East Ave Asian Bistro

Loved the place before, jade palace, but the new place is quite good. The rolls and the beef plate were very good. I def would go back to this place again!!! too bad I just found out they closed down…

Everything we ordered was super fresh and delicious. Has shrimp spring rolls, phở Tom, Bön mi sandwich, chicken curry, wonton soup and chow mein. It was wonderful. We’ll be back again and again.

Very disappointed by the food. The server was very kind and the service was good as well. I ordered the chicken noodle soup and on the menu it said that it had chicken breast, when I got the soup it had dark meat that looked very old and felt like rubber… when I asked the server about the chicken she apologized and brought me chicken breast on the side. I also feel that their appetizers are very overpriced. I will not be returning to this restaurant.

Worst experience recently. I have been here before and is a decent spot for the food. The younger man is always very kind and accommodating. However we just visited and it didn’t go as well.
The older man that works there doesn’t speak English very well. Usually this is ok but there was a huge barrier and it got a bit overwhelming.
Ordered Orange chicken and a side of sauce as we always do, except this time we show up and the there is a charge for the extra sauce. I’m very reasonable and I would be fine with a normal charge for extra sauce (although there never has been in the past here) the charge was a whopping $ 5. The entrée itself was $ 9.
When I asked the guy why I was being charged $ 5 extra for sauce he said «we have to make it». I said that’s fine but why didn’t you tell me that on the phone before I drove all the way here? … no answer.
I decided to ask him to take it off the order because there was no way I was paying that much for some sauce. Instead of being kind and using good customer service to diffuse the situation because you can clearly see I was not happy. He yells at me! «But you ordered it!» At this point I tell him he’s very rude and I will not be giving him my business any longer.
He says «thank you very much». I take my credit card out of his hand and start to walk out. As I’m leaving I hear him talking to some patrons about me. Very unprofessional. If you weren’t so old and senile I would consider giving you a piece of my mind. Instead I will just let the world know of how poorly you run your business.
Food is ok but not worth the horrible service if you encounter the old man during the day.

amazing! we love it here and eat here at least 2 – 3 times a month. The owner and his sons are great, they take great pride in everything from fresh ingredients to even serving siracha in porcelain mini dishes. No styrofoam, all very upscale.
You could be fooled from the outside thinking it’s just chinese food but it’s actually vietnamese, and the BEST in the area. Dont go anywhere else for PHO, seriously.
Try the vermicelli noodles with shrimp, pork and eggrolls, amazing!
oh and the pork spring rolls and chicken fried rice! They have one large flat screen TV that usually plays sports so my husband loves it, and they are very patient with my toddler who usually makes a mess.
Go here for lunch or dinner! but on sundays they are not open in the afternoon i believe only open for dinner after 5. 100% recommend this place.

For an asian restuarant in Aliso Viejo this place is really good! They have boba which is a plus. My family and I do family portion and it works.
The crispy noddles is my favorite.
The owner is really nice.

Great Tasty Phở, were new to the area so we jumped on Unilocal and came across East Ave about 2 blocks from us. The hostess was reallt helpful and we ended up getting a Deluxe Beef, Chicken phở, as well as spring roles and Vermicelli noodles, everything was on point with spices, onions, bean sprouts, limes, and chili’s to toss in for good flavor. I think we found our new Vietnamese spot in Orange County.

Came here for lunch and asked for sweet and sour chicken with a few of my favorite veggies. I was told it was $ 2 each to add each of the veggies. I get it… they need to keep costs down, but if you said $ 2 extra for the veggies, I’m all in but $ 2 each for three veggies ($ 6) seems a bit excessive considering the lunch special was $ 7.95.
Onto the meal… the eggdrop soup was actually really good. It wasn’t too sweet, and had a great blend of noodle and chicken. Their salad was equally good, but the chicken… wow. Awful. Just awful. Too much breading, and it seemed to be really low quality.
So, i may go back, but won’t be overly thrilled to do so.

This was our first time — we always go to Phở the Bowl by 24 Hour FItness. We loved it! If it looks empty, don’t let it turn you away! The service was superb, timely, and the food was extremely fresh. The shrimp spring rolls were wonderful and the veggie phở was great! We will continue to make this our number one destination for Vietnamese in the AV! We gave this four stars because we haven’t tried everything yet.

I’ve been here many times because it’s close to my work. Here are the pros and cons. I’m Vietnamese, so I’m a pretty hard critic.
Here is a quick recap:
Clean
Most servers are attentive and provide good customer service — there is an older gentleman who seems to mean well, but he really rubs people the wrong way. Today’s example: He wants to know why my coworker puts hot sauce in the phở. He had to mention that it’s not the right way to eat phở. Literally stared at us and said that’s like putting soy sauce on steak. I spoke up and told him that’s customer preference. It’s not the first time he’s made comments like this. Just annoying.
Food is ²⁄₅ for the area — better than Phở the Bowl which is ¹⁄₅.
I cannot stand that they charge $ 2 to have your beef on the side. I know you have to wash the dishes, but you really don’t need to up charge that much. It’s not like I ask for extra beef — because we actually counted the number of slices on the side vs. in the bowl.
Conclusion: I would come back only if my coworkers really craved this place. It’s def not a reg lunch destination for me.

