Pho Ca Dao Restaurant

We wanted to try another pho restaurant in Santee as we were running errands. Pho Ca Dao hit the spot for a bowl of customized pho. We sat at a table by the bar by the front entrance and waitstaff took our orders quickly. There was a steady flow of customers coming in to eat or to pick up orders. It appeared that the restaurant got one to go order wrong and the poor customer had to wait for his order over 15 minutes long. He got an apology from the waitstaff but with no compensation. Pho was standard, decent and filling and service was quick. We will probably not visit this restaurant again as the soup base was somewhat bland.

I love coming here. Good food and good customer service at a great price. You can bring the whole family too.

Enjoyed the food here. Flavor was on point and staff were super friendly. Love that have a lot of vegetarian options.

Ordered through Uber eats and I was quite disappointing. It only allows me to post 1 picture but meat was so hard and all fat that I wasn't able to eat it. Very chewey. The chicken from the Chicken pho was also very hard. Chicken Pho didn't have any flavor.

Definitely try the new macaroon ice cream sandwiches. The coffee was excellent. My daughter got the vanilla and it was good too, but she said she liked the coffee better also. The food was great and the staff was friendly. There’s a young man that works in there that is so proper. It’s sweet. The ambience was nice and the owner made sure we were taken care of.

Honestly this is my favorite pho restaurant. I am giving it a one star not because of the food, but because of the front desk service. The phone line is frequently unavailable. I had to order through door dash pickup to even place an order. Which quoted me 15 minute wait time. It is now an hour later and still have not received an update. People have come to the restaurant, ordered to go and been able to receive their items before me. I am having a hard time even confirming the restaurant has my order. Frustrating to say the least. Total wait time for a pick was an hour and a half before the guy at the front desk finally confirmed they never got the order. I had to call DoorDash for a refund from the restaurant and cancelled my order. Waste of my time.

I used to love this place, unfortunately not anymore. Service went down hill. The afternoon crew always has an attitude, and if you're planning on doing a phone order please forget it, workers ignore all the phone calls.

Good food, good service. Mia is super Sweet, we came super late and they didnt even rush us and let us eat in peace even tho its passed their open time

The grill shrimp pho was excellent with the grill shrimp on the side. Only thing missing was no vegetables. It was still savory, as I'm usually accustomed to the shrimp being in the pho when served. The spring rolls were also very good. They also gave us an extra serving of their dipping peanut butter sauce. The only negative was taking too long to get seated as they only had two servers with almost a full restaurant. They did however apologize for the wait.

Vietnamese eatery with good potential, but some execution flaws. Good enough to satisfy Vietnamese food cravings, but shy of excellent traditional Vietnamese food. SEATING: The inside is clean with nice, modern decor. I came at 7PM on a Sunday and the place was fairly busy, though I was able to get seated right away with a smaller party. There is a Yelp waitlist to check in and queue for tables, but I would talk to any server that's free in case they just usher you in past the queue like we were. There is no outdoor seating available. ORDERING: Some of the staff are very brusque and no-nonsense, which doesn't bother me but might come off as rude to others, and some are very polite. Service is very much a shared effort between the staff, with whoever is free taking guests to tables, taking orders, and bringing out food, so your service experience just depends on the luck of the draw. They were out of eggrolls by the time I ordered which was disappointing. Not their fault, but a heads up to those looking to try them specifically. The food was incredibly slow to come out. I think they get a lot of takeout orders during rush hour which backs up the kitchen, but a heads up would have been nice. FOOD: Their vermicelli was decent, a little light on the veggie portion relative to the noodles, but overall the veggies tasted fresh and the grilled pork was flavorful. Their pho broth was delicious, but the biggest issue was that the noodles were way overcooked. From the moment they were served, the noodles were all broken up, no long strands, and you had to scoop them into your spoon to eat. They were soggy enough to stick to the bowl and had to be scraped up. An easy fix, and maybe we just got unlucky this one time, but I cannot justify higher than a 3 star rating for a pho restaurant that has soggy pho! Outside of this, I think everything else is very passable. The large size bowl is definitely large and worth the $1 to upgrade if you're hungry or sharing. They give plenty of meat in the pho, though again are modest with veggie portions. I am willing to try again and update if the noodles were a one-off, but my overall impression is a decent but not outstanding place to grab Vietnamese food, especially considering there are a few more options very close by.

