This is a fast casual, order at the counter place. I've heard lots of good things about this place and finally got around to trying it. We just got some finger foods for a quick bite to eat. The staff was friendly. - Popcorn chicken (4/5): perfectly crispy, and some pieces were super spicy. The dipping sauce it comes with (chimichuri?) was okay, didn't really match the flavor of the chicken in my opinion - Cajun fries (4/5): love thin and crispy fries, super flavorful and lots of seasoning. Huge portion and perfect for sharing - Eggrolls (3/5): nothing special, would be good with a sweet and sour type sauce Need to try the garlic fries! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Popcorn chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I was in the area late after the beach and this place was open and looked good so I decided to give it a try. I ordered the crawfish pasta which had a great amount of crawfish and sausages. The flavor is a little too sweet for my usual palette but the salty and spice made it more balanced. The lychee tea was good slightly too sweet but when the ice melted a lot more it was better. I'd like to try the other dishes sometime but I live a little far. Overall for late night food this was pretty great. Also the workers are really nice! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Peach & Lychee Green Tea - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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3.5 starts to be fair but I can't really do that. Just wanted to say their garlic noodle game really went down. It used to be good but having been back it's really lacking. There were spots there was no seasoning at all because the noodles lumped together and it had barely any flavor, let alone garlic flavor. Shrimp was cooked well however and the pork Bahn mi was tasty. Side note, don't want to be calling out an employee because I know things are tough out there but the cashier at 9pm a couple days ago gave us side eye attitude because SHE read back the wrong order (2 of the noodles instead of 1). I know gen z state is a thing but weird ass attitudes when you are the one who's trying to clarify your own misunderstanding is another level. We weren't even saying anything to you girl! Why the face?? Need some basic customer service training for sure. read more

I've tried this place 3 times delivered via Doordash and I thought the food was okay. Some dishes were better than others, but overall, not too impressed. Perhaps I need to try this place fresh and my rating will go up! This time around I ordered the Bulgogi Short Rib Sandwich, Garlic Noodles with Pork, NK Wings, and Cajun Garlic Fries. The best tasting dish was definitely the bulgogi short rib sandwich. It was a little soggy by the time it arrived, but still good. It was nice and fatty and the meat was tasty. If I were to recommend a dish, it would be this one! They forgot the sauce on the wings so I'm pretty sure that affected its flavor as it tasted just okay. The fries and garlic noodles were fine, but nothing too special. I think what I dislike most about the foot is how sweet it is. Most of the food I have had here is just too sweet with nothing much to balance it. Even the green herby sauce they have is good, but again, too sweet. So when I added it to the sandwich or the noodles to try to cut the sweetness with acid, it just ended up adding more sweet. I did try the popcorn chicken once and thought that was great! Overall, I think I definitely need to try the food fresh to give it a fair shot. Would love to do that and update my review! read more

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Ordered this for my friends that came to visit late at night and they couldn't stop talking about how good the crawfish pasta was read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Chicken wings - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Bought some as take out and the flavors were good. Not my first time, so I can say that it was pretty consistent but too much of it makes me "ngan" due to the amount of grease. Pretty greasy to be honest in regards to it being Vietnamese food. Got the Garlic Noods with Beef and Popcorn chicken. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Beef Garlic Noodles Popcorn Chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Came here for lunch with my wife before a doctor's appointment. I ordered the rice bowl with grilled pork and she had the rice bowl with bulgogi. Although the photos of the food looks like they would be flavorful and good, the food was actually quite bland/boring. Have no plans on coming back here. read more

This place was recommend on my fyp. I had high hopes when I came here and i was disappointed. The only good thing here was the wings. I Everything else i got was extremely fishy. For the price I would not come here again. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen always comes to the rescue when my friends and I are in the area and looking for something to eat after 10 pm. I've tried quite a few things from the menu and haven't had anything bad here. I really enjoy and highly recommend the crawfish pasta and garlic noodles. Pro tip: the crawfish pasta comes out much faster than the garlic noodles. If you're in the mood for snacks or lighter bites, go for the popcorn chicken. From the beverage options, Thai tea and green milk tea are solid choices. I just wish the drinks came in a larger cup instead of a 16-oz cup. The space is pretty small and does not have that many seats, so you may want to order for pickup if you order around the dinner time rush. There's not much service to evaluate as this place is mostly self-service. You go to the register to place your order, and you pick up your order from the counter by the kitchen. There is an area where you can grab napkins, utensils, and hot sauce. After you're done eating, you clean up after yourself and toss away your trash. I hope Nguyen's Kitchen continues to open until late and serve delicious food because we certainly will continue to be regular customers. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Crawfish pasta and Thai tea - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

