Pho Nic

Pho Nic is one of those rare spots where the energy is always calm, no matter how busy it gets. My sister is autistic and easily overstimulated, but we come here every single Sunday because the atmosphere is consistently peaceful. It's never chaotic, never overwhelming. The customer service is another standout. The staff is proactive, accommodating, and never rushed. Even when it's busy, they handle everything with ease, making sure you're taken care of without feeling hurried or brushed off.The food: it's solid and feels health-conscious. It's not mind-blowing or the best Vietnamese food I've ever had, but it's decent. The shrimp wontons are packed with actual shrimp (no filler), the egg rolls are crisp without being too greasy, and overall, the quality is there. Plus, the location is super convenient.If you're looking for a place with good food, great service, and a consistently welcoming vibe, Pho Nic delivers every time.

1. The Hainanese Chicken was coated with sesame oil, and it goes well the sauces that came with it. The crispy chicken was nicely battered!2. The spot has fun casual vibes!3. There are lots of indoor tables!4. The staff were friendly and timely with our order!5. Parking lot is huge, and it was easy to find parking in the morning!Note: There are restrooms available for customers!Photo: Hainanese Chicken Rice, Golden Garlic Chicken, and Sweet Dream Strawberry Milk

Is it a pho place or a Hainanese chicken joint? Because with only four pho options on the menu, I'm starting to question their commitment to the cause. The restaurant is bright, clean, and has zero Bolsa vibes--definitely a place you can bring your Caucasian friends without anyone feeling awkward. Not a single old Asian lady sitting at the table with one slipper off, either, which is... something different. My daughter had the build-your-own pho for $13. It's fine, but it's not wow--she went with rare steak and beef meatballs. If you're looking for variety, you've got one option... and that's not exactly impressive.Now, the Hainanese chicken. Oh, the Hainanese chicken. It's off the bone, people. Off the bone. This is practically a cultural crime. And if you're wondering, they serve it with Kikkoman soy sauce. SOY SAUCE? For Hainanese chicken? For Vietnamese food? My ancestors are literally spinning in their graves, whispering "This is not it." When I asked for ginger fish sauce, the server was like, "Oh, right, I should've asked if you wanted that." Yeah, you should have.In the end, it was good, clean, and definitely Americanized for a more diverse crowd. I get it, they're catering to their audience, and I'm clearly not their target audience.PS: You can ask for chicken on the bone. Please do so!

Likes:+ Very convenient pho place for me. Located near my destinations and right by the 405.+ The food is good enough.+ Almost always plenty of parking available, since this section of the giant parking lot is far enough from the Costco in the same plaza.+ Multiple restrooms.+ Cheap enough.+ Polite, efficient service.+ Plenty of indoor seating.+ I like that this place closes at 9pm everyday (closed on Mondays). Very convenient for me after I get off work or after Los Cab closes at 8pm on weekends. (Other pho places close earlier.) Convenient restaurant to rejuvenate on beef bone broth after a long pickleball day.

TLDR; fast service, decent viet-style chicken riceThis restaurant is right next to the Fountain Valley Costco, so it's in a convenient area to go post-grocery shopping. The restaurant serves Vietnam-style Hainanese chicken rice (ik it's a mouthful) and pho, tho the former is more of their specialty. Food comes fast, and the Hainanese chicken rice is decent; it's less greasy than the original and much heavier on the fish sauce. I do wish the rice was more flavorful; usually the drippings from cooking the chicken will make the rice extra rich and flavorful, which unfortunately did not happen here. Otherwise, the area is clean and the staff are kind so I would definitely give this a try if you want to try a different version of Hainanese chicken rice!

Went back to Pho Nic, it's been too long since my last visit! We ordered one pho combo, one 3 meat pho, one Vietnamese iced coffee, and one cloudy coffee. We were greeted and seated right away. Upon ordering, we got our food pretty quickly and the team checked up on us a few times to make sure everything was good. Already know I'll be back again with the same coffee order but I prefer the hainan chicken over the pho!

Food came out fast! Overall a clean restaurant, and plenty of seating. You order with a qr code but staff still come by often to check on waters and anything else you might need. Good prices on top of everything- will definitely come back!!!

My son and I were on our way home from a fun weekend in San Diego and found ourselves starving for some yummy food. We figured Pho would be a great choice and can't ever go wrong w appetizers. The food came so quickly and the ambiance was beautiful. The food was hands down delicious and even typing this review is taking me back to the great flavors that came with our dishes. Only thing to keep in mind is when you are ready to pay just walk up to register.

Nestled in the Costco shopping plaza is this delicious pho spot with an insanely diverse menu. My dad got the pho which came with a large portion of meat to balance out the noodles. The broth was hearty and piping hot! My mom got the hainan chicken which was refreshing and juicy. I got the sizzling ribeye which was a nice comforting brunch item. The service was quick and friendly - I was surprised everything came out so fast despite how busy the restaurant is! At some point, a line was forming outside the restaurant - this place is popular.

I watched an amazing video of Pho Nic w showing how beautiful the Hainan chicken was and people slurping soup, it sure was very slick so I told myself it must be really really good. This location had seen 2 previous owners going out of business, competition was so fierce, it gets really crazy, a Pho restaurant every 2 blocks. As I had said before many college graduate owners I talked to came to California from out of state, unless they were doctors or engineers, there was not many option to make a living and they all open Pho restaurants, I know coz my own brother was in this category, his restaurant went under, he moved back to Arlington and went back to school to get his engineering degree and had a bright future. I would have to say many young Vietnamese succeeded beyond imagination with the help of Instagram and tiktok such as this restaurant. If Tiktok is banned this coming Sunday, Instagram will get all the new customers. So what's the secret sauce? None really, they are very clever, they put an ad w a professionally made video that enticed people to come try it and of course the location right in the same mall as Costco helped bring a lot of foot traffic. I went there twice to get takeouts so that's enough time to write an accurate review. I was so disappointed I could not eat the Pho, it must be a joke, the broth was like water, zero taste, what were all the young folks thinking? The place was packed, I'm sure from watching video on Instagram, many might not come back but Instagram has hundred of million subscribers so they will get new customers daily, they just have to count me out, me and older folks. How can it be that they claimed the chicken was marinated 16 hours, gimme a break, it tasted good but not exceptional, the broth was just salty water, a good Hainan chicken made by real Chinese cooks such as at what used to be in a Taiwanese restaurant that went out of business during Covid in Little Saigon and one next to Van restaurant, the rice was more flavorful there and the sauce was perfect, btw they forgot to give me the ginger soy sauce, they gave me an oily green sauce and another unspecified sauce, I had to fix the ginger soy sauce myself. I won't go back there, good for them that they are doing well but sorry, this is a 3 stars at best. I started w 2 stars as I remembered some pieces of chicken WERE RED, NOT COOKED, luckily I did not get sick but a yelpie got food poisoning from the Hainan chicken then I remembered the fried chicken was so delicious so I uprated it to 3 stars.