Nam An Vietnamese Restaurant

Checked this place on Unilocal from a friend saying they just opened. One of the people that took our order told us their official grand opening is in august but they are doing a test run. If you only speak English this is your place. If you speak Vietnamese this is also your place.
We were told that traditionally they eat dessert first and they offered us complementary dessert. I order iced tea and my friend said it was the same as in Vietnam

3.5 stars.
Headed here for my brother-in-law’s graduation dinner since it was his favorite spot. I will say walking in it’s much more appealing than most Vietnamese restaurants.
Prices were a tad higher, but nothing substantial. The vermicelli was more of a Japanese noodle, but the beef and shrimp were tasty. I don’t eat phở, but I heard it was a bit sweet. Portions were alright, not big, not small.
Where the place really took a dive was the service. Rumor is that they’re closing shop soon and it showed. We asked one of the servers which chicken dish he liked and he said he hates chicken. Also, half of the dished came out about 10 minutes before the others ones so half of our group was almost finished when the rest of the food came out. They had these buzzers at each table to call for service, but they seemed more annoyed when they were used. I also noticed that when we paid, a big tip was left and they failed to say thank you.
I wanted to give only 3 stars, but their food is better than average (at least what I tasted). It’s unfortunate they’re closing, but suck it up and give good service. When you pay for food, it’s not just for the food, but also the experience. They’re lucky their food is decent because the service gets about 1 — 2 stars max! Grow up.

Not many Vietnamese places open as late as Nam An on the Convoy area. Props for that.
Tried their Special Chicken Poo. Never had that before in my life. The broth was delicious. It didn’t taste like the typical beef phở at all, and the soup had a very unique flavor, similar to the American chicken noodle soup but with a cilantro twist to it.
The atmosphere was also pretty relaxing, and the staff was very friendly throughout our stay, but my friend got the recommended beef Vermicelli with egg rolls and did not really enjoy it — so that was actually a big deal for me.
Overall, yes, there are probably better Vietnamese places around San Diego — but this place is close and opens late so I’d come back.

Been to this place too many times and I have no choice but to post this review. First time I came here with the brother, I ordered the beef noodle soup. It was good to enjoy but the good side is that there noodles are not bought at the grocery store but freshly made. The many times I have been here, my usual has been the rice wide stir fried noodles with seafood because it’s been my favorite and not a lot of sauce is on the dish unlike the other Vietnamese places I eat ate, they put a lot of sauce. After the end of your meal, free desert is offered when asked and from my suggestion, you will like the food and service.

They serve the fresh kind of phở noodle here which is similar to the phở in Vietnam. The broth tasted okay, gladly it was not super bland. Our broken rice dish was so so, not the best but certainly not the worst. The accompanying fish sauce was a little watery.
Customer service was great.

Finally! A decent phở place in Kearny Mesa… and free-​range chicken? The hippie in me jumps for joy.
4 stars for the phở– broth was savory and I’m pretty sure there was no MSG. No MSG in phở? get out of here. Yes! My nose usually itches when I down a bowl of phở (slight allergic reaction to MSG… I think?), but not here. I had their free-​range chicken phở here once, and it was good — but I got like 4 pieces of chicken. For almost $ 8 a bowl — gimme some more protein!!!
3 stars for the other food. I had their rolls (which were good), but my husband and dad had the stir-​fried phở. Not so good. I watched as my dad-​in-​law poured in teaspoons and teaspoons of nuoc mam, chilis, and even asked for vinegar at one point (usually — you should get red vinegar… but for some reason they brought out white vinegar). Now — they should have never ignored the rule of thumb: don’t order anything else in a phở shop, EXCEPT for phở… hard lesson learned.
2 stars on service — adequate, friendly, but pretty inattentive. Pretty average service for a phở place — so no one was dissappointed, but if this place wants to break apart from the pack — it’s gonna do so on all fronts.

Came here the other night craaaaaaaving phở at midnight and it was the only place open other than saigon on 5^th. For some reason, we thought this place would be more authentic or something because they have real estate on convoy (even though we were just down the street from saigon!).
Spring rolls were good. Phở broth was incredibly bland, haven’t used that much hoisin and sate in my soup in a long time! The fat noodles were a little strange, not bad, but since the broth was bland the noodles had even less flavor.
Will keep it on my radar if I find myself craving phở late at night again, but definitely won’t be on the list of regular places to go.

If boba ball spitting was an Olympic sport I’m pretty sure I’d be on the US national team. I’ve developed stellar distance with pinpoint accuracy and my training facility of choice is Nam An because of their Thai iced tea. I can’t think of a place where I’ve had a better one.
They’ve also got great spring rolls and above average phở, but the real standout for me definitely lies within their liquid treat. Priced pretty well as an overall lunch experience this spot is certainly worth bookmarking among all the other Asian places within the vicinity.

