The first three reviews that popped up were 5-3-1 star. Wow. We had an event at the Fahey/ Klein…read moregallery across the street and did not know the place and the variety of reviews. We loved the food, the kind service and found the ambiance totally OK but nothing to get excited about. We sat on the little patio to the street and had a good time. We would always recommend/ go again/ and yes, mandatory for my five-star-rating: make a 30+ min detour to dine here and satisfy our Vietnamese cravings :-)

There are only a few Vietnamese spots in the Miracle Mile area and this one is solid…read more Went with a few friends and among us had the Tai Pho (filet mignon), Thit Nuong (grilled pork) Banh Mi, and Goi Cuon (pork and shrimp) Spring Rolls on this visit. The pho noodles here are distinctly wider than most of the other pho spots. The broth was delicious and it was a very satisfying pho although there could have been a few more slices of beef. My dining mates that had the banh mi were also happy with their choices and the one that had the Spring Rolls felt it was sufficient enough to be a meal. Service was attentive and quick. Given the choice between inside and the patio we chose the patio which has a bit more vibe. Parking can be a bit of a challenge. There is metered parking on both sides of La Brea and some parking can be found in the residential neighborhood adjacent. All round good choice for Vietnamese food in the area.

Finally found the pho spot that never fails!! I love getting the Wagyu Beef Toro Pho! The beef…read morebelly just melts in your mouth. Also got the vegetable fried rice and it pairs so well! I love that there's a toppings bar that you can just get unlimited toppings. Tried the onion with hoisin and siracha combo, so refreshing. Servers definitely check in on you from time to time! My only thing is that I think they use the same towels often so sometimes it smells a little mildew-y in there. Other than that, I'll always be back!

This place is the s--t It's a real hit…read more Pho broth is legit Got the gyu pho It's the best ya know Toppings bar is good Real deal in the neighborhood

Literally the best Pho I've ever had. The staff was kind enough to offer me water while I waited…read morefor my to go order! Totally worth the price! The broth is so rich and coats your mouth wonderfully! The spring rolls were perfect! I mixed the chili oil with the peanut sauce and it was the best I've had! Highly recommend! The chopsticks they give you are also so nice!

I had high expectations since this place is raved with positive reviews hehe…read more Came here on a weekday to try out their pho. I ordered the combo pho. It wasn't horrible but also wasn't good lol sorrrrry.... Def lack flavor and tasted water down. Would I come back? If this was the only near pho joint, it gets the craving done but def better pho out in Ktown.

Twelve years ago, I fell in love with Au Lac and wrote a glowing review. Living on LA's Westside, I…read morerarely make it to Downtown, so today was my first visit back since then. I can't believe it's been 12 years--and I'm so happy to say it was every bit as incredible as I remembered. My friend and I came for lunch. I ordered the vegetable pho, and she had the curry rice. Both dishes were absolutely delicious--fresh, flavorful, comforting, and beautifully prepared. Honestly, I wish we had more time because we had another appointment downtown. I would have loved to try more dishes and definitely dessert! Our server was wonderful--friendly, attentive, and incredibly professional. He checked on us at just the right moments without ever feeling intrusive. The service was as impressive as the food. The restaurant has such a warm, relaxing atmosphere. I especially loved the beautiful ceramic water cups with bird designs--they were so unique and charming. Even the water tasted wonderful! I'm thrilled that Au Lac is still thriving after all these years. If anything, the food tasted even better than I remembered. I certainly won't wait another 12 years before coming back. In fact, I was so impressed that I convinced my husband to come with me next Saturday for dinner! I've tried many vegan restaurants over the years, and Au Lac remains my absolute favorite. My favorite on the Westside is Variable Café, but if you're willing to drive a little farther, Au Lac is on another level. I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough. Whether you're vegan or not, this place is truly outstanding. Five stars without hesitation!

