Sometimes it's those little hole in the wall places that cease to amaze me. Yeah it may look like a little rinky-dink of a place and it might not be in the best location buuuuuut...their sandwiches are sensational. I personally go there for their Banh Mi's but they have other food items there as well since they function as a half Chinese and Vietnamese restaurant. They make the sandwiches to order so be prepared to wait a little. They're good fresh and good for left overs. Don't knock em' till you try em'. read more

Dragon Express - Delicious BBQ Banh Mi. - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I cannot get over how lovely this place is. The customer service couldn't be better. The husband and wife that run it are so wonderful, kind, and patient. They will repeatedly get up even when they're in the middle of their own meal or trying to help their kids with something to come help a customer. The food is fantastic. The Chinese food they serve is so affordable. My favorite is the eggplant and tofu and I'm not even a fan of tofu! But the sauce they cook it in is so, so tasty. The pho is good, not great, but that's mainly because the broth is a little greasy and needs a little help with it's flavor and let's face it, a good broth is the best judgement of a good bowl of pho. The reason I didn't mind too much is because I love the way they cook the noodles here for some reason, and the broth can be helped with the plentiful seasonings they offer you- I added a tiny bit of soy sauce, and a lot of sriracha and hoisin. For a little over $5 the price is a little more expensive than other pho places too, but the helping is generous. The banh mi sandwiches are my favorite part about this place. FANTASTIC. They stuff it with amazing, flavorful pork that is seriously mouthwatering and they aren't shy with the amount of meat they give you like at other places. The bread is crispy, and all of the ingredients, like with their Chinese food, taste flavorful and fresh. It's the kind of Chinese and Vietnamese food that you don't feel guilty about eating after. The only downside is it's located in a bit of a dodgey area of Chula Vista (right next to the trolley), so it's surrounded by creepers when it gets late. They close at 9 p.m. and the first time I went was around 7:30 p.m. on a weekend and there were a few homeless people they had to shoo away outside. They also run out of food for the combos really fast. I visited on a weekday at around 2 p.m. and they were out the orange chicken and the tofu and I didn't want to order a big helping instead of the combo so I settled for pho. Give this place a chance and don't miss out! read more

See all

Yes it's absolutely a decent place to eat. The service is pretty good. I must admit though they have excellent sweet and sour sauce. My only gripe is that they keep their sweet and sock sour sauce under lock and key. You think that they were storing gold bullion. When I do ask for more I get dirty looks and I have even offered to pay for it to no avail. I recommend it to them that they should put it in bottles and sell it to the public but so far no luck. If someone out there in TV Land can let me know where I can get the stuff. read more

Thanks yelp for the recommendations, the appearance of this place doesn't look very appealing but OMG the food is really hot and cooked to order, Very Fresh! The cream cheese wontons were the best I've had and I've been to my share of places. The hot & sweet sauce they gave me for the wontons was so good and tasty, wish I knew how to make it. The Vietnamese Po'boy meat was so tender and super tasty. I also had the chicken and egg roll vermicelli and it was so good, their jalapeños were so spicy, I brought them home with me! So spicy and loving every second of it I recommend this place for anyone that loves Vietnamese and Chinese food, can't wait to come back to try more off the menu. read more

See all

The outside of this place doesn't look very clean but there was a decent crowd so we ordered takeout. The hubby had the WonTon Soup which came deconstructed. We also tried the House Lo Mein. The amount of veggies, beef, chicken and shrimp was highly disproportionate to the amount of noodles. We liked how they made it spicy and the noodles were good but the chicken had an off flavor to it. We also had the black pepper chicken which was primarily celery and onion and very little chicken. Even so, the chicken tasted a little off. I'm not sure what they are using to season the chicken but we were not fans. Their Thai Tea is delish and probably the best thing in our entire order. They do have a big menu including Pho so we will return to try a few more dishes before completely writing this place off. read more

Dragon Express - House Dragon Lo Mein - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

