Bếp Mẹ Nấm

Nice n clean place to enjoy a hot stone broth of either bun bo hue (beef soup from central Vietnam) or bun mam (fermented fish soup). Banh canh (udon style noodle soup) was recently added but not yet made to the menu. Perhaps it's being trialed The goods: -Only 2 items on the menu -Broth stay hot-warm for awhile from the stone bowl -bun bo, rich n savory broth. More towards medium central flavor -bun mam, nice n mildly fermented flavor fish. The aroma was a bit calm considering it's a fermented dish The bads: The uglies:

My favorite soup is Bun Bo Hue and this was my first time visiting this restaurant to try something different as I hear they use clay bowls for the soup. We arrived at 8:15 pm and they close at 9:00pm. It was half full but was seated right away. Looking at the menu, they only specialize in 3 dishes. The server told us that they only had bun bo hue available. It was no problem because that is all I came to try. The food came out quickly which was great. They carried the clay bowls out 1 by 1 as they were heavy and very hot! It was a good concept as it keeps the soup hot even after you throw in the veggies and the additional meats which usually cools the broth down. The broth had a good flavor and wasnt too spicy. The portion size was average and the ingredients were limited. I was very disappointed with the pork hock at it was the feet where it still had the toe nails on them. They need to use better pork hock with larger meat portion. The other disappointment was the beef bone. It was lacked meat and wasn’t as soft as it should be as it could have been cooked longer. Overall it was good and do recommend you trying to experience with the hot clay bowls

The bun bo hue is pretty good, but what ruined it was the trash cart rolling by. So unappetizing. Server should bring dishes to the back and not be lazy rolling a dirty cart around to take all the dishes away. It's all noisy too with dishes clanking and being thrown into the cart. Would've had a higher review if not for the dirty cart.

I'm not one to write a review often but thought that this place deserved one. I'm a bun bo hue over pho kinda guy so the bun bo has to be pretty good for me to write a review. A friend brought me the first time and I thought the stone pot was a little gimmicky so I wasn't expecting too much. Well, it was fantastic. Actually probably, IMO, one of the best in oc. Since I came on the weekend, owner told me that had a special of banh canh cua, my wife and daughters favorite, so I ordered one to go. My wife, not Vietnamese, said it was the best she ever had. So, I had to take her to the restaurant the following week. My wife is on the smaller stature and doesn't eat much, but she finished the whole bowl of the bun bo dac biet. I was so surprised. We really like the food here. And on both occassions, the owners were extremely nice. This is now our go to spot for bun bo hue and banh canh.

One of the worker's (maybe even the owner's) son told me that me and family couldn't go there and eat there anymore? I don't think that's okay. I didn't do anything but eat some of their son's lunch at school, and he thought I was too greedy and told me so. He initially permitted me to eat some of his meal, but then changed his mind. Mind you, he gave up the most of his meal for my friends, but exclusively targeted me???

The concept of the hot stone bowl is pretty stupid. I would never come back for this. It's taking forever to eat because every time I accidentally touched the bowl, I got burned. It's like eating on a burning stove. Remove it, or at least ask the customer to see if they would like the hot bowl or not prior to serving. The food quality is okay, but because it's too hot, I can't taste its flavor (if there's any).

Excellent execution of a pretty imaginative concept of stone bowl bbh. Large serving of protein and that beef rib was very meaty and satisfying. I especially loved the pickled onion that they give you. I use that instead of lemon to give the mandatory sweet/sourness to the soup. If they can keep up their standards this is going to become my new favorite bun bo hue place. Only thing is that the stone bowl stays hot for like forever so it's really hard to get that last scoop of broth out of the bowl without burning yourself.

I went with a couple friends and they recommended me to try the tho da, which the bun bo hue is specifically placed in a stone bowl. For the price, it tasted amazing. I love the stone bowl because it kept the broth hot throughout the whole time. I couldn't even finish it by myself and had to ask for help lol. The best bun bo hue I ever had. I'll recommend yall to try it out too.

