Pho Duyen Mai

This very well might be my new favorite Vietnamese spot in central San Diego! Even though my dad and I met up here for lunch with the intention of getting banh mi, we were absolutely blasted in the face by the pho broth aromas, so we couldn't resist getting pho! It even felt special that we each got our own plate of toppings, so we didn't have to fight over the jalapeños Honorable mention (not pictured) ~ fresh combo spring rolls, with one of the best peanut sauces I've ever had Even though we were stuffed, we had to try the egg cream iced coffee, and an iced coffee with boba!Absolutely phenomenal, bursting with flavor. Great service, craveable, cute and simple interior with plenty of seating. Highly recommend!!

TL;DR: Noodles and apps were good. Probably going to try to Banh Xeo next time - drooled each time a plate passed our tableOrdered:- #10 Mixed order rolls (3/5): Both the shrimp and the pork paste were good but definitely opting for only pork next time if the table wants it. Happy to skip and grub harder on the entree. more hype than value- #50 Vermicelli Egg rolls and Pork (4/5): Juicy pork but the egg rolls were overhyped. Would've liked more flavor/funk in the fish sauce as well- #3 Bun Rieu (5/5): normally I get the Bun bo hue but felt like going a little lighter and very glad I did! Would absolutely get this again - super deep broth and loved the proteins throughout the noodles. The chew to the noodles were perfect!Service was a bit of a hassle - brought out the wrong dishes several times and forgot beverages until the very end after multiple reminders. Not a deal breaker but just a heads up going inBe prepared for a line especially around standard meal hours but it's worth it for sureCheers, Pho Duyen Mai!

I really enjoyed my pho. This one was their house special (sorry I do not remember the name). But I would highly recommend it. It has a little bit of a kick but not too spicy. The perfect balance. The eggrolls and spring rolls were ok.Unfortunately the service comes with a little bit of attitude. So for that reason it's a 4 star for me.

The place is located in a small plaza, it's decent size. The service is good. The food is ok for me. The stir fried beef vermicelli I ordered, too much oil. The sauce for the spring rolls is kinda salty. The waiter couldn't answer the question that I was looking for about the food and the recommendations.

Came on a Sunday around 5pm. Only about 8 people here. Within 3 minutes of sitting down, we were asked what we wanted to eat. Told the guy we haven't even looked yet, he sighed and said okay. Two minutes after that, a woman came up and asked us for our order. Told her the same. She smiled and said no problem. I'll be right back. 3 minutes after that. The first guy came back and asked if we were ready. At that point, I just ordered the first thing my eye spotted. Felt a little rushed and rude. The place in terms of ambiance is okay. Nothing too special. Not a warm and cozy place but not bare white walls. My friend who swears by this place ordered Lemongrass Vermicelli with tofuChicken phoI ordered the raw beef pho. Mine was okay. I think his vermicelli was by far the best. My beef pho lacked flavor. I only ate about half and then took it to go. I would say that after letting it sit and marinate for 2 days, I then had it for lunch and it was so much more better. I imagine it had more time for the flavors to infuse. Had it tasted like that on Sunday when I went, I would have eaten it all there. My friend calls it a five star place. I'd say it's more of a 3 star. Just wasn't impressed but am open to going back another day.

Really great service by Lu (?).I stopped by for a quick early dinner after the gym and thank goodness the restaurant had plenty of a/c.There was plenty of seating in the large restaurant. I've eaten here before when it was very busy. This visit I tried:Pork Paste Rolls $6:- $3 per roll seemed ok. I requested the rolls without the crunchy fried rice paper inside. The rolls are made fresh to order and served with a side of their warm dipping sauce. It was a nice appetizer HOUSE SPECIAL COMBO $14.50:- Grilled pork, chicken, shrimp paste in bean curd skin, pork rinds and steamed meatloaf . The pork and chicken tasted dry. The shrimp paste in bean curd was best part as it was freshly fried and delicious. Pork rinds were a good portion and enjoyableLu would stop by and make sure all was good. You pay up front once you're done so it's a quick process. I'd be back if I was in the area.

I tried their rare steak pho and added meatballs. The pho was good but I prefer the soup to come at a hotter temperature. I ordered a small and it was a good portion for me. Service was good and there is a lot of indoor seating. They also have a parking lot.

Really impressed! I'm from San Jose so have very high standards for viet food, and desperately needed a fix. We got the combo spring rolls, with nem nuong and shrimp paste. I think you can probably just stick with the nem nuong as I couldn't really taste much of a difference but it was pretty solid! Sauce is about 8/10ths of the way to Brodards, which is no small feat. We also got the grilled pork and eggroll vermicelli and pho tai (beef). Pho broth had great flavor and my vermicelli bowl was great, and such a great deal! The same bowl in NorCal would easily rack up to at least $18-20 nowadays which blows my mind. I'll definitely be coming back here for my viet cravings.

If you're looking for an authentic pho place, THIS is your spot! I'm always skeptical of Vietnamese spots, due to the fact that I can get a lot of Vietnamese food homemade, but this place definitely hits close to home. The ambiance in this restaurant is modern and pretty fast paced. We immediately got sat down when we got there, and they took our order pretty quickly. We both got pho and a banh xeo to share! I was absolutely AMAZED by the banh xeo. It's usually not my first choice, but this was one of the best banh xeos that I have ever eaten. The crepe part was crunchy, it came out hot, and the flavors coming together with the nước mắm was incredible. Really recommend getting the banh xeo! The pho was really good as well. The broth was aromatic, and with adding the greens in, the pho was still at a hot temperature. They give you a decent amount of meats with the pho as well. Overall, this place was great!

The food here is spectacular, unfortunately the service is truly terrible. Go for the food, but be prepared to be ignored, or when you ask a question or request for the answer to be blatantly rude. They're usually pretty busy so it's clear they don't care about customer service.