This is one of those restaurants that you go to KNOWING it is what you expected. Instead of other "specialty" restaurants, everything on the menu here is good. When I eat here, I usually try to bring someone along because I want a piece of everything! I come here pretty often with my friends and/or mom. It is my default restaurant when I don't know what else to eat and I ALWAYS leave satisfied. Prices are VERY fair. Allows me to get more than just one plate/bowl for myself while not breaking the bank. MUST TRY: Banh Bot Chien, Cha Ca La Vong, Pho ap Chao, Bo Luc Lac, and everything else on the menu or whatever looks appealing to you when you look around at everyone shoving their face with FOOD! Be warned, your clothes might smell after eating here. Worth it? Yes. Shower after? Depends on you. CASH ONLY. read more

I went back to my roots this past Saturday evening and had dinner at a Vietnamese joint that I would normally go with my family for Sunday brunch/lunch. We checked out all the Viet restaurants in the new shopping mall and found that this was the most crowded. Whereas, the others were hella empty. So, we thought it must be good....and cheap for all my Viet ppls to go to this one place only! We were seated promptly and ordered their signature dish, Bun Cha Ca, which is a classical Vietnamese fish dish served on a sizzling platter. The dish serves two and comes with rice noodles (vermicelli noodles), a plate of lettuce and herbs, rice chips (to be crumpled and eaten like croutons on top the dish), and two different sauces. One sauce is your typical sweet fish sauce mixture. The other is for hardcore Bun Cha Ca eaters....fermented shrimp sauce (Mam Ruoc). It's not for the faint-hearted. It really stinks! But, if you can get past the initial shock to your olfactory system, the sauce is actually VERY good and compliments the fish and noodles MUCH better than the fish sauce mixture, which really isn't for this dish. The fish sauce is a "token" sauce for those who can't hang! The dish was pretty good. Probably not as good as other Viet joints in SoCal, but pretty good. The fish was moist and not "fishy" at all. It was nicely seasoned as well. For our other dish, we had the Pho Ap Chao Do Bien (or Seafood Pan-Fried Pho Noodles). I liked how they did the fried pho noodles. It was 5-6 squarish whole pieces of noodles that was deep fried. The outside was really crispy and the inside was very moist and soft. However, I think they were very skimpy on the seafood. Our plate had only 5 small prawns....that was it! Usually, when ordering Seafood Pho Ap Chao at any other restaurant, they would give you fish balls, shrimp and squid. Also, the sauce here was a bit bland. I would suggest getting the Beef Pho Ap Chao (if available) which will probably be better. Overall, the food here is pretty good. I liked the casual atmosphere. The place is noisy with two LCD big screens with "Paris By Night" playing. You can't get anymore Viet than that! read more

the best thing at this restaurant is the cha ca la vong - it's fish, dill, and onions, that you wrap into rice paper with various assorted fillings (herbs, rice noodles, etc). i found this to be positively delicious. this is so good, that i wouldn't bother with any of the other menu items. i've gotten some of the soupy dishes here before (pho and bun bo hue), but they were only average-ish - not exceptional. read more

I don't think you can go wrong with anything on the menu here. Everything I've had so far was really good. Prices are fair too but CASH ONLY!!! Shaking beef with red rice mmmmhmmm. Beef is juicy and tender. Veggies are fresh. LOVE the veggies in the fish sauce too. Grilled pork with shrimp and a fried egg mmmmhhhmmm. Pork has a really nice grilled taste and is never dry. Same story with the shrimp. And the fried egg, its a fried egg! Yeahhhhhhhhh and I always have to drizzle the fish sauce over my whole plate. Vermicelli with grilled pork and egg rolls is always a good choice if I want noodles but don't want my face to sit in a hot bowl of pho. FISH SAAUUSE! Uhhhh drizzle that sh!t Beef stew with rice is bomb. Broth is really good, nice little kick but not spicy, beef is really tender, BUT just a little bit too oily. Service is ok, but you can really expect much from an Asian restaurant. Decor is pretty nice, lots of screens with pictures of the food. Definitely one of the cleaner places around San Jose. read more