Came back for lunch today and pleasantly surprised they have BROWN rice! They don’t advertise it on the menu, but you can ask for it. It’s $ 0.75 more, but I don’t mind! Oh, and I got the Lemongrass Chicken today which was good. I personally don’t really like lemongrass in my food because it can be on the inedible side, but other than that, it was OK. I would pass on that dish next time.

I wanted to give East Avenue another try and came here for dinner. The service was great!
I ordered…
Shrimp spring rolls — Fresh and tasty!
Salt and pepper calamari — Delicious! (wish there was more calamari and less bell peppers)
Egg drop soup — pretty good.
This is one of those times that I’m glad I gave a restaurant another chance. It’s interesting how ones experience can differ from one trip to another.
Will be back!

The service isn’t bad. In fact, the service is quite attentive and the people are very nice. The place is never packed. .. and you have to wonder why until you try their food. Ahhh, that pretty much explains why this place is always running on low in patrons.
For one, there is a paucity of Asians in Aliso Viejo. In fact, there is a paucity of Asians in the South OC overall. As a result, the «authentic» and «ethnic» fares I’ve come across in these areas are always lacking. The name, already, is geared towards non-​Asian clientele. East Ave Asian Bistro? I first assumed this place was a fusion type place, but no, this place is straight up Vietnamese — phở and charbroiled pork rice plates.
East Ave doesn’t come close to my beloved Golden Deli. That place is bomb. Even Phở Bo Vang in Lake Forest kills its competition here. The broth is flavorless and watery. The noodles are clumped together in one GIGANTIC mess. It’s difficult to eat and each time I try to unravel the rice noodles swaying gently in my phở bowl, all I end up doing is entangling the long strands even more. As a result, I end up shoving giant knots of noodles in my mouth. At Phở Bo Vang and Golden Deli.. .heck at ANY OTHER phở place I’ve ever been to in my life in the SGV or Westminister/​FV/​Irvine area, I’ve NEVER run across such a problem.
Their spring rolls are also gross. It’s just a ton of lettuce wrapped in some sticky rice paper with a few limp pieces of shrimp. I don’t know how or why, but other places, given the same exact ingredients (Golden Deli adds in pork slices and vermicelli) make delicious and amazing spring rolls. For some reason, the ones here are really flavorless and taste just like water. Yuck.
However, the place is clean, big, new and decorated quite well. But I’d trade in the fancy décor for better food.

Meh… really in this plaza, with so many business offices around you have to be able to handle lunch rush. Maybe today’s experience was unusual, but it definitely left a bad impression.
I had been here before when it was Jade Place. It wasn’t the greatest then either, but at least the lunch service was timely. A little slow but since my work is pretty flexible, we could deal with it once in a while.
Came back, today. It was decently busy. But nothing crazy, nothing they shouldn’t be able to handle. But, fail! About 30mins after we ordered, he says, your food is on it’s way. 10 mins after that we ask to have it packed to go and to get our check. Check came. Took another 10 mins or so for the beef chow fun to come out, then another 5 mins or so after that for the porkchop rice, then more then 5mins after that still for the vermicelli to come out. yah… our lunch hr is over (flexible or not)… and we still haven’t eaten.
In total, it took about an hr to get our food.
Was it good? It’s not bad for Asian food in Aliso Viejo. It’s definitely not great, but meets the need if you’re feeling like Asian food out here. I don’t know if it’s b/​c I’m hungry or my expectations were low. Definitely not worth the wait.
I’m eating it now at my desk as I type and work. Multi-​tasking ftw!
Feel like Asian, go to Thai Bite.

I used to frequent the previous restaurant here for their good phở. When the restaurant changed, I thought I’d give it a try as the menu online looked pretty promising. Unfortunately, we ordered beef stew and got a 32 oz container filled only half way with the stew. Where was the rest? When I asked, they actually replied that the stew was meant to be that size and it was to be dipped with the french baguette.
Ohhhh, my bad. I guess I ordered french baguette with stew on the side.

Finally a good asian (Vietnamese) restaurant in the Aliso Viejo area. Been here twice so far and it’s been great both times. After reading another reviewers comments about it I HAD to order the stir-​fried beef and french fries. It is even more amazing than it sounds. This is the first time that I have ever had french fries that has wok smell — that aroma of stir-​fried foods cooked in a proper wok that’s raging-​hot. The combinations of the beef (cooked to perfection), french fries, sauce, and rice is simply amazing.
Also ordered a Vietnamese iced-​coffee, which was served in the traditional manner with a french drip filter into a cup of sweetened condensed milk. Awesome coffee, I just wish I had it earlier in the day; it is potent.
I will definitely be back! I need to try their other dishes, like the shaken beef and their Phở.

