I've worked in the Silicon Valley many years and am used to very good Pho. I have not found great Pho since working in Santa Cruz until I stopped off at Asian Express. They serve traditional Vietnamese Pho and the broth is very flavorful. I ordered Pho Tai which is not on the menu but they made special for me. It's basically #8 minus the meat balls. During COVID it's hard to arrange the order just how you like it but the staff were very accommodating to my requests. My dining experience was perfect considering the pandemic; the food was delicious and I will be coming back! A+ read more

Meh, this place is just okay. I always hear among my friends this is the place to go to cure hangovers if you don't want to drive far. Asian Express is in a good location right next to Capitola Mall, Yogurtland, Starbucks, Chipotle, and Togo's. There's always enough parking around here and it's never crowded. I've step foot in here a good amount of times, so I think a review for their pho and boba would be worth it. Their pho isn't bad; the noodles and soup have good texture and flavoring, roughly $8 a bowl. Their boba however.. yuck. I had the regular milk tea and ugh the pearls were hard. Have restaurants not sample their own drinks or something? Maybe it was made fresh a while ago and they just had it sitting in the back.. who knows. But for $3.50, it definitely wasn't worth it. Dunno how my friend felt since she didn't complain, but I know what good boba is (at least for my taste buds) being from San Francisco and trying various boba places in San Jose, around the east bay, and in Southern California. Comfy seating and overall a pretty clean place.. yet the search for better boba still continues around the Santa Cruz area. I think next time I will try their vermicelli noodles. read more

All you uptight whiners claiming we aren't san Jose beat it, you're right we like it that way. In Santa Cruz like I suppose just about every where else Most off the chart food (Asian or otherwise) actually occurs in the kitchens of people's homes. But anyways. These guys knock their prices up a little because let's face it this isn't Westminster Ave, it's 41st. I Think the rents have become a factor. But if you bring your cold, sniveling, faithless carcass in here on just about any blustery day and pick up a) some pho and b) the chicken egg rolls, you are going to be stoked. Eaaassstttsssiiiidddeee read more

Surprisingly good pho!! Especially if you can't drive over the hill to San Jose area. I would definitely only come here to get pho, the take out doesn't seem terrible- but I personally don't like eating things that have been sitting under heat lamps for an x amount of time. read more

It doesn't look like much, but this is our go to place for quick and easy pho. Seeing as there aren't many options in SC, it's a no-brainer. #21 is a tasty spicy soup, and their vermicelli dishes are fantastic as well. Four stars instead of five for consistency of service. read more

Pho was very decent. For some reason you can not find pho in Santa Cruz. This place also sells Chinese and Thai food (which I was very skeptical about) but I am glad we decided to give them a try. Service was great, very kind. read more

Asian Express - #7 and #8 (without beef slices) veggie egg rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - Capitola, California

We have been eating there for about 5 or 6 years now. Have experience two or three new owners. The Hotbar is no more which I think is good. Boba tea is the best around--No matter what San Jose folks say. The Banh mi is very good. There's a chicken or pork patty. The pho is great. We always like the number 16. That's a veggie option. It's on our regular rotation of dining out restaurants. read more

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On our way up North to SF and wanted to eat some pho. Luckily found this little joint. I had low expectations given the area but the broth was exceptional! I thought it was very similar to the pho in Hanoi. Great hidden gem. Located in a strip mall. Plenty parking You order at the register and then seat yourself. read more

Delicious fresh Asian food made by sweet people quickly. I am a big fan of their banh mi sandwiches (the baguette is so crunchy and yummy). My partner swears by their pad thai. I am a big fan of this restaurant. read more

The pho is good. Prices are now ridiculously inflated and expensive for what you get: it's absurd. I've been going to this place for ten years. It used to cost $10-11 per bowl just two years ago. Now they are charging $15-16. I used to spend $22 on two soups, this last time they charged me $39 for the same. I added 4 fish balls, they charged $4! A 1lb bag of fish balls cost $6. I won't be going here any more. read more

Best Vietnamese food in Santa Cruz. Keep this place open! My go to is the vermicelli bowl & their pho. YUM

We came after my partner passed his driving test. So glad it was right near the DMV. We ordered 2 plates and 2 entrees for 3 people. More than enough food and really good flavor too. We will definitely be back when we next come this way to go to Santa Cruz. read more

