Hoai Hue

City Heights is definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Diego. It’s famously known for its ‘Little Saigon’ strip that’s filled with a bunch of authentic Vietnamese restaurants, and one of the best ones is easily ‘Hoai Hue’.

My mom was born in Hue, Vietnam, and growing up, my family and I were blessed to always have food from her region. In general, Vietnamese food tastes delicious and fresh, but I would say that food from Hue beats everywhere else for me. Food from there is light, often steamed in banana leaves, and since Hue is located more in the countryside, there’s just something more fresh tasting about everything, especially the herbs that you eat with their most popular and meaty soup dish, Bun Bo Hue.

For a long time, I’ve heard from the majority of people that ‘Mien Trung’ in Kearny Mesa had the best Bun Bo Hue. Yes, it’s good there, but I honestly think that Hoai Hue’s Bun Bo Hue is significantly better in flavor and includes so much more in the bowl. The pork meatballs they use are amazing too and are my favorite part of the soup bowl. Hoai Hue also accepts credit card, while Mien Trung accepts cash only.

In addition to the Bun Bo Hue being so hearty, filling, and downright delicious at Hoai Hue, they have a bunch of other Hue classics on the menu as well, such as Banh Bot Loc, Banh Nam, and Banh Beo (Chen). The Banh Beo Chen is seriously my favorite! If I’m being completely honest, I can probably eat 100 of those in one sitting. They are beyond addicting. The Cafe Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee) is amazing too - not too sweet, but still very strong as intended.

The service here is wonderful too and everyone is really warm. I love seeing how servers interact with other tables, and there is a lovely woman who works here who is kind to literally everyone she interacts with. It makes me happy to witness those kinds of interactions. I love this spot a lot and everyone I’ve brought here has loved it too.

Consider me a forever regular!