Phở Duyên Mai - S San Diego

Great place for a traditional Vietnamese family meal. Cảnh chùa, cá kho, and râu. They also have good pho. Would highly recommend!

IMHO, this unpretentious place has the best Vietnamese food in SD. EVERYTHING from their version Bun Bo Hui, spring rolls with various stuffings, Pho, etc are remarkably good.

Pho Duyen Mai Restaurant is one of our to go to pho spots in San Diego. It is conveniently located in a strip mall with plenty of parkings on Kearny Mesa Road, closed to a freeway. It is spacious inside and can get loud and noisy as this is a family restaurant. We ordered Bun Rieu (rice vermicelli with shrimp and crab paste in tomato based soup), House special pho with added meatballs and grilled pork chop plate with meatloaf. The pho has a very clean and savory broth and the meatballs were large. Grilled pork chop had a nice flavor like bbq pork. Bun Rieu has a light and delicious tomato broth. The waitstaff was attentive, polite and quick. Food came out fast after order placed. Note that the waitstaff will not bring you your check. You have to go to the cashier register in the back to pay for your meal by giving them your table number. Pho Duyen Mai is a solid, authentic Vietnamese restaurant and their prices were reasonable and fair. We recommend this Vietnamese restaurant.

I've been regular customer at Pho Duyen Mai for the last couple of years. The Pork Paste Rolls #8 are by far my favorite thing the on menu. The crunch at the end of the bite is delightful and dipping sauce is to die for seriously, you have try these... . The other item I highly recommend is the Rice Vermicelli with Shrimp Crab Paste #3 . I have been hard-pressed to find this dish at another Vietnamese restaurant in SD, and it leaves me with a hankering that has me coming back time and time again. Otherwise, the restaurant is clean and spacious and the service has always been solid. The restaurant does get pretty crowded at times, so I often get take out and bring it next door to Quantum Brewing to enjoy Vietnamese Brews :

This has to be the best pho spot in San Diego. I've tried pho hao and pho cow Cali they're just not as good. I have to say that pho Duyen mai is probably the closest thing you can get to the pho in OC. The broth is always super hot when it comes out and the seasoning is perfect. I love the tendon because it's so soft. They're pretty busy around lunch time, so I would expect a bit of a wait when ordering/getting your food. Very spacious inside and can get quite loud as many families would bring their children here to eat. It's a bit a drive from where I'm from, but it's totally worth it because the pho here hits home. I will definitely be coming back when I'm craving pho