Kim’s Vietnamese

The best Phó ever! Just have patience with the service and you will enjoy super delicious everything here. I have eaten phó around the globe. Phó here rocks 30 years now!

3 years ago this place use to be amazing. Since ownership changed it keeps going down hill. They raise their prices non stop. I paid $ 14.52 for phở for lunch today, I couldn’t believe it!!! I will never return, nor will my coworkers go there. Food never taste the same either.

i dig it the most. i want to know what’s in their soup base… just slide that information in a folded paper to me.
for info :
I enjoy the phở they have. Although it won’t help much in my description, i tell people the soup just tastes «cleaner.» Had my coworkers try the sandwiches (beef, pork, and chicekn) today and they all seem to like it, too.
Friendly staff and fast service. Location is based in the heart of Encinitas so it’s great to eat and take a stroll around town.

Amazing Phở! I had the beef, meatballs & tendon! Delicious! Very nice service too!
Definitely coming back!

First time here after Encinitas street fair. Got combo steak chick shrimp phở and delivered literally within 3 mins. Have been asked by 3 different people if everything is ok. Incredible service. Very nice people. Will be back. Phở was excellent btw.

*Relaxing environment, good customer service, great food, enjoy the vegetarian options, and nice location.*
This place is a family run business which we like to support. The menu is full of variety and I am a big fan of the crepes and veggie phở. The menu pricing$ is a bit steep for what I’m accustomed to for Vietnamese food, but that could be due to the location. They sit right in the heart of downtown Encinitas which is a busy area full of cute shops, restaurants, and bars. I really like the area and the food is really good.

Worst beef bahn mi sandwich I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot. The flavor was not there, or the nice charred beef that usually makes these kinds of sandwiches. Super salty beef it was hard to eat… Safe to say I will not return.

Amazing food and great service! I had the pleasure of meeting Kim too. She was wonderful. I had the Bun Thit with bbq pork and fried spring roll. Delicious! I can’t wait to come back again.

Pros: Good food, good service, good location.
Cons: Way overpriced. For example, combo chow mien for $ 18 – 19. Décor bland.
Price effected my dinner choice. Ended up getting regular sized shrimp phở for $ 10.95 + $ 2.50 for mixed veggies added.

BEST PHO EVER!
Great for vegetarians.
Delicious papaya salad for appetizer

Best phở in town! A great place to get a great meal! I love this place! Get the combo phở or the beef. You will not be disappointed at all. The service is friendly and they get your food out to you in a timely manner. Great family restaurant.

3 Stars for location and convenience and «decent» Phở. OK, so here the deal, such a terrific location on Hwy 101. Not open Monday — interesting. The Phở is average and the prices are higher then other Phở king joints. The 2 staff members are really nice and courteous. The manager (owner) lady is, shall I say, not the nicest. Nor is she cordial. Quite the opposite. Dreary flat vibe in this place too. Anywho — If your in the area and want a quick Phở fixing — its ok. A-​OK at best.

This place has really gone down hill. The food is mediocre at best. The service is below average and we just got charged $ 4.50 to add 3 pieces of cheap shrimp to a small bowl of phở…

I haven’t been here for about five years, until last night, and it’s MUCH BETTER than before! They changed the menu, and we were impressed with everything we had.
We were two couples, and we ate «family style» (much to the chagrin of the guys, who like eating all their own food — what a concept!) We were all happy with our choices, and everyone else’s!
We ordered: Fresh Shrimp Rolls, Kung Pao Chicken; Kung Pao Scallop; House Pan Fried Noodles, and Shrimp & Pork Salad. The fresh shrimp rolls (cold, wrapped in rice paper) were the BEST we’ve ever had — and we’ve had a ton of them (or at least many pounds of them, over decades!) Both Kung Paos were nicely spiced (usually it’s too spicy for me — and I eat Buffalo Wings!) The Pan Fried Noodles were mostly noodles, but they were delicious and the veggies it boasted were nicely cooked — not soggy. I love Shrimp & Pork Salad, and not every Vietnamese place has it — so I was delighted to see it on the menu. It was DELICIOUS! My husband commented that it was the best he’s had (he always tastes mine) and, at the risk of sounding overly praising, I agreed — the BEST!
So, of all the Vietnamese places we’ve tried in SD County (probably a few dozen), this is now my FAVE. Whenever I’m in North County and in the mood for Asian food, here I’ll go.
The waitress was cute, fun, friendly, and helpful. Another «Kim» — not the owner, and she begged us to come back. We will!

Love their Phở! Best thing after a long day at work. They are always very friendly when i come in too.

I love Phở, so when I discovered Kim’s after living in the area my whole life I was a happy camper. I have driven by thousands of times and never really registered what it was. Kim’s is very causal and quaint. It is a family whom owns the restaurant and Kim’s alterations down the street. The food is great. I love the spring rolls and Phở Tai. The servers are also nice. The only con are the prices. It is slightly higher than most Vietnamese restaurants. However I am sure it has to do with the location and rent, it is in a nice building on the 101.

Don’t be fooled with the negative comments. Go and try it for yourself. Kim’s has really good phở. I got the chicken phở and fried vegetable spring rolls. Both were very good and had a lot of taste to it. They are actually very sweet and check up on you every few minutes. However, the prices are a bit high compared to other phở places. I really enjoyed the customer service here. It’s a very cozy place. Thank you for filling up my tummy!

