Saigon Sandwiches. You wouldn't even know they make sandwiches here. Good overall but nothing to write home about. -
Review from Kim C.
San Diego, CA
11/15/2011
Eh.. Over the years I feel like this place has gone a lil down hill. Sort of a hit/miss. Some days the food looks kinda gross and been sitting out way too long, and other days it looks fresh and good. The sandwiches are good and quick but I'm not a fan of this bread type for Banh mi (prefer the skinnier ones).
BUT, egg rolls are pretty bomb. Two types, the original really crispy one, and one that has a crispy yet chewy wrapper (I think A Chau is definitely known for it). The wrapped shrimp is really good too. -
Review from Jeannie H.
El Cajon, CA
11/30/2011
Egg rolls are so delicioussss!
Banh Mi is pretty good, I've had better.
I love their BBQ chicken...they don't always have it, but when they do...ahhhh. so tasty. -
Review from Paula H.
Lemon Grove, CA
Updated - 1/21/2012
If you like rusty nails in your egg rolls, this is the place for you! My family used to love coming here to get egg rolls for our family gatherings. They had the best egg rolls in town until the other day when my parents picked some up for a pot luck. They bit into one and discovered a dirty rusty nail wrapped into the egg roll! Ever since then we don't even bother going there. The parking lot is always a mess. We prefer going to Minh Ky, which is right in the same plaza but have better food. A Chau, please keep your kitchen a little cleaner and maybe keep construction away from food prep!!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/28/2011
They have hands down the best Vietnamese egg rolls in town! We get their egg rolls for all our… Read more »
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Review from Deb R.
San Diego, CA
9/10/2011
I'm on a tour of all the Vietnamese sandwich shops near my house...hunting for the best one. This is the 3rd one I've tried. I had high hopes, given the large number of 4-5 star reviews by fellow Yelpers, but I have to say I'm not really feeling it.
I ordered the beef sandwich. It had pretty good flavor, and a generous serving of beef, but seemed to be missing something. Not sure what it was, maybe the fact that there weren't any jalapenos?
I also ordered some egg rolls. 2 different types, one was something like $.49 each and the other $.60 each. The only difference according to the woman helping me was the wrapper...one was smooth, the other kinda of crunchy looking. Both were good, but nothing fabulous like I was expecting based on the other reviews. Unfortunately, I think I'm a little spoiled as a coworker sometimes brings in fresh, homemade egg rolls (secret family recipe) that I swear have crack in them they are so addictive.
Overall, the sandwich was definitely good and for the amount of $ it costs I would go back it just wouldn't be my first choice when I am craving a Vietnamese sandwich. I would like to try the sugar cane shrimp sandwich though, that sounds good! -
Review from April B.
6/24/2011
O.M.G!
A-Chau egg rolls.
that's all you need to know. JK that is actually the only thing i've tried here and they are flippin' amaaaaazing!! definitely a hidden GEM :) heard their sandwiches are good too so i'll definitely need to get on that next time i come in here.
but..
you. must. get. egg. rolls.
must. -
Review from Robert C.
San Diego, CA
2/19/2012
Had their egg rolls and they were decent. Shared a shredded pork sandwich and chicken sandwich with my gf and wasn't impressed, but satisfied. Overall the food was ok.
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Review from Maribelle T.
San Diego, CA
7/15/2011 2 Check-ins Here
BEST Vietnamese egg rolls EVER.
But they do need to put a warning on them...
Because "they are addicting!!!!"
Their Vietnamese sandwich are good too. -
Review from Hung N.
12/30/2011
Come here every time I'm in San Diego...super cheap and taste right every time. Pick them over Lee's any day...Big fan of there bread. Crispy outside and pillowy goodness inside...Last time had the the bread with there bo kno...that hit spot right there....fatty, rich, meaty juices soaking in that bread is frickin tits...so with that, a great sandwich and some badass eggrolls...I think spent 12 bucks. Win!
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Review from Tuyen N.
5/18/2011 3 Check-ins Here
All other Vietnamese sandwich shops need to take notes from A-Chau! This is the only place that doesn't skimp on the ingredients.