The food looks very appealing in photos tho it's not what it seems. I had the shrimp bowl and it was barely flavored, the rice was basic. Not worth the overcharged price. Service was very sweet though. The place was very clean and chill.! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Noodles should be less mushy. Pork was good. Parking is ok. Late night hours is a plus! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Garlic Noodles with pork - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I HIGHLY recommend their Garlic Noodles with shrimp. They gave me 5-6 very large shrimp with my order. I think the noodles were egg noodles - they were very fresh and springy. It was around $6 plus an additional $4-5 or so, so in total maybe around $11. I would get this over and over again. My friends got the bulgogi rice bowl as well as the bulgogi garlic noodles. They enjoyed those as well. I wish Nguyen's Kitchen was in San Diego because this would be my go-to place for sure. Notable mentions: Cajun Garlic fries and the popcorn chicken were CRISPY! So delicious. Please come here everyone!! ALSO THEY'RE OPEN UNTIL 2!! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Garlic Noodles with Shrimp - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Came here on a weekend and the food was mid. The staff got my food mixed up TWICE!! I ordered the slider burger and she charged me for something else. Then later my food came out, but then it was the wrong thing. The green tea was so sweet. My first time trying Nguyen's kitchen in 2021 was a good experience. I guess their quality went down.. unfortunately I most likely will not be coming here again. read more

I'll simply never stop raving about how much I love this place and the fact that there are multiple locations in Orange County. I don't love that it's in the worst possible plaza on earth because of how few parking spots there are but I'm willing to put that aside because the quality of the food is so worth it. As always, the crawfish pasta is the top contender but you truly cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. (58/100-2022) read more

They truly never disappoint! Consistently delicious soups and friendly staff! My fiance and I craving for a good bowl of beef Pho came to Nguyen's again before heading back home. The place might be small but their soup deliver huge fantastic flavors! Overall, Nguyen's has become our go to place in the area when craving for a delightful bowl of Pho! read more

I have been a fan of Nguyen's Kitchen since their original location in Orange. As I pulled into their parking lot for this location, the one thing both locations had in common was terrible parking. Their seating situation at both location is pretty limited too... even before Covid. It's such an inconvenience, but their tasty flavors keep me coming back. My former roommate and I decided to come here for lunch and we shared a nice variety of items. It was more than enough for the two of us, and enough to take some togo. Garlic Noodles ($6.50) + Bulgogi Short Rib Steak ($4.75) - Did not like the bulgogi short rib steak with the garlic noodles. I have had the Nguyen's Kitchen Garlic Noodles prior and personally prefer it with their Grilled Pork ($4.50) or Jumbo Tiger Shrimp ($5.25). I also would have preferred stronger garlic in these garlic noodles. Popcorn Chicken ($4.95) - I reallyed like their version of the beloved popcorn chicken. The batter is well seasoned and it was nice and crispy. My friend felt like it was a bit dry, but I still liked it for the most part. NK Slider Burgers ($5.75) - Comes with a serving of 2 sliders. Love the sauteed mushrooms and grilled onions. I really like it with the Nguyen's Kitchen spicy sauce that comes on the side. The bottle bun was soggy by the time we got it, so maybe they can toast it or figure something out for the bottom bun not to get so soggy. NK Chicken Wings ($6.95) - The description said they wings were drizzled in sauce but I was surprised to get just typical fried wings... It was good but I was expecting something saucey. My friend liked the wings more than the popcorn chicken since the inside had better moisture. I definitely needed to dip the wings into their sauce. I appreciate their flavorful Vietnamese influenced food, but the parking and seating struggle is real with both location. I definitely would not want to deal with it if I was limited on time. read more