It was decent. My daughter really liked their version of pad thai with tofu, chicken, and prawns. My beef and onions vermicelli salad was good, but I've had better. The spring rolls were good, but I was really surprised by the lackluster peanut sauce. I tried to turn my daughter on to smoothies with perls, but the flavors just weren't good, so we left those fairly untouched (mocha for me and mango for her). So no big complaints and no big compliments. It was fairly empty tonight (a Monday around 6pm) but I drove by last Saturday hoping to get food to go, and the line was out the door. So clearly well liked by many others. CASH ONLY. read more

honestly I only come here when I am craving one dish and one dish only..If you want PHO or anything..Goto Pho Y or Beef Noodle #1 and you wont be disappointed. But they have a huge menu with tons of different items. My friend usually gets the shaking beef because he loves it. To me they have a pretty awesome crispy chow fun. Now now some of you are wondering. What in the heck is crispy chow fun? I totally felt that same way when my friend told me to try it. I have never seen chow fun made like this. It is chow fun noodles that are cooked then stacked together neatly and fried together. Best way I could describe it is when you were a kid playing with legos and you would stack 4-5 of the thin lego pieces together to make a big piece. Yeah thats the best I could do. In the center they have all the veggies regular chow fun would have. I usually prefer the chicken chow fun over beef. Its almost an interesting play on texture. You usually think chow fun as a soft dish. This gives it a crunchy-ness. I love cutting the fried pieces of chow fun in half and soaking it in some of the gravy then eating it with the protein and veggies. All in all a very unique but tasty dish! read more

PROS: Great food, fast service, cleanest Vietnames restaurant in the area. CONS: They won't ask you if you're doing ok so get over it, you only pay 10 bucks for your meal. =) FINAL ANSWER: GO! and order the Banh Xeo!! (Vietnamese Crepe) read more

By far, not as great as the reviews say...at least in me and my friends' experience/opinion. Let me start by the food. Three of us had the Pho, and I am not Vietnamese so I cant say I know if its great or not, but my taste buds weren't totally impressed with the Pho. I've had better. My other friend had the crispy noodles with chicken...he originally wanted the seafood and asked if there was shrimp. The guy didn't seem to understand as he said "no shrimp?" and so he just had the crispy noodles with chicken instead. Even then I believe he said he has had better and it wasn't that great. Now on to the paying. The cashier was rude. There was no language barrier what-so-ever, she was just rude period. Two of us had #1 and One of us had a #2 (same as #1 but regular size). She made it confusing as we paid for our own separately. She asked if we had #1 regular or Large. I said what? and with attitude, she said "large or regular?!" and my two other friends said the same thing with attitude, as if we didn't understand english. What got me was, on their own menu, (despite #1 and #2 being the same but just different sizes), there was two #1's and One #2. There's no regular option for #1, just large. I know it sounds confusing but she basically had no right to be rude about it. The food was okay, and typically Pho is fast but it took a good while here, and services was not so great. I rarely give 1 Stars, but I was just so turned off by the rude cashier...they could have gotten at least two stars from me but eh...their loss. read more

A lot of bang for your buck here ! I always order the Cha Ca La Vong ( $20.00 Grilled fish with vermicelli noodles and vegetables - Serves 2) ~ The fish comes out literally sizzling on the grill still - considered to be one of the main signature dishes for this always packed restaurant. I also have tried the Bun Cha Ha Noi which I was only able to find comparable at Minh's Restaurant before. Thank you for making it even better!! Service is fast & friendly. Beer & wine is served here - bonus in my book! Multi-screens available to watch during your short wait. Highly recommend! read more

