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Anh Hong Pho Pasteur
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
7612 Linda Vista RdSte 117
(at Mesa College Dr)
San Diego, CA 92111
Neighborhood: Clairemont
(858) 569-7515
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
86 reviews for Anh Hong Pho Pasteur
Review Highlights
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"It's 7 course beef and you basically make your own spring..." In 12 reviews -
"Step 1: Dip rice paper in hot water." In 3 reviews -
"The egg rolls were delicious, there were six of them, and..." In 4 reviews
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86 reviews in English
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Review from Lacey W.
San Diego, CA
4/22/2012
This place has everything Vietnamese food has to offer. The decor of terrible but it's one of those place where you don't really care what's on the walls because the food is consistently good. The service isn't that great either but they are friendly and again, who cares?!?!...the food is worth it! Everything from whole fish to Chicken Curry to Pho. I have tried a lot of Pho in San Diego and they have the best. The salad with lime and shrimp is GREAT on a summer day. Healthy and light and loaded with flavor. Chicken curry is basic with great flavor. Rice in earthen pot is also loaded with flavor. The thin rare beef you cook on the table with all the fixins' is labor intensive but great. Don't forget the fish sauce. Get the coffee with condensed milk after your meal. If you aren't used to Vietnamese food, don't be afraid...go here. I'm Irish for god sakes and this place is....
...a LACEY'S TOP 5 PLACES TO EAT! -
Review from Patricia L.
Saratoga, CA
3/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
Stopped by 30 minutes before closing to satisfy my pho craving.
The broth was good, but the noodles were just a little undercooked. It might've been because they cooked it quickly so they could get off work faster. I could tell that the worker was a little annoyed that we came in so late because he was really impatient as I was paying for my meal.
With the food and the service that I got, I probably won't make an effort to come back here again, especially since it's about a 10-15 min drive to get here from my apartment. And there are plenty of other pho places that I can go to. However, if I'm in the neighborhood, I might just have to stop by again at an earlier time to see if my experience is different. -
Review from Freedom r.
San Diego, CA
2/29/2012 5 Check-ins Here
Awesome menu. They have everything.
No ac so it can get stuffy.
I love coming here for porridge. All kinds.
If your having an under the weather day...great place to fill the tummy with some extra love. -
Review from Carlita P.
San Diego, CA
5/17/2012
Delicious Vietnamese dishes, we have been going here for many years and we crave the flavors every few weeks. Beef grape leaves, Rice in Earthen pot, Shrimp and Pork Salad to mention a few. The food is freshly prepared and always satisfies. I crave the spring rolls and garlic shrimp. Have a hard time trying new items, but when we do, they usually are delicious.
The service is fine, a bit slow when busy, but they always try to accomodate. Would recommend to diners that want something out of the ordinary. -
Review from Linh t.
San Diego, CA
5/23/2012
So I have to admit, the food is delicious.BUT the customer service is horrible! Me and my family has been coming here for years! (15yrs) . my mom always gets the catfish soup and earth pot. One day for the first time the fish was no good, either it was spoiled or undercooked either way when we sent it back to have another the lady(owner) comes out and tells us that the fish is good and that we were crazy. Then she proceeded too tell us that she no longer would serve us any fish,ever. Well that was quite rude! months later we returned to the restaurant (since their food is good) after the waiter sat us down the Same lady came out to our table and told us not to even consider the fish because we 'complained' last time and if we didnt like it this time she wouldn't take it back!. WOW. really!? okay!. they definitely lost some of their regulars! .. BUt if you dont mind BAD service.. the food is good. or just order ahead of time to go and pick up like i do now ,to avoid dealing with them!
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Review from Ashley E.
San Diego, CA
2/3/2012
Whenever I'm craving a good bowl of Pho this is where I come. I love their pho and their egg rolls. Pho #1 is my favorite. The food is always consistent and tasty.
My only complaint is that the male staff never speaks to me only to my husband which I think is crap especially since i'm the one paying most of the time. -
Review from Donna B.
San Diego, CA
5/4/2012
I first discovered Pho Pasteur when my youngest started spending a lot of time in Children's Hospital. It was a close and quick getaway from the unbelievable stress of having a disabled child going through hurting times.