This place is a well hidden gem in Chula Vista. Sure, it has it's already made Chinese Food that you'd normally see at a Panda Express, but this little "Hole in The Wall" Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant also cooks some pretty good fresh tasting food. I originally came here for PHO, but then I saw on the menu that they served RICE VERMICELLI. Since I was introduced to Rice Vermicelli a couple of months ago, it has become one of my favorites and any chance I get to eat this dish, I usually put it on my priority list. That being said, I ordered the RV3. The RV3 is basically a Rice Vermicelli served with grilled pork and egg rolls. This dish was loaded with noodles, fresh vegetables in the middle, seasoned flavorful pork and of course the 2 tasty egg rolls. And though this bowl may seem a little compact from it's appearance, you get a pretty big and tasty meal for a little under $7 dollars. What stood out for me the most was the hospitality. The people that work here are extremely nice and courteous. If there is one drawback to the place, it would have to be the menu board. Don't get me wrong, but it looks too cluttered and confusing at times. The Rice Vermicelli wasn't even mentioned on the menu board. It wasn't until I was given a paper menu that I saw the complete menu of this restaurant. Other than that, this HIDDEN GEM ROCKS!!! read more

Dragon Express - Rice Vermicelli w/ Grilled Pork & Egg Roll - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

Wow this place really is under the radar in the west side of Chula Vista. It's location is considered a little on the "hood" part of CV but once you get in the restaurant, you appreciate the cleanliness. Arrived after 8 pm so we missed the prepped hot foods but was still able to order from the menu for a la carte. Had the pork fried rice, which was significantly fluffy and light and wasn't greasy like some other places. Also had the curry chicken that featured creamy curry flavor and highlights of spice. The chicken wings came out hot and crunchy with sweet and sour notes. Lastly also had the grilled pork combo off the Vietnamese menu and that too was good. With four entrees that was scarfed down in no time, this place comes highly recommended with its food, service, and prices. Don't be afraid of the area to pass on this hidden Asian gem in west Chula. read more

See all

Had the grilled pork and egg roll vermicelli and it was amazing. This place will give higher end places a run for its money any days. Everything is made with love, authentic flavors with traditional styling. Interior was super clean, owners obviously take great pride in serving the community! Thank you! read more

My coworker and I decided that we had to have some photos on Friday. After looking through the Yelp reviews for the area we decided to give this place a try. I'm so glad we did! First off, I noticed a lot of our coworkers were here. So it must be a good sign. Second, the service was quick and efficient. Since it was raining that day, they actually asked if we would like to sit somewhere warmer. That is very considerate of them since my coworker usually gets cold. I got the Combo Special while my coworker got the rare steak, but well done instead of rare. I'm glad that our waitress was very patient and got the order right. We also ordered Thai Iced Tea with boba. The broth was delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed our pho. We'll definitely be coming back to try their Chinese dishes. read more

Dragon Express - Give me everything, please! - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I did not get my egg roll with my vermicelli to-go, very disappointing.... I called them back over and over again an hour before they closed and the lady did not pick up my calls ALWAYS CHECK YOUR FOOD PEOPLE!!!! read more

This hidden place is a gem! The lady(owner) is always so helpful and happy. She remembers me and my order everytime. That means alot to me. Everything I've ate from there is delicious also. The pho is top notch! Highly recommended. read more

This is by far the best Chinese/Vietnamese food in San Diego County. Everything I've had here is amazing and is always served fresh. And, the service alone is worth the five stars! Worth the trip if you don't live in Chula Vista too! read more

It's a small place but clean. We tried their fried fish, cream cheese wonton, stir fried noodles and pho. You have a choice of pre-cooked, ready-to-serve viand or you can order from their menu. They will cook it fresh! It's a pretty much decent wait time for the food to be cooked. All in all, it is a well recommended place for San Diego visitors like us! read more

Dragon Express - Stir fried noodles. - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

I love this place. Pork banh mi sandwich is BOMB!

