Authentic and delicious, and i am one picky pho eater! Their broth is actually legit and have shrimp sugar cane!

East side is cleaning up! First time in pho van and was very impressed...They take pride in their restaurant and not only keep it clean but wear uniforms and matching smiles! Not the typical pho joint for the area lol. Fast and friendly service. Got #7 and it came with so much meat! Broth was delicious too. The Satay wasn't fresh but at least they had it! Loved the choice of veggies they bring on the side- not the usual basil and bean sprouts. read more

The service was great, very friendly staff. The food is fresh and well cooked. The sea food soup was simple but delicious. It's a clean place. Convenient location por the area. The price of the dishes and beverages are really reasonable for a well served portion. I recommended for friends, families, couples or even for a single person dinner. I will coming back for sure! read more

Pho Van - Sea food soup - Vietnamese Near Me - San Diego, California

I ordered delivery directly from Yelp via GrubHub. I got the thick rice noodle soup with pork and shrimp, and requested additional wonton, and it was absolutely delicious. The broth was very savory and full of flavor and the ingredients and noodles were fresh and delicious. I'm very picky about Viet food and this place really hit the spot. Will be ordering again! read more

We have gone to so many pho places around San Diego, particularly in kearny mesa area. but this place is THE BEST we've had!!!! Not only are serving sizes more than sufficient at an excellent price, the pho is amazing! Sweet service as well! :) read more

I absolutely LOVE this place! the number 19 pho is my GO-TO as well as the shrimp spring rolls. Never a bad time here!

Best pho in San Diego. Hands down. I've tried half the menu and everything has been excellent

Pho Van has been a staple for Vietnamese food since I moved to San Diego ten years ago. It's fast, affordable and always consistent. Highly recommend! read more

This is my new favorite Pho place! Normally I go for Pho and I feel like I'm in Saigon. Sweat dripping down my face from lack of ac. Not a problem at Pho van. It's 100 degrees outside but inside cool as can be. Halfway done with my bowl and not a drop of sweat. Perfect fatty broth, and all the meat is delicious and tender. Come here now. read more

Pho Van - Vietnamese Near Me - San Diego, California

This place is awesome. Totally great and wonderfully delicious food. nice and attentive servers and aren't too overbearing to the point where they annoy you. I feel as the food here is so good and I got full from the food. Not like that Ca Dao Pho place down the street. That place is lame, this place is the bomb. Small parking lot which kinda sucks, but hey man, good food, you can't complain. This place is a little hard to find, but once you find it, you will never forget it. read more

I ordered a small #3 that included rare steak,well done steak, tendon, tripe and I added beef meatballs. Place was nice and clean. Pho came out quick (as it should). The broth was good and alot tastier than alot of other pho places that make it bland. Nothing beats homemade pho but this one was delicious. I would stick to a regular one with well done steak or meatballs. There was just too much tendon in my bowl. Another plus is that that they give you mote noodles than other places. There's parking in the back foot about 3 or 4 cars. read more

I moved into the neighborhood about a year ago and Pho Van has become my go to pho place. It's the best pho place in San Diego in my opinion. And I've tried quite a few all over town. Service is solid if you dine in or get takeout. read more

This is a real family operation with no frills. I don't know why, but there always seem to be loud kids in this place. Maybe visits from the extended family is enough to keep it open. It's well-priced and very tasty. They bus tables with a tacky tub cart, but keep the plate clanking to a minimum. Service is actually even worse, or at least noisy and sloppier, at other Pho places. To clarify, the "miniature spinal cord" looking thing, that grossed out Brian, was probably tripe. If you're not hungover and not in a menudo mood... don't order your pho with tripe in it. I usually go with rare steak and flank. No unwanted fat or connective tissue to offend our rich waspy sensibilities. read more