While my daughter slept in her afternoon haze of pain medication, I could enter a world in which I could come out of my own daze and confusion, and be refreshed by jolt of wonderful soul-zinging coffee, feel the stomach hug of comfort food with a soup or vermicelli, or welcome the spring of a roll. Today I silently revisited those memories and shared bon temps with a close friend to make new memories.
The Egg Rolls were hot and gooey on the inside with a somewhat rancid taste of old oil, heavy with the wrapping left little in the way of filling. I wouldn't order these Egg Rolls again. However, the Vegetarian (Tofu) Spring Rolls were delightfully restorative, fresh tasting and addictive. Lightly wrapped with plenty of fresh mint leaves on the inside. I would like to have seen more fresh greens in the filling rather than the overabundant rice noodles. A plate full of lettuce and, somewhat, fresh mint leaves was also served with the Spring Rolls.
For my sweet tooth, I drank a Vietnamese Coffee. Enough sugar and caffeine to make me feel new, again. That was yummy.
The service was somewhat spotty as we needed to ask for things (more napkins, straws, etc.) more than once. (We were the first diners of the day.) Also, it was difficult to catch the waiters' attention even for the check.
I don't think I would make the effort to return to this restaurant since I think there are far better ones closer to where I live. But today was a beautiful day well spent with a dear and good friend. -
Review from Realtor Karl B.
San Diego, CA
12/22/2011
Really good bo luc lac aka steak cubes.
Very flavorful and comes with fried rice, egg on top, and veggies on the side.
Paid $11.99.
Would give them 5 stars if it was a tad cheaper and if they came around more often to ask if everything is fine. -
Review from Fiona T.
San Diego, CA
11/27/2011
One of my FAVORITE Vietnamese restaurants here in San Diego,everytime I go out with my mom and her bf, we come here. We always et Bo 7 mon. It's 7 course beef and you basically make your own spring rolls. Their "mum" sauce is the BEST. It tops Saigon, Phuong Trang.. You name it!
I would marry that sauce if I could. I've had other dishes here as well. This is one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in San Diego, it's really old. The service isn't the best but the food is phenomenal. -
Review from Krystal C.
La Mesa, CA
The BEST Vietnamese food in San Diego. I have been coming here for over 10 years, when their restauraunt was where K Sandwiches is now.
Wonderful, sweet people work here and remember you everytime you come :).
My favorites are the Fried Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls, Mixed Vegetable Soup (#82 on the menu), Beef and Lemon Grass, Fried Catfish, and many others.
My #1 FAVORITE is their STUFFED SQUID appetizer. I recommend asking for the sauce that is served in that dish, on the side. You can pour a little extra over it when it arrives, and can also dip your spring rolls and egg rolls in it!
So yummy!
If you are looking for some amazing Vietnamese, at a really affordable price, come to Anh Hong Pho Pasteur! Always great here :) -
Review from Guo jing G.
San Diego, CA
2/21/2012
The male staff are really rude to me, he went out after me because he assumed I didn't leave enough tip. How rude, I rather stay away from this place. There're bunch of Vietnamese restaurant around this neighborhood with a great and friendly service. Btw, I like their broken rice dishes and 3 color beverage desert.
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Review from Katrina L.
San Diego, CA
11/13/2011
I've come here on two occasions, the most recent being this past week for a large dinner with 6 friends, and the past being a huge graduation banquet for a Vietnamese family.
All of us have no clue about Viet food and it was a bit difficult to read and decipher the menu since there were so many options and different dishes to try. Some of my friends ordered fried rice, others ordered broken rice and the house pho soup.
I ordered Bun Rieu and got a large steaming bowl of crabmeat, pork blood in an orange broth filled with flavor. It was good down to the last 1/8th where I found it too salty to continue eating.
Where this place shines is the service. Our waitress nicely asked if we would like individual checks for each of us. Super rare for an Asian restaurant! She also was kind enough to help us with the menu and always refilled our waters and asked us if we enjoyed our meal.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I would come back here but it was a good change from other Convoy pho places. The service here is excellent! -
Review from Greg L.