After living in San Jose for a few years, I've had my fair share of Vietnamese cuisine... A coworker of mine was hungry and raved about thien long one day, so I browsed the menu. Thought nothing of it until a week later, my friend who's lived in San Jose his entire life suggested it. Parking is tough because it's right next to a target, three noodle spots, a boba tea place, and a chiropractor... FOUR things that Asian people in San Jose can't survive without! I had the beef stew over rice.. good lord it was delicious, my fat ass had to order some extra bowls of rice because ya boy can put them Asian dishes AWAY! My friend got another dish, it was Vietnamese and I can't pronounce or spell it so I won't even try. It was blocks of the chow fun noodles deep fries topped with a beef, celery, onion, gravy stir fry. The only con was that other dishes being cooked up in the back made us smell like we had been scrubbing the oven for hours... read more

The best Cha Ca La Vong... and the service is just exceptional !!! read more

Thien Long - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here for the hot pot. Only $27 and it is enough for two people (actually it was too much for me and my husband). It came with a plate of beef, shrimps, fish, squids, mussels and another plate of cabbages. It has some tofu, veggies in the broth too. Oh and it came with choice of noodles. Well definitely come again next time for hot pot. It is so a good deal for hot pot! read more

Wow, this place is busy. Food is really good. Great for groups. It took a while to get a table, packed out the door (literally). You'd think they ran a meth lab in the back or something, totally kidding. I ordered the com tam and it was alright. Nothing special at all. But we came with our family and they knew how to order. Get the Cha Ca La Vong!!! You can look around at all the tables and almost everyone will have this sizzling platter of grilled fish. You can wrap it up in spring rolls with all the lettuce, veggies they give you and dip in fish sauce. It seems healthy and the fish if full of flavor. I guess it's what they're known for, it's nice to find somewhere that specializes in particular dishes. read more

Thien Long is the Vietnamese equivalent of The Cheesecake Factory. It's a perennial crowd pleaser for good reason. The portion sizes are huge. You can easily share one of the many rice/noodle/wrap dishes on the menu. The selection of food is diverse. Under one roof, you can find pho, bun bo hue, rice plates, cha ca (the most popular item), spring rolls, and everything in between. The price is extremely reasonable given the amount of food you receive. Service is fast. You don't have to wait very long for your food. Thien Long is my pho shop of choice because it has pho ga (chicken noodle soup). I like ordering my pho with "fresh noodles" (bigger than the regular noodles). They offer pick up if you just want to grab your food to-go - just call ahead. I find myself stopping here at least once every other week. read more

Okay, you've heard me worship and you've heard me bemoan a variety of Asian restaurants. Vietnamese is one of my favorite cuisines but I have a confession: I've never eaten a bowl of Pho! I've been saving myself for that pure, unadulterated experience. Since I was in San Jose and I've long heard about their legendary Vietnamese restaurants, I thought I'd give one a shot. Normally, when I eat Vietnamese, I rush straight to the Bun Ga Nuong or Bun Thit Nuong (chicken or pork rice vermicelli bowls). My favorites! But the truth is that I've perfected the cooking of these dishes at home and was a little "bun'd out." Same with spring rolls. At this point I'm as good as any restaurant (really!). So tonight was all about the pho. I was prepared. I've been staring at it for years. I've been watching youtube videos on how it's prepared. I've been reading reviews from experienced pho fans. I know the pot-au-feu background history of the dish. And the finally experience: Yeah, okay, it was pretty good. Didn't knock my sox off. I got to lecture my family on the importance of the broth and the correct delicate texture of the tendon (okay, that will take some getting used to). I was the armchair traveler who finally makes it to Paris and finds it...interesting, busy, and dirty. My beef/tendon was good but I didn't get the giant flavor bang from the broth that I had been anticipating. My daughter's chicken won ton pho was a little more flavorful but sadly, was also heavy with MSG. We were the only honkies in the place and authenticity was not an issue. In fact, maybe we could have used a little LESS authenticity as we watched in horrified fascination as this employee jammed her index finger up her nose to the knuckle and started rooting around for the good stuff. She was seated at a table with several other employees, all of them yakking good-naturedly with each other and ignoring the customers. None of them seemed bothered in the least and she wasn't trying to hide her activity. That finger stayed in there for a good 20-30 seconds, swirling around with focused determination. I finally started to pull out my cell phone for an action shot when she pulled it out and casually wiped it on her upper sleeve. I fear I will always associate pho with that incredibly repulsive nose-picking. I'm scarred for life! read more