I have a pretty - no, OBNOXIOUSLY sensitive nose. One weird smell can completely turn me off to a place (or a person. I'm looking at you, guy on the bus who is not homeless) forever. For example, I haven't been back to a Carl's Jr since an incident with a weird-smelling booth in 1995. AND DAMNIT, I MISS MY CHICKEN STARS. So you can imagine when I tried pho for the first time, the smell of the exotic Vietnamese foods was a definite eyebrow raiser for me. But the man in my life swore by pho's magical hangover-curing powers, so on a particularly rough Saturday morning I decided to defy my nostrils and give Pho Van a whirl, and I've been a loyal customer ever since. I don't know what's in that broth, you guys, but I don't think its of this Earth. The steaming hot (and I mean hot, like oh-my-god-the-roof-my-mouth-feels-like-the-underside-of-an-octopus-now hot) broth they serve meats and veggies in is OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS. Add some srriracha and hoisin sauce and you are on a train out of Hangoverville into the valleys of Nap Country. Sure it might be the copious amounts of MSG, but we're all dying from cell phone poison anyway so I say GO FOR IT. Anyway, I prefer the #21 vegetarian pho because I dig the broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, bok choy and tofu, but the Dude is a fan of the #10 - rare beef and brisket. Oh, and start with the eggrolls, those things are solid. It's all pretty cheap too, although I'm pretty sure in the six months I've been going to Pho Van I've never paid the same amount. Schwhatevs. A treacherous hangover can be cured by hot, delicious, spicy, fast, cheap food, and knowing that I have another option besides microwavable burritos stuffed with spicy Cheetos* is a great feeling. Go Pho Van! *Just kidding, I've never done that. That's gross and you definitely shouldn't try it sometime**. ** Yes I have, and yes you should. read more

Pho Van is toward the west end of "The Boulevard" as the city of San Diego would like you to call the El Cajon corridor from about 60th west down to the I-15 overpass, where they constructed a red metal "gate: like art construction on the I-15 overpass, to try and give this area a neighborhood name and feel. East past 60th is the "College District", or so named going toward SDSU and the I-805. I guess the mayor visited Portland recently and wanted to create distinct neigborhoods. (Actually, Portland used to be different towns long ago and they merged into one city, thus Portland has distinct neighborhoods.) I digress from Pho, so forgive me. Pho Van is pretty clean for a Pho dive. At lunch it was almost exclusively populated by Latino blue color workers, no Vietnamese eating here. I found out why: 1. It is cheap 2. It is not that good 3. Vietnamese know better places to eat better Pho. I order the basic Pho Tai, regular size. The bowl was a bit smallish, but came with a pretty decorative liner plate underneath. The broth was nothing special, in fact rather tasteless to the trained palette. It did have a lot of cilantro and onions already floating in it when it was served, but it didn't make the broth any better. It was served with what looked like veggies (sprouts, 2 types of leafy greens, lime, chilis) that were left over from the weekend, a bit stale and beginning to bruise. The Pho was unremarkable at best. They offer over 20 variations of Pho, and also serve a dozen Banh Hoi, 18 Bun dishes, a handfulo f Bo Kho (beef stew), 10 Do Xao (stir fry dishes) and some Hu Tieu and Mi Nuoc noodle dishes. They also have 20 Com (rice plate) selections. They do have 6 vegetarian dishes and Che (tapioca) desserts. The Pho flavors rate a 2 star, but I add an extra for a pretty clean floor and they accept MC, VS, AX, DC credit cards, both of which are also quite unusual in a Pho Dive. The regular Pho Tai was only $5, and the Diet Coke was only $1. Go here if you only have $6 dollars in your pocket and/or you haven't had much experience eating pho to know this place doesn't make it as well as some other places on El Cajon. read more

Good food, big ass TV in the corner and lots of friendly people working it. The dining room is cleaner than most LA pho restaurants but the bathrooms need work! It was late and the guy cleaning the dining room seemed to not want to disturb us but sweeping under our table while we are still eating IS a bit disturbing. The pho comes in BIG bowls even if you order a small one. I had Dac Biet and ordered the steak on the side. I got more steak then I expected, maybe it was so close to closing they wanted me to finish it off. LOL The broth was right on and the portion was huge! I also ordered the 3 Goi Cuon and got 5 rolls instead. My friends had Com Thit Nuong and Bun Bo Hue. We all agreed that the food was pretty good. The total tab was under 20 bucks and they didn't charge for all the extras they heaped on the plates. I'll be back here on the next swing thru San Diego! read more