San Diego, CA
1/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
classic Vietnamese, we always get the cook your own meat, (i don't know the Vietnamese name) very thin slices of beef with onions and lemon grass, they bring the little stove to your table, you cook 1 or 2 pieces at a time (good with chopsticks helps), wrap in rice paper with lettuce and vegetables, dip in the fish sauce (after you added the chili) yum yum.
if your new take a Vietnamese friend to help you, or if your Vietnamese call me. -
Review from Alison L.
San Diego, CA
8/21/2011
I'd give them a 4.5 star if I could. Yes the place looks outdated, and my table had minor stains on the table cloth, but they DO change them. I saw them change a the table cloth on a bunch of tables and I even saw a stack of fresh pink table clothes. I think sometimes if it's like a few dots they try to be stingy (they're old fashion asian! If your asian you'd understand)
The service is great! The waiters were very helpful and attentive. I ordered the Bun Bo Hue, and it was pretty good. Not the BEST i've had (that would be my mom's) but it was pretty good with tons of meat, not spicy at all though. I also got their ice coffee which came out with the filter like the old fashion way that it's suppose to come out, not pre-made.
I asked for a cup to put the rest of my coffee in and since I drank all my water I decided to add the ice from the water to my coffee and the waiter came over and insisted he get me more ice for my coffee---very attentive!
Overall a good place, I highly recommend it. Their menu is very extensive I didn't know where to start! I will definitely to back to try more things. -
Review from Edelisa C.
San Diego, CA
I wanted to try out a Pho restaurant outside of my go-to Vietnamese restaurant and randomly went here. Its in the same shopping center where K Sandwiches is at.
The restaurant itself could use a little sprucing up but who cares when the food is good right? I ordered the #3 which is a bowl of pho with rare steak and my +1 ordered the BBQ dish with rice. Too bad the customer service sucks. From what I saw, the "regulars" got more attention than a brand new customer like myself, which was practically non existent. If the staff would treat all their paying patrons like "regulars", there would be repeat business. For that, I wouldn't dine here again unless someone is paying for takeout.
Two stars for the food only and what the rating indicates, "Meh, I've experienced better." -
Review from Dung N.
12/20/2011 1 photo
If you eat here, get the baked catfish. :) We ordered the catfish in advance after our hike, so that it would be ready by the time we got there. It was sooo good....I love the crunchy parts! One of my friends also ordered some kinda weird meat that I never had before, which was not bad. I think I'll stick to my catfish lol.
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Review from Kristie L.
San Diego, CA
12/28/2010
I absolutely love this place! THE SERVICE IS GREAT and the FOOD IS EVEN BETTER!!!
In the last 2 years, I have frequented this restaurant many times... at least once a month, and at times even once a week! Everything I've eaten is yummy in my tummy. Especially their egg rolls! They make it special by using rice paper instead of wonton wrappers to wrap the deliciously seasoned meat inside. Mmmm... mmm... good!
I also really enjoy the bo bia, which is similar to the spring roll, but with lots of veggies, chinese sausage slices, a little bit of egg, and no noodles... all wrapped in soft rice paper! It also comes with a hoisin-peanut sauce, which is to die for! The spring rolls are amazing too. They are the typical Vietnamese spring roll, but somehow everything here tastes much better!
Seriously authentic Vietnamese food straight from a Vietnamese family.... it feels like home to eat here. And my Vietnamese has improved too! I always try to order in Vietnamese and converse with the servers and hostess :) Everyone here is so friendly!
Another dish I enjoy is the bun cha gio (vermicelli rice noodles with egg rolls)! It comes with the egg rolls I previously mentioned with tons of lettuce and veggies and a perfect nuc mam (fish sauce). AND when I ask for no bean sprouts, I get no bean sprouts! GREAT SERVICE! I hate it when other Vietnamese restaurants forget to not include the bean sprouts because they always put too much, and it is always super difficult to take out.
GAHHH! Their broken rice dishes are delectable as well... that's why it is always so hard to decide what I want to eat when I go here! The chicken broken rice dish has perfectly seasoned white meat chicken with all the trimmings. The pork, beef, and shrimp rice dishes are all yummy too! I'm salivating thinking about all the deliciousness right now.
All in all, I AM IN LOVE with this place and the family of servers that work here. They are always so pleasant and welcoming to me. I haven't yet tried the 7 courses of beef or the fried fish dish, but I have seen and smelled them! I can't wait to try, but I think I will need to go with my family because the portions seem huge!
