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    Pho Real

    4.3 (113 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Recommended Reviews - Pho Real

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    P XL. Pho Real Super Bowl Oxtails w thin noodles
    Myphuong L.

    This restaurant is spacious. Has a stage in the corner for live music. We ordered our usual, always pho, wings and rice or noodle dish. Pho noodles had a choice of thick or thin noodles. We got: -Garlic butter chicken wings ($11.75)- I prefer garlic butter over fish sauce so these were tasty. Crispy and garlicky. The 7 wings were big and the price was unbeatable. -Shaken beef steak ($16.50) - this came with regular rice, I would prefer fried rice or broken rice. The seasoning for the beef was not notable. It was decent but tasted more soy sauce flavor than any other spices. -Pho Real Super Bowl ($25.50) - this came with all the bells and whistles. Included ox tail, beef, tripe, flank, tendon, beef balls, brisket. Got this with thin noodles. -Pho filet mignon ($16.50) - the filet was thin, ordered this with thick noodles. The dishes were all decent. The broth was a bit salty for me. Either salt or msg that triggered my reaction later when I get dry mouth and dying of thirst. I wouldn't get the pho again due to my sensitivity but the wings were my favorite and the rice dish is like a home cooked meal. I was vibing to the music and had to ask where they were streaming it from. Parking had no issues in this plaza.

    Eric S.

    They've been here for 6months now according to one of the waiters. The spot is huge, looks like you can a Vietnamese wedding on here! There's a stage so I'm sure they get down. Food was ok nothing made my taste Bud go crazy. I got the pho real special came with brisket tendon and all that good stuff. Kids got eggroll and banh mi. Bread was soft with a little crisp. It was pretty nice and packed. They started picking up business as we were getting ready to leave which brought joy to my heart. Always great to see our people's business thriving!

    Anthony D.

    Pho Real took over the old Boll Weevil location. The interior has been fully redone. It's large, clean, modern, and there's a stage if you want to sing karaoke afterwards (j/k) ... there IS a stage but not sure what it's for. Anyway, we stopped by on a Sunday afternoon and were seated right away. We tried the short rib bowl (3/5); the broth was flavorful, but the meat wasn't quite fall-off-the-bone tender. The oxtail bowl (4/5) was the better pick, with a large, meaty portion and the same rich broth. The Vietnamese coffee was bold, smooth, and just the right amount of sweet. Overall, Pho Real has a welcoming vibe and is worth checking out if you're in the area and curious to try something new.

    A2 - Pork Spring Rolls
    Laura M.

    Everything came out quick and piping hot! The broth was flavorful this time around! I like the flavors of the hot chili oil as well. Only thing I don't really like was the smoothie was made with powder mix so it has that dry artificial flavor. But of course we're not coming here for the watermelon smoothie!

    A2. Two Piece Spring Rolls
    Danielle H.

    The inside is very nice and clean. Trendy decor. Staff were extremely friendly. Service was fast. Food was so delicious and fresh. The pho broth was amazing and all the ingredients were so good. The garlic fried chicken had such a good flavor. They were sticky and sweet, garlicky, crunchy, but moist on the inside. Don't even get me started on the vermicelli with egg rolls. Everything had SO much flavor. Each dish was cooked to perfection. If you are in the area and craving Pho. This is the spot.

    Love their to-go packaging . There's uncooked noodles underneath those toppings with a separator in between !
    Angie C.

    I was feeling a little under the weather and my husband decided to grab a few to-go orders from here recently since it's near our house --here are my thoughts: PROS -- 1. Ambiance is clean and inviting . 2. Customer service was friendly and welcoming . 3. The to-go orders are packaged neat with separate containers of each order . 4. They offered cooked or uncooked noodles and we always opt for uncoooked so we can make them fresh at home . 5. Also appreciate the fresh herbs/veggies . CONS -- 1. The uncooked noodles in my meatball pho were cut so when it came time to boil them it all turned into short noodle pieces and were really unpleasant to eat . Not sure if they thought this order was for a child lol, but I like my noodles uncut please . 2. The broth wasn't as flavorful as other pho shops in SD --it seemed too watered down and lacked depth . Overall, Pho Real has a lot of potential and with a few minor tweaks, I think it could easily become a neighborhood favorite .