I love coming to this hidden gem in Chula Vista. Food is always good, staff is always friendly, and I never leave disappointed. Food is delicious and inexpensive. read more

See all

Little hole in the wall, with great service and fast good food. We came in shortly before closing and they treated us great. We ordered a combo off the hot bar, all of which tasted great. The lady said its normally a little fresher but hey, we came in late and wasn't expecting half of what we got. The combo and drink came out to be around $10. read more

See all

This is my favorite place for pho, the pho is flavorful and delicious with good size portions (for a good price too). The service is wonderful, every single employee is nice and helpful. The owners are soooo sweet and every time we go in there it feels like family. They know our order when we walk in the door and service is very fast. I recommend this place to anyone. They also have delicious Chinese food. read more

Pho: Pho Tai Chin (Beef and Lean brisket) always hits the spot, Just as god as my other 2 favortie spots, Pho hiep grill and Pho Anh off Palm ave. Price for pho under $6.00!!! Service: Was ok, I'm not expecting great service from a Chinese Fast food spot. Closed on Sundays Lameeeeee! = ( read more

When I am running short on time coming home from work, this restaurant, in an older strip mall with convenient parking, is my go-to for a delicious, fast, family pleasing dinner. I always get takeout of the hot food in the case; haven't ordered the made-to-order items. And it is always fresh and good. Our favorites: orange chicken, stir fried noodles, spicy chicken, Chinese eggplant and tofu, and fried rice. They also do a nice mild curry chicken. Prices are very reasonable; I can get dinner for three adults and two kids for $21. read more

Came here to pick up my coworkers lunch ended up getting myself a plate as well. The boys ordered pho which looked great. And I order myself Orange/Spicy chicken and Lo Mein Noodles. Food was great. Just wish my plate was from a much fresher batch. Will most likely be back again. read more

Dragon Express - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

FOOD is delicious here, highly recomended, yummy yummy.... and also very good customer service read more

Dragon Express - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

Man! A friend recommended this place to me and I was just blown away by how good the food tasted. I went back a second time just to make sure I wasn't dreaming...well - I wasn't. Now it's a regular stop for me whenever I'm working in the area. What I really love about this restaurant is that it's Vietnamese AND Chinese food in one place. Great Pho, Vermicelli, and out of this world pork chop plate. If you're in a rush a bunch of the food is prepared and ready to go behind the counter. They even have the "East Coast" egg rolls as I call them, which are so tasty and hard to find in this area. P.s. this is not a super fancy restaurant - for example there's a TV on in the main sitting area, so maybe wouldn't take a first date here or anything like that but the food is top notch and the staff is friendly too read more

Ordered thru UberEats and 75% of the dish was just onions. Small amount of meat and pineapple in my chicken pineapple dish. Same happened with my husbands dish. I don't know why ratings are so high. read more

My wife loves this place, thire bum is really awesome.... a lot of meats for the money! u will love it when i try it! read more

See all

Ordered food here two times when I was near the area. First time, I ordered a beef bowl with noodles, bean sprouts, egg roll with a sweet and sour sauce. Came back the other day and ordered another bowl with their pork sandwiches and I was in Cloud 9. J/K. Food was excellent and customer service was great. The lady taking my order let me try some samples and when I ate inside, offered me a glass of water free of charge. This is the spot if you're craving for tradition Vietnamese food or any asian cuisine. Highly recommend this place. Restaurant is located off E Street near the 5 freeway, surrounded with other food shops and motels. read more

Dragon Express - Yum! Definitely one of my faves. - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I don't know what the weird negative reviews here are based on. Maybe they were too busy at the time to pacify a bunch of idiots who don't know good home cooking when they see it, but If you're looking for a tasty bowl of pho in Chula Vista, check out Pho Vietnam Express (aka Dragon Express). This is the real deal. We seek out authentic pho and, friends, this is it. If you're not into tripe and tendon, then wtf are you doing ordering it and giving it a bad review? This place is fresh, fast and honest. Plus they have bad-ass spring rolls, and the joint is extra clean. My husband had a pleasantly intense conversation about moving from Austin to San Diego with the owner, who was super friendly and welcoming. We were beyond tired from the road, had caught miserable colds on the long drive, and we were just passing by with little hope of finding anything but sad, over-priced fast food for dinner when we smelled this. if you walk into a place and it smells this good, you have arrived. We dove in head first and bought some of their tasty, very reasonably-priced pho instead ($6.50 for an enormous soup with all the fixin's), and our faith in humanity was restored. Though Austinites warned us about SD's "4x overpriced" food (screw you, Texas!), we offer this as our rebuttal; an inferior bowl of pho this size in Austin, Texas would have cost at least $11.50, and wouldn't have had half as restoratively tasty a broth. Our cat, who does not travel well, ate some like it was his last meal. Another bonus: Lots of regulars were coming in and out, and everyone was greeted with a smile and left looking happy, tucking in as they left, so clearly we're not the only ones who dig this place. The only downside? They're closed on Sundays, so be sure to stock up the night before! read more

