Pho Huynh Hiep 3 - Kevin's Noodle House — Restaurant in Daly City

“Recognized by the staff, healed by the broth.” (A regular at this California-born Vietnamese gem.) Kevin’s Noodle House was the very first place I ate when I moved to San Francisco for college, before I even unpacked. Just a few minutes by bus ride from SF State, it’s been a constant comfort through every season of my life here. Founded in California by a Vietnamese family, Kevin’s is a great example of how immigrant food traditions have flourished and adapted in the Bay Area. From the moment you walk in, you feel how deeply the restaurant values efficiency, community, and consistency. You're seated immediately, your order is taken within minutes, and the pho arrives almost faster than you can take a breath. Kevin’s Noodle House (aka Pho Huynh Hiep) was founded in 1994 when the owner’s father teamed up with his wife and two sons to open their first location in Oakland, driven by a lifelong passion for cooking the beef noodle soup (“pho bò”) of his childhood. Nestled in Oakland’s historic Little Saigon corridor (East 12th/Eastlake), Kevin’s sits among dozens of Vietnamese‑owned shops that together reflect the first large wave of Vietnamese immigration to the East Bay in the 1980s and ’90s. What began as a single storefront on East 12th Street now spans five locations (Oakland, San Francisco’s Inner Sunset, Daly City, Concord and Walnut Creek), all still run by the same family, ensuring consistency of broth, noodles, and beef balls. I like to bring first timers here not just because I love the food, but because I love watching people experience the chaos, fast service, hot bowls of broth, heaps of herbs and sprouts. It’s overwhelming in a great way. The staff even recognizes me now; they’ve started saying “see you next time” instead of “thank you for coming” because they know I’ll be back soon. Pho is medicine. I go when I’m sick, or when a friend needs comfort. This semester I’ve been adding a marinated pork chop on the side; it doesn't slow the service down at all. Kevin’s isn’t flashy or trendy, it’s real. It represents how Vietnamese-American culture has become an essential thread in California’s culinary identity: resilient, welcoming, and...

This was always a spot my friends and family would go to. I always come here with my friend because we enjoy the fast service and short wait time but the people who work here represent the restaurant chain terribly and their food quality has gone down. Whenever we walk inside and get seated, the waiter would slam the menu's in front of us. We always got the 70 year old man, who should be retired for working at his age. I feel bad, like relax in your older years. So I guess I can understand his anger for working at his age or just the cultural difference. He would also push the chairs in loudly. I mean for a man his age, I didn't expect to see that strength in him to do so. I watched how he treated others just to see if it was just my friend and I or something but people were also shocked at how he treated families and others coming in. Two minutes in, the old man asked what we wanted on the menu. What? My friend and I barely looked into what I wanted. However, what annoyed me the most is that they would serve us the bill 5 minutes into eating. Are you kidding, how incredibly rude. I expected to get my $10 of change back but they literally took it. So, my friend and I just left and are never coming back. Tip isn't included in the bill when I saw it, thank god because SF has the worst tipping culture. However, they stole my tip, had terrible service, never came around to pour another glass of water, and has mediocre food that is based off of packaged instant pho. In regards to food, the msg in their pho is too much and the meats they use (appetizer and entree) taste like they used 15 year old meats that were stored in the freezer. I tried their special shrimp appetizer (A8 on the menu) and I bit into clumps of flour or something weird in texture that tasted like it was just fried straight from their freezer that was stored for close to a decade. I loved this place as a kid and going here on a rainy day with friends. I guess the people in this city who love a cheap and fast option, that doesn't care about quality, should go here, but this place doesn't deserve my money or...

I had business in the area, and came here for a quick lunch. I remember eating here over10 years ago. I don’t know if it’s the same management. The place looks nice. For a rainy Wednesday lunch it wasn’t that busy. I was seated right away.

The server came to take my order but I wasn’t ready. He said to take my time specially since it’s slower than usual. I ordered #43 grilled beef with shrimp cake over rice. I asked for a side of egg. Server said it’s $2.25 each. We looked at each other, and we both laughed. I said I can get a dozen eggs with that! He said that’s why he tells people the cost so they’re not surprised when they get the check. That was a nice service!

I asked about the three color drink. Server said it’s good but if I want good and healthy, I should try the red bean drink instead. He said the red bean has a lot of iron. It can be ordered either as whole bean or blended. I ordered the blended red bean. It was really good.

The water came as soon as the server left. The chicken broth was 5 seconds behind. The chicken broth was really nice. I had problems with other restaurants being either too greasy and salty. This was nicely flavored without the greasiness and saltiness. I briefly considered asking for another but opted against it.

The meal came pretty fast. The beef was tender and tasty. The shrimp cake was a nice surprise. The salad was actually fresh!

If I’m in the area and hungry, I won’t hesitate to...