    Sandy K.

    We held our employee of the year luncheon here. As we walked in, it was a large room with lively music and retro decor. I ordered P1, rare steak on the side and extra meat balls. We also, ordered eggrolls, spring rolls, orange chicken, garlic butter chicken wing, calamari, bbq steak plate, bbq chicken plate and fried rice. The pho broth was a little too salty for me, but the appetizers were flavorful. We had 1 server for a table of 15, there was 1 other guy helping with the drinks. I wished the other 2 staff members helped bring put the food as they were just standing around. There was 1 other table other than ours. Other than that, I will definitely give a solid 4 out of 5.

    P1. Pho Real Special Combo Noodle Soup

    Food is always delicious. Best service. They have a beautiful looking restaurant and ambiance is just lovely.

    Celeste L.

    What a festive and spacious restaurant! Lots of room for seats and no crowd so you have immediate seating. I opted for the bbq pork with rice and taro bubble milk tea with extra tapioca! Must try, I ate the whole dish minus the plate ;) The cha gio fried spring rolls were really Good too! Good crisp and didn't burn the tongue. I liked the festive decorations they had during Christmastime, added some festive feel! Value for the meal were reasonable, good price for the flavor and service, I'd definitely come back to try their pho next time!

    Menu
    Dorian C.

    Very nice decor inside with plenty of seating, so large parties are more than welcome. You can tell a lot of thought went into the details and artwork, which gives this spot a unique, elevated feel. The pricing reflects that lol, items run a bit higher than your typical local shop. That said, when you factor in the larger menu, wide variety of bowls, huge drink selection, and even TVs for catching football, the extra +$2-$3 per bowl (vs other pho shops) feels worth it for the overall atmosphere. The staff is extremely friendly, and it clearly feels like a family owned spot where everyone genuinely wants you to have a great experience. I ordered the short rib bowl. While the beef wasn't quite fall off the bone tender (Phởnominal down south still holds that crown), the broth itself was rich and decadent. The oxtail option was excellent, they give you a massive chunk of oxtail, and I'd personally choose it over the short rib. The combo bowl is also a solid move if you want variety, you really can't go wrong with the classics. I also tried the Vietnamese iced coffee. It's more of a premade espresso style drip mixed with condensed milk and half and half rather than a traditional phin brew. Not exactly what I was craving, but still tasty leaning more creamy and sweet than bold. Parking is decent and easy, thanks to a shared lot with other low traffic restaurants and shops.

    Suite front
    Emmett T.

    For real... this is a fairly new Vietnamese restaurant that replaced a taqueria in a Lemon Grove strip mall. There was plenty of parking in the plaza lot. The spacious interior was refurbished to reflect the South Asian culture. Only a few groups of customers were dining when I showed up for a weekend lunch. The menu booklet contained six laminated pages. From a quick scan of the prices, they looked slightly more expensive than places in central SD. From the dozen varieties of rice vermicelli noodles (bun), I selected the Grilled Shrimp and Pork version. The bowl contents besides the two proteins were lettuce, cucumber, mint, pickled carrot, daikon, scallion, bean sprouts, and roasted peanuts. A cup of fish sauce was provided on the side to pour into the vessel for more flavor. There were only three small shrimp included while the pieces of pork didn't have grilled char marks on them like I have experienced elsewhere. The service was good, and the staff kept the tables clean by frequently bussing the empty dishes and glasses. However, based on the price and quality of the food I ordered, I couldn't give more than three stars for my lunch at Pho Real.

    A9. Garlic Butter Chicken Wings
    Steven Binh N.

