Hoai Hue Restaurant

It’s been decades since I’ve been here and they are still standing so you know they’re good! Came here for lunch and got what they are known for, a bowl of Bún Bò Huế and added on Bánh bèo. If you’re craving food from the central region of Vietnam, you can always count on this place. Parking is limited. They have a structure but it’s tight with a small entrance/exit and cars can be backed up into the road going in/out. I would park on the street on Menlo.

So I drove an hour to try this place cause a friend recommended the bun Bo hue (which is my favorite soup of all time.) even though it was 90° today I still drove to try it. And it did NOT disappoint!!!! I order the bun Bo hue and the bun rieu. I needed to see if it was good…. I loved both dish! The had the blood cubes in there! That is how you know it’s authentic! The bun Bo hue was not spicy but they have the chili oil on the table for you to add it. Which I much rather prefer instead of it coming out too spicy! I am definitely coming back here!

I really wanted to like this place because my friend tried it last time she was in SD and really enjoyed it. Plus, I always love trying Vietnamese food whenever I'm on the West Coast because it just hits different than East Coast viet. Our party of 10 came in on a Saturday at 2 pm for lunch and luckily, one of the last tables available was a table that happened to fit all of us (just barely). To start, most of us at the Vietnamese coffee. The flavor of the coffee was great but they put way too much condensed milk in there because it was sickeningly sweet and the consistency was super thick. For apps, we ordered two of the Bánh Bèo (steamed rice cakes with grounded shrimp toppings, sweet fish sauce). I thought this was only okay. I wasn't a fan of the hint of coconut, but I assume it's the same thing used to make banh xeo. I've also never had this dish before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. The difference between this and the Bánh Bèo Chen is that the Chen comes in little individual dishes whereas this one does not. Without the little dishes, it made it a bit harder to eat so I would definitely recommend opting for the dishes. For my main, I had the Bún Tầm Hoài Huế (shrimp/crab balls, pork meatballs, beef slices, tendon, a pork leg, slice, and cubed pork blood). The shrimp/crab balls and pork meatballs were really good. You could tell they're freshly made and not those weird rubbery processed ones from the Asian supermarket. The tendon was pretty good too. Beef slices had an old taste to them. I also liked the cubed pork blood but I wish they gave more than one piece. The broth had a nice flavor but it was so incredibly salty. I think they used too much fish sauce or something. Everyone was chugging water throughout and after the meal. I also tried a bite of my friend's shrimp cake and my sister's pork patty and both were really good. Maybe they're rice and noodle dishes are better than the ones with broth. Anything with ground protein seems to be their forte here, so I would say stick to those and you should be good!

Service 5/5 Food 3/5 Ambience 3/5 Service was excellent. Unfortunately they were out of the banh beo the time I got there which was 1pm. I got the bun bon hue dac biet. I was expecting it to be rich and spicy but it was neither. The meat was very chewy and after awhile I got tired of chewing. It did not live up the the hype whatsoever. We also got the banh nam and banh beo. They were good but their nuoc mam was really lacking. It was neither sweet nor salty. If a sauce was stuck in limbo, this would be it. Adding hot chili paste to it didn’t make it better. The best thing we had was the My Quang. Lots of meat. Rich sweet broth. Copious amount of noodles. The restaurant in general did not seem very clean. I sat at a table where I could see the kitchen and well, it made me worry about the food I was eating. The bathroom was no better. I really wanted to love this place because of all the hype. But then again, reading someone’s experience on Yelp isn’t the same as being there yourself.

This is the worst that I have ever experienced. . The bun Bo they brought out tastes blank without texture and it feels like it the water coming out of the drain and sewage system. But they charged too much. It’s service was horrible . They never welcomed or smiled at you but starring at you like you are an alien from another planet. Of course I will never come back there and if someone knows how to enjoy the food , they will never come back here unless they are psycho