I literally was heading down El Cajon blvd to Pho Hoa when I noticed Pho Van while driving by. It was busy with people so I decided to check it out on yelp. It had a solid 4 stars so we decided to do a U turn and check it out. Service started off a little rough but they made up for it. The gentleman that sat us just kind of pointed us to a table, took our order and maybe said 4 words to us. He had little to no personality. Hate to say it but it's kind of typical. Everyone was pleasant after that. Bus boy came over and asked us if everything was to out liking and if we needed anything else. Came back twice to fill up our water. Cashier was a little slow but she was a sweetheart with a nice smile. Ordered up some pho tai chin and a couple spring rolls. Both meats were of good quality. Especially the chin, it was better then I'm used to. The broth had a perfect amount of flavor. The spring rolls were good too. The rice paper had good texture, not rubbery. The rest of the ingredients tasted fresh, not pre made and refrigerated like some places. I was really surprised at the quality of food here. Good option if you want to change up your pho experience. I'm a fan of Pho Van!!! read more

Hands down! the best Pho ever! i live across the street from this little hidden gem. Reviewing this place makes me feel as though i might be showing my secrets to the world. Every time i come here i grab the shrimp and squid stir fry. Their bbq beef is amazing and their fried rolls are to die for. They lack really bad customer service. For that they loose one star. Since i have now reviewed another one of my favorites please scene kids don't take it over, just enjoy it for what it is. A hole in the wall Pho restaurant that serves amazing food. read more

My friends and I had gone shooting the whole morning and was starving by noon so they suggested we go to Pho Van for lunch. I wasn't too ecstatic about the idea because I wasn't craving Pho and Pho restaurants don't typically serve up good Vietnamese food. She assured me the food would be good so I gave in. As it turned out, she was right. Surprising! Okay, so I've officially been converted. This will now be my go-to restaurant for when my banh hoi craving kicks in. For the non-Vietnamese, banh hoi is basically thin rice vermicelli crumbled into square or rectangular shapes topped with scallions and garlic chives. They serve it with a side of lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and mints. You roll the banh hoi with your protein, wrap it with your vegetables, then dip it into their delicious homemade nuoc mam. The whole combination will guarantee a Vietnamese explosion of flavors inside your mouth. Order the banh hoi, cha gio, nem nuong, tau hu ky. Which probably translates to Rice vermicelli with egg rolls, grilled pork rolls, and something something with tofu. I was so satisfied with my lunch, I actually came back for dinner. I didn't try their Pho but I hear it was also as delicious. Service was good. Their bathroom was a lot cleaner than other typical Pho restaurants. Plenty of street parking but they also have a private lot in the back. read more

Pho Van - Banh Hoi Nem Nuong Cha Gio Tau Hu Ky. - Vietnamese Near Me - San Diego, California

another gem. out in the hood, no less! The Hoanger took me here back in '03 after an extremely turfed out evening at Nunu's. He ordered in Viet-cong speak so you know its legit. THIS IS THE PLACE TO GET THAT SKRIMP BOWL, SON!! I also took Walker Ryan and Senor Jonathan Lups here for their FIRST BOWL OF PHO EVER!!! IN THEIR LIVES! needless to say it was monumental. Big scrimps, all day. Get right. Grill Talk. read more

I love this place. They have recently updated the inside of the restaurant after many years. I live the number 55 plate. It comes with a small beef broth and a side salad with dipping dressing. read more