Yum! A no-frills bun bo hue place. I got the regular bun bo hue, and my friend got the deluxe with more meat. We were both incredibly full after, the soup was fragrant, veggies fresh, meats were so juicy. I like the novelty of the hot boiling stone pot, but I cannot lie when I say the soup was so hot, we kept burning our tongues on it, even after about 20 minutes. So its a love-hate relationship.

On my first visit, the food was amazing. This was the first time I ate Bún Bò Huế and Bún Mắm at a Vietnamese restaurant that I didn't find any room for improvement! I just found out about this place, so I am not sure how long it's been in business, but I seriously hope that the quality doesn't go down over time, like most new Vietnamese restaurants tend to do. The male owner looked kind of grumpy when I walked in, probably being tired from working all day. Updated, I came back a second time and the Bún Mǎm had a very fishy, smelly taste. I guess quality has gone down a bit on random days. The stinky, smelly taste was very off putting. Eww, I couldn't swallow the food because of the smell. Maybe the ingredients weren't fresh second time around. So the food quality is not consistent, just so you know.

I really like the food here, especially bun bo hue It comes with a huge beef short rib, a pork foot, and various toppings for $18. The soup was boiling hot when it came. After a while the soup was still very warm. The broth was fragrant and pure, not oily. A bunch of different types of herbs were served with it. 5/5 Bun mam was the other dish I ordered. I think there isn't enough topping in bun mam. But the broth is tasty, fermented, and clear. It came with a tamarin dipping sauce so that was unique. Toppings included 2 pieces of roasted pork, a couple of squid and small fish, and a couple fish cake. 3/5 I especially don't like the smelly atmosphere of this restaurant though. I understand that these food are smelly but other restaurants that serve these don't smell like this. Service was fast because the restaurant didn't have many customers when I visited.

Finally got to try this new restaurant and it was amazing. Kind of a hidden gem tucked in the Stater Bros shopping center. Service was quick and friendly on a Friday night. It got pretty busy at around 7-8pm. We ordered #1 and #2 bun Bo hue. One came with the short rib bone and the other was a regular option. Broth was flavorful and perfectly seasoned. Lived that it came with plenty of meats, noodles and vegetables! They even have banana blossoms too. Hot stone kept soup hot the entire time. Restaurant was clean and family-ran. Would definitely be coming back soon!

There's only three things on the menu! I got the first one and it's really good. Stone bowl so it keeps things hot so you can cook your food as you eat. It takes a lot of real estate to display all the different meats and noodles you get with it.

My husband and I have always liked this place so we keep going back! For the price they give a really big hot stone bowl and tons of veggies, which I really appreciate. I love having a lot of veggies to go inside my soup and so this place really hits home for me. The meat quality is average and the soup broth is a bit heavier on the lime side, which I like personally. Overall I enjoy it every time I go here and the staff is really friendly. It's family owned so you'll see their kids in the restaurant sometimes. The atmosphere is very cute and almost a little upscale even though the price is totally reasonable. Highly recommend!

Pretty solid bun bo hue but I will admit I'm not a huge fanatic compared to some people. But I did like their soup. Someone else at the table who got the dac biet didn't like the meat selection they got. I do like the clay pot as it definitely kept the soup warm longer. So I'd say it's worth to try once.

A small, no-frills spot with just three straightforward dishes on the menu. The spa music adds a calming vibe, but the dining process can be a bit unclear. There's a sign-in sheet that's easy to miss. Food is flavorful but has a noticeable taste of MSG. Unfortunately, the spoons weren't very clean, which took away from the overall experience. With a few improvements, this place has potential.

I was there for the first time for lunch with my wife. I ordered the bún bò Huế and my wife tried the bún mắm. The first impression is the hot bowls putting on the tray of woods you my getting burned your hand if you suddenly touch on the bows. The bun Bo Huế soups is too salty even I have put a lots of lemon. Moreover the menu doesn't have many options besides bun Bo Huế and bún mắm only. My wife told me that the owner is to dare for open a restaurant with a little knowledge about the kitchen skills...