BEST VIETNAMESE FOOD in SAN DIEGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -
Review from Amanda N.
Real Viet food for supa cheap (and I am Vietnamese). This is actually one of the first Vietnamese restaurants to open in San Diego and they're still doing it right.
I've never had pho here but I probably wouldn't order it (even though it's only $5, as pho should be)... just go to Pho Cow Cali Express for pho. Anh Hong Pho Pasteur is great because they serve all the other Vietnamese dishes that you can't get at just any old pho shop (which is why I love the fact that the menu is huge...Vietnamese people need to eat other food besides pho, you know). Of course, they are famous for their 7-course beef, which is very good and cheap to share (and they don't do any of that bull sh*t fixed per person price). There is no comparison between here and overrated bo 7 mon places like Phuong Trang. I also HIGHLY recommend ordering the chao tom (shrimp on sugar cane), lau do bien (seafood hot pot!!), and ca nuong (fried catfish). Sooooooooo bomb, and you get plenty of food. Che ba mau is very nom nom too.
I don't really know what to say about service because you typically should have pretty low expectations if you want legitimate ethnic food (and don't speak the language). My family speaks, so it's fine - although they made fun of me for asking for fish sauce -__- (I wanted it for my chao thom! But FYI, if you want to be really authentic, you don't use nuoc mam for your 7 course beef, you use mam nem).
Anyway, I definitely recommend Anh Hong Pho Pasteur if you want to try out some Vietnamese dishes other than pho.Listed in: Viet Food in San Diego
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Review from james p.
San Diego, CA
11/28/2011
This place is not up to par in terms of the quality and the price of the 7 course beef.
Price is a little high for such a little amount of food from their 7 courses. There's only 1 or 2 dishes from the 7 course that is good...the other ones are just a waste of money. -
Review from Malia P.
3/6/2010
7 Course Beef is something unique that I've never tried before coming to San Diego.
The first two courses they serve raw slices of beef to be prepared in two ways: boiled in vinegar and fried in a pan. You do the cooking and preparing yourself. Here are some directions to help you enjoy your meal.
Step 0: Wash hands or sanitize with anti-bacterial
Step 1: Dip rice paper in hot water
Step 2: Wrap cooked beef and veggies in rice paper. I like to do it mini-burrito style.
Step 3: Dip in fish sauce
Step 4: Eat
The next three courses are beef in sausage form in three ways. Repeat Steps 1-4 with sausages.
Course 6 is a beef meatloaf with shrimp chips. Break off pieces of shrimp chips and eat pieces of meatloaf with it.
Course seven is beef in rice soup.
Step 1: Consume as you would any other soup.
One order usually satisfies two people. If you're a fatty like me, you might need to try their durian shake to go with your meal.
***For an entire month I had this up and I only had six courses!!! I forgot the meatloaf! -
Review from JeFF T.
Fremont, CA
8/18/2008 2 photos
Since I was craving Pho at the time, this was the best that we could come up with after a quick visit to Mien Trung resulted in us scurrying out of there. The place was in better condition than Mien Trung, and seem to offer more selection. I wasn't expecting much. Just give me a combo pho and some spring rolls and I'm good. The pho was so-so, but not great.
Service was meh. Staff seemed to be in the middle of their lunch break and the one waiter working seemed to be everywhere else but waiting on us, which I found hard to believe since there were only 3-4 other tables with customers in the whole place. -
Review from Adam J.
San Diego, CA
9/19/2010
I will never step foot inside this place again!
First, as we walked in and looked around all we saw were a sea of empty pink tables. Not usually a good sign when entering a restaurant. As one other Yelper mentioned, splotchy tablecloths are not that appealing either.
Then they pull out a highchair for my 19mo daughter to sit in and it was taped together at one joint by 3 different types of tape. As we cautiously put her in it a lady comes up and adds about 4 inches of some clear packing tape on top of the already existing tape. She pats it down briefly and off she went.... Wow
After ordering the waiter comes by to give us water and as he fills the glasses he plops them down on the corner of the table for us to pass around. The one glass that he did hand to a friend he slid on the pink tablecloth and it hit a crack in the table, spilling the water all over the place. He then laughs uncontrollably and barely wipes up the water, leaving most of it puddled in front of our friend. We don't see him again.