I feel like Thien Long (Sky Dragon literally) is a variety Vietnamese restaurant; they serve every Vietnamese dish under the sun and for a cheap price. I often see many non-Vietnamese people come in to enjoy the food, and after trying it myself, I would come back as well. To be honest, I don't think the food is anything spectacular (nothing stands out), but it's quality food that tastes good. Popular dishes include a rice dishes with veggies and bbq'd meat. My friend's favorite is Vietnamese version of Hainan chicken: boiled chicken w/ rice, veggies, and fish sauce; the rice is made from chicken broth and thus is very flavorful. I also love the bun rieu (rice vermicelli soup made from a crab-based soup). I see that I'm offering too many suggestions, but I do recommend this place. Service is also efficient and quick. Things I don't like about Thien Long: it is LOUD, and I don't think everything is as clean as it can be. If that doesn't bother you, then you'll love the food. read more

One of my go-to places. You know it's good when the place is filled with Vietnamese patrons. Definitely get 36B with rice paper and I always toggle between their beef stew or chicken and rice...perfectly boiled and their rice is cooked with chicken broth! YUM. read more

It's quite rare that when I'm in a group of 9 asian people, 3 of which are vietnamese no one likes the food. The stocks were not right, the crab cakes were mostly tofu, and the menu descriptions we're not correct. I ordered something that if I knew it has tendon I would not have, but the description didn't say. After I asked the server confirmed my dish was the one I ordered. I'd pass on this one. read more

Really great food! Their service was also good as you usually dont expect good service in a San Jose VN restaurant.

Guys, if you really want to impress a girl with your knowledge of world cuisine, take your date here, and order BUN CHA CA. This dish is made to share and she will be impressed that you are ordering her something non-typical. You get turmeric seasoned catfish on a bed of dill and onions, on top of a hot plate, where you then throw on the peanuts and let it sizzle some more. (Make sure to watch the heat, or else you can potentially burn your fish.) It is served with rice noodles and fresh veggies. Trust me on this one. (Unfortunately, I'm not talking from personal experience. Just a fantasy.) read more

my buddy ordered me a number #1 from the menu. A pork sandwich, it was bomb. The meat was sweet and savory. You can't go wrong with it!

This is a great find in the South Bay. Ideal for take-out or even dine in. The restaurant itself is not a very fancy place, but it serves some of the best food for a very reasonable price. On a Saturday night, my husband and I came here to buy food for take out. Our choice was Appetizer C (Fried Flour Cake with Egg) and #41 (Crispy Chow Fun with chicken and veggies). We ordered at the counter, paid for the food (cash only, btw) and waited for 10-15 min for the food to be ready for pick up. Service is very friendly. I liked everything that I ordered and I'd certainly like to return to try their popular cod and other items from the menu. read more

Good food, big portions. I got the bun bo hue without pork blood. It was pretty good, and they gave a generous amount of meat. My boyfriend got bun Rieu which I also liked. I normally don't like the crab stuff that comes in bun rieu but I enjoyed it here. The main downside is that it's cash only. read more

This place is very well kept, nice ambience, very clean, came in for Pho at 11am pretty empty, but I'm sure I beat the lunch crowd. My beef pho arrived within minutes. I think there could have been more beef in the regular bowl... plenty of sides(bean sprouts, lemon, jalapeño). Broth is ok... read more

Thien Long - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

One of the best restaurant in San Jose. Thien Long have variety of Vietnamese food. The service is really fast and efficient. I always leave this place happy. Most of the food I ordered here is really good. Of course one of my favor dish here is their specialty. The fish rolls on the grill. Hat plate served two people but two can never finish that. Very big portion. It worth eating here. read more