I always get a Dac Biet sandwich, egg rolls and a Vietnamese iced coffee. It is cash only so I'm usually prepared (or in this case... have my older sister pay).
My family usually orders their egg rolls for parties because we're all huge fans of the rice paper-wrapped ones. So crunchy! They also offer up the usual fried rice and noodles for catering but so far, I've never been disappointed by anything I've had there.
I can see a bunch of sweet old ladies working in the kitchen, making perfect egg rolls and sandwiches but the guys behind the counter are super friendly and personable too.
Don't be afraid of the storefront with bars on the windows. They are just protecting their awesome food. -
Review from Joanne A.
2/16/2011 ROTD 8/8/2011
If I were on that show Intervention (which I hope to NEVER be on), it'd be for the crack shakes I'd get off the egg rolls at this spot.
For whatever reason, I woke up one morning with a mean craving for some Vietnamese egg rolls. I don't have it often, but when I had a craving, it had to be satisfied that day or no one in my immediate world would like being around me.
It couldn't have come at a better time for this craving. We were set to be at a pot luck in the Fashion Valley area for a late lunch and what better thing to bring than my crack egg rolls?
Before I made my way from Carmel Valley to City Heights, I did a search for Vietnamese egg rolls on this lovely site to find some consistent, salivating reviews of the egg rolls my heart was pitter-pattering for.
We got dressed, got in the car and I called ahead to phone in my order. The guy that took my call asked when I needed it. When I said thirty minutes, he said no problem.
Good thing I had read up on the cash only disclosure. For fifty egg rolls, it only cost me $22.50 out the door...yes, it was that stinkin' inexpensive my friends.
The egg rolls were a hit at the pot luck, all 46 pieces that made it to the pot luck when we arrived that is. I had to test one before we left A-Chau to make sure they were the ones I had in mind, tested a second one for quality control, tested a third one for consistency and the fourth one was to calm my crack shakes. Just kidding, that was just an excuse to feed my addiction.
It's been nearly three weeks since I've had my crack egg rolls. I don't know when I'll feed this addiction next, but please, for the love of God, will someone please invite me to your next pot luck? I'll have the crack egg rolls in hand. All 40 pieces from the 50 I ordered because sharing is caring.Listed in: ROTD Love, Top Restaurants
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Review from Keane A.
San Diego, CA
4/19/2011
A better egg roll?
Breakthroughs in common staples
Are my favorites -
Review from Mindy Y.
San Diego, CA
6/28/2011 8 Check-ins Here
Whenever I'm in the area, I always stop by here to get a Banh Mi sandwich to go. Making a good sandwich doesnt seem difficult, but I've had some pretty horrible tasting ones. Not here though..here I always seem to get the perfect sandwich. The thing I love about A-Chau is that they're very generous with their meat and condiments. The bread is not overly toasted where it scrapes and cuts the roof of my mouth, like some places.
Aside from their sandwiches, they also have a variety of delicious items. They're well known for their egg rolls, and if you've had them then you know why. The eggs rolls here use a unique shell. It's soft, chewy yet crispy all at the same time. If you're like me and you like your egg rolls with fish sauce, make sure you ask them for some because they don't usually give it to you. When you get a chance, make sure you try their roast chicken too. Deeelish!
con: cash only so make sure you come prepared. -
Review from Marietta G.
South Park, San Diego, CA
9/23/2011
Really delicious bbq pork sandwiches. The small addition of fresh cilantro, daikon and silvered jalepeno makes a huge impact. The egg rolls were pretty incredible as well.
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Review from Maggie A.
San Diego, CA
11/14/2010 1 Check-in Here
I'm dry heaving just thinking about it. We normally go to Cali Baguette Express, just down the street, but they were out of bread and told us it will be 30 or more minutes before they bake any more. So, we searched for banh mi and this came up.
We love the beef at Cali Baguette, but this was horrific. The beef was raw, like completely red. The guy said that its the marinade, but we know the difference between raw and marinated. I have nothing against eating medium/rare meat, but this isn't quality enough for that and this was more like raw, so nasty. Luckily, we were going to eat in and saw that before taking them home. We got our money back and went to Cali Baguette to wait for some bread.