    Just like everyone says the place looks great friendly staff, the food though, different story. I got the chicken like everyone says to try and first thing I was expecting the chicken to be super hot by touch, but when I touched it, it was like warm. So I took a bite out of it and was expecting crunchy sounds and but instead just a soft texture chicken skin, feels like they reheated in the microwave very sad. The pho was bland and the noodles like others say the noodle were watery. I also had a to go order and ordered the vermicelli and pork with egg rolls to go and got no egg rolls. I probably wouldn't come back, anyone that comes the decorations look great !

    Topping for the Pho
    Mike O.

    The Pho was ABSOLUTELY delicious!! Very feeling as always and not to salty at all! My daughter enjoyed the egg rolls and the seafood shrimp pho. I had the seafood shrimp pho as well, and my lady had the brisket pho well done and she said it was good. Unfortunately it stops there. For a Saturday night, first rain in San Diego in a while it was not busy at all which I thought was going to make for more tentative service. That was not the case, the order was taken very fast which was promising. Food came out shortly after. But the service came to a complete stop when the food came (the job was done for them) we were never asked how the food was, we have to ask to have our waters refilled 2x and when it came time to pay we sat at the table with completely empty bowl for a 10-15 minutes so finally I asked for it. The decoration and ambience of this place was very well put together. The floors didn't look as clean as I'd like to see in such a nice place. Side note: the table next to us went to the bathroom and they completely cleaned off the table of food they were still hoping to come back too. The manager attempted to make it right and make the food again but didn't bring out all of the order. I really wanted to like this place! Again the taste was good but I won't be coming back here for the service anytime soon. Definitely will order out if I come back.

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    Ask the Community - Pho Real

    Is this where the Japanese restaurant was?

    It was where the Mexican restaurant was. Right next to yum yum donuts and the Japanese restaurant

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    My first time here, I had beef Pho the broth was perfect, meat very tender. Hubby had shrimp…read morenoodles & the egg rolls was amazing! Homemade Taro boba drink also yummy. Will be coming back!

    I was really hoping Pho Kha would become our new favorite pho spot in the area, but unfortunately…read morewe left pretty disappointed. The staff was friendly and welcoming, which I appreciated, but the food just did not meet expectations. I ordered the oxtail pho. The broth itself was light, clean, and actually had good flavor on its own. My issue was with the oxtail. I understand they probably keep it refrigerated before serving, but it did not seem reheated properly. Even though the broth was boiling hot, and I spent a few minutes on a phone call before eating, the meat toward the center was still cool. Not ice cold, but definitely not properly hot either. Eventually it just became room temperature in the soup, which honestly made me uneasy. I also ordered the spicy fried chicken because I had read so many reviews saying it was amazing and the best fried chicken they had. Parts of the outside had an okay crunch, but the chicken itself was extremely bland inside, almost like it was never marinated or seasoned. The dipping sauce honestly carried the whole dish. Maybe I came on an off day, because I really wanted to enjoy this place, but overall it was just disappointing.

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    Water
    Delivered the eating utensils in this basket with napkins
    Delivered the eating utensils in this basket with napkins
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    Pho Mai Cali & Grill