This review is only for the Bahn mi sandwich. Came in to try their Bahn Mi Pork sandwich to go. Been all over Chula Vista and National City looking for a good Bahn mi sandwich that compared to the place I go to in Point Loma. I will be back to this place since I finally found a spot that gives the perfect ratio in their Bahn mi. I'll also have to try their other Vietnamese dishes. Extra star for speed since I asked for my meal to go I waited less than 2 minutes. read more

This place is absolutely awesome, I can't say enough good things about it. Food is the best I've had! They are super friendly and are very prompt! The vermicelli and pho are the best! Thanks guys, keep up the good work! read more

Dragon Express - Awesome food, awesome service! - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

Ordered take out of Dragon Lo Mein along with Black Mushrooms and Snow Peas. The Lo Mein was a huge portion and delicious. The second entree was disappointing - expected Shitake Mushrooms and Snow Peas, ended up with Oyster (?) Mushrooms and Sugar Snap Peas. The Sugar Snap Peas were extremely overcooked and most of them still had their strings which made each mouthful feel like I was flossing my teeth. read more

I came here after lunch about 1:45PM or so. The leftover food on the steam area was kind of sparse and not replenished. I heard that they usually have chicken wings but not today. I ordered the 1 selection combo of garlic chicken and it came with fried rice or noodles I chose the rice. I also ordered a side of chicken wings you get 7 of them for 4.99 even though the sign said 4.69, I told them to change the sign! Ordered a Arizona Ice aTea which says 99 cents on the can but they charged 1.25. Do you see a trend here? The garlic chicken was your basic fried in batter chicken and with only canned water chestnuts and onions and one piece of red pepper. The wings came afterward as they were cooked to order. They came and were fried ok in that they were not greasy but there were several pieces that were NOT chicken wing pieces. They were pieces of thighs with the bone on them or pieces of the larger drumsticks cut smaller. Weird looking pieces that looked more like chicharrones then chicken wings. You do the math chicken wings are about 3.99/lb. chicken quarters with drumsticks and thighs are .89/lb. Do you see a trend here? This is how they skimp and save money. Even so my bill came out to almost 11 dollars, I could have got a much better lunch for 11 dollars anywhere in the city. The fact that they skimped and scraped to save a few cents kind of rubbed me the wrong way. That being said I know a lot of people like this joint. Maybe if you go in the middle of lunch the dishes will be fresher and more plentiful. Like I said my food was after the lunch time and the food was kind of sitting there for awhile and was a sparse selection. The place is nice and clean though they have that going for it. Not worth the 11 bucks for lunch at all though. read more

This place is an amazing little gem hidden in a strip mall. You see, I work near by and need a place to eat that is fast and delicious. Dragon Express does all that and more. They are always quick to get the food out, and they remember your special orders time and time again. What I love most about this place is they are family run, with a wife and husband team behind the counter. It is a small dining room, but there always seems to be a table open at lunch time, thankfully. Pho is a special and revered food in my family. We are picked about our soups. This place does it right! read more

We love this clean and small restaurant attended by the owners, nice and helpful persons, excellent food and good price, it's a family restauran, we hope they can open on Saturday too, thanks for your friendly service! read more

Hole in the wall and very underrated spot. If you want something cheap and good. This is the place. My reviews: 1) Fish sauce wings - Sounds very strange so I tired it. Similar to most Chinese joints that serve salt and pepper chicken wings. This one is amazing!!! Must try. It had a distinctive sweet, spicy and salty flavor! I rate it 5 stars. 2) Garlic Chicken and Orange Chicken- Enough said, you are wasting your time going to Panda Express. This place is legit. I will be trying other dishes and keep you all posted. read more