I came here after searching for this restaurant online (to see the menu ahead of time). I found something with the same name and location and assumed it was the same. Either they’re trying a bait + switch scheme or these are new owners because the menu was not like the online one at all. There were similar dishes (expected considering the cuisine/​theme is the same) but the prices were a lot higher than the menu online. This was a while ago and since then, the website is still up but apparently now the menu is «under construction». Honestly, I can’t figure out why of all the pages, the menu would be under construction. Can’t you just scan in the menu and upload it as a PDF for the time being?
In any event, since I already came in here, I figured I had no choice but to order. I got my food to go and went with the crispy noodles, but with vegetables and tofu instead of meat. For starters, the online menu had this item but the restaurant’s menu did not. They still charged me the full price for the meat + seafood combination version, which was a whopping $ 10 or something. There weren’t any vegetarian options on the lunch menu, so vegetarians, be warned that you will be going with dinner pricing.
Were the noodles good? It was just okay. The stir-​fry on top was fine and not too salty, but the crispy noodles underneath were just not the right type/​brand/​quality and not like the Vietnamese or Chinese (Cantonese) style crispy chow mein I’m accustomed to seeing and ordering. This came with a side of soup even though I got the takeout order, which was nice, although it would have been nice for them to warn me (given that I modified a meat-​y dish to make it vegetarian) that the soup had chicken bits in it which I didn’t discovered until I got to the bottom. By all accounts, the majority of it looked like corn and egg drop soup.
The service, what little I experienced of it, was pretty mediocre, especially given the prices here. I seriously have had more experienced and attentive service in regular Chinese restaurants in Irvine that are more authentic with lower prices than I did here.
Overall, despite the sheer lack of semi-​authentic (aka NOT Panda Express) Chinese/​Vietnamese food around here, I would not come back again. I think if the prices went down a few dollars like more of the fast casual Asian eateries in the area, it would be acceptable.

«If we were dating we’d barely be holding hands»…
I was excited to see a new Vietnamese restaurant enter our whitey hood. I am whitey by the way. There are so few around here that are adequate or above average. As former Rowland Heights residents we’ll admit we’re fairly tough critics in regards to Asian cuisine. We ordered the Beef Noodle Soup (phở) and the Deluxe Beef Noodle Soup (phở). There was a very odd (out-​of-​place) sour taste in the broth and a smell to it. Yes, we realize animals smell (especially pigs) but normally chefs find a way to mask this through various methods (i.e. cleaning, spices, herbs etc).
As far as the sourness I can only take a guess that something like lemon juice was added? We eat phở (pronounced «PHA») fairly often at the divey variety Vietnamese restaurants and have never experienced sourness or the smell on the meat that we experienced here. Additionally the soup was not served hot enough. It was more than lukewarm but barely. The broth is not as clear as it normally is and that is likely due to one of the foreign ingredients that has made this soup odd tasting?
The goi cuon (raw shrimp spring rolls) were tasty as was the peanut dipping sauce. The costs here are higher than your average divey Vietnamese restaurant. They are going for a fairly fancy look inside which I enjoy and am willing to absorb the slightly higher cost but the food will have to improve as well. They charge about $ 2.00 more for phở than Irvine establishments and they give you tons of noodles but less meat (more balance is needed for sure). I know they are a new restaurant so possibly they’ve just taken some missteps and will work it all out.
Vietnamese food is «often» very simple, light flavored yet pretty tasty. I am not talking about the Vietnamese places that serve exotic meats and are famous for serving baked catfish with rice paper for making your own catfish goi cuon. This place so far has missed the mark. I will cross my fingers and hope they get their act together soon because they are conveniently located to my home. I may try their chow fun noodles sometime and see if it is better than the phở.
PS – The staff and what appear to be the owner are very friendly here. Hopefully the cuisine will soon match up with the staff and ambiance.

Let’s start with the important part: Never again!
Now to elaborate: You know how when you’re super hungry even mediocre food can seem delicious? Yeah, not this time. We checked Unilocal to find a local Chinese fast food place and noticed this new spot nearby. Well, we’ve given it a try and will never visit again. You have to REALLY try to ruin Chinese food, and I can see these people gave it their best effort and succeeded.
The spicy crispy chicken was too greasy, too sweet, and of low quality. The wonton soup was flavorless and mushy. The Mongolian beef should be called onion, onion, onion, celery, gloppy sauce and a beef. If it weren’t raining we’d go back and return all this food we’re not going to choke down.
Save your time, money, and tastebuds! This place was a big disappointment.

You really have to try their egg rolls and their special grilled pork rolls. They are the best! Phở is also very delicious here. I’m glad there is a good Asian restaurant nearby. 5 stars for the food, 5 stars for the ambience, great fast service by friendly servers.