    Pho Mai Cali & Grill

    4.2
    (529 reviews)
    5.8 mi
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    "If you're going to get Vietnamese food, go to the one on Sweetwater" - my Elderly Aunt…read more Now, my elderly aunt (in her 80's) hardly ever voices her opinion. She was raised to be soft-spoken. So, if she insists on going to a specific restaurant for Vietnamese food, then you know that the place is good. Spoiler alert: she was right. As an out-of-towner, nothing makes me happier than trying a family-owned business, especially when it's recommended by someone (bonus points, when it's someone who's culinary POV I respect). I was meeting up with my Godson & his family. When my aunt overheard that we would be going to meet at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant in National City (which will remain unnamed), she insisted that we go to the one on "Sweetwater" (Pho Mai Cali & Grill) instead. FOOD: Eggrolls - 8.5 / 10 Warm, crispy. Just how I like them. I always appreciate when they are served alongside their signature Vietnamese sweet + sour sauce. The fish sauce is especially pronounced & very welcome. #8 (Pho with Rare Steak + Meatball) - 8.9 / 10 Rich, beefy, umami broth. The steak is tender. The meatballs have an interesting spongy texture. Plenty of long, chewy rice noodles. I don't always get pho when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant (I know, I know, I'm weird). So, when I get pho, it is a big compliment & a vote of confidence. I liked it & would gladly come back. Huge shout-out to the entire team. Service was phenomenal. We were a group of 7 waiting on 2 (coming from work). Our female server was beyond gracious with the numerous times she check-in on us. Especially with not saying a word that we went quite a bit over their closing time (I hate doing that, but it was others in my party that arrived later, & I was overly generous with gratuity in cash). Please support family-owned businesses like Pho Mai Cali & Grill. I would happily come back any day of the week.

    I've stopped here plenty of times for a quick Vietnamese coffee run before my tee time next door…read more Since the shop is still fairly new, the interior isn't the most visually appealing and definitely has more of a mom-and-pop, hole-in-the-wall vibe. That said, the food always looks amazing, and there's usually a steady stream of customers whenever I stop by. One thing that surprised me was the coffee. It's noticeably lighter in color, almost as if cream or milk has already been added, compared to the traditional dark, strong Vietnamese coffee made with espresso and condensed milk. It's a different style than what I'm used to, but still worth trying if you're curious. The place is small, with fewer than six tables, so it's more of a quick spot to grab pho or satisfy a Vietnamese food craving rather than somewhere to hang out for a long meal. Again, it's definitely smaller than most pho restaurants, but sometimes those are the places that surprise you the most.

    Photos
    A wide angle view of the interior seating - fair amount of space here.
    A wide angle view of the interior seating - fair amount of space here.
    Egg Rolls
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    D2. Vietnamese Coffee $4.99

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    PHOnomenal

    PHOnomenal

    4.8
    (501 reviews)
    5.1 mi
    $$

    They only have a few selections on their menu. They specialize in the beef rib bone Cambodian…read morenoodle soup and they have huge spring rolls. The meat on the bones was so tender, it fell right off of the bone. Their broth is so delicious. Don't forget to taste that before you put in that bomb ass house chili oil. And to all the Cambodians from a Cambodian, it tastes better than most of your momas house, j/k, but I'm not, lol. The chili oil sauce is spicy, but that's how I like it. And oh, that sugar cane drink completed the whole meal. It was good and not too sweet, just the way I like it. The owners were great. They were so sweet and welcoming. Don't forget to order some of their Chili oil house sauce for the house. I would definitely come back again if I am in the San Diego area. I highly recommend this place. Disclaimer: No one got hurt making the opening the can video, j/k, lol. https://fb.watch/HUlvHgClrw/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://fb.watch/HUmb-tAb9h/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://fb.watch/HUmfFqBVpF/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://fb.watch/HUmih3PsDJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

    One of the best pho I've had at a restaurant. The broth was flavorful, the ingredients were fresh,…read moreand everything tasted great. I also ordered the cococane (coconut and sugarcane) drink, and it was delicious. My wife loved her meal too, which always makes the experience even better. Happy wife, happy life! Our food came out quickly, and the staff checked on us throughout the meal without being overbearing. The balance was perfect. Modern, clean, and comfortable. A great place to relax and enjoy a good meal. We'll be back, San Diego. And we'll be ordering that pho again.

    Photos
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    Partial view of the dining area
    Their Phonomenal food item that always sells out!!!!
    Their Phonomenal food item that always sells out!!!!
    Shrimp and Pork Roll

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    Pho Real - vietnamese - Updated July 2026

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