We were looking for a new Chinese restaurant as our usual go to place hasn't been very good lately. This is it! Not fancy, but who cares! The food is very good! Cream cheese wonton: very fresh, crispy on the outside, melted on the inside- yummy! Wonton soup: a little different from usual wonton soup, but very tasty. Orange chicken: sauce was very good and you could tell the chicken was freshly cooked. Lemon chicken: not lemony enough, but good just the same. Beef w/ snow peas: very light and tender beef, snow peas still crispy ( my son inhaled it). Service was outstanding. Water glasses were never empty. Everyone was friendly and attentive. Can't wait to go back and try some new things. Update: went in for lunch and got a combo plate. While it was inexpensive it wasn't all that good. My son had pho. He didn't like it very much either. I recommend ordering entrees off the menu, as those were very good on our first visit here. read more

This place has a lot of stars...why? I know chinese food is chinese food but......i felt like i walked into panda express with a secret menu. The food on the panda express cafeteria style of trays looked pretty goooey and gross. We had the won ton soup that had random pits and bits of other things. I chewed on a bone or what I think is a bone. (I don't really want to know what it really was). The soup was very BLAH. We also had the szechwan chicken that was also very crappy... I think I could of cooked it better myself. If the case of the 4-5 star rating this place has received is based on menu prices...... then that sucks.. I should open a chitty restaurant too. I'm not coming back..... woooops. read more

We absolutely love this place! Great service and food. The owners are always nice and attentive. Hands down the best pho in chula vista. We always get the xl combo pho no tripe or tendon, 6 egg rolls, pork banh mi. The pork in the sandwich is always flavorful and tender. The broth in the pho is so damn good you can't help but drink it. My youngest is obsessed with the egg rolls. Definitely a hidden gem in chula that is a must try! read more

Dragon Express - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

See all

This review is way late (sorry). I'm including a pic because they're temporarily closed until April (I went there today not knowing and was sorely disappointed). I've been coming here for the last decade, especially after a morning spent at the Living Coast Discovery Center 3 blocks away (check it out if you like nature). The owners are super nice and helpful and the food is excellent. They have the prepared food in heated trays but you really want to get the banh mi ("ban me' - grilled pork with pickled onions and carrots, jalapenos, and cilantro, over a fresh, warm mini-baguette - best I've found in SD), the bun ("boon" - vermicelli with egg rolls and grilled pork). This is one of my favourite places in the city. read more

Dragon Express - Temporarily Closed - Chinese Near Me - Chula Vista, California

I noticed this place a couple of weeks ago, and put it on the 'to try' list. My friend and I had originally intended to try the pho here, but after noticing that the food on the steam tables looked better than the average steam table offerings, we elected to try them instead. I am floored - the food was an order of magnitude better than one would expect - the noodles were excellent, and their hot and sour soup is worth making an extra trip for. Portions were large, the vegetables were fresh, and none of the sauces tasted like the pre-packaged MSG-packed glop that far too many restaurants depend on - everything was fresh, well-made, and excellent. read more

Hubby found this place on yelp. I was a little concerned but food tasted delicious! Not greasy or heavy. Ordered house noodles n rice, sweet n sour chicken and egg rolls. Everything tasted awesome. They are friendly and helpful on menu. The second time we went we got the same items but this time they made the sweet n sour chicken spicy for us, and wow tasted even better. We also tried their upside down noodles but they weren't to our liking. Overall we enjoy this place very much. They are friendly and make you feel welcome and make you want to come back! It's not in the best spot but it's worth it. Very affordable. read more

Food was good!. I had the curry chicken dish, and my husband the teriyaki chicken... Both tasted like they were very fresh, not greasy or heavy at all, and well made with good ingredients. Only thing I wasn't crazy about was the chicken was a little on the fatty side- and I'm kinda weird about texture. Will have to try beef or fish next time. We got take out, service was quick and very friendly, and for $15/ two meals, they were VERY generous with the portions. The inside was very clean and roomy. I will be back! read more