Daughter & I lunched there a few a days ago and we were so happy that we decided to lunch there. I ordered the BBH stone pot & Vietnamese crab udon. Both did not disappoint the portion as great for the price & it was so tasty

Somewhat new restaurant? First time and honestly menu is simple which I like but damn so is the food. They specialize in bun Bo hue (lemongrass spicy beef noodle soup one regular and one special) and bun mam (fermented seafood noodle soup). Three items which would make you think they have it perfected. Starting off, service is good and they have kind staff. Sat down and they were very prompt. Ordered the basic bun Bo hue because I honestly didn't want to pay the extra $3 for a beef rib. So the concept is that everything is served in the traditional Korean stone bowls that are piping hot. LOVE THIS! However, flavor is lacking. They basically bring all the toppings (meat, noodles, and vegetables ) separately and you add it in as you go or add it in all at once. Up to you. I like my noodles Al dente and my meat rare so I added the rare slices (4 pcs) as I ate. Meat was good and vegetable quality was good. Accruements to go was the basic date and fresh chili and nước mam, I had to ask for mam roux which is not a big deal. My issue comes to the broth. There was no flavor and was so bland. I didn't taste any lemongrass or any notes of mam. The only part I enjoyed was that it was piping hot. Now once adding everything in with the vegetables too, the broth was more diluted and tasted now just like hot slightly savory water. Overall if the broth was better, I'd come back but for now I'm steering clear. There's a few better joints out there. I wish them the best though. Perk, they accept Apple Pay!

My friend suggested this place. She was visiting from another nearby county and said they don't have restaurants like this where she lives. She tried the food here a couple months ago and was craving it again. We arrived near the end of the lunch rush on a Saturday afternoon. We had to wait about five minutes for a table as they were full inside. This was a good sign! Lucky us because the couple who arrived after us had to wait another 10 minutes or so. The aroma of the broth smelled delicious and we both had skipped breakfast and were ready to eat. The menu is simple with four dishes to choose from. I had the #1 combination noodle soup my friend had #4 fish seafood noodle soup. The food took a little while to come out which we were surprised since we are accustomed to noodle soup dishes coming out rather quickly at these type of restaurants. My dish was in in a hot stone pot, but my friend's noodle soup was served in a regular bowl. There were plenty of sprouts, herbs, lime, and banana blossom to add to our piping hot bowls. There was also a couple jars of pickled peppers and fresh chili to add if you prefer your broth spicy. My broth was light, non- greasy with hints of lemongrass and it was not heavy like other BBH soups I'm used to. I enjoyed the variety of meats in my dish. My friend enjoyed her soup as well. However, the only unfavorable thing was that her chunks of fish were slightly undercooked. She wasn't too crazy about the fish to begin with so she set it aside. There was shrimp and even some slices of pork belly which made up for the fish. What happened next took me by surprise. A lady who appeared to be the cook or owner stopped by our table and ask us if the food was ok or tasting good. We let her know that everything tasted delicious. However, now, I realized we should've mentioned that the fish was undercooked, but we left it alone. I noticed she also moved onto the next table to check in with them as well. This told me that she cared about the guests satisfaction by inquiring about the taste of her cooking. How wonderful! I would definitely return to eat here again.

Wouldn't come here for Bbh, but would Togo bun mam because the environment isn't the most welcoming given external factors ========= My first time having bun mam and it was delicious! BBH leans more sweet and not as complex/beefy as Nhu binh. Would pass on this at $17ish Bun mam broth was flavorful, I enjoyed adding chili and sate to ante up the spice. They actually ran out of fish at 12:14 and subbed it with something else (that I don't know lol) lots of plump shrimp, some squid rings/tentacles, eggplant, meatball stuffed in bell pepper, crunchy pork belly, chives, all in a deep, lemongrassy broth that wasn't too stinky. Service Took forever to get my order, they were quite busy for a Sunday morning. Had to flag them down multiple times and had to reask for our first water cup. The dining experience is interesting because there was one person (not a patron) that came in 3x during lunch to ask if we wanted to purchase fruit. He was a bit in your face about it, so that's a little distracting when it comes to eating a meal.

