Pho Lucky — Restaurant in San Diego

Food: 4.5/5 Service and Setting: 3/5 Value: 3/5

Pho Lucky is attached to Lucky Seafood and makes me question if their name is out of laziness or brand cohesion. Going in, the restaurant is very clean and new, contrasting their more weathered entrance. The service is very quick and brash, a sign of a great Asian restaurant. The waiters do not speak great English, so be prepared to show item numbers. While not the nicest, they are very quick in entering your order and my pho came out almost a minute after I had ordered it. Payment is done on an iPad and is quick and painless. Traumatized by downtown SD and LA parking, I will report that parking here is super easy with a giant lot that is used by other business and the supermarket.

N11 Rare Steak and Well-Done Brisket Pho: 4/5 While better than other extraneous pho restaurants, nothing too mind blowing here. There is a slight lack of depth compared to my favorite pho spots but it is leagues ahead of some of the nightmarish soups I have had before. They are very generous with the amount of protein they serve, probably at least 30% more than other spots. They also serve their pho with less common herbs, one of my favorites being culantro. They even added meatballs to my bowl for free, probably substituting a little from the others.

R1 Special Lucky Broken Rice: 5/5 With how good this dish is, I’m surprised that they don’t just specialize in this. It comes out with rice, salad, soup, grilled pork, meatloaf, pork rind, shrimp, and fried shrimp loaf in tofu skin (tom tau hu ky). Everything was very fresh and aromatic. The meatloaf here is awesome, a true standout. Deeply meaty without any off-putting smells. A very delicate smooth and light texture with a richness that I associate with Vietnamese pate. Very very good. The tom tau hu ky is also very good and uncommon for this area. Crispy fried tofu skin with a filling reminiscent of Cantonese shrimp siu mai pairs perfectly with their light fish sauce vinaigrette. I highly recommend you try this on your visit.

D27 Jelly Jack Fruit with Red Tapioca: 5/5 Though I am not Vietnamese, I have a love for the food and this is one of my favorite desserts that is hard to find. Many places cheat out and just use red colored gelatin but they do the traditional preparation and coat pieces of water chestnut with tapioca starch to create this jelly that has a crispy center. I love this dessert because it does not have any of the beans that many other Vietnamese desserts have but instead is filled with sweet and chewy jellies of all kinds such as palm seed and nata de coco. Coupled with creamy coconut milk and sweet jackfruit, this dessert is super bomb, so please order a lot so they keep it...

After a few years hiatus, Pho Lucky is under new management and opened again. This was my mom’s favorite pho place pre pandemic. It is not my fiancé’s go-to place but we all came here today to give it a try.

We got pho filet mignon ($16), oxtail pho ($17) and com tam dac biet lucky ($12.99).

The first thing we noticed when it came out, was the stainless steel bowl and plates. It mimics Phoholic in OC. Which is the best pho, in our opinion. If it’s anything like that then this place is a winner.

The broth was clear, had the strong aroma and a tad bit sweet. With a few limes, I made the broth just the way I like it. My fiancé is sensitive to MSG which is a reason why he’s picky. He detected a tad but not enough to give him a reaction.

The filet was super thin and tender. The oxtail had a lot of meat. The oxtail soup also comes with other meats such as the rare steak.

The broken rice dish came with pork skin, grilled pork, fried bean curd, and egg meatloaf. The egg loaf was moist and had the orange yolk color on the top layer. The fried bean curd was crispy. Grilled pork was charred and flavorful.

During the grand opening period, you get a free soft drink. This place has potential and it’s conveniently located off the highway and has...

I’ve been this place a few times and the food is consistently amazing. Their pho is flavorful, fresh, and always hits the spot. However, I’ve had disappointing experiences with the service, especially at night. Tonight, we arrived at 7 p.m., two hours before closing, but it felt like we were being rushed out the door.

The restaurant was nearly empty, yet we had to wait a long time for our bill. Meanwhile, 6-7 staff members were hanging out in the cashier area chatting, but no one came over to check on us. I eventually had to approach the counter with my card. One server came to help, but when I entered my tip, he stood uncomfortably close and stared at the screen while I finished, which made me feel really awkward.

The food is top-notch, and I’ve had much better service during the day, so it’s a shame that the nighttime staff doesn’t seem to treat customers with the same level of care. Because of this, I’m giving them three stars. I really hope they can improve their service in the evenings—it’s the only thing holding them back from being a solid...