Pho Cali — Restaurant in Yuba City

Hubby and I had lunch at Pho Cali today. We had not sure a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed the food. He'd had a medical procedure done today, and was told to eat something fairly mild. Pho is mild. There was no one in the restaurant at the time, but it was pretty early. We noticed that the interior had changed some, as the menu was not prominently displayed on the wall anymore. But, on the counter they did have very nice laminated menus. I picked one up and went to a table. We asked the man who greeted us what his favorite was, and he chose number 21. So, I'm guessing the other man that was there was the owner. He came out and told us that number 21 was good, but not as good as the thing he was going to bring us. The guy is a master and upselling. He convinced my hubby that we needed four egg rolls. "These are the new egg rolls, he told us. Not like the old egg rolls. These are better. You will like them.' (He was not wrong). Hubby asked if he was going to bring them for free. I said no, he just very successfully upsold us another 950. They were small, but very tasty. The Pho we had was fabulous! We remembered that a single serving was huge, and would feed both of us for 2 days. So that's what we went with. Owner brought us two more bowls so that we could dip our meal out of the large bowl and into the not much smaller bowls. In the broth, which was very tasty, there was beef, shrimp, and I'm not quite sure what else, along with some green onion, bok choy, wontons, potstickers, noodles, and on the side were bean sprouts and jalapenos. On the table was a bowl of very tasty but not too hot chili oil. I used a lot of chili oil! I like spice! Hubby, not so much. Anyhow, long story short, will we go back? Yes we will! And the next time we're going to...

I’ve tried three Pho places in Yuba City/Marysville/Wheatland CA area. I’m surprised to see this have a 3.4 Yelp review. I think this is the better of three Pho places. The north in this place actually taste like bone broth made and not “5 spice in a bag” made. The broth portions are generous (for summer) but I can see it being adequate more towards colder season. The noodles are not overcooked, they’re bouncy and adds a nice combo with broth. The “meat” portions are generous too. I had 26. Short rib and it had two large short ribs, and all the contents of Dac biet (cartilage, tendon, meat ball and yea including rare steak) for barely a dollar more than the avg pho type prices here. This also have the best French bread for their Banh Mi; appropriately mildly crunchy with doughy soft inside bread, and combine it with the best Dac biet Banh Mi filling and I can it’s it’s the best Banh Mi in this area and competes well with all other Banh Mi in Sac area. This place aims to please, and the service never skips on getting you want you want and how you want it as you can get mostly any modifications you want in all types of food (Banh mi, boba, pho, etc.). The place have a roomy feel as it hold a lot of seating for the size, and despite not having music, you can hear the sound of music with every delicious food you get here. A must try, a must repeat offender for this place, and definitely the best pho place in this...

POSITIVES: 5 STARS for the delicious flavors, beautiful presentation, and great customer service!!!! BEST grilled chicken we've ever had in Yuba City! And I am now IN LOVE with the original milk tea thanks to Pho Cali! My family loved their coconut milk tea and honeydew milk tea. We ordered their rice plates with grilled chicken and beef which in our opinion, have a much better Asian vegetable medley than Teriyaki House on Butte House Road in Yuba City. Pho Cali served us at our table and gave us complimentary cups of ice water. I wish we could give them more stars because they were so nice and what we ordered was so amazingly good, BUT we have to be honest about our issues.

PROBLEMS: pork in a lot of the dishes leaves even fewer dishes to choose from for the many people in this area that CAN'T EAT PORK, HUGE disappointment on top of Pho Cali's already slim selection of dishes. Also the single bathroom needs improvement, no air conditioning, the meat portions are very small for the price you pay compared to the Teriyaki House on Butte House Road in Yuba City. No fountain drinks, only a few flavors of canned soda for $2.50 each...