First time trying hot stone Bun Bo Hue - Was lucky enough to snag a table as the place was a full house. Menu is pretty much simple which means they can mainly focus on their best product. Broth is definitely on point and needed no adjustments. Their crab ball was delicious and not normally found in staple BBH. Beef rib - a little on the chewy side Their tra da tastes great unlike other places can be more diluted.

Bun Bo Hue really good and amazing taste comparing to other restaurants I tried before . I rate this place 10/10 Owner very sweet voice and Good service

The food and service are great here. We ordered the bun bo hue special and it tasted delicious. The dish included quite a bit of meat. The beats, noodles, and vegetables were separate, so you can add whatever you want based on your taste. The broth was very yummy, and there is no MSG. I also loved the fact that the bowl was on a hot stone plate so our dish was hot throughout the whole meal. Everyone was super friendly and the owner came by and asked if we liked the food. She also told us the process that she and her husband used to make all of the dishes. We also met her eight year-old daughter, Nam, which the restaurant is named after. She also pointed to her 12 year old, who was the cashier. lol. We would definitely come here again and it's probably the best bun bo hue that we've had in all of OC. I highly recommend it.

I took my daughter here because she loves bún bò Huế. She had never had it in a stone pot and it was an experience for her. She loved it but she wasn't paying attention and zapped herself by the hot bowl. served her well because I was reminding her how hot it's and she laughed at me. They've more help so the staffs were more relaxed. The soup was delicious as I remember. And the restaurant was clean.

This place is solid! Took my wife and my parents here the other day and was impressed by the food. We got the bun bo special and my dad got their new item banh canh cua (crab noodle soup). They gave so much meat and tons of veggies. Owners were really nice. They are working on some new menu items so we will return to try those out.

I've had Bun Bo Hue at many restaurants, and this is the best Bun Bo Hue out there. Of course, it's second only to my mom's homemade and she was from Hue and was known for her dish. So I would like to think I know my Bun Bo Hue! The soup has a very flavorful but light broth. The meats are good and plentiful. You can ask to exclude certain meat items (like pork hock or blood pudding ) if you wish. Love the hot stone pot as it keeps the soup hot for quite a long time. The owner/chef was very friendly and came around to ask customers whether they'd enjoyed their dishes. Restaurant was clean and parking was plentiful. They have 3 main offerings but have added a couple more (beef stew.

Got two bun bo hue for Togo and I was not disappointed at all the serving size was great and loved the extra veggies and the meat was a good quantity for the price !!! The server was so kind and sweet and even though there was a language barrier he was super kind and patient to make me understand. The inside was very modern and really nice to go inside and the parking is spacious :) I wasn't able to get a photo because I got to hungry but will be coming again :)))

Tasteless food. Guests in other table took off their shoes and put their feet in th couch.

Service on point, food came out quick, the waitress was the owners wife where a family runs it. A small mom and pop restaurant which I love. Food so good and the bowl is piping hot so be careful. I burnt my hand accidentally lol highly recommend to try everything.

A coworker recommended this restaurant, so I decided to check it out. First impression--the place is very nice and clean, and the chairs are really comfortable. I love their simple menu. I ordered Bún Bò Thố Đá, and it was amazing. The hot stone bowl kept the broth boiling when they brought it out, and it stayed hot for about 30 minutes until I finished. The broth reminded me of the homemade Bún Bò my mom makes, which is something I rarely find in restaurants. The bowl was packed with toppings, though I didn't really enjoy the pork paste as much. I also got Bún Mắm to-go, and the broth was just as delicious. They gave me plenty of vegetables, which I appreciated, but I wish they had catfish instead. The portions were huge, making the price well worth it. The restaurant is in a large building with plenty of free parking, which is always a plus. Overall, a great experience!