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All day yes! My only complaint is that I don't come here enough!!! I could swim in their garlic noodles. They are literally the perfect balance of garlic flavor and this creamy richness in a generous portion. They're great on their own or accompanied with any of the proteins they offer. My favorite is their chicken breast (different than their house chicken/pork) The chicken breast is moist and comes with a mushroom creamy sauce. My gosh the flavor!!! I've had their wings before too. Simply Delicious. And of course, their special magic green sauce. Sincerely, this place is an Orange County must! And they have multiple locations! Thank you for a satisfying lunch! read more

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Was wanting to try the crawfish pasta but was told it was pretty spicy, so I decided to be basic and try the mild popcorn chicken and green milk tea (no boba or other add-ons served here). The green milk tea tasted similar to 7 Leaves' jasmine milk tea (creamy with a strong jasmine tea flavor). It helped tone down the popcorn chicken's heat! The mild level had dabs of red powder here and there but still left my mouth burning after eating? I'm probably just a weakling. I wasn't a fan of the provided green dipping sauce - it was sweeter and spicier than I'd like for the already spicy chicken. But I did appreciate that the different-sized chicken pieces were crispy and juicy. I've heard good things about their garlic noodles, so I'll probably come back to try those out. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Order online or inside at the counter - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Low key, quick service! Had the bulgolgi fries. Totally shareable but tasty enough that youd potentially want your own. Went with a friend who didn't realize bulgolgi is a styling of Korean beef ... so it's not Vietnamese really. Tasty nonetheless!! read more

Stumbled on this gem. Wow wow wow!!!! FLAVOR OVERLOAD!!! Vietnamese Pork Sandwich - Phenomenal!!! Pickled veggies, well marinated pork (TENDER!!!) and a nice roll. No complaints here. Garlic Noodles & Shrimp Not a fan of shrimp being cooked with the skin on. Some cooks say it's for the flavor but it's not for me. But they were a great size and good portion for the price point. The noodles were a GARLIC overload. Not a complaint, just an observation. Literally felt the garlic dredged on the noodles lol. If garlic is your thing this is a must. With all the critics they still got 4 starts!!! Efficient! True to advertisement! Well portioned!! Not to mention a great drink selection! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Nguyen's Kitchen is like the chipotle of Asian food, except executed better. You have a few choices of protein, but their house special chicken is my fave. Base: salad, bánh mi, garlic noodles, etc Based on their menu, their selection isn't immense. However, what they do offer, they execute it well. My top choice every time I order: house special chicken salad. $7.45 salad plus $6.45 for chicken. They use pickled carrot and daikon (same as you'd get in a bánh mi) and the flavors work harmoniously on top of the cucumbers and bed of lettuce / arugula. You actually don't need the dressing. Your food is cooked fresh to order , or in my case, my salad is prepared fresh to order too. This "chain" is expanding, so you'll be hearing more of this name. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Premium chicken salad $7.45 / add protein $6.45 @helloagent.m - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I'd been wanting to check this place out for months, and was finally in the area! The restaurant itself is small and simple, as is the menu. I ordered the pork bahn mi and the garlic fries. The bahn mi was absolutely incredible and packed with flavorful pork, some sort of sauce and veggies. While I wish there were more veggies, the sandwich did not disappoint. A large portion. Some fresh and delicious bread. Perfectly cooked meat. A punch of flavor. What more could I ask for? The fries alone, while packed with tasty garlic flavor, were nothing special. Whatever the green sauce was that came on the side kicked them up a notch. That sauce is insanely good. I can't wait to come back here and try the egg rolls, rice bowls, garlic noods, Vietnamese coffee....okay basically I want to try everything! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Cajun Garlic Fries - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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This is a tough one. The 4 stars is for the business--excellent service, fast turnaround for takeout, very reasonable prices considering the price gauging everywhere lately. I was going to comment on the taste of the crawfish & spicy sausage pasta I ordered, as well as the chicken wings. But I realize tastes and preferences are subjective. Maybe others love the over buttery taste. Overall it wasn't bad. But the experience made up for it. The chicken wings were ok, too, not trying to beat Wingstop in that game. But at least they have this option on their menu. Good enough experience, that I will return and try something else. The quality of the crawfish and sausage was pretty good. But the buttery sauce was a bit too much for my palate. It's on their "most popular" list on their menu. Maybe you will love it. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Crawfish Pasta (with spicy sausage, it comes with it) - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I took a trip to LA with my girlfriends, and one of my girls told me that we HAD to try this place. We actually went to the Santa Ana location first, but they had just opened and didn't have everything on the menu, so, since we were going south, we decided to head this way. We ordered the crawfish pasta, the bulGogi rice bowl, the chicken wings, and garlic noodles. But while we were waiting, we were seeing pictures of the menu and the picture of the bulgogi fries looked so good that we made a second order. We came for the crawfish pasta and it was definitely worth it! There was a kick a spice that it just made it better. There was a good chunks of crawfish and sausage in there. so good ! The rice bowl was OK. The meat was not marinated as you would expect bulgogi to be. They did give a sauce on the side, but we didn't realize until it was almost done. It did make the meat better but you would expect the original bulgogi flavor. Chicken wings were good, very crispy! It came with a green sauce and ranch, and that both sauces were pretty good with it. The garlic noodles were also good. Very basic but still had enough flavor. We ended up mixing the garlic noodles and the crawfish pasta sauce and it was really good! I was so excited to try the fries, but they were not good at all. They didn't look anything like the picture. They did give us green sauce on the side and there was Sriracha out for us to use as well. We were dining in so it just wasn't the same , the fries were really crispy but that's the only positive thing about that order. The restaurant was in a small plaza, but there were many different food and drink options that you could try out as well! read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I was hesitant to place my order on Uber eats the other day since it was 1:27 am and it said they were closing at 1:30 am. I quickly ordered the Crawfish noodles with shrimp, the pork sandwich, and the sliders. I was expecting to get cold scraps since they were closing within minutes, but to my surprise everything came hot, freshly cooked and was absolutely delicious. If I ever want a late night meal I wouldn't hesitate to order here again. My food was so good I forgot to take a picture until it was almost gone. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