Lesson learned, don't screw with a good thing! -
Review from Danette J.
San Diego, CA
6/7/2011
OH EM GEEEEEE!!!!
I'm one of those people that likes to eat their fries in their car when they drive, so naturally I dipped my greedy little hand into the eggroll bag and took a bite. If you were driving anywhere near me you would have thought I was passionately singing or about to have a stroke from the expression on my face. :D These have got to be, HANDS DOWN, the BEST eggrolls I have ever had in my entire life. No question about it. I ended up finishing the 3 eggrolls on my drive to work where I would be eagerly be opening my Bahn mi sandwich in a few minutes.
My sandwich was pretty bomb. I usually steer clear from pork but I figured I'd give this place a chance (plus I had some immodium on me just in case!)
I'm glad I did because the BBQ Pork, Lettuce, carrots, onions, cilantro, and cucumbers danced around in my mouth with every bite....who knew?! I come from a Torta background, but it has been a LOOOOONG time that any torta made me feel sad when I took the last bite of it.
A-Chau gets a SOLID 5 stars for food... but they are cash only so 4.5 would have to do.... -
Review from Nancy P.
San Diego, CA
6/2/2011
I love their eggrolls especially the ones with rice paper! The meat is well seasoned!
The bahn mi is so good. I love the BBQ pork with pate! They're not shiesty with the meat either! -
Review from Lena P.
San Diego, CA
1/17/2011
I give this place 5 stars because I've been eating their sandwich's since I could remember. This is the only place my parents get Bahn Mi. I've had other Bahn Mi at different locations but nothing could compare to these particular ones.
Price-
Cheap and affordable
Service-
The workers are friendly
Food-
Delicious. I've only had their sandwich's and egg rolls
Parking-
Aiyaiyai, small parking space -___-
Overall, I'll continue to go to this place for years and years to come. This place will be a family tradition :) -
Review from Ingrid L.
So I had a friend that was OBSESSED with this place and the egg rolls. She found out that I work 10 min from this place and would ask me to pick up a bunch for her whenever I went.
The egg rolls here are delicious. They use a different wrap than other places do (maybe the clear spring roll wrapping?) that gives them a good crunch. The banh mi is soso. they didn't put enough pate and didn't toast the bread enough for my liking.
Cash only but you can go to the 711 nearby and get cash back when you buy something. -
Review from Dung N.
10/17/2011 1 photo
Their eggrolls are so good. I love them because they are wrapped in rice paper, so it's chewy and crispy at the same time. I ordered them for a potluck dinner and they are so addicting!
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Review from Angela W.
2/22/2011 16 Check-ins Here
A while ago, while the boy and I were living norther, we went on a hunt. A hunt for good Vietnamese sandwiches. K's was good, but the bread was too hard for me. We tried several places in Mira Mesa, and decided that Ba Le was the winner, and ever since we have been pretty loyal.
After moving to North Park, I decided we had to find a go-to closer to us, because I refused to keep making the trek up to Mira Mesa. Vo's has pretty good sandwiches, but upon hearing about his impending closure, the search was back on again. We tried out Ba le on university, and the sandwiches were really good, but the place was g-h-e-t-t-o. And I'm usually ok with ghetto, but ba le... that place makes me fear for my life a bit. So I finally convinced boy to give this place a chance. I figured, I love minh ky despite its appearance, so perhaps this place has some good potential too.
And does it ever. The sandwiches here are delicious... and well the egg rolls... the ones wrapped in rice paper, are just downright amazing. I know, everyone raves about them. But even after seeing that, I thought, they're just egg rolls, how good could they be? But these are the shit. No joke. And the place is clean. Ignore the jail bars on the side facing the street. A-chau is legit, and boy am I grateful that it will save me from the trek to the land of nothingness. -
Review from Malia P.
10/7/2011
Not bad, decent Vietnamese sandwiches. I would come back and try something new. Meatball skewers had good flavor and a bouncy bite. :)
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Review from Allison T.