I come here super often love this place but I was on the phone for an online order, the first time she said hold on give me a second I waited a while then they just ended it, I called again i was half way through my words and they just ended the call and I heard some girls laughing I thought this was super unprofessional and rude.

My favorite go to when I am sick. I love ordering the chicken pho with extra lime. It's so favorable. The pricing I think is fair. The restaurant is always clean and welcoming with plenty of seating and the staff is always friendly.

Not my go-to pho restaurant. I only come here as a last resort when the other ones are closed. Every time I enter the restaurant, there's always this awkward waiting around for someone to acknowledge you. I don't mind waiting. It just feels unsettling when you enter an establishment, staffs just look at you and go about their business. On one visit, we encountered a waitress who took our order, however, etiquette was nonexistent. Not sure if it was a language/cultural barrier, but that was another uncomfortable experience. My family and I felt like we were a burden. Other staffs have been fine or at least okay. Next is the inconsistency of the pho broth. Typically, the gunk from the beef bone should've been scooped out which makes the broth run clear. My daughter was dissatisfied because mines came out clear and hers came out cloudy and it ruined her appetite. On another visit, I ordered rice vermicelli. Our waitress came out with a sauce bowl that was overfilled with fish sauce. She spilled some on our table as she was setting it down. Some of the fish sauce actually dripped off the table onto my daughter's pants. No apology or acknowledgement. She just walked away. So the last thing that made husband say that he doesn't want to come here anymore was what he saw during closing time. We were one of the last customers there and staffs were starting to clean up. We saw one of the staff pick up an unused spoon from someone's dirty table, dropped it on the floor, picked it up, and put it away with the clean utensils. That was our last straw. We won't be coming back.

Don't go here!! Support other businesses that will actually respect you!! I usually order pick up from this Pho restaurant but tonight I wanted to sit in and enjoy the atmosphere with my family. Upon entering the establishment I noticed there was no wait and we got seated quickly as a party of 2. The waitress that took our order was impolite and had the most ridiculous tone and face. As if having a job in this economy is so terrible when there would be plenty of people that would gladly take your place and do a much better job. I had never had such a terrible experience at any establishment like this. I had been here four years ago and I had great service and that was before they remodeled the restaurant. The remodel is nice and I love the decor. The food was okay and mediocre. Much better years ago unfortunately. The pho broth was good but could be better and the chicken was good. The noodles though, they were terrible. They were stuck together almost solid and broken up. I treated the waitress with respect the whole experience and was met with nothing but hostility and disappointment. I used to love this place now I'm never coming back and not recommending it to any of my friends. Please do better Pho Ca Dao, you were great now it's going down based on the rest of the reviews.

Most places put shrimp in their egg rolls, but I am severely allergic to shellfish. Here I can have egg rolls with chicken or tofu! So happy. We drive across town so I can be safe.

Very disappointed of this restaurant. I used to love coming here with my family and enjoy some real pho. I don't know what change but definitely it changed for the worse. The lady that took our order was not very friendly or helpful. The food had a bad taste. The pho noodles had a plastic taste. The orange chicken had artificial over top orange chicken sauce that's taste like artificial flavor, lastly the spring rolls were stale, the pork inside was so dry that I was not able to chew. Please don't waste your money in this place, there are better options in the same area where they do care about their food and their clients.

Our favorite item on the menu is broken rice with either grilled beef, grilled chicken or crispy shrimp wrap. You can customize your own broken rice. Egg rolls are crispy but they don't have any meat inside, just veggies. Pho was not as flavorful. Good service and it's spacey inside.