I'm not Vietnamese, I can't pronounce "pho" the way it's meant to be pronounced, but I have eaten a lot of pho back in Los Angeles. I stumbled upon this place because it was the closest restaurant to my apartment. Thank goodness for that! Okay, so the decor leaves something to be desired. That just means they're keeping the cost down so you can pay $5 or less for your pho instead of $8 down the street. The menu is pretty standard and the wait staff will help you with suggestions if you're undecided. My gauge for good pho is the broth. Anyone can buy those noodles and boil them, anyone can slap tendon and other beef parts into the bowl along with that plate of veggies, but not everyone can make a good pho broth. I like mine to be light and taste of beef without being overly salty --- and this one does, with the mildest hint of sweetness. I'm not sure what goes into this broth, but I figure it's a lot of bones and some other goodies. Another thing I've noticed is that Vietnamese families come in here to eat. If they like it, then it must be pretty authentic is my reasoning. I've also never been to a pho place where I see the other patrons eating a variety of the dishes on the menu. When I saw a plate of grilled thin-cut pork chops on a plate of rice whiz by, I just had to try them. Man, they were good. Also, I see a lot of people eating the dry noodle dishes with grilled meat. Gotta try that too. Most of the bad reviews for this place are about cleanliness, disgust for Vietnamese food in general, and completely misunderstanding this great cuisine. If you can get past all that, then give this place a try. Also re the cleanliness issue --- I've eaten in every C rated Chinese restaurant in LA that was subsequently shut down by the health authorities and have never gotten sick. Ironically, I've only gotten food poisoning from A rated restaurants. (Damn you PF Chang's in Burbank!) read more

This is my favorite PHO place!!!!!! I've been going there for years and it has always been great!

This is a family favorite. Why? My dad and mom are tough critics and usually end the meal by saying "I could make that for 1/2 as much and it'd taste better too." This place isn't the cheapest, but it sure isn't expensive, and it's tasty enough to compel my parents to make this a regular joint. The pho is good (the broth in particular is very aromatic) and everything just *tastes* right. Even the fish sauce had flavors that other joints don't have. And this place has variety. There's the usual pho (noodles)and com tam (broken rice) and bun (vermicelli noodles), but there's also banh hoi (wrapping noodles) and even beef stew, and everything is pretty well executed. I'm sure the next time I'm back in SD, my parents will want to come here again.... read more

There are a million pho options on El Cajon blvd but this is our go to place. Everything here is so fresh and soooo delicious. I crave it all the time! read more

Overall, there is an important aspect when I eat pho--no surprises, please. At Pho Van the tai nam (rare steak and well flank) doesn't surprise. It's middle of the road. The broth's flavor isn't striking, but that's acceptable to me because it means the cooks didn't pack the bowl with MSG. Another important aspect of good pho is temperature. A bowl of pho must be HOT. When I add my bean sprouts, I don't want the broth's temperature to drop significantly. There's nothing worse than a cool bowl of pho. Pho Van serves hot bowls. Why do I go to Pho Van when there are other fine pho establishments? I love the ambiance. During my Sunday morning visits, the place is a bee hive of Vietnamese families. Kids, grandparents, parents, uncles, nieces, nephews. It's relaxing and feels traditional. The servers are older gentlemen (40's) who appear to have had some life-changing life experiences. These guys may have served in the American war. They appear gaunt and tough, but they are accommodating, gracious hosts, always saying thank you. I like Pho Van. It's nice to have a different environment in which to eat my favorite food. read more

Our new fave spot for pho and shrimp fried rice!!! Definitely worth the drive from South Bay any day of the week! The food not only smelled good but looked appetizing and their flavors were on point. There were many dishes that smelled and looked amazing as they passed us and were placed on neighboring tables, so we definitely have to come back. Clean, bright, friendly atmosphere. Large portions and seems like a great place to take the family. It was our first time but we intend to be repeats. Tried them based on their prices and ratings on Yelp, so thanks to those that came before us. We would have given them 5 stars, but sadly no bahn mi sandwiches...Happy Eats All! read more

Your typically stinky run down Pho joint....But the food is pretty good for a good price. There is a huge poster of an asian girl wearing an RT Longboards' shirt which totally confused me. I recommend the shrimp soup in the section of the menu after the Pho. The bbq pork and baked egg was chargrilled and good too. The spring rolls were average. Overall, a good cheap eat, but I wish some of these places spruced their places up a bit. read more

OK ... Sooo ... I came here about nine years ago, and I remember seeing roaches all over the place! I was surprised this place was still in business. I came back recently, and lo and behold! There was a little roach crawling around! I know for sure I will never go near this place again until this restaurant has been shut down. read more

Bomb food. Good prices and they give you a ton! You can eat til you're sick and still have enough for another meal for later. Their smoothies are surprisingly delicious, especially the jackfruit smoothie. Definitely coming back again, plus they have some parking in the back! read more

