First certainly not trying to be mean at all but this place is not gourmet or authentic at all. I…read moremean they serve chow mein (what?!) & Japanese gyozas-not even fried spring rolls let alone real Vietnamese spring rolls. I get it-it is in MX & not even the US particularly the West Coast w/amazing Vietnamese restaurants in Cali/Oregon/Washington-so I walked in w/augmented lowered expectations. And I have been to Vietnam twice where you always get the real deal there naturally. I decided to try it because I am mostly new to Ensenada & when you google for this cuisine it appears that there may be one other Viet place in Centro-that's it. Total waste of my time & money-incredibly overpriced-the month before I ate at a truly family run Viet place on Palm Ave. off of I-5 just N. of San Ysidro also by a Walmart in an outdoor mall & my entree & sides (it was WAY more food than than here) were $13 US & here I paid the equivalent of $13 US total for just my entree AND white rice because, get this, they charge extra for rice-$2 US for a small plate of it! No way should one pay San Diego prices for similar cuisine here in Ensenada. Moving on... I ordered the typical Vietnamese "iced" tea. It was mostly cold but...NO ICE. I had to ask for a glass of ice. We were a party of 3. When I arrived the other 2 in my party had ONLY ONE menu to share between my Mexican amigo & fellow gringo friend. The owners (seemingly a husband & wife) never brought another one-and there was only ONE other patron there at the time we were! As we were leaving a table of 5 locals came in & lo and behold, they all got their own menu so it proves they have at least 5 menus. Unbelievable. Speaking of the menu-the photos are so tiny & poorly shot they are useless. Nothing is in English which I can understand somewhat but then dang, get better pics. I basically chose my entree of spicy fried chicken strips because at least I could figure out what it was. Oh, and the gyozas. WAY over cooked/fried-too crispy-they were not subtle and a bit chewy as they should be. Service. Terrible. Again, there was one other patron there. It took almost 5 mins. to get the bill and over 10 mins. to get the change from the pesos provided. Finally, this is in a pretty nice mall (yes, despite conflicting info on google, it is in the big Macroplaza near the Costco) w/nice looking businesses like the Telcel retail store almost right next door. However, the interior of this place is a dump-dark & dank. Overall it seems a bit dirty & run down so I decided not to even chance venturing into the bathroom. Perhaps the owners are not Vietnamese. Either way, it is borderline criminal to call this place either "Vietnamese" or "Gourmet". Total fraud. Look, I am doing these owners a favor in my humble opinion. They really, really need to step up their game particularly since I have to believe they are paying high rent to be in this location. I will never go back-I dabble in Thai, Indonesian & Vietnamese cuisine at home-I can do much better on my own. My advice is to never eat here & avoid the mistake I made. Understand I think Viet cuisine is the best on the planet-even better than Thai, Indian, Italian & Japanese for example. And I find Viets to be among the nicest/sweetest people on the 6 continents I have travelled to.

Okay báhn mì and barely acceptable pho. The restaurant has mostly Chinese dishes and I'm not…read moreimpressed with them. The sanitation of the place is highly suspect.

Tasty PHO !!AND nice service with good prices would highly recommend you to check it out!.read more

Very good food I love this place one of my favorite restaurants around oc I love that stuff working…read morethere

Rating this 5/5 because relatively this is one of the best restaurants the imperial valley has to…read moreoffer and I will 100% be coming again soon. The quality of the food is say is authentic, and home made. There is really no way to get much better than this unless you go to Vietnam. The guy running the place was very chill. Had my order ready in under 10 minutes. Objectively this is a good Vietnamese restaurant. The pho comes in a big cup and is very filling for its worth. The buns were very sweet and soft. The coffee is on par with Starbucks and it is cheaper. They are also certified for business by El Centro, so this place is safe to eat at, my friends had some concerns with "it's a random house" so I came alone and I have no regret. Specifically, the beef pho I got had Korean bbq style meat (due to texture and how it was cut), and skinny white noodles. A pungent yet savory smell. Taste wise, very savory and familiar to my Mexican taste although with relatively more noodles. The taro buns outside taste like soft bread made from rice with a taro flavored filling. It's like a dumpling but as a desert, very sweet inside. The coffee itself is on par with Starbucks id say. It has a homemade tasting base, the flavor they use (coconut?) makes it stand out though. So I wouldn't put it on a "around the corner coffee shop" but they know what they're doing type of level. It's not enough to just recommend this place. Go there. Make time. Go to Hellen's.