We came in party of 5, Thursday an hour before close. We tried to order 3 bun bo and 2 bun mam, but there was only enough for one more bun mam. It's okay, but I got eat the bun mam and it was soooo gewddd. I love bun mam. The friends I was eating with are from Vietnam and they said this place was like Vietnam! Love the food here!

The food here is really good. And the owner is very generous to give us a lot of green mixed vegetables. Nice meal.

I just checked out this place in the morning. I got one bun mam, got recommended by some friends, and this place is better than the old restaurant. I recommend it for anyone who is a fan of "Bun Mam." It was good,not salty for my liking,delicious. The service was ok. The price was fair. I'll be back soon.

Visited on New Year's Day. I have never had bun bo hue in a hot stone pot and it did not disappoint. I've never eaten from a pot that was so good at retaining heat! My broth remained hot the entire time. I added jalapeños and the lemongrass sauce they had to the soup so my nose was running because of the hot temperature of the soup and the spiciness from the jalapeños. Very excellent soup! I can see why they only have 3 items on the menu because they do it well. I ordered the 2nd item on the menu because I wasn't as hungry otherwise I'd have tried the #1 which came with more meat. The filet mignon portion was small but very good! The only drawback was that it seemed like several people including the owner has a cough. I was only coughing from the spice not due to sickness. Would definitely like to come again. Portions were good. Wish it came with more than one cube of pork blood.

Bún bò Huế thố đá. It's very good and I like to have your noodles always hot while eating?

The concept of the hot stone bowl is pretty stupid. I would never come back for this. It's taking forever to eat because every time I accidentally touched the bowl, I got burned. It's like eating on a burning stove. Remove it, or at least ask the customer to see if they would like the hot bowl or not prior to serving. The food quality is okay, but because it's too hot, I can't taste its flavor (if there's any).

They got two things on the menu, Bun Bo Hue and Bun Mam. And both are FIREEEE. I feel like their BBH is the best tho

First time here at this restaurant, we had both the Bún bò hue and the Bun Mắm. They were both very good and flavorful, broth is not greasy. The BBH also comes with the beef slice and bo vien which you can't find anywhere else. I love that all the condiments including the napkins are all readily available on each table. I don't know why other restaurants don't do this, but i hate to have to ask for these obvious things. The stone bowl does keep the soup hot for a long time, i personally don't care for that because it made it hard to eat. Would definitely go back again but will just do regular bowl next time .

I ordered the Bún Bò Special, tons of topping. The crab cake (chả cua) was incredible--made with real crab and full of flavor. The service was great, and the overall experience was fantastic. I'll definitely be coming back!

The bun Bo hue here was decent. Less salty than others which was nice, but also less generally flavorful. Portion size was okay. It's an option I'll keep open.

Service was normal. Food was below average. My whole family agrees that the food was too salty, and perhaps had too much MSG. We would not recommend it if you are an average health-conscious person.

I agree with the reviews that say that this is sub-par bun bo hue. It's located in a large plaza with plenty of parking. The restaurant was clean and nice and open, and the menu is nice and simple. The service was nice, they were kind and attentive and answered any questions we had. The one thing that was a bit iffy on our visit was that there were kids running around the restaurant. It seems like they were friends or family of the owners, but I found it quite rowdy and also dangerous that the kids were running straight out of the restaurant and nobody was trying to stop them. While it was mostly empty during our visit, with hot stone soup bowls everywhere - there's a huge risk there if kids are running around and in and out of the place. Moving onto the food: My family and I ordered the bun bo tho da, where the soup comes in a stone bowl to keep it boiling hot. The other items - noodles, thinly sliced beef, and veggies, came on the side and you would add them in as you eat or can add them all at once. While the concept is cool and it's nice that you get to customize your bun bo, we found the flavor to be lackluster. Bun bo hue is supposed to be have a lot of depth: it's beefy and lemongrass-y. This, in our opinion, had none of that. One of my family members mentioned that it tastes similar to instant bun bo hue that you can find in Vietnamese supermarkets, but with even less flavor depth profile to it. The veggies were very fresh, which was nice! The soup also contained some other cha and bo vien, but again, with a lackluster base - no matter what you add to it, it's only going to be as good as the base is. You get very little beef slices, we had about 4 each. They're super thinly sliced so that it can cook in the stone bowl soup, but with how thin they're sliced and how little you get, there's not much to it. So the concept is cool - it's fun, it's different from the plethora of other bun bo hue restaurants, however in terms of flavor - if you're a BBH fan, this won't be your cup of tea.