Wanted to get phở before our first snowboarding session of the season and felt this was an appropriate place. We’ve been wanting to try it since its debut on Unilocal.
It’s a more modern place with flat screens all around and tasteful décor. Service is great. they have a service button on the table so press as you pls! That’s awesome cause we tend to always need something «more» when getting phở.
We started off with grilled chicken spring rolls. Yummy. It was fresh and the chicken was warm, succulent and flavorful. Veggies were fresh. Sauce was also on point. Then we decided to share a large dac biet beef phở. The soup lacked the flavor we’re use to. It was also just warm and not steaming hot. Come on when getting phở, you’re suppose to be blowing on it as you’re slurping! That’s the best part besides the authentic soup flavor. We’re both Vietnamese and we know phở. Idk maybe their vermicelli noodles with grilled meats would be better since our spring rolls were really good. Or their free range chicken phở. Fresh squeezed OJ was delicous. No added sugar and still sweet. A full cup without ice. Cool that’s double the juice! I like my OJ with ice so I just asked for a cup of it on the side.
All in all, I would rather go to a broken down, hole in the wall place and have a bowl of phở made right than some fancy smancy place where I can’t fix my craving. Their business card looks cool though! LOL

So I have to admit, their chicken phở is different and really, really good! It’s the best item that you could get here. I personally always prefer beef over chicken, but their chicken phở is hands down the best.
I’m super annoyed by their lack of service though. The last time I came here, almost all of their specialty drinks were unavailable. They ran out of soy bean and soy milk, so they literally had nothing else to offer. And this was the second time that this happened to us too. I was reading another review below and they ran out of the 3 colored dessert for this fellow Unilocaler. Hm… seems to me that this happens a lot!
I also hate it when I constantly had to ask for my utensils, water refills, check, etc. What’s worse is when they can’t get your order right. My friend ordered a small bowl of phở and another friend ordered a larger bowl… hm…so what is it that they couldn’t get right?! Yep, they screwed up.
Unless I’m in the mood for chicken phở, this is the place that I’d tolerate going.

One star off for service.
In my past experiences, when a restaurant grand opens the service would be over the top, just to guarantee that you would want to come back.
When I first walk in I waited for a mere 4 min. No one helped me, it was not busy. Finally a guy came up and seated me. When I wanted to order he didn’t take my order and told me to wait and he would have someone help me. I guess he is the owner and called the waitress? Well she was really shy, and took my order. LIterally the whole time she was whispering while taking my order which was annoying.
The food actually came out really quick maybe since there was only 1 other table there? Well the phở really reminds me of my Mom’s Phở. The broth was good and the noodles was the ‘hu tieu’ noodle meaning its the slightly larger and softer noodles.
After finishing my food, I paid. the waitress called a lady which looks like the owner. Well honestly the owner should have smiled (if she was) and asked how was my meal and just conversate. BUT she did not either. It was very awkward. The place was really empty but I went at 4:30 so that is understandable. Well I would come back for the food, I like the different approach to the phở. Its just the service was a little bland.

After a long day, I just wanted some yummy soup and the BF and I ran into this cute place.
This is a really cute place. The decoration is nice, it’s a bit darker inside than most restos, video screens play MTV so it’s a departure from the delicious places I go to during the day that look like it should be condemned from the outside. This is the kind of place that you take that friend/​family member who wouldn’t ever go to those really holey, dive places as it was immaculately clean.
The BF and I shared:
Cha Gio (3 piece order or you can get an order of 6) they gave us 4 pieces instead of 3. They came out piping hot, crisp and the seasoning on the filling was just right. Really good.
Combo Phở– the broth was nice. It was very clean, but full flavored and a good balance of spices. Noodles were perfectly blanched and they serve a slightly wider noodle than most places.
Rice Plate– the bbq pork was tasty and nicely seasoned, egg pork casserole was good and moist, shredded pork wasn’t strongly swine tasting and was good.
We were greeted quickly and brought water glasses and a pitcher of water. More places need to do that since it came handy and I hate when I have an empty cup.
This place was a satisfying option for late night (open til 3am I believe), good portions for the price (plate and phở were about $ 6 each, cha gio was $ 3.95). I do have some other favorite spots in SD that are a notch above, but even this modest place blows places in Vegas where I live out the water. *sigh*

