Cơm 90° — Restaurant in San Jose

When talking about broken rice or "cơm tấm", there are 2 most well-known restaurant chains in this bay area: "Cơm tấm Thanh" and "Cơm tấm Thiên Hương". Both offer superb taste and authenticity. However, each has its own downfall. Thanh is affordable but portion is meh. Thiên Hương is the complete opposite: hella expensive but portion is quite huge.

This is where "Cơm 90 degree" comes in! Affordable but the portion is simply MONSTROUS for its price! Of course, its taste aren't supreme like the 2 kings mentioned above but still authentic enough to warrant my approval. Their phở is ok. But they're best known for their rice as the name suggests (That's why there's "Phở 90 degree" right next to it!).

All in all, if you're looking for big, affordable broken rice dishes that are easy on your wallet, look no further than Cơm 90 degree!! That place is always crowded even though their customer services are slow and questionable sometimes... well, that's to be expected since they seem understaffed to me (a tactic often used by owners to cut labor cost).

If you're a com tam guru like me, you'll appreciate this place like I do!

Again, as a reminder, set your expectations low since mediocre customer service has been a recurring theme to this restaurant!! Otherwise, the rice dishes here...

I had my doubts about this place, but boy was I wrong!

Due to the lower rating, I wasn't quite sure if it would be up my my standards for Vietnamese food. But a group of us came here for a late lunch this past Sunday, and there were plenty of tables for us. We were a group of 10.

They have quite an extensive menu, and since it was a rainy day, I decided to try their pho. My "usual" is Pho Tai Chin, this time I added Bo Vien for $1 extra and fresh noodles. It came out hot and the beef was tender and pink, just how I like it. Fresh Noodles were smooth and perfect.

The service is typical for a Vietnamese restaurant, so maybe that's why the lower ratings. And to help out the server, remember your order by number to make sure you get what you ordered and not someone else's dish.

The other people in our group also order some pho and rice and bun dishes, all of which were very satisfied.

I'd definitely...

Typical polite and efficient service.

The Pho Bò Bê Thui is a curious combination. Bê Thui is smoked veal, served with a savory dipping sauce. It is good by itself. The Pho Bò is tasty by itself - the noodle cooked al dente, broth fragrant and savory. But pairing these two good dishes leaves me puzzled. Their combined taste doesn't work for me.

The Com Tôm Càng Kho Tâù is a pretty good dish. The prawns are large, with creamy tomalley in their heads. The sauce is savory but just a tad too sweet for me.

What I don't understand about this restaurant is the decor. It's a Vietnamese restaurant, but its murals are gigantic pictures of Venice, Italy. Why?

Anyway, the good food and the nice service will bring me back the next time I'm in the...