Now, the food was disgusting. I ordered the chicken with "5" spices. A pitcher of water could not have re-hydrated that chicken it was so dry! It was obvious that the chicken had been cooked at least the day before, sliced, then saved to serve to the sorry sap who would order it next. Unfortunately, that was me.
My wife's eggrolls were gnarly, soft in the middle and hard at the ends.
You know what, I want to forget this experience. -
Review from Benjamin W.
San Diego, CA
3/10/2010
Just about average unfortunately.
Their Viet Sausage dishes are very good.
Their Spring rolls are better than average, and have a very heavy thai basil taste. I like.
Anything with a sweet sauce is too sweet (the 4 dishes i have sampled are all too sweet due to the overuse of sauce).
Their chicken dishes across the board are pretty decent. And I like that they hook it up with the extra lettuce, basil and other fresh produce condiments.
I don't know why I have been here so many times, I just have. I should stop going, when there are so many other good Pho places. Note to self...
Oh and they wont make you a sandwich becase K Sandwiches is next door. No worries...K sandwiches makes a damn fine sandwich. Pho T cali makes one of the best I have ever had as well...
Massive language barrier-to the point of where you think they might be f'*cking with you.
The menu is too freaking big.
Forgettable. -
Review from Roger M.
San Diego, CA
10/19/2007
I've been coming here since I have been very very young with my fam and I still hit it up on occasions with friends.
They have one of the best rice plates in town (com tam thit nuong) and their pho is also decent.
I remember even trying out some exotic dishes such as crocodile meat (don't know if its even served anymore) a few years back.
The ambiance here isn't too bad and the seating is good.Listed in: Vietnamese Restaurants!
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Review from Vin F.
San Diego, CA
2/26/2010
A big fan of pho, I always go to Phuong Trang, which was closed. So we ended up here.
Here are some helpful tips for the staff of this restaurant that might be appreciated by future patrons (which won't include me):
1) Clean your tableclothes. Sitting down to eat at a pre-splooged table is unappetizing.
2) The "fresh" basil leaves for putting in the pho are much better when by "fresh" you don't mean riddled with black fungus.
3) When you say "Pho with Chicken", feel free not to just use the beef broth as the stock just because (presumably) you don't feel like making more than one stock. This caused a serious cognitive dissonance (in other words, it tasted "shitty").
4) Try to employ a waitstaff that can at least pretend not to have the utmost disinterest in its customers. -
Review from Jessica I.
Long Beach, CA
6/29/2010
I've had Pho here several times, in different varieties and every time it is d-lish! I do prefer their beef Pho over their seafood. However, that being said, they have amazing seafood selections if you're into shell fish. They serve family meals that are all the rage.
Today I tried something out of the norm - broken rice topped with shredded pork and a baked egg. It was good, but I wish I would have stuck with the Pho. It's comforting and yummy. They offer lots of condiments to spice up the bowl, bring more of anything that you request, and are non-intrusive (which I like).
I would recommend this place... though they could use a little re-vamp inside, but I'm not hating. -
Review from Betsy L.
San Diego, CA
6/4/2010
For a Sunday night it wasn't busy at all, although the dining tables did seem a little cramped even though there weren't a lot of people. We were seated right away but took awhile to order since the menu was not very organized. Everything seemed overly priced since the proportions were small. Of course, there were complaints that there wasn't enough noodles to wrap the spring rolls with so we had to ask for more and I agree -- noodles are cheap, why not serve more?
The servers weren't too friendly, they came off as nonchalant. One even poured hot pho soup on the BF's nephew! On accident, of course but they should be more careful -- that's what they're paid to do. We ordered the 7 course meal; the meat wasn't exceptionally good but it was okay. Surprisingly, their fried catfish tasted good since its skin was crunchy but it was a tiny catfish. At one point of the meal, another waiter brought out another bowl of hot soup, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Move". Not very polite might I say. We also ran out of water and had to ask for more, they weren't attentive at all throughout the meal.
Of course, I can't say we'll never come back since the first experience was just as bad but it's close by. If you're looking for a nice family place to dine, try somewhere else that's worth your money. -
Review from Eric P.
