Oh My Pho! — Restaurant in Oceanside

I was really excited to stop by ND Banh Mi based on the photos and Google reviews. Unfortunately my experience was nothing like what is written in the rave reviews. I arrived and walked in. Luckily they weren’t busy at all. I mean dead. No one inside. I checked out the menu quickly and placed my order. The woman who took my order was friendly but she was not wearing a mask. (Not the reason for my low review). I ordered a few items to try. After ordering I seated myself and waited. I was actually waiting for quite some time. It gave me a lot of time to look around and observe my surroundings and staff. I will say that this did not seem like a clean restaurant. There were two tables towards the back with stuff all over it. A personal office if you will but out in the open. It didn’t just have a printer on top but used masks, trash and miscellaneous things spread all over. The dining room had dust and debris on the floor and tables. You could tell that this place doesn’t not get cleaned very often and certainly not on a regular basis. I watched what was going on behind the scenes. I’m not very picky so I just treated it like I was at a family members house and they were whipping something up for me. Then I remembered I am a paying customer and I don’t get to dine in very often. Another staff member was helping prepare food but wasn’t wearing her mask properly. The food finally arrived and I was more than excited. Then, I tried it. There was nothing desirable about anything I ordered. From my drink, to my banh mi and appetizer. Where is the flavor? The boba was over cooked and chewy. The banh mi lacked flavor all around. pickled veggies who? Appetizer was not cooked thoroughly. I’m part Vietnamese and a food lover and this spot was not it. I love supporting small businesses but this establishment needs more TLC. This place looked nothing like the online photos. From the food to the dining room. What happened?!

ND Banh Mi Owner & Management,

Thank you so much for replying and wanting to know what exactly needs improvement. It truly shows that you care about this restaurant. I’m my opinion the boba was over cooked and chewy. The egg rolls were not cooked all the way through and more lettuce is needed, so the cook time might need to be adjusted on those. I prefer nuoc cham to dip and felt the sweet chili sauce was too sweet. That’s a personal preference. In the banh mi, the veggies specifically needed...

Absolutely love eating here!!! :) They recently expanded to included additional seating so that more people can eat inside. We come here as often as we can whenever we are in area. For a cafe, the menu is not limited. Love all their banh mi - yes, we've tried tried them all! Fave sandwiches are the grilled pork on croissant, and the grilled beef steak on baguette. Love the eggrolls (they're quite big in size and loaded inside!) They added curries, and they can make them as spicy hot (or not) as the customer wants them. Fave is the chicken curry -- omg, deeeeleeeecious!!! They have boba (or non-boba) smoothies, juices. Service is stellar! Service with a smile. The cook/owner has a very specialized palate for savory Vietnamese food, that is freshly made and served. The owner's wife also makes fresh desserts everyday. Prices are sssooo reasonable that we usually order additional food to go after eating at the restaurant. We can't say enough about how impressed we are with this off-the-wall Vietnamese cafe. We look forward to coming back again and again.

Roy and...

I was really looking forward to a comforting bowl of Pho, but unfortunately, this was a huge letdown. What I received was nothing more than plain, watery broth with barely any substance. There was no depth of flavor, no seasoning, and no real ingredients to make it feel like a proper soup. For the price, I expected something much more satisfying.

To make matters worse, the presentation was unappetizing, and the portion size was disappointingly small. The broth tasted like it came straight from a can—bland, processed, and lacking any homemade quality. I kept hoping for at least a hint of richness or some actual ingredients beyond just liquid, but there was nothing redeeming about it. It tasted like something that had been watered down to the point of losing all flavor.

I hate leaving negative reviews, but this was truly disappointing. With so many great options out there, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone looking for a hearty, flavorful Pho. Hopefully, they can improve their recipe and quality control because, as it stands, it’s just not worth...