I have nothing against the pho here, I think its fine but when I do come here, its strictly for the fried eggrolls and the vermicelli. I'm in City Heights alot and I've worked in the area for a long time so I'm pretty familiar with alot of restaurants here. When you're surrounded by good Vietnamese restaurants, you learn to distinguish what you like at which restaurant and you go there specifically for that. Well, at least I do. 3.5 stars Happy hunting read more

UPDATE: still great food but guy is rude as hell. Really BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. I'll have to re-rate this 3 based on that...I came to pick up my order he was a smart ass about it cuz I was late to pick it up. It's a busy street! No tip, ever not when he takes my order. read more

I was recently sick with a virus and all I was craving was pho. So we headed to Pho Van. The BF was craving a bahn mi, but they don't make them here. It would be nice if they did. They do have a variety of stir fried dishes, vermicelli dishes, rice noodle and egg noodle soups. We ordered the pho tom (shrimp pho) and the banh hoi thit nuong (charbroiled pork w/ vermicelli). The pho was good, but I wish the broth was a little more flavorful. They do give you a massive amount of mint, basil and bean sprouts (so much that the extras went to our pet bunny). The charbroiled pork was thinly sliced, tender, and flavorful. The vermicelli needed to be flavored though. Service is okay. Waiters seem to be mostly non-smiling Vietnamese men. Food is served quickly after ordering though. Prices are also comparable to other Vietnamese restaurants in the area. The place itself is pretty spacious, but there's nothing special about their decor. There are so many pho places in the area that I think this one is in the middle, not the best and not the worst. read more

It can't get any better. I don't need to wait for 5:00PM to get Pho for $5, i can come get pho anytime of the day and get my Pho for only $5 for a regular size or even a large for a dollar more. So come right to Pho Van and get your pho in a heart beat. I mean it; but if you had a party of 5 or more i'm sure you have to wait a LITTLE longer. But it's worth the wait. Spring rolls isn't too bad. You can either order from 2 pieces or 5 pieces, not that expensive for 5 pieces. Their rice plates is bomb. Chicken plate is also good. Huge sizes, you can share it with at least 2-3 persons unless you have a huge stomach that you're fine eating that thing alone! Also, their fried rice dish is HUGE, share that thing! It's not even pricey at all =) The waiter was super friendly and nice. Good service also. Ha, so have you left to try Pho Van yet? read more

Viet eggrolls and a lrg bowl of rare steak and beef ball is great any day of the week read more

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Love this place me & my daughter come here at least 2-3 a month. Pho broth is out of this world. Nothing like a large pho bowl & some spring rolls ! Definitely come here with friends as well ! read more

I have been to many of the pho locations throughout San Diego. Pho Van has the best broth and cuts of meat of any location. The broth has the rich meat flavor that makes a good bowl of pho. Moreover, the price is the most reasonable I have encountered for the quality of the product. I used to live in LA and the OC, so it is hard to find any place in San Diego that compares. However, Pho Van has bowl of pho in SD. I only take 1 star off for the poor service which occasionally will not refill my water or check on me throughout the entire meal. This seems to happen at many pho places, so I have come to expect it. read more

Best Pho in town. I make the trip no matter which part of town I move to. I never have any issues when I pick up food to go either. My favorite comfort food is the chicken Pho with extra vegetables. You can tell everything is fresh. No matter who's helped me on the phone or served me in house, I've always have great service. read more

The food here was good. Nothing too amazing but definitely tasty. Service was fast, and server was very friendly. I got chicken stir fry with broccoli and noodles instead of rice, it was yummy and the plate was huge I had to take some home for leftovers. My boyfriend got the pho with rare steak in the large size, which is a good portion for someone who is really hungry. Overall the experience was good! Would recommend if your in the area and want some Vietnamese food! read more

Pho Van - Pho with rare steak, very tasty and huge portions! - Vietnamese Near Me - San Diego, California

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Delicious pho - got the dac biet combo and there was so much meat! The soup was amazing for a sick day/hangover and they also have young coconut that they'll cut open for you ($3.40 with tax)! Their summer rolls (shrimp and pork) have a long stick of scallion in it - I didn't like that so I just pulled it out - and the peanut dipping sauce was too watery/sweet. read more