I came to Au Lac again to celebrate my bday with a friend before a show at the Music Center. Au Lac…read moredoesn't take reservations. My friend had the tofu, house salad. She said the house salad was better the last time she came bc the lettuce was different. She recalled it was Romaine lettuce last time. This time it was a green salad. I had the lemongrass fish which was made of soybean. It was a little too dry and rubbery for me. I kept putting it in my soup with rice to make it taste better, but ran out of soup. I won't be ordering this dish again. I took half home, cut up the soybean fish and added it to a stew. I didn't mention to my server that it was my bday, but was disappointed that he didn't even offer like regular servers do, "Would you like to see the dessert menu?" I didn't tell him it was my bday nor did I ask for the dessert menu bc I wasn't the one paying the bill. Not that I needed dessert, but it would've been nice to have been asked. When I mentioned this to another server who came by to clear our table that our server didn't even ask if we wanted dessert and that the restaurant doesn't seem to want to push its desserts, he quickly brought us a dessert menu, but my friend was already paying our bill - too late! It would've been nice to be asked earlier. I even had candles in my bag just in case we got dessert. Anyway, this server said he'll tell our server about not offering dessert. The next day I came back with another friend after a Music Center event. My server from the day before recognized me. This time he asked us at the start before we ordered or after we had just ordered whether we'd like to see the dessert menu. Huh? Ask at the END not start of a meal! Instead of embarrassing him, I told him, "No, thanks. My bday was yesterday." On this second day, my friend and I shared a Chinoise salad (delicious and refreshing!) and paella (not like a paella, a little too wet and granular for our taste, but healthy - a living food dish). We had mint and lemon water for both meals. $12 parking in the adjacent structure. Free parking passes at the Music Center if you're a season ticket holder or good luck with finding street parking. I'd still continue to occasionally patronize this restaurant when I have Music Center events bc I want to support veganism, the restaurant; however, I was disappointed with some of the food and waitstaff this weekend. I'd suggest that the waitstaff go thru customer training on when/what/how to talk to customers. Incentive from the website: join the rewards plan - 300 points for 30% off the bill and 100 points for a free dessert! I'm aiming for the free dessert!!

Garlic noodles were really good. The noodles had a great…read morebite, and the seasoning was well balanced. It's my favorite here. Fried rice was also decent and felt like a proper Vietnamese style. Pho was too salty and tasted different from usual. I asked them to remake it, but it was still too salty. It felt like something went wrong in the kitchen. The service was good, and the other food was solid, so it wasn't a bad experience.

The hubs and I decided to make it out to LA for a game and LACMA. Since I was craving pho, we found…read morethis place in walking distance from LACMA. It was a little before noon and there was only one party in the whole restaurant. We got seated right away and it was by the front window for everyone to see. The menu had a lot of options and priced like all other places or I'm just getting used to the prices these days. They did have a lunch special for $20 and you can get a small pho, and then some other choices and then a drink. I couldn't tell you what the other choices were because I didn't order it. The waitress was efficient and got the job done. She did get a little overwhelmed since after 1230pm, everyone decided to grab lunch. Here's what we ordered: lunch special with small bowl of beef pho, a beef banh mi and unsweetened black tea. The hubs said that his pho was decent, the flavor was simple and didn't have that deep rich flavoring like other pho bowls he has had. The banh mi had great bread and the filling was pretty flavorful. The black tea was good. I had the build your own pho because I have to have vegetable broth but I added in chicken meatballs and shrimp. The broth was pretty tasteless so I had to add in some hoisin sauce, and sriracha. There were other condiments but I was too lazy to grab it from the other table. That helped out with the soup. The chicken meatballs were questionable as in I wasn't sure if it was chicken. There were plenty of shrimp and they added pieces of chicken. The noodles had a nice chew to them. Overall the pho was okay but it didn't hit the pho craving/spot. We also ordered pork egg rolls and they were interesting. They weren't crunchy at all. It was a bit oily and at one point, I wasn't sure if a part of it was cooked. There was more other filling than meat. The nuoc mam tasted like watered down fish sauce. I guess I was so hungry that I didn't mind it. Overall, the food was just okay. Nothing exciting to report and unfortunately I wouldn't go back.