I thought, from the name, that this was some kind of Panda Express/mall food court (except not in the mall) type of place. So, I never had a desire to go. But I kept hearing about their Pho. And I was craving something to warm my wilting could-be-catching-a-cold body. And it's closer than my usual go-to, Charlie Hong Kong. So.... My first time here, I got the #10 (chicken noodle soup) and spring rolls for $10.85. Both were pretty solid. The peanut sauce for the spring rolls was good and the soup came in a HUGE bowl with plenty of my favorites: cilantro, basil and lime. I didn't think there was a lot of chicken, but I ended up with more of that left than the rest. Hit the spot and I'm now in a nice warm bed, about to get some much-needed rest. The inside of the place was also a lot cleaner than I expected too. I'll definitely come back to try more....but from the sounds of other reviewers, will probably stick to the made-to-order Pho and Thai items. read more

go here every Monday, the broth for the soup is absolutely delicious as well as their boba.

I drive by this place all the time. I always thought it looked dumpy and the food would leave you in the bathroom regretting your decision. One day, I was craving vermicelli​. I decided to call and try it out. Let me just say that I order out from there every week now. It's​ sooooo good. The food here is surprisingly great. I'm surprised. The owners need to do a facelift on their signage, but this place is legit. Great food read more

bunch of roaches do not come here! my housemate told me it was his go to place. we sat down for less than 5 minutes i saw 5+ roaches yuck !!!! if there are this many bugs in the dining room imagine the kitchen!!! place needs to get shut down by the health inspector stay far away !!!!!! read more

Absolutely my favorite place to go for a banh mi. Delicious, fast, great prices... what more do I want??

Food prices going up every 6 months or less while portions are getting smaller. People think this is a good place because they don't have options around here or have tried places elsewhere. Quality of broth is not authentic and is flavored with 5 spice. I wish people would try other places so they can see how bad this one is in comparison. Makes santa cruz eaters look like a joke and Asian Express is probably laughing at all the people that think they are good with such low quality and effort they show. When they first opened years ago they were authentic but just average. Now they are not authentic and below average. read more

3 stars because the food TASTES great. However, the woman at the cash register took my money (cash btw...so dirty!) With her gloved hands and then used the same gloved hands (same gloves) to pick up raw meat to put in the pan, clean the tables, and serve my food and... wait for it... stuck her still-same-gloved finger in my daughter's food when i asked a question about it! Gah!!! So bummed because the food is good, but the hygiene makes it a no go :(((( read more

Best Boba tea ever!!!!!!!! Basil chicken wings are a must try Nice staff A little tricky to see from the street if your not used to the area read more

This place sucks, I drove all the way from Santa Cruz and this place is closed. Update your business hours like normal fricken businesses! Waisting peoples time! read more

I love this place, the service is always great and the food is always delicious their boba is so good.

Their bahn mi is amazing. Pork was cooked very nicely . Crunchy bread. What more can I say

Delicious!!! My wife and I loved the pho and chicken pad thai. And we were very happy to find Avocado Smoothies! We've been looking for avocado smoothies around Santa Cruz for the past 2 years with no luck. I also appreciated being able to order at the counter and have a seat in a cozy booth. We will be coming back soon. read more

The Vietnamese sandwiches are very good! They use chicken to make their pate! So it's way more healthy than pork liver but yet still flavorful, rich, and the perfect balance umami! Sure the sandwiches are generally more expensive here than what you would get in San Jose. But the meat they use for their grilled chicken is way better quality than most sandwich places in San Jose! So your getting what you paid for. read more

We were lucky to find this restaurant in Santa Cruz. We were looking for a simple place with decent food. The prices are simple as well. I give it 3 stars bc I would have liked to see a more professional staff. read more

Go for the pho. I'm picky so I only get the rare beef (no meatballs) or the chicken breast, but they have meat balls or beef tendon or tofu if you are into that. They give a lot of toppings (lime, basil, onions, bean sprouts, even jalapeños) and have hot sauce you can add, which I do. They wrap up everything quite well for take out, if you prefer. I haven't had anything else, but I'm always wary of the buffet and heat lamp set up they use for the Chinese food. Go for the pho. read more

I got to say this place is better than it look , the people here are very nice and cool , friendly and make us felt so welcome .....the soup for the beef noodle are tasty no msg ... sure will come again read more

Asian Express - Beef noodle and my friend got chicken noodle both are good ... - Vietnamese Near Me - Capitola, California

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Definitely one of our go-to dinner places in Santa Cruz when we want good Asian food. Really solid value for the amount of food you get.

Best pho place in santa cruz! One time i went here and asked if i could have extra noodles for my pho and they hooked it up! The family who runs this place is awesome and they make great pho. I always get beef and tripe. Im gonna go tonight and im excited because they are a staple of the santa cruz cuisine scene ;) five stars! read more

Doesn't look like much from the outside but the pho is amazing! Really big, satisfying portions, and the taste is great!