This place used to be great, now the food isn’t even edible. The phở is flavorless and the noodle dishes are mostly grease and what tastes like canned veggies. So disappointing, and gross.

Phó is tasty and hot. I ordered the 3 variety mushroom. It had flavorful a Veggie broth, rice noodles, a couple parsnips and carrots and then white, cremini and straw mushrooms.
This was accompanied by the typical bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime, jalapeño fresh platter. I dumped all the beam sprouts in, tore up the Thai basil to let out the great aroma before putting in the water to soften and tossed the jalapeño is as well and gave the lime a good squeeze.
They actually have nuoc mum on the table for you. It seems to be one of the few places in North county that provide it. It might smell gross but a few shakes add so much umami flavor. Then hoisin, sriracha and my phó was pretty darn tasty.
Décor is as you would expect from an Asian Establishment. Tables and chairs are pretty old and its a bit run down bit clean.
I’ve been here 5 or so times and only had the phó so I can’t speak for there entrée items.
Service is meh. Neither great or bad. They just do the minimum and that’s ok.

Nice quiet spot for Vietnamese food in north county.
The cubed beef dish is very tender, served with a mound of brown rice on a super sizzling platter (provides crispy edge).
The Vietnamese crêpe (bahn xeo) is legit. Delicious wrapped in (non iceberg) lettuce leaves, mint, and Thai basil. They provide a lush fresh heap. Yummmers
The service is friendly.
My only gripe, the Vietnamese coffee is meh.

I have always enjoyed Kims. I get phở most of the time. I think it is the best in town.
They are always friendly with good service!

Went here for dinner one night. Great phở! The soup garnish plate is more than full. Spring rolls were nice and crispy. We got desert for our appetizer, fried bananas, could be better with a little chocolate syrup
On a Tuesday night, it wasn’t crowded at all. The service was pretty good. My water cup never got empty. Food came out hot and just the order we asked for it. Food prices seem just a little high, but we live in Encinitas and the food is great. You get what you pay for!

Yes, this place is a bit pricey for a Vietnamese Restaurant… but real estate is expensive in this area for a place this size… so that is why MOST the restaurants is a bit pricier in this area.
Service is fair at best, no Personalization, minimal follow up, and no anticipation of your needs. Also they tend to close half the restaurant… which can be annoying when the other side is packed.
Had Banh Xeo a couple times, tends to be slightly burned on the outside, under cooked in the inside. The Claypot Catfish not reduced enough, sauce should be much thicker. You can’t rush this dish. Beef with onions tasted good. Many of the dishes is over seasoned with Lemon Grass compared to most Vietnamese Restaurants. The Beef with onions was very tasty.

Today was just a normal day out with the family and we decided to try out this Vietnamese restaurant called Kim’s, which is located in downtown Encinitas. I don’t eat Vietnamese food very often but this comes at a close second. The wait to get a table was long but not that long. I don’t know how long the wait was for the food though. Speaking of which, what I ordered for my entrée was crispy chow mein with shrimp. It was okay for me. Took some home cause I couldn’t really finish it all. All and all, the experience was good but I think three stars is the best for me.

Kim’s Vietnamese is good. However, my quest for great Vietnamese in North County goes on. My favorite Vietnamese dish is bun, vermicelli rice noodles, and they were distinctly lacking on Kim’s menu.
I ordered phở and a spring roll. They were both very good. They had the fresh light flavors I like so much. I left full and content.
The restaurant was quiet and restful at lunch hour. The staff and furnishings matched the atmosphere: comfortable, friendly and inviting.

Apparently they closed and remodeled because the Kim’s I used to check into was unavailable. We noticed a change right away.
Backstory that may or may not be 100% accurate:
I was stoked to have a spot in the hood that served phở when I moved to Encincitas. I love me my phở and eat it at least once a week. My wife and I went to check it out. It was good. Good service, interesting twists on the food (daikon in the phở which was great and a combo beef, chicken, shrimp phở) and pretty good service. I heard this place switched owners (this is the potentially false information) and we noticed a change immediately. The prices went up, the portion size went down, the daikon was (and still is) gone, there were no limes, less noodles and the service wasn’t quite as good. It got to the point that we would rather drive 20 – 25 minutes to go to Phở Ever or Phở + Mignon than the 5 – 8 minutes to Kim’s.
We stopped by on Wednesday and it was different right away. People were a little more friendly, albeit still quite quiet, and there was more «stuff» in the bowl. More noodles, more veggies on the plate, more meat and LIMES. Since I’m cracker-​ass whitey, I’m not sure if limes are authentic, but I like them in my phở. We didn’t have to BYOLimes anymore! There were even a few «new» (read: people we’ve not seen before) employees that seemed to have restaurant experience. They stepped up the service significantly.
We’re cautiously optimistic for the future of our local phở spot. Keep up the good work Kim’s! We want to love you again!

My husband and I have been regulars here for years and come here almost weekly for their Phở. I have to say as a regular patron, i’m disappointed someone created a new Unilocal listing for this «new restaurant».
It’s ridiculous considering the fact that it’s been there for YEARS! See old:
Yes, they have new ownership (purchased within the family) and made some cosmetic changes inside but it wasn’t closed for renovations with a grand re-​opening. Nothing has changed people — they didn’t knock down walls, get new furniture or remodel anything — they simply painted and de-​cluttered! It also hasn’t moved.
173 reviews in original and 3 for the «new». Lame! Close this one out and RE-​OPEN the old.