9/19/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I love this place! When I first moved to San Diego I happened upon it when I had a late night food craving. Menu is traditional vietnamese, even though most of the time I generally end up getting Pho here. Can't beat $5 for a huge bowl of pho (and $6 for the extra large bowl)
The variety on their pho menu is huge, they have almost 20 different choices to choose from. Atmosphere is very casual and they are open late almost every night of the week. -
Review from Mindy Y.
San Diego, CA
8/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
I haven't had their Pho here, but my latest experience was quite disappointing. Their reviews aren't bad, so maybe it was what we ordered. We had the 7 course beef and a Canh chua (sour catfish soup). I was expecting to be blown away by their 7 course beef because they advertised it so gracefully on their window. But I just found the entire meal to be bland.. including the 7 course beef. It came with a variety of beef items and a porridge. The porridge had no flavor. Even though I added soysauce and pepper to give it a little more taste, it didn't help at all. And the soup was just as tasteless. Disappointing, especially since canh chua is supposed to be full of flavors-sweet, sour and fishyish all at once, but not here. Maybe I'll have better luck with the Pho IF i decide to ever come back.
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Review from LiNH N.
San Diego, CA
We come here for one reason: Ca Nuong (the baked/fried fish). It is the BOMB. There have been other times where we have come and ordered other things that were good, such as the Bo Nuong Vi, or the Bo Luc Lac... but our all time fave is still the Ca Nuong. The Che Ba Mau is pretty good too. =) The Canh Chua Ca and Ca Kho are a hit or miss, depending on how fresh the fish is that day, or perhaps what time you get in there....
Whenever we want the Ca Nuong, we always call ahead about 20-30 mins since that dish particularly takes a while to make. Then when we get there, the table is already set and all we need to do is order our drinks.
This restaurant has been around for quite some time. It could definitely use some remodeling, but considering the neighborhood that it's located in - I don't expect much. I think its really your typical Vietnamese restaurant that is catered to people locally in the neighborhood. I've been impressed several times when I see Americans find the place. The one thing that I absolutely can't get over - is how stinky the bathroom is. It is straight G-H-E-T-T-O. But then again, I keep reminding myself that I'm eating in LV (Linda Vista). Duh.
I don't remember ever trying Pho there, I typically go to straight Pho restaurants for that. But if you are up to eating other types of Vietnamese dishes like the ones I mentioned at the top, then its worth a venture here. -
Review from Allan M.
San Francisco, CA
8/19/2009
This place is a disgrace to Bo 7 Mon, or better known as seven course beef. My family came down to San Diego for my graduation and I thought it'd be a good idea to get seven course beef, one of our favorite dining choices in San Francisco. I didn't think that you can screw it up THAT bad...but this place proved me wrong.
The sausage dishes tasted like they were day old leftovers. It was hard, dry and took quite a bit of energy to swallow. And for the beef fondue, they gave us one little stove for a long table of 8 people. That doesn't even make any sense.
The service here was also really bad. The server was literally tossing plates and chopsticks at us when he was setting up the table. That almost caused us to leave the place right away, but the owner switched the waiters around to keep us there. For the rest of the night, they acted really nice to us because they knew how upset we were of the other guy's attitude.
Good thing I don't live in San Diego anymore. If I did, I would not come to this place ever again. I refuse to pay for that kind of service and quality. -
Review from Mai N.
San Diego, CA
9/24/2007
This is the ONLY Vietnamese restaurant I go to - not to confuse Vietnamese restaurant with Pho place. The place is small & can use a good renovation, but the food here is AUTHENTIC. This place has to be good & authentic if my mom would eat here because if it's not then she'd rather cook the food herself.
I come here for the beef wrapped in grape leaves. The beef is ground beef that is seasoned & wrapped in grape leaves with peanuts on top. It comes w/ lots of vegetables & rice paper. You place the beef & vegetables in the rice paper and roll it like a spring roll and dip it in the spicy fish sauce. It's like $9 and it's delicious, filling, & my favorite.
I also get the huge prawns that comes w/ veggies & rice. You get 2 huge prawns that come in its own dish & a plate of rice & veggies. It's a Vietnamese specialty so it's kind of pricey compared to the other stuff - around $17. I love it. I always get it here because the prawns are hard to come by and my mom can't make this dish for me.