In Asian countries, the growing dietary trend is to eat either convenient or expensive Western cuisine like McDonald’s or porterhouse steaks. In America, the culinary fad is to eat trendy Asian food and healthier foods like fusion sushi and organic meat. Nam An definitely does a good job of catering to the latter.
With free range chicken, freshly made noodles, good customer service, and complimentary dessert… this isn’t your typical hole in the wall Vietnamese phở joint! Nam An is what our hero would call a classy (albeit slightly Westernized) Vietnamese restaurant if there ever was one. Absent are the rattling carts that go around collecting dishes, the stack of green chopsticks and soup spoons on the tables, and the broken English from your servers.
Our hero started with the sea snail salad and had their much talked-​about free range chicken phở. The sea snail salad was pricier than most mains on the menu, but offered an interesting blend of tough sea mollusk and spicy green mango flavors — it’s definitely an item you should try if you’re feeling up for something different. The chicken phở had a deep chicken broth flavor that wasn’t tainted with MSG and the meat was very tender. Two thumbs up for the thick noodles that had a nice slightly chewy texture.
PROS:
— They have «service buttons» on each table to easily call for servers, like many Korean restaurants do.
— Exceedingly clean for a Vietnamese restaurant.
— Interesting and changing appetizer menu.
— Noodles are made fresh daily.
— Free dessert after your meal! And it’s not just fortune cookies or orange slices!
CONS:
— The chicken phở comes with some questionable organ meats in it.

PHO TILL THE 3 AM?!
They have something called Phở Ga Di Bo, which they translate to free range chicken. The world itself translate to Phở Chicken that walks. Basically the chicken you’re eating is healthy because they let it exercise before you eat it.
You’ll taste a difference because there will be skin on the chicken but it won’t be as much fat.
However, for 8 dollars a bowl, I expect some more meat, I got like 2 small pieces and these eggs. Usually when I eat Phở Ga Di Bo. I never had these strange premature eggs. It’s a Viet thing where you eat the egg while it’s somewhat formed… But I think it’s usually duck.
Anyway, the phở is pretty nice, because they use fresh noodles. and they’re open until 3 am thursday-​saturday.
Cheap, Fresh, Great. I think i’ll just get the regular phở instead of chicken though.

Good job! I actually like this healthy eating phở place. I like the change in the thick noodles. It did also tasted fresher. The basil and bean sprout was really fresh.
I got the chicken phở because I guess everyone was talking about it. I love how lean the chicken was and how they give you ginger sauce to go with it. It reminded me of my mom’s cooking! Their broth was good too.
I’ll definitely come back to get other things! I also like how they have happy hour and is open late til 3am on weekends! Way to go!

Just what SD needed, a late night spot for Phở. We had just concluded a night of partying and decided it was a good try to check out the new phở spot before we bid farewell.
The first thing I notice was how attentive the employees here are. Customer service was great! Even for 2 in the morning.
I must preface and say that the phở noodles are made fresh in-​house here. So the noodles are tender and softer then most phở restaurants. The broth was also lighter and had a cleaner taste then most phở places. It was still flavorful though. Overall, don’t expect it to taste like your traditional phở shops around town. Although not my favorite phở spot, it is still very good and I love that they open late. They also have the best customer service of any phở place that I been to.
I also enjoyed the tea flavored water.
I definite must try. I will be back to try the other dishes.

Phở with a tree-​hugging, yuppie twist. Yup, I suppose that’s the new thing these days… Phở Mignon = filet mignon. Nam An = free-​range chicken and fresh phở noodles.
Warning, the FR chicken comes with numerous offals (mighty fine and delicious specimens). If you’re expecting a yuppie, hipster array of skinned chicken breast, dream on like Aerosmith.
The old guards: Phở Hoa, Phở Cali, Phở Ca Dao, etc.
The vanguards: Phở Mignon and Nam An (not to be confused with Nam Long or Vietnam).
Nam An’s phở is delicious. The chicken broth is tasty and so is the beef broth. Like Phở Mignon’s, the broth doesn’t taste so salty like other phở joints. If you’re expecting a big kick, then Nam An isn’t for you.
The vermicelli is good too.
Their spring rolls are the standard varietal; nothing mind-​blowing.

I think I just found my Go-​To spot in SD when I’m craving Phở. The consistency of their noodles are super yummy! And a big plus (I think) is that they don’t have MSG in their soup since I wasn’t that thirsty for water while eating the phở.
Service is quick and nice, and I was surprised when the bill came out, the waiter told us that they were taking 20% off the total! I left with my tummy happy and my wallet happy. I’ll be back next time to try the Chicken Noodles!

This is a family owned restaurant that has recently opened.
They make their own fresh Phở noodles and one of the best chicken phở and really fresh spring rolls. The vegetables were very fresh. Ordered Ice Tea and they brought a pitcher for the table. You press a button when you want to order or need the wait staff. It was nice they gave me plenty of time to read the menu and as soon as I pushed the button they were their to answer questions and take your order. The restaurant is very clean. All the staff was very friendly and welcoming. I will definitely be back

Wow, I’m writing the first review! I came here last night for their soft opening, and wasn’t planning to eat anything since I just had dinner. I just wanted to check it out since it was my friend’s friend’s restaurant and I know one of the waitresses. I ended up eating their spring rolls, bo luc lac, and flan. I loved everything I had! I also tried OB beer– it’s Korean. I don’t even like beer but the sips I had went down smooth. I like how they give it to you with chilled glasses! I also love the décor and buzzer. hehe. Will be trying their phở next time!