Bún Riêu Cua Tân Định

One of my favorite restaurants in SJ lately. I usually stick with my Bun Mam which is loaded with protein in that sweet and umami anchovy broth. Bae has tried their Banh Canh Cua (broth is on the lighter side) and the Bun Rieu. Despite having this noodle as part of their name, it's not the best - balls are firm but can come off dry while the broth is a tad bland). They do have a few sauces you can add to give it a bit more of a flavor bump. Quite generous with the herbs.Cha Gio is so good! Crispy, light and airy with that sweet and savory nuoc mam. Clean restaurant with fast and efficient service.

If you are craving any sort of Bun Rieu, this is the place for you. Although the staff didn't feel that welcoming, the service was quick and everything was clean. Our food came out less than 5 minutes after ordering and the bowl was loaded. I expect every restaurant in Vietnam Town to be crowded, but we were seated right away here.Bun Rieu Cua: The best bun rieu you can get anywhere. So many different items in the soup and everything was so flavorful.Bo Bia: Mediocre. It tastes like what it is and is good enough to satisfy any bo bia cravings. I would say I didn't like how loose they rolled the bo bia. Everything kept falling out.

This is a specialty restaurant. Specialized in really one type of dish. It's the eponymous Bún riêu, crab cake rice vermicelli soup. It's presented in one of two main ways; either with fresh veggies/herbs or with blanched Ong choy. Either way it's delicious. Is it the best I've ever had in San Jose? No, but it's the best available. Other vendors that were better did not survive the pandemic or aged out and retired. Service was good; not fantastic but more than adequate. When I've ordered takeouts, the items would be ready at the promised time to pick up. The dine-in vibe is not the greatest feels a little dated and messy for being in that location; but I would come for the food.

Stopped in this place to try it out. The service was friendly. The food was just ok. My mom ordered the bun riêu, which she said it was a bit salty... my soup was a bit bland but mostly smelled of fish paste. There wasn't much flavor. The udon was tender though. Not sure if it was just me and not being use to this flavor because my family is from the north or if it was an off day.

Quick takeaways are the below average service and poor food photo placement in the menu compare to actual. I should've ordered what everyone else ordered but I went rogue. Bun Rie Cua is their specialty but I went with Bun Mam. Big mistake and I hope this review will help you not make the same error.My experience:+ Veggies are fresh and plentiful (5/5)- Bun Mam on the menu had photos of several roast pork slices and 2 shrimps. I got about half in my bowl. 2 pork slices and 1 shrimp in the actual bowl. Soup is delicious but also more pale in color than the photo (2/5)- Banh Canh Cuan is like udon size noodles in crab soup with pork slices and seafood. Unfortunately I didn't even try it because of the mixup explained below. (?/5)- Poor service which I share later (1/5)I meant to order Bun Mam because the picture on the menu had it right next to #8 which is Banh Canh Cua. I really don't know the dishes as I hardly eat Vietnamese seafood soups. Well, my mistake as the dish that came out is #8 which is Banh Canh Cuan. It looks ok, but I wanted the pork that I saw in the photo of the Bun Nam which is actually #7. Long story short there is mixup which I totally understand is my fault although the photo can be positioned better on the menu.When I told them I meant to order #7 they were correct to say that I wrongly ordered #8. I told them that I will happily take this #8 to go and I'll order #7 now. I even told them that I was confused because of the photo in the menu. Meanwhile my friend across from me is chowing down on his Bun Rie Cua (#5). It looks really good and I was getting hungry. They gave me the takeout containers and I waited patiently.Fast forward 15+ minutes and enough salivating, my friend finished his meal. He flagged the waitress down to ask where is my meal? It turns out that she thought I wanted the Bun Mam to go. I'm like no, why would I come here just to watch my friend eat? I got my meal within minutes but now my friend has to watch me eat for another 10 minutes.In short, the people that work here apparently didn't understand what I was saying. Furthermore they didn't even notice or bother to ask how I am when I just packed my wrongly ordered food and waited. They should've had the basic common sense that I would not get 2 takeout orders when I'm sitting there hungry. I even ate noodle scrapes off the table that I dropped when I was putting the wrongly ordered soup to go. I don't even know what #8 taste like because I gave it to my friend. I don't think I'm coming back here.

Not many places to get banh canh cua around here, well not many good ones at least. If you know of a better spot please let me know. If you come here on weekdays it's usually not as packed and at night there's plenty of seating. I got the banh canh cua and it came out pretty fast, keep in mind that it's the winter season so this place hits harder because it warms up your stomach. Go light on the chili peppers if you're not good at eating spicy. I can hold my own but after adding 2 spoons, I was hurting with every bite but at the same time loving the flavors. This place is spacious and has a big mural on the wall and a few TVs, I like it. It gives you the vn vibe. Park for this place can be a pain so you'll have to park on the sides and walk to here.

We came on Christmas Eve. Since it was a weekday and a "holiday," a lot of places weren't open or had closed up early. So we didn't have too many choices. I wasn't picky and am a fan of bun rieu so I had no problem with this place. We arrived to a pretty busy place (as I'm sure everyone else was also looking for an open place to eat at) and got one of the last remaining tables. As with any Asian restaurant, service is meh, but expected. It took awhile to flag someone down to order. But food came out quickly and then you paid at the counter on your way out. The menu is not too big - less than 10 bowls of noodle options, with some appetizers and drinks. I ended up not getting bun rieu after all and opted for the banh canh cua. It's their udon dish with crab, shrimp, pork, quail eggs and mushrooms. The broth is also thickened a bit. My dining companions both got the banh canh bac dui, which is also udon with just pork and pork blood. It was a cold night so the hot soup hit the spot for me. Loved all the toppings. The portion size was just right also. I will have to come back for the bun rieu but he banh canh I did try was delicious.

Stopped by this place in Vietnamese town and it was delicious! I've been wanting to try the crab paste noodles and I would recommend getting it here. The service was fast and the ambiance felt homey. There's outdoor and indoor seating and the air conditioner was super nice inside. The bun rieu noodles are definitely a must try. The broth is light but very flavorful and the fish paste that is on the side is a great addition.

Sorry this place doesn't taste that good ‍. Eggrolls are ok, didn't come w vermicelli. I got the regular bun rieu. It tasted thin, and odd. I've had a lot of bun rieu, sorry this ain't it. My kid wouldn't eat it either.

Bun Rieu Cua Tan Dinh is offfically my spot to hit up whenever I am craving for a hearty bowl of bun mam!!Located in Vietnam Town, neighboring Grand Century, this restaurant specializes in Vietnamese noodle soup- primarily bun rieu [crab & tomato soup]. My last visit made for a sad revelation of the business no longer offering banh kep. Fortunately milk teas, smoothies, & other Vietnamese desserts are still on the menu.The menu offering is pretty straightforward with a total of 10 items involving both appetizers and noodle soups. Simple yes, but just enough to keep the restaurant busy & patrons coming back.My purchases here have included: bun mam [fermented fish noodle soup], canh bun [crab and water spinach soup], & fresh pressed sugarcane.Given the initial statement above, the bun mam is absolutely delicious. Flavors are spot on with a good amount of salty/fishiness, balanced bit of sweetness, and perfectly cooked noodles. Canh bun is good. The portions of water spinach provided is generous but I am not a fan of the crab/seafood patties that essentially make this dish. Fresh pressed sugarcane is a must- its subtle sweetness & refreshing aspect will keep you wanting more. 5/5 stars specifically for the bun mam. I've tried a number of restaurants offering and specializing in this specific dish, and they don't compare to BRCTD.