Thien Long - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

I attended a lunch event with my family here and we had a reservation for 30 people. When we arrived, the place was full, not a single table was reserved. When we inquired as to why there was no table ready for us at the time we specified (and the reservation was taken over the phone, by the owner), we were given the explanation "well people started coming in and it got busy." Um...yeah that's why we made a reservation, to ensure the availability of enough tables and seating for 30 people, at a specific time. If the place would likely have been empty, why would we have bothered with reserving anything or calling ahead? They obviously have no idea what good customer service is, or how important it is! In addition to that problem, we got a bit of attitude because it put pressure on the staff when they had to ask customers who had just finished their meals to leave the tables they were at, to accommodate us. Not our fault, learn the meaning of a reservation and don't agree to accept one if you don't intend on making good on it. The only reason we stayed was because we had 30 people coming from all over the place and meeting there to eat, but could not really call everyone and direct them elsewhere in the very short time between our arrival and the reservation time. One waitress also gave me attitude about how I pronounce SIXTY, thinking I was saying SIXTEEN. Now if one is not a native English speaker and can't pronounce proper English to save their own lives, they really should NOT be trying to correct MY English. The food is okay, but definitely not good enough to blur this horrible experience from my mind to ever warrant another visit. A pair of customers at the table next to us found a fly in their pho and bailed *GAG*. Just because of the absolute failure at customer service, I would never go back to this place again. Clearly a regrettable experience! read more

Oh, I love it here. Their menu has lots to choose from their pricing is affordable. Their dishes all have a flavorful and distinct taste to it. YUM, I love Vietnamese food! read more

Don't come on a Saturday. Don't come if you don't speak the language. Don't come if you would like your drinks while you're eating. Don't come if you want what you ordered. Smoothies are over sweetened. The flame of under the stir fry burned the food. read more

Great place to take a group of friends or family. They have a nice selection of specialty items from different regions in Vietnam. My mom introduced me to their chicken pho a few years back. It's the best chicken pho in NorCal. The broth is rich and flavorful unlike many other restaurants that specialize in beef pho but will offer chicken pho, as an after thought. With that being said, try to skip the beef pho. It's nothing special. You can ask for the chicken for your pho, without the skin and white meat only if you prefer. They're very accommodating. I usually ask for an extra side of chicken at an additional cost because simple carbs make me hungry fairly quickly. You can order $2 or $4 or whatever amount of extra steamed chicken you'd like. It's really juicy and flavorful. Everyone seems to like their Cha Ca La Vong. It's pretty good. You have to share it with someone else as the portion is for two. I'm a big fan of the Cha Ca La Vong in Vietnam so what can I say. It's worth the money though. Everything else on their menu is average to good. The service is fine for a typical Vietnamese restaurant. They do smile at you which is a huge plus in my book! :) read more

Awesome Vietnamese food. Tons of selections and great workers. Not much to say about it really. Downside, cash only as any Vietnamese restaurant. read more

36B is as good as it gets! My friend and I always make the hour long drive to San Jose just for this dish. It's decently priced because it's more than enough for 2 people. They give you a giant plate with rice noodles, lettuce, some cucumbers and a freaking garden of mint leaves. It also comes with 2 dipping sauces that taste pretty bomb. Keep in mind that they do charge $2 more for the rice paper. But the dish simply isn't the same without it! The last time I went here, the waiters seriously went out of their way to make sure I had a perfect foodie experience. Right after I was seated, one of the waiters kept making sure I didn't want to move since my table was right by the door and it was a windy day. Then after my food arrived, another waiter played tetris with my dishes so everything fit perfectly on the table and was at a reachable distance. You just don't see service like that at inexpensive Asian restaurants. read more