We rolled up at like 7 pm on a Sunday night after calling to see if they do dine in after reading…read morethat it was take out only. Turns out the answer is yes they do dine in until 8 pm! We were at first super hesitant if the address was correct or not; wondering why we were in a neighborhood, am using this moment to confirm, it is indeed in a house. It is a home that was converted to a restaurant! The food was PHENOMENAL. I've had hundreds of bowls of pho, ate at dozens of Vietnamese restaurants, and been to vietnam in recent years -- this place is legit. The table had a diverse crowd of dietary restrictions so we had everything from the pho bo tai (beef), pho ga (chicken), vegan pho, banh mi, chicken plate, egg rolls and vegan spring rolls. They did not miss. It was well enjoyed by every single person. Please don't sleep on this place when visiting El Centro, it's a must! Also, doorbell when you get there lol, they can get super busy and won't hear you knocking.

Very bad and poor service super rude. Not clean and it smell bad …read more Did not even offer a drink. And it was not busy!!!

Rinconcito, riquisimooo If you are ever in Tijuana and want…read moresome Pho, this is a little tiny place with big flavor

My family was craving for Pho during our vacation and did not expect to have such authentic Bun and…read morespring rolls in TJ, their menu make it easy for us to order (non-Spanish speaking). We ordered pho ga (chicken pho), the chicken were so tender, flavorful and juice, and the broth is yummy; shrimp spring rolls and nemnong spring rolls were the spotlights of the meal with their signature peanut sauce (Must try). The server Mariana was very friendly and attentive, the owner even served us complimentary basil seeds lemonade (very refreshing after a hot day from the beach). We will definitely visit again before returning home.

Working in Tijuana for two months really makes you miss your grandma's home cooking. I was really…read morecraving some pho or something close to Vietnamese food without crossing the border into San Diego, so I searched through Yelp to find Lady Dragon. I was a bit skeptical at first but after seeing the pictures on Yelp, I just had to give it a try to fill my cravings. I took a 15-minute walk from my apartment to find the restaurant hidden in the side of CaliMax. Upon entry, I was greeted by two women who directed me to go upstairs to be seated. The waitress came with our menus and noticed that it was pretty short for a Vietnamese restaurant; it only had some pho dishes, banh mi, spring rolls and egg rolls. I ordered a bowl of pho with brisket and bo vien meatballs, nem nuong spring rolls, and a cafe sua da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee). Whenever I get a bowl of pho, I have to take in the smells of the meat and spices and taste the broth without any additional sauces or herbs first . Upon tasting the broth, it was a 5 or 6/10 immediately. It was quite bland but you can easily taste the spices. But this rating quickly went up to a 8/10 when I ate some of the bo vien and noodles. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the meat was high quality; the meat tasted similar to what you would find at Garden Grove's famous "Pho 79". The nem nuong was really good for being in Tijuana and the coffee was the perfect bitterness and sweetness. As I was paying, I spoke to the cashier and asked him about the history of the restaurant. He gladly answered each one of my questions. I was happy to hear that they recently opened only six months ago to a Vietnamese woman named Phuong. And that their ingredients and recipes are authentic and high quality because they come from stores in the U.S. This little restaurant is still new and needs a lot of love. I would recommend anyone in Tijuana who wants some authentic pho, spring rolls, or coffee to come and give it a try. I know I will be coming back several more times before I leave!

I've driven by this spot a bunch of times before finally giving in and trying it -- and I'm glad I…read moredid. No hype, just deep, rich flavor done right. The pho broth is the standout: clean, savory, and clearly simmered with intention. Nothing muddy or flat here -- just layered flavor that holds up from the first sip to the last. I ordered the combination pho, and it was hearty, satisfying, and exactly what you want when you're craving something comforting but bold. The egg rolls are crispy and well-executed, not greasy or forgettable, and the portions are generous across the board. This is one of those places you finish eating and immediately think about when you're coming back. No hype -- just deep, rich flavor that speaks for itself.

The broth from the pho was delicious. Their portions were large and can be shared. The eggroll was…read morevery tasty

It was exactly what we needed on a rainy cloudy day. Everything was amazing…read more Ordered: Pho Broken rice and pork chop Garlic wings Egg rolls Luclac beef cubes on grill pan Everything was delicious Definitely would go back and highly recommend. We were a huge party of 20 people and the workers were so nice and patient with us. Service was quick and everyone got their food orders correctly.

Came in at 3 on a Sunday with a table for 2 and got seated right away. Server took care of us and…read morefood came out quick. It's usually busier by peak hours but the place is big so if there's a wait, it won't be long. We got the banh xeo, vermicelli with egg rolls and grilled pork and the garlic butter wings. All of the food was great, no complaints. Good place to go to if you want Vietnamese food. Definitely coming here again to try other things on the menu.

Food was 10/10!! Super good and tasty coming from San Fransico deff recommend!!!!!!!!!read more

Hola yelpers: De…read morenuevo subiendo más sopa pho, es una recomendación que les hago aquí ya que es muy rica alto grande y un precio bastante razonable, la atención del lugar es buena, solamente que ya se ve un poco viejito y lo hace ver cómo que estuviera sucio pero realmente todo está súper limpio. Así que si andan por acá amiguitos échense la vuelta, venden un boba tea el cual es muy rico y refrescante para los días de calor