Sad that I have to update my review . I come here at least 3-4 times a week and last year I spent a total of 1,389$ on their pho ! I usually come by myself and it's usually pretty smooth no problems . Tonight I brought my wife and daughter , we order two bowls of pho for my daughter and I , and 6 chicken wings for my wife . Everything was normal until we were served the soup and not the chicken , I waited about 25 minutes to eat my food because I didn't wanna leave my wife sitting there while we are eating . The server already was acting frustrated because they fell behind wich I understand . But I kid you not , the very first time I asked about my chicken wings the lady with the glasses that barely speaks English cut me off and said " yea yea yea!" And walked away . My wife looked at me like what the actual f$&% . This never happens ! Idk what I did to her to be rude to us like that but we were being patient . There was no manager on site so I didn't know who to talk to , she knew I wanted to speak to a manager so she started smiling and laughing in the corner with her other coworker. Absolutely terrible service , she was acting as if she's got total job security and she can't get fired or she doesn't need the job ... JUSTIN , the owner is always super nice and I only catch him when he stops by to see what they are doing , when he is there they are all smiles . But when he's not there they have the worst attitudes . Seems like it's the lady with glasses and the other lady who barely speaks English that always have bad attitudes . I hope next time I go in there they change because I love the food and the rest of the staff , please Justin get back to me and do something about this , my wife was very uncomfortable.

Absolutely horrible experience Linda mocked me for asking where my wings were since I waited 20+ mins for them and began to laugh and harass my table from a distance she made me feel so uncomfortable and this is not the only Time I have received terrible service here but since she mocked and laughed at me I feel the need to address the situation here. Faye was amazing so sweet and tried to deescalate the situation in which made Linda and another women yell at her for trying to help us.

This seems to be one of the IT spots for pho in Santee. The food was of great quality. I had a rice vermicelli plate of shrimp, beef, and chicken. It was fresh and delicious. The pho bowls look great also but I am gonna have to wait for a colder day for a bowl. They do have beer and wine here. I enjoyed a cold Saporro beer on my trip here.

When visiting the Pho Ca Dao & Grill Santee location, you are getting the Pho Ca Dao taste that is synonymous with brand. I got the Super House Special Pho and it was as expected, im almost certain the beef rib is stored at around room temperature because the middle was not warm and made the broth cooler than what im used to, piping hot. Still the taste was great. However, and a huge HOWEVER! The service here is failing. Based on the recent reviews (I visited 12/29/24), a lot of diners are also experiencing the same terrible service. Once I arrived I added my name to the yelp waitlist to which I was 32nd in line. I was confused because there was only one other party waiting so I figured they were not paying attention to it. A group that came after myself and another group got seated before us. They took our order 15 mins after we sat and food took another 15 mins to arrive. Their online ordering including delivery services were down, they turned down about 10 drivers, and multiple people who called in their orders via phone citing that their systems were off. I walked up to the register as it was taking an extra long time to receive our check. On the way out, there were three parties waiting outside for who knows how long because they put their name down on the yelp waitlist. I told them it was defunct, to which one group got up and left, and the others went inside. I paid $48 without tip for two bowls of pho and an order of spring rolls. I won't be returning to this certain location as price-wise does not match the quality of food and customer service I received. Other locations are much more efficient at every single aspect.

Enjoyed the food here. Flavor was on point and staff were super friendly. Love that have a lot of vegetarian options.

Came here a few days ago with a friend, we were seated pretty quickly & they did mention that the kitchen was a bit backed up which i was fine with they took our order 10 minutes after we sat down however it took the waitress 45 minutes just to bring us water that we saw sitting at the bar & we never a even got our drinks that we ordered. We waited a whole hour for nothing pretty much we just got up & went somewhere else to eat. The waitresses need to do better with attending customers while they are waiting for there food.

Usually we drive to the El Cajon Blvd Pho Ca Dao location but today I insisted we stay closer to home so we tried this location. We were seated after a 10-15 minute wait where we ended up waiting another 10-15 minutes to have our order taken. My food came out before my husband's, we still had not received any ice water. I was almost done with my food when his food finally came out and we finally got ice water. The waitress felt bad, but they are clearly understaffed and overworked. I only saw two waitresses and a supervisor, and a lot of people seemed to be in the same situation we were in. As well as a lot of people coming in for to go orders and standing waiting for a long time. The food wasn't terrible, but not super great either. We won't be back sadly.