All the bun (vermicelli) is really good as well.
The great thing is afterwards I can get frozen yogurt at Rocky's next door - YUM! -
Review from Denise Q.
7/5/2007
I don't know what to order here, as I am not as proficient with Vietnamese food as my other friends are. Every time I've been here I have been here under the supervision of my friend Chi, who is a regular and knows what to order, as well as the authentic name for it in Vietnamese. With that said, I have no idea as to the names of anything I've had, but it's all been great.
They also make dessert drinks that are yummy. Again, though I don't know how to order them. -
Review from Geri C.
San Diego, CA
6/4/2008
They failed my Bun test.
Thats how I gage whether or not I would come back to the restaurant. I ordered their Bun - rice vermicelli special with all the trimmings (i forget what it was called). They call it their special. It was a good sized portion with every kind of topping they offer for their rice vermicelli dishes. It cost $8.99 and unfortunately I wasnt really impressed.
I still can't believe I spent about $12 including tax and tip for rice vermicelli!! it wasn't even that great. The nuc mam didnt really taste that great so it really didnt bring the dish together. In fact, I didnt really taste the flavor of the nuc mam at all. I've had better BBQ pork at K's sandwiches. It just didnt make sense with all these toppings which when served all together, didnt really work for me. Its better to just keep in simple (and cheaper!).
I'm not so sure if I would come back here again. For vietnamese food, its a on the pricey side - ESPECIALLY when I know Bolsa is cheaper and better tasting. The menu offers great selection of vietnamese food in other than pho and bun, but overall I wasn't that impressed. Maybe I should give them another chance... -
Review from Alan L.
San Diego, CA
9/13/2011
The best and most authentic Vietnamese food I've ever had! The food is fantastic and the service is very friendly! I come here all the time and each visit never ceases to amaze me!
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Review from Brandon Z.
San Diego, CA
5/11/2008
I love this place! I go at lunch time and its never very busy at all... The staff is friendly and its a comfortable atmosphere.
The food is delicious and reasonably priced.
Go here and eat! -
Review from Linh T.
Orange County, CA
3/3/2009
Probably the best place to get pho in Kearny Mesa (Convoy Area).
After trying countless numbers of different pho restaurants, my roommates and I keep coming back here. There usually isn't any wait and they take your order pretty fast. The broth is actual pho broth, not like chicken stock found at other restaurants we have dined at. Their portions are very generous, giving a proportional share of noodles, broth, and meat. Although their prices are a little higher than compared to pho restaurants found in Westminster/Fountain Valley (Orange County), it's not at all bad for San Diego.
PS. It's only 1$ extra to get an extra large bowl of pho! How can you say no to that?!
PPS. I know there's an Anh Hong chain of 7 courses of beef .. but I'm not sure if this place is a real Anh Hong or just a bite off of the original. -
Review from Jen C.
Los Angeles, CA
10/3/2010
I've come here multiple times for their 7 courses of beef. Always too much food and always good.
I've never had a problem with service, but then again, I've always gone with people that could speak Vietnamese. The food is definitely worth a try and I will be back for sure. -
Review from Momotaro S.
San Diego, CA
12/11/2009
I would never go to this place to eat pho again. It sucked.
The broth was weird....I can't explain but it didn't taste right.
The service was not great either. They were slow and kind of rude. -
Review from Eug K.
San Diego, CA
4/11/2008
Best PHO in town!
I almost don't want people to know about it because if it gets too popular than I won't be able to eat here, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due.
This is one of those hole in the wall GEMS where only locals go. Its the kind of place where if your a 6 ft tall blond guy they stop and look at you as if to say "there goes the neighborhood", and then go on eating their food.
The food doesn't come out super fast because unlike Pho Hoa Cali (read my horror story) they don't have it sitting out for awhile. (Hint: If your food only takes 2 minutes to come out thats because they popped it into a microwave) This place obviously doesn't make it until you order it. The place is clean, the staff polite, and the food is great and cheap. All this said..please go get a K Sandwich or Yogurt next door instead so that I can still enjoy this place whenever I want.
I hope you ignore this review