came here for quick bite to eat as we were hungry and nothing was open on a late night tip cept this spot. To our surprise, many others were also here to get their grub on too after their late night festivities. I ordered the bahn mi to go to eat back in the hotel as they were packed with people sitting on the table inside. The banh mi was delish and super flavorful! from the marination of the meat to the ingredients inside the bahn mi everything was superb! Even the spices and sauces were on point! You def gotta try it to know what I'm talking about. DEF a fan and love this place! cant wait to come back for another visit when I come into town! keep up the great service and bomb food! read more

Expensive for small amount of food, I paid 15$ for the steak fries and for very little steak not like the picture they advertise at all read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Expensive 15$, basically a basket of hard fries, Cajun Garlic Fries not like they advertise Very disappointed - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Nguyen's Kitchen is a perfect late night spot that is leagues ahead of any other in its area. The food is not only delicious Vietnamese fusion, but delightfully consistent. Whether I ordered their food at 2pm or 11pm, they are able to provide the same exact quality time and time again. I cannot recommend highly enough. read more

Came here for quick lunch, but the quality has gone down over the last couple years. I paid $50 dollars for 2 bulgogi steak bowls which were packed with rice and very little burnt meat. 2 ice coffees Very burnt garlic fries; requested a new order which was then undercooked fries. But worst of all lady who took order was not friendly at all. Just started at me with a blank stare waiting for me to order. Sadly I won't be returning after this experience. Save your money cook at home or go somewhere else. read more

This location is much smaller than others I've visited but it was nice and clean with few dining tables. The menu is like others but the dishes were much saltier and greasier than I remembered. Not sure if it was just the one time I went or not but I had to drink a lot of water with my meal. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