I liked the food. It met all the check boxes I would like to experience in a pho restaurant. It was nice because there was that premium beef pho. Mist pho places don't have something out of ordinary like that. I don't mind paying a little extra for upgrades quality of the beef. And it was well worth the money. I would definitely come back again.

The food is always great. Can't go wrong with either the bahn mi sandwiches or pho. Appetizers are delicious too. They do good job of getting food out quick. Roaxanne, one of the waitresses, took care of us and she is a joy. Definitely can tell she enjoys her job and takes care of her customers.

Very impressed with this Pho restaurant in Santee. Living on the coast of North County I'm used to $15 a bowl for the basic Pho. Small egg rolls and a very basic dip for the egg rolls as well. Very different here. Basic Pho here is $12 and the egg rolls are the largest I've ever seen. The dipping sauce is much more complexed and shows this place cares what they serve their customers. We were very well taken care of and checked on that everything was to our liking . Waters topped off without asking . I ordered their most expensive Pho bowl. $16. ( See photo". Beef rib and slices of filet mignon. Incredible.

We just got seated, served water and then ignored for 15-20 minutes without so much as a menu, while watching others come in, order, get appetizers in the same timespan. Super weird experience... wouldn't recommend.

Came here with the family for dinner...Was my first time here and not to sure about going back. We were seated quickly and then rushed to order. The food came out quickly... I ordered Shaken Beef with Garlic noodles...the beef had a great taste but the noodles were still hard. But we went from being rushed to no one coming back around. I can understand if it was crazy busy but it wasn't. I hope they listen to the reviews and work on the customer service because my family thought the food was pretty good.

Very clean place and fast service. I was expecting to like the pho although it was very salty and tasted like tap water which was very unfortunate. I wouldn't recommend for those who like the taste of pho by itself. Needed to add tons of sriracha to make it taste better.

Normally Pho Ca Dao is an easy 5 star, but over the years I've noticed a distinct lack of flavor and quality. The staff is always delightful, the menu much shorter and a bit more expensive. But all in all, in an already competitive Pho environment that East County is, Pho Ca Dao isn't the top dog anymore.

This review is solely on wait times when doing a pick up order. If I can give zero stars I would. Both times I have placed a pick up order it has taken over an hour after it states it is supposed to be ready. As I am writing this review at 6:58pm my husband is still waiting for our order that was supposed to be ready no later than 5:50pm. I just called him and told him to cancel our order and get a refund. Their food is good but it's not that good for us to have to wait so long. I don't understand it. We will be taking our business and money elsewhere. Never again.

Food is so good this time around I got the Bbq combo. Thank you guys so much for the great customer service

I loved ordering from this place. Especially when me or anyone from home is feeling under the weather. I took a visit here tonight and I didn't know they charge extra for .50 for side of onions when I always order online and they never charged me extra for any sides especially since it should come with the soup. Don't get it wrong .50 isn't nothing to me I'm disappointed but the guy upfront (older men) and an Asian waitress (thin blk hair with tenant bracelet) was very rude about it. Then the Asian lady had the audacity to speak so loud since to her she's probably like "you're complaining about .50" yes lady I am especially if you just told me online isn't extra. Should be the same thing in person. Not a very good service from these people in person.

I tried calling to give feedback, but you all never answered. We ordered the food at 5:06pm and were told by Grace it would be 20minutes. We arrived at 5:46pm, and were told it would be another 20minutes. We asked to be refunded but were told it was not possible, something about Grace and the account... we finally got our order at 6:04. Grace was also absolutely rude to my mom and overall is incompetent with her duties (as she forgot to put in the order).

The reviews on this page speak to a bunch of completely insane people! I just ate the best pho ever here. I asked for the combination without noodles (for my carnivore diet) and the bowl was still overflowing with meat and herbs. The salt and pepper wings were also terrific. The servers were friendly and the room smelled of good food. What more can you ask for?