The best bun Bo in all of OC. Incredible broth with deep, rich flavor with no MSG. The meats are tender, the noodles perfectly cooked, and the fresh herbs tie it all together. Great service, fast and friendly.

The soup was hot so be careful, lots of topping and vegetables on the sides, i like it, small and cozy

Their beef noodle soup is SO good! The broth is amazing and super authentic. The toppings are fresh, which isn't the case in a lot of restaurants. Can tell that they put a lot of effort and care into the quality of the food. Clean restaurant and great service too. Highly recommend!!!!

My boyfriend and his mom recommended me this place so we decided to go. For first impressions, the place itself is very clean and the workers are the nicest people you'll ever meet. As for the food, I've read reviews that there was a lack of flavor in the soup. However, I'd like to disagree seeing as I talked to the owner and she told me she uses less preservatives for her soup and wants to optimizes quality. Everything tastes fresh and high-quality. Honestly, if I wanted bun bo I'd go here. I highly recommend this to anyone who's been curious to try it out or just wants a nice soup.

We ordered the bun bo hue and the bun mam. Both were very good. The hot bowl keeps the bun bo hue hot until you finish the bowl. Would be perfect in winter but would be pretty hot in summer time. The bun mam was also very delicious. Glad we tried this place out. Would come back again and definitely recommend.

The food came out as ordered super hot and fast. Presentation was excellent I loved this is truly a family run business . The American dream. And yes the food was great. And huge portions. Will come back . Service was super friendly.

We went when they just opened. The food was very good with generous amount of vegetables. The service was quick. The place is also very neat and clean. I would definitely come again. The stone bowl kep the soup hot all the time!

If you are a big fan of Bun Mam, please please try it. Every toppings are so fresh, you can taste it from the first bite. I never like egg plants before, but they make it so delicious to eat, you can taste the good combination of lemon grass and butter. I will comeback for sure and try Bun Bo Hue. The owners are supper friendly and cute. She cares about her customs. Best Bun Mam - Best Owner.

My new favorite bun bo place. The soup is so deep and flavorful, something I've been looking for a long time. It's not for those scared of "mam"/fermented shrimp but that's what it takes to have a quality broth. I opted out of the stone pot this time but that is a nice experience as well. The stone pot will also cook your fresh veggies better.

Bun Bo hue is good but in summer will be hot if no air condition , I will try bun nam next time

I came here yesterday,bún bò Huế and bún mắm very delicious,it hot ,you have be careful. I will be back soon and recommend for everyone to come in. Thanks!

If you are craving a good Bun Bo Hue, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. Unless, of course, you enjoy tiny scraps of meat, bland broth, and overpaying for disappointment. The meat slices are so thin they might as well be transparent, and you will be lucky if you get more than a couple. Other places will give you double the meat, and at least theirs is fresh. The noodles? Barely there. The flavor? Missing in action. Save your money and your taste buds.

Bún bò ngon, nêm nếm đúng vị Huế, thịt bò tươi, chả cua ngon và sa te thơm. Highly recommended.

Bun bo is good, many kinds of topping. I ordered to-go, soup was just a little because they added meats together with soup in container, that is why just a little soup after taking meats out. I think it is better to eat at restaurant than to-go.