The best Pho in town! I swear this stuff works miracles! The employees are so sweet. The food is delicious and we'll priced. You get huge servings. Highly recommend. read more

Delicious soup. The boba teas are also pretty amazing especially the Thai ice tea. Really good service. Thumbs up! Yum yum read more

If you're craving pho and you're in SC you know how hard it is to get it. Having to drive all the way to SJ for some pho is pretty annoying and this restaurant is the best thing next to pho in SJ. The place looks a little worn down with the plastic cups for water and sometimes the waiter doesn't give you a spoon or napkins but you can get up and get it yourself on the side. It really isn't bad pho like some people would think because this place is like a Panda Express. They have premade food ready to serve you just like Panda and they give you HUGE portions for these entree plates. I think it is well priced for the amount of food they give you for these plates. My favorite thing to get is #22. The wonton soup with egg noodles and lollipop chicken! The broth is kind of spicy and oily and the noodles are delicious while the wonton works perfectly with it! I only wish they had siracha and hoisin sauce to go with the soup and the pho. Easy parking right outside the plaza of restaurants. read more

Can yelp implement negative stars? I came to this establishment the first week it opened. I was really happy with this place. $5.49 for a two entree and one side meal and about 7 dollars for a bowl of pho. First time around I ordered lolipop chicken, curry beef, and my side was white rice. It was absolutely delicious. Now to my current feelings on this establishment. From what I know, places are to become better in time. But this place has gotten worse. The food quality is bad bad bad! The food looks like it had been re-heated many times. I had ribs recently and they were dryer than the mojave desert, and I would know because I've been there. The curry was basically all bones and no meat. One of the major things that irritated me was the lollipop chicken. They only give you three pieces for a chicken drumstick that has only the top half of the meat and the other half ends up in a random pile of other food. My housemate loves to order the pho and I will admit it is delicious. It is probably the only good thing here. Stray away from all else. Now for my reasoning for the 1 star: One time my housemate and I were eating I witnessed one of the main workers drop a few forks out of the utensil bin. She looked around, looked some more, proceeded to pick it up, put it behind her back and discreetly put it back in the clean fork bin. That is absolutely absurd. If you are putting dirty forks back in the bin to save a few bucks. I fear what goes on behind the scenes. I plan to investigate more into this. Pho is the only thing that saved this place read more

The closest thing to Pho if you're in Santa Cruz. Haven't had the opportunity to try anything else on the menu, but since decent pho is such a rarity in Santa Cruz, just had to go with the classic pho. This is the place to go if you're unwilling to drive all to San Jose for decent pho, this place will save $ on transportation and will get you full at least. *Right on the outskirts of Capitola mall!!! read more

Asian Express isn't very good. I probably won't go there again. The food was mediocre and I would settle for that if it was fast, but it was completely slow. My friend and I waited 30 minutes watching our other friend eat her dish that came out almost immediately. And then when we got the food it was 80% plain noodles. The spring rolls were good, but the rest of the dish just lacked flavor without heavy dipping in the sauces on the table. read more

For Santa Cruz, this is a five star pho place. Obviously if you compare this spot to pho in San Jose, it doesn't measure up but it's still pretty dank. The staff is super friendly is also a plus. I find myself coming here more than once a week. Guilty. And get the egg rolls with extra lettuce and pickled radish/carrots!! It's phoking delicious ;) I always leave here satisfied and that's what really matters. Trust me I'm supah squinty Asian. read more

I make oxtail, beef, chicken, pork, turkey pho on a regular basis all from scratch & frequent this place for their chicken pho when I'm either too busy or too lazy. Love that they are here 2 miles from me & totally recommend their chicken pho or any combination of Vermicilli bowl, which is as authentic as home style cooking!!! I've gone to places in that charged twice as much for these dishes mentioned but came no where close to Asian Express! If you like Vietnamese food & know how to cook it (As I do & am), you will NOT disagree that this is Legit! I give them 5 Stars for the dishes mentioned above but overall 3-4 Stars for other dishes like beef pho, banmi (which for some reason was served cold!) I'm not much of a fan for buffet food so I don't bother with those items. the (thai) spicy soup is good but a little too greasy when I 1st ordered it, so I recommend asking them to keep the oil levels down if you like that kind of soup i.e. Thai foods are not oily. read more

The service provided by the young man at the front desk? Awful! He had a Disgusting attitude. Questionable place for sure....