First time trying and it was definitely an experience. The service was quick and I got the garlic noodles with chicken and it was so so good. The flavor was great and it wasn't dry at all! Also, the guy working was so sweet! Gave my 2 friends a free drink and was just genuinely so nice. I also love how they're open late cause this is a great late night spot. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Stopped off here late at night after a long day of driving. Not a lot of options open late at night in Costa Mesa and after reading the reviews I was expecting the experience to be better. The menu was surprisingly small, not a lot of vegetarian options. The place was full of people so I also assumed the food would be great. I ordered the garlic noodles, and I was surprised that it had some sort of lemony taste along with the garlic. It felt like the combination just wasn't working. The shrimp was good but the dish could've been better with a palette cleanser of salad or something else. It definitely looked better than it was. I also ordered spicy popcorn chicken and the spice was just heavily thrown over the top of the chicken. Surprisingly the popcorn chicken didn't actually have much flavor so it just ended up tasting like popcorn chicken with a lot of chili powder on top. Also waited almost 30 mins for the order to come out. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Garlic Noodles with shrimp - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Garlics noodle is a bomb . Reminds me of Gilroy Ca . Must try if you love garlic . Going to return and tell a friend. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Shrimp and pork garlic - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I heard and read so many positive reviews about Nguyen's Kitchen for the past two years and I FINALLY got a chance to try! My boyfriend and I ordered online beforehand: the garlic noodles, pork sandwich, pork/steak rice bowl, and the fries. My favorite had to be the garlic noodles because they were well-seasoned and oily (my fav)! The sandwiches, basically banh mi, were very satisfying. I always cherish the sweet pork, radishes, and cilantro on top. The rice bowl was also delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed the cucumber salad on the side to replenish my palette. The fries, quite frankly, were not at all seasoned and became extremely soggy. I took them back home to reheat in my air fryer and they tasted just fine! In conclusion, I definitely will be coming back to try more new dishes (and the garlic noods). The prices are very affordable and I just love Vietnamese food. read more

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Nguyen's Kitchen saved the day! We had gone to a nearby pub for food on a weeknight but unfortunately we were unaware the kitchen was closed 2 hours before closing. We were so lucky to see Nguyen's Kitchen open just down the street until 1am! I had never gone before, but have always heard about their popular location in Orange. So happy to see many other locations now! The Cajun fries were seasoned well and crispy. The garlic noodles are full of GARLIC, just how I like it.... I'm a garlic fiend. The marinated chicken is soooo flavorful and I had a hard time believing it was breast and not thigh. The bulgogi banh mi was flavorful as well. Must come back. read more

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Maybe we came on an off day. The food was okay and pricy. We ordered their bulgogi short rib steak sandwich, garlic noodles with tiger shrimp (looked like regular shrimp to us), and asked for plain fries yet it was covered in parsley. The garlic noodles were flavorful, definitely garlicky but a bit too salty. The bulgogi short rib steak sandwich was disappointing. There wasn't much meat and overstuffed with the pickled carrots and onions which made the bread very soggy. We're a bit reluctant to give this place another try. Perhaps at a different location we'll have a better experience. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Garlic noodles with shrimp - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I was initially happy that there is an asian restaurant that was open late. We tried the garlic noodles with pork and the beef pho. It was just ok. I guess I had high hopes. Flavors could have been stronger. Service was fast. They had few tables inside for dine-in. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Beef pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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The workers are super sweet and this place is definitely yummy for a late night snack. I got the house marinated chicken bowl and the crawfish pasta. The chicken was extremely tender and super juicy. The bowl came with a lot of cucumbers and salad as well. Sadly, there was so much more rice than anything else in the bowl. I wish there were more chicken to even it out. The crawfish pasta was very flavorful and had a kick to it. Again, the amount of crawfish and sausage was very little when comparing it to how much noodles were given. I wish they upped the amount of protein rather than giving us tons of carbs. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - House Marinated Chicken Bowl and Crawfish Pasta - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Delicious noodles! They're simple but made with lots of flavor. Really appreciate the nice gentlemen that helped us out as well, he recommended these items to us and even spend an extra minute to recommend boba places around Irvine to us since we are new around town :) read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Garlic Noodles - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Flavorful, well-portioned food, easy online ordering, and friendly staff. Will definitely be coming back here. I originally found Nguyen's Kitchen after it popped up on my Instagram explore page and I had to check it out if the food tasted as good as it looked in pictures. The verdict: it does. I had the grilled pork sandwich (it's basically a banh mi but they don't specifically use that term on the menu). I've had many banh mi sandwiches before and often times been faced with the problems of too much bread, not enough meat, not enough flavor, but this sandwich had none of those issues. I actually got 2 meals out of my order since each half of the sandwich was pretty large. I am excited to come back and try out the rest of the menu. read more

Nguyen's Kitchen - Grilled Pork Sandwich - Vietnamese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California