Best damn Vietnamese food ever. Quick service even though they are always busy. Great staff that is happy to take your order (rare these days). Hot food cooked to perfection. Clean spot with a chill vibe. Love love love this place. Recommend - sizzling short ribs, egg rolls, filet pho with and taro smoothie on the side Thankyou Pho Ca Dao employees!!

I used to come here a lot when I lived in SD, but something has radically changed. They must have changed ownership. The pho tastes different and they served it with old, wilted basil. Their hoisin sauce also tasted off like it was somewhat fermented. I won't be coming back after that.

The food is good however the service needs work. I called multiple times during business hours to order food while I was at work but no one answered, ended up ordering from another place close by

Went in for lunch with my picky kiddo. The spot is bright and clean, it wasn't crowded but there was a steady stream of diverse customers and lots of pickup and food-delivery people. While it's obviously a pho shop, I was in the mood for a lunch sandwich so I got the pork banh mi. At $10.50 for the sandwich and a side of meatball soup, the price was more than fair. I'm not a banh mi expert by any means, but I appreciate the toasted roll and they served it with the veggies on the side; I assume the veggies on the side kept them fresh/crisp until I was ready to put them on, also allowed me to choose which and how much to put on. The veggies were fresh, the jalapeños were very crisp but not overpowering. I was beyond impressed with the kids rice meal. I was expecting chicken fried rice, but it was a LARGE chicken thigh(?) with a large ball of white rice; a great deal at $9! Also, my picky eater (who's hit-or-miss on eating the chicken thighs I make) couldn't get enough of the chicken; I tried it too and I could see why, it was quite delicious! We also got a strawberry smoothie, another fair price at $5, imo. Wasn't special, but was tasty.

Unfortunately, there was miscommunication between staff & I. I believe I ate some form of animal-based product that made me sick later that night. Apart from that, the food was okay. I ordered Tofu Pho with vegetable broth & Crispy Tofu as an appetizer. I wasn't too impressed, but I was hungry. The broth was bland for me. Even tho they were close to their end of the day, the place was clean & customer service was okay. I asked my friend what she thought of her House Special Pho. She said it was okay. I don't recommend this place if you don't eat meat. There are probably better options nearby.

Their pho is what gives them a 4.5/5 rating. The service is so slow and they definitely take a while but understandable because understaffed & always packed. Anyway the only thing I'm getting here from now on is the pho. Today I ordered the rice plate with grilled beef, steamed egg loaf, and my fav the fried shrimp paste. I received: OLD egg loaf literally it was so hard and tasted days old. Came on my plate cold? Took a bite and spat it out in a napkin. They give me four pieces of grilled shrimp when I ordered the fried shrimp paste- took forever to even bring it out literally 20 min so I just said cancel it. The veggies on my plate were not fresh. Saving grace was that soup on the side they gave me and the beef was actually tender compared to the last time I got it. I also got the Vietnamese coffee and you can't go wrong with that lol anyway I'm only here for pho next time I dine here. Their eggrolls are solid too. No more rice plates for me.

Highly recommended! Ordered through delivery this past weekend, and LOVED everything we got! Ordered 2 different Pho's, egg rolls, fried rice and a pork banh mi. Everything was awesome! This will be my go to for delivery from now on, and looking forward to eating there person now as well!!!

I decided to give this Pho Ca Dao another chance, but unfortunately, it will be my last. I ordered the BBQ chicken and beef with rice, and the beef was so hard and dry it was almost inedible. When I asked one of the staff about it, their response was that it's because they cook it well done. I've had BBQ beef at many other Vietnamese restaurants, and it has never been this dry or tough. To be fair, some of the staff are nice, but the food quality just doesn't measure up. Tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but they've lost my business for good.

Don't underestimate Santee Pho ! Come across this cute pho place in Santee and the service and the delicious pho will for sure have me back :)

The food was very delicious here and I'm glad I finally tried it out. The grilled beef lemon grass pho was great and the salt and pepper wings weren't too bad. I don't think I got what I was expecting, but it was good. After placing my order I arrived at the restaurant about 20 minutes later as they indicated it would be ready then. Upon asking about my order they seemed confused, but then told me it wasn't ready so I had to go sit in my car for another 20 minutes. I checked my order when I got to the car and my order was mixed up with another order, and missing several items. The people were kind and quickly fixed the issue, but it was a little annoying after waiting so long.

