Cali Banh Mi - Point Loma

I've been to a couple of the Cali Banh Mi locations around San Diego and this one is my favorite! The decor is cute and service is always quick!I only get the BBQ pork Banh Mi sandwich and todays was the biggest, fattest one yet! Fresh ingredients and perfect bread!This location also has plenty of parking and close freeway access! Stop in an get some food!Also got the Vietnamese iced milk coffee! So tasty! I WILL NOT be sleeping anytime soon! Haha

We stopped by the CVS during our latest trip to La Jolla in San Diego, California. Cali Banh Mi - Point Loma was right next to the CVS, and we decided to stop inside for a quick snack!Cali Banh Mi offers a wide range of selections such as sandwiches, bowls, coffee, and Boba. Looking over their menu selection, we had to try out their Boba! Some of their other offerings like their Banh Mi include the followingSurf/Turf: Vietnamese Banh MiSpam/Egg: Vietnamese Banh MiTofu Vietnamese Banh MiChicken Breast Viet Banh MiLoaded Breakfast Banh MiAcai Bowls:Nutella AcaiTropical AcaiOriginal AcaiThe team member was friendly and had asked if we wanted anything else besides Boba. Their Thai Tea Boba was delicious, though! It was rich and creamy! You could taste the vanilla and the other spices, almost like a cinnamon! We took the order to-go.

Not gonna lie I was very skeptical about this place having any sort of authentic taste especially since being in this area and having Islander music playing when I walked in. I found this place last minute on Yelp while on the way to Belmont and wanting to grab something quick to take. The cashier who took our order was cool he didn't say much.We got the surf and turf fries and the dac biet sandwich. I was wondering if they used pate here n surprisingly they do! It even says it on their menu for the dac biet. I'm not sure why their paper menu says the dac biet sandwich is $9 but the one on the screen inside says $10 but I only got charged $9. The surf and turf fries were $15.I was sooo surprised when I opened both items up at the beach. I was expecting very little expectations and thinking it was Americanized. The fries looked amazing when I opened the box! It was topped with steak and shrimp and drizzled with a sort of spicy mayo aioli, picked daikon and carrots, and cilantro. Basically all the fixings inside a banh mi. I immediately took a bite while my son and husband looked at me with envy in their eyes. I opened up my sandwich which I asked to be cut in thirds and it looked so meaty and I could already see and smell it was done correctly. It was heftily packed with cold cuts and I could smell the soy sauce and pate I love it! As soon as I took a bite I was like omggg this is even better than some places in the hood in City Heights!!! Kudos!!! Will definitely always grab a bite for the beach when I'm on my way to hangout.

While we were eating at a disappointing seafood boil restaurant next door we thought we'd try some bahn mi's for or picnic lunch the next day. So while we were eating our less than satisfying seafood I used my app to order or sandwiches. They were both very good a reasonably priced. If you don't have good bread you can't make a good sandwich. They have good bread. Service is just like every other sandwich shop. Good. And you can judge for yourself if the restaurant atmosphere is what you're looking for.

I ordered a honeydew boba tea. A small was $9, and it was like drinking straight heavy cream. Horrible. So disappointing.

I absolutely love Cali Bahn Mi! We've ordered catering from a different location multiple times and the food from this location tastes the exact same. The tofu Bahn mi sandwich is my favorite. Even if you aren't a tofu lover, you'll like this one! They cook the tofu in a way that is in no way bland. It's super flavorful and absolutely delicious. If you really can't get past that, then the bbq pork is also a favorite. I also enjoy their fresh spring rolls. I had mine made without bean sprouts as they aren't my favorite. The location is nice and clean. It's easy to park. It's right next to the Cravory.

Continue to love this place a few years later. Still our go to for Bahn Mi, although the fries are killer too. They're always so good to us accommodating our young daughter's dietary restrictions. It has quickly become one of her favorite spots. Today we came in and Guillermo was super awesome and creative in helping my little one pick out the perfect option for her.

I ordered the shrimp and pork spring rolls. The peanut sauce had such a weird taste. I had to ask for fish sauce as an alternative dipping sauce. Sadly the fish sauce was much worse. I'm a sauce person. If you can't get the flavors right, I wont be coming back. Scared to try their bowls or banh mi if their sauces are so terrible. Ruined it for me. I was craving spring rolls and this place was a huge miss for me.

No....just no. I don't know what happened the day we went because what we had did not match all the other reviews that claim the food to be "amazing".This was hands down the worst Banh mi and spring rolls I believe I've had. The bun wasn't toasted, the chicken was under seasoned and dry, the pickled veg didn't have that nice burst of flavor - they were like watered down pickled veg. Didn't notice any or much mayo or sauce which made it super dry, lacking flavor and under seasoned.The spring rolls aka summer rolls aka salad rolls....literally just vermicelli, lettuce and steamed shrimp. SO bland. Add some herbs for flavor - Thai Basil or mint or Vietnamese coriander...or all. Bean sprouts or julienne carrots or cucumber would be nice for texture. Sure, some would say "the dipping sauce adds the flavor". This was the worst dipping sauce. You can see in the picture how dark it is - it tasted basically of soy sauce and it was so overpoweringly salty. Just awful.The strawberry fields salad. I don't know what I was thinking. Barely any toppings in comparison to the spring mix lettuces. And the sauce was a sugary jelly like substance that I would say with certainty was not freshly made in house. I chose to not pour the dressing over the salad.The coconut smoothie had an artificial coconut flavor taste. Not a fan of artificial flavoring. Coconut milk and coconut cream or coconut milk and young coconut meat blended would be much more delicious. My husband paid extra to add boba and it was such a small amount of boba, that was also disappointing.Lastly, the takeout sealed packaging for every single order seems incredibly wasteful (as seen in my photos). It would be nice if they asked each customer if they were dining in or taking out and plate the dishes accordingly because the amount of styrofoam, plastic wrap and plastic containers that are being used to dine in only to be immediately thrown away (there was no recycling bin) seems incredibly excessive and wasteful.I really hope the food improves. But I don't think we'd be giving this place a second try.

The cashier was very nice and everything looked clean/organized inside. I ordered the spicy crispy chicken sandwich, but I was a bit disappointed on the "crispy" portion. It was basically chicken tenders which were a bit on the soggy side. The rest of the sandwich was pretty good, I enjoyed the sauce and chopped toppings. It was also the perfect size. I will return and update my review after I try another item on the menu.