Last time I visited Golden City restaurant I noticed that a pho restaurant would soon be opening. I don’t usually pass by this area, but I recently drove by and saw that the pho restaurant had opened.
So this weekend, we went to go check out the restaurant. It’s pretty spacious inside, and on the night we went, it was also pretty empty. They have a website, which provides a full menu.
Our water arrived with wedges of lime. I also noticed that the chopsticks and other utensils all had paper covers which was a nice change. Usually the chopsticks at pho places are all centered in the middle uncovered. They usually have a sticky texture from laying out and we always wipe ours down before using them. But we didn’t have to do that here.
There was a sign posted that stated that on Saturdays and Sundays, pho noodle soup is $4.99. All the regular pho bowls are $4.99, and a large pho bowl is $5.99.
The menu had some other options, but we all decided to stick to pho. Our toppings were a little sparse. I wish they had the saw leaf herb I like so much.
I chose my usual, the steak and tripe. I thought the regular pho bowl seemed a bit small, especially compared to the large.
Here is a regular next to a large for comparison.
My rare steak was already cooked when it arrived, which is usually a bad sign since beef can be easily overcooked. However, the meat was sliced into very thin pieces and so it actually didn’t taste too tough or dry as it sometimes can end up. My noodles were a tad on the mushy side though and I also thought the soup was a little salty.
Since almost all the pho bowls look the same, with varying ingredients buried inside, I decided not to take photos of everyone’s.
We also ordered some egg rolls. The egg rolls were longer in length than the average egg rolls. They were crunchy and I liked the inside filling.
The service was pretty good that night. The refilled our waters constantly and even helped pack away our leftovers. They were also very patient with taking our orders. Usually at the pho restaurants the waiters are impatient to take orders, but here we were told to take our time.
The food was just so-so. It’s comparable to the other pho places in the Convoy area. With a price of $4.99, it is also the cheapest bowl of pho you can get right now. I’m not sure I’ll visit once it goes back to regular price, but with the special price right now I’ll probably visit a few more times.
Pho Cali & Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
I totally laughed when I read about wiping down the chopsticks b/c that’s EXACTLY what my dad taught me and my sister as kids (maybe it’s a Taiwanese thing or something). But my sis and I always always wipe down the chopsticks and spoons when we go for Pho 🙂
I saw this place too when I was at Golden City. It looked really sad-empty. Did anything else on the menu look decent?
What are the two places you like in MM again? Ca Dao and something else ?
I like Ca Dao and Pho Cow Cali. I saw these fried egg noodles that looked good in the picture. I didn’t try to order it though so I don’t know if it actually is good. Yeah it is pretty empty. I don’t know if it will survive.
I tried this place for the first time last week. I thought the pho was decent, and it’s a good deal for the weekend price. There was quite a lot of meat in the regular bowl although I usually skip the rare meat for the same reasons you mentioned.
I thought it was decent too. Not as good as the two I like in Mira Mesa, but this one is actually closer to me and I really like the weekend price.