Love this spot! I always order the rare steak pho and it's always so good. The service is excellent and the staff is so kind. We also love to order the salt and pepper wings and the spring rolls!

this place used to be great but now I will never come here again. First when you try to order online the system fails. Then I tried to call in to order and they don't answer the phone. So I went there to get food. As I waited, they sat 2 other people that arrived after me. Finally after 20 minutes they finally put me at a table. I waited 15 minutes and no one came by to take my order so I left. If I could give zero stars I would. Save you self time and avoid this place.

This is by far my go-to Pho place. The people are great, and the food is amazing. The price for what you get is alone worth it! Every time my family dines here, we are blown away by how fast our food arrives and the great taste of each menu item. Sure, we have had nights where we waited to get a seat or had longer than average service, but that's what you get when locals know this is a gem of Santee!

Overall pretty good experience, food was tasty and the decor was very fitting. It felt homestyle cultural environment which was welcoming. But, the true highlight of the night was the service from my waitress Sienna. Sienna had an exemplary attitude, and was one of the better servers I've had in the past 10 years. I would be sure to go back again, and we'll do diligently to request the service of Sienna again.

Been here a couple of times and very delicious broth and decent portions of beef. Service is good and glad they are really consistent here. They also have a robotic server there that is sometimes working and other times not. Will be back!

WORST SERVICE EVER!!!! I will NEVER come to this place again! We waited over an hour to eat. We were 4 people, and the food came at intervals of 20 minutes apart. By the time the last person on our party got their food, all others were done. Food was not good. Servers were rude and they were closing the store right under our noses. It gets an F!!!!! WORST DINING EXPERIENCE IN MY LIFE!!!!!

Well, that was a disaster! First the good part. Food was well prepared and tasted great. Now the bad part! Just shy of an hour from time of ordering food to receiving our meals. With little to no interaction from staff. The table behind us ordered a few minutes before us and managed to eat and be out the door before our food even arrived. No manager came over to explain what happens. No discount applied. But the worst part no apology! I asked to speak to the manager and got the person who described herself as second in charge. That interaction was lame. What a shame because the food really was tasty with a nice sized portion. Won't be planning any trips back to this establishment.

I really wish the service matched the quality of their pho, but unfortunately after tonight I'll have to find somewhere else to go. I placed an order for pick up at 6:15pm, was told it would be ready at 6:40. At 6:30 I got an updated pick up time... now for 6:50. At 7:15 I asked if they could check the status of my food, and was told to wait a little longer. At 7:40, after asking three different people where my food was, the nice gentleman told me they had no order with my name in it, even though I was charged $41 and now have to dispute it with my bank. Both the women who "helped" me were incredibly rude to me and everyone else who inquired about the 90+ minute wait time with half a restaurant seated...

Love the food. Definitely gonna order again dining in might not happen again though survives wasn't bad but the yelp app thing at the door want working and we did not know and was waiting in the car for literally an hour. However the food was good and changed our moods . But from observation noticed that is a great place for family.

Walked into the restaurant which was less than half full. Two people saw me from behind the counter, but didn't acknowledge me at all. Waited about 3 to 4 minutes, but still no hello or acknowledgment that they were going to see me. Ended up just walking out. Such a disappointment because I really enjoy the other locations in Miramesa as well as in Rancho Bernardo. Terrible.

Wow! We went today remembering how good the food was and it sure wasn't the case! They must have new owners because instead of getting seated we got dirty looks from the staff as if we were supposed to know what to do after we first walked in. It was really awkward, even my daughter was uncomfortable. When we got our bowls there was no space for the noodles to expand since they changed the type/size of the bowl; let alone have any juice and only 2 pieces of meat. It had no flavor, as if it was only oiled noodle juice. During our lunch not two words were said to us, not hello or goodbye. They just seated us and I even had to hunt down the waiter to give us our check. I found him outside of the restaurant, sitting on the cement bench counting his tips. All I can say is we won't be back.