We were circling the recently opened Paloma shopping center when we chanced upon this place. We gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised with both the quality and quantity of food they give you. We ordered pho for the boys and it was a winner. They finished a large bowl between the three and asked for more. My husband and I ordered the large bun rieu (sp?) and the pork chops with fried egg and rice. A large order here is actually large...we were pleasantly shocked. Both entrees were delicious. Service was good and the food was definitely satisfying. Incidentally, we paid approximately the same amount here as we did earlier in the day for the crap at Long Life Noodles in SF. read more

Item #37 - This amazing hot plate that comes with a mixture of greens, fish, pork that you use to make your own fresh spring rolls right at the table. Greens include lettuce, mint leaves, and one other (don't know what it's called). But the combination of everything was so savorful, that I took home the leftovers. It comes with a certain fish sauce to which you can add chilli peppper, pickled dicons, etc. The best part about it, I rolled up 4 for myself and didn't feel guilty. It just tastes healthy because of the fresh vegetables. Service - better than other vietnemese restaurants I've been to. They really want to be able to help and give you what you ask and they check to make sure. I recommend a visit. read more

Yum Yum Yum. My entire family loves going to this place because the variety of food they have. Not only the variety but how tasty the variety is! If you've ever grown up around Pho places and Com Tam places, you know they usually offer a whole lot of items, but specialize in one particular plate. Anyways, the staff here is a lot more friendly compared to other restaurants in the Pho biz. The only downfall to this place is that it's across the street from Tapioca Express and half the time my family eats here, we're staring at the high school guys smoking outside with their make-up drenched girlfriends. ...lovely read more

One of my favorite restaurants. No frills, food is always good, good value. I like to come once a month.

Absolutely the worst and most unfriendly service I have experienced at any Pho place in SJ. I don't care that their food was decent, and prices fair, but the waitress we had was just rude and unfriendly. Because of this, I would suggest Pho Tau Bay a couple doors down. Cleaner, friendlier, tastier, and way better service. read more

the grill fish was good, but bun cha ha noi was meh. the onions needs to be more cooked. it was too raw. it only had one small piece of the fish (cha), not sure if this is the norms? read more

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This is really good. The fish platter was the best thing I have ever had.the big sandwich is also one of the best things I have ever had

Deee-licious. On a Tuesday night, this place was about half full, but we noticed the neighboring restaurant was totally empty, so we felt this was a safer bet. Service here was pretty good. When we listed out which number we wanted, the waiter recited the english name of it back to us. Like whoa. Haha. My group ended up splitting the flour cake with egg that came with this sweetened soy sauce. Now that was goooood. I ordered the fried chow fun with beef. I loved the way the noodles were kept together and fried. What an interesting concept! Lots of veggies and lots of beef along with it and very saucy. Everyone else in my group seemed to enjoy their meals too. I'm coming back to try some more dishes! read more

omg...they finally have a good pho place that serves oodles of noodles in San Jose (minus the one inside Grand Century, food tasted different there....not too good...but not to worry, they changed owners...and they're no longer related) but the one place that's still the best is...the sister place is Pho Kim Long in Milpitas. i always go there, for almost anything on the menu....but what i hate was that my bf lives in Milpitas and i live in SJ...he'd drive down to pick me up, and drive back up to eat there, then drive me back down to SJ. i don't know why, i thought he just loves me lots. hmm. today...i was feeling a bit under the weather...so he suggest Pho for something soupy. this place is new, and we haven't tried it yet. so we'd give it a shot. the menu is almost similar to that of Pho Kim Long. the small bowl they have is a large in other Pho places, the large bowl is...umm...HUGE. i can fit my head in there. come to think of it, i feel bad for the poor skinny servers who had to carry them bowls full of hot soupy food. i love the chewy chicken pho...YUM. have definitely got to try other stuff. the fried egg & flour thing is good...i don't know what else to call them, but it's the first picture you see on the first page of the menu. or look at every table, almost everyone have them. the weather's getting colder...won't you want some hot soup? read more

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