Tucked away in the Lil Tokyo mall on the 2nd floor above the chaos of the plaza. The restaurant…read morecertainly had warm, and inviting ambiance with a relaxing feel, and some contemporary music. The spot was mostly empty when my girlfriend and I arrived for dinner around 5:30pm on a Saturday. We ordered with the host and picked out a table by the window to people watch while we waited for our food. We waited only maybe 10 minutes before the pho, vermicelli, and spring roles were served. Each dish was colorful, had great presentation, and nice portions for the price. The pho we ordered was spicy level hot and did have well done broth and a good amount of sliced steak. The protein was tender, and the veggie toppings added great elements of minty crunch and herbal delight. I enjoyed my combination noodles. The bowl had a good mix of vegetables and a few types of protein ( chicken, pork, fried egg roll, and shrimp ) it was awesome! The spring rolls were terrific as well. The peanut sauce had some nut crumbles for texture which had subtle crunch with every spring role bite. The food was good, staff was great, and I'd consider coming back if ever in the area again with a Vietnam craving.

The rice-to-chicken ratio was better than expected, which I appreciated since many places give…read moresmall pieces of meat. The meal was decent overall, though some pieces of chicken had a stronger odor than others. Unfortunately, I found a hair at the bottom of the bowl near the end of my meal. It wasn't mine. This experience affected my impression of the restaurant and makes me hesitant to order from here again. /// Rice - Lemongrass Chicken $19.95 Jasmine rice Mixed greens House-made fish sauce

I have been coming to Nem Nuong Khánh Hòa for years and don't see a lot of people coming here. It…read moreis ran by your Vietnamese aunty and uncle and their food is authentic. Their prices have not changed in years and the portions remain the same versus shrinkflation. Their menu is not that big but it has your essential Vietnamese dishes. Today I ordered the banh beo bi, vermicelli with nem nuong and egg rolls, nem nuong coun and che ba mau. Banh beo bi are rice cakes topped with shredded pork. It comes with chilies and fish sauce for you to pour on top. The rice cakes are served warm and are super smooth and soft. The thai chilies it comes with are spicy so don't use too much. The vermicelli with nem nuong and egg rolls comes with a slab of meat and a whole egg roll. The bottom are the noodles and mix of veggie and herbs. The nem nuong is sweetened charbroiled pork that is grilled. Think of a sweet meat ball. The egg rolls are super crispy and filled with meat. The noodles go well with the fish sauce and there are a lot of veggies inside. The nem nuong coun is a spring roll that's wrapped in rice paper. It has the meat and lettuce wrapped inside and comes with a dipping sauce. I believe the sauce is made with ground shrimp. For $8 for 3 rolls it is a steal compared to other restaurants. If you are craving Brodards in OC this place can satisfy your craving. Their che ba mau which is a 3 bean dessert has a lot of beans inside topped with coconut milk and shaved ice. It is the person drink to finish your meal and it is not too sweet.

CASH ONLY! Definitely a mom and pop spot, they have tables to dine in but it's one of those spots…read moreI'd prefer to take to-go and enjoy in the comfort of my own home. Com Tam is decent, rice texture is on point. Pork chop is marinated well but not enough lemongrass flavor, tender and not dry at all. Baked egg was good but not amazing, seemed like it missing shredded wood ear mushroom. Che Ba Mau by far hands down the worst I've had. Red bean wasn't soft, outer shell/skin was still pretty tough. Not much mung bean either after stirring it literally for about 4 seconds the mung bean basically disintegrated into the liquid. The liquid.. watered down skim milk, not a trace of coconut flavor anywhere. I didn't know you can mess up Che Ba Mau until I had it from here.

We got Be U catering for an event. Very good food for a…read moresolid price. They brought everything on time and it was easy. They salad was actually a lot better than I expected. They also label their foods veggi, vegan, and gluten so that's super helpful. Overall a great place, I'll have to go there in person soon!

I recently ordered the caramelized pork from Be U, hoping to indulge in some comforting Vietnamese…read moreflavors. Unfortunately, my experience left much to be desired. For around $18, the meal came with two eggs and what I can only describe as rubbery pork. While the eggs were decent, the meat was a huge letdown. It had an off-putting texture that made me question whether it was an older or inferior cut. The taste was overwhelmingly salty--more like salted pork than the sweet, rich flavor I was expecting from caramelized pork. To top it off, I spent over $40 something dollars for my meal and for Postmates delivery to the South Bay, which makes this disappointment even harder to swallow. I'm not sure I'd order from Be U again unless someone else is footing the bill. I really wanted to enjoy this meal, but sadly, it fell short of my expectations. If you're craving Vietnamese food, you might want to explore other options.