San Diego, CA
11/10/2010 7 Check-ins Here
EGGROLLS!!! A Chau has eggrolls freshly prepared all day, everyday. They have two different wrappers too (the regular eggroll wrapper and the spring roll wrapper). Both are really really really good! The filling is amazing too...don't really know what it is, but I don't really care because it's good. Remember to ask for the fish sauce to dip them in! The chicken sandwiches there are delicious as well. Chicken cut right off the bone and freshly baked bread..perfect!! One chicken sandwich and three eggrolls only costs 5 bucks!!
The plaza may be a little grungy..maybe a lot grungy...and the parking sometimes sucks, but the food at A Chau makes it totally worth it!! It's cash only, so remember to bring them dollar bills!! -
Review from R D.
San Diego, CA
10/20/2011
Cheap,delicious, Vietnamese sandwich's.
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Review from Mathew F.
Chula Vista, CA
10/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Best Vietnamese Sandwich and Egg Rolls around. Been coming here for years!!
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Review from Roger W.
7/10/2010 1 Check-in Here
This review is specifically for the chicken banh mi.
So.. I love banh mi.
I though... blasphemous as it is.. find that I'm really not a big pate fan.
So, this leaves me to review all other things, bbq, chicken, pork, and meatball. :].
This is my goto shop for chicken banh mi. They use pieces of their roasted chicken which is FANTASTIC. OMNOM :].
Trust me. The egg rolls are pretty mmm too -
Review from Renee I.
I want an A-Chau in Torrance!!
You must get the egg rolls (both wrapper styles are awesome) and dip it into their fish sauce!!! YUMM
Their chicken sammie is AWESOMEEEE! -
Review from Marwin A.
9/10/2009
I am definitely a fan.
This is a small family owned business that serves probably the best egg rolls in the county.
As my friend Tim posted in his review, their egg rolls would rank up there with the best homemade lumpias. I have definitely eaten my share of lumpias in my life,and, FRAK ME,these are so good.
I have called in orders for 50 egg rolls for $20.
I chose the pork filling.
They use rice paper for their wraps,so the rolls maintain their integrity and stay crispy and golden and without any greasy residue oozing out of the rolls.
I usually just wait 10 minutes for them to finish frying them,so the rolls would still be fresh and hot. One of the owners actually suggested that this way would be more ideal.
I brought my order to a family potluck,and I announced that they were the Vietnamese lumpias. They were devoured within the hour.
I do not want to lose my Pinoy card,so I suggest eating these with the Filipino lumpia sauces. I prefer homemade sauce composed of garlic,vinegar,and pepper.
Eye,APO!
Oh,they also serve, in my opinion,the BESTbanh mi sanwiches in the county.
They come with cucumbers,and I think that makes the difference.
I always order their pulled pork,and never been disappointed.
Some may call the neighborhood,"shady",but I found it safe and I have returned several times.
A-Chau. A-Chau. A-Chau. -
Review from Theresa P.
San Diego, CA
9/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Being an OC native, living in SD, I'm constantly on a search for fantastic Vietnamese food that compares to the authentic stuff you can find in Little Saigon. While this place does offer pretty typical Vietnamese food-to-go items, I wouldn't say its the best I ever had. I tried the egg rolls and a banh mi with the grilled pork when I came in, and while the bread and portions are good, it just didn't have that WOW factor. My search for the best banh mi in San Diego continues...
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Review from Tim S.
7/24/2009
I have never been here and havent eaten anything else from here except for.......the Egg Rolls! This is a review specifically of them.
My boy Chris at work always brings these whenever we have potlucks. They are the best egg rolls I have ever had. They are short and fat, always fried to perfection and just flat out awesome! If you arent careful you could mow down about 10 of them in one sitting.
Addiction wise, these are right up there with the Salt and Pepper Wings and Lumpia from some other joints. If I had to choose only one that I could eat for the rest of my life, it might be these egg rolls. They have your carrots (vegetable), pork (protein), and wrapper (carb) all in one finger food. A complete meal with all your basic food groups! Damn these things are fantastic! Im almost speechless.......... -
Review from ljrobot r.
La Jolla, CA
4/4/2011
Once you have there egg rolls,you can never go back.
Great taste and price.
