The Asian Bistro

I've been wanting to try this place for so long! But honestly it fell pretty short for me.. It feels like once places get hype or a lot of social media acknowledgment, they don't try as hard anymore.. We parked down the street and had to pay so keep that in mind when going to Hillcrest. There was a lot of beautiful art on the wall and rainbow decorations because of the restaurant being in Hillcrest. We walked in and waiting about 3 minutes for someone to come out from the back and seat us. I was concerned so I called the place to tell them we were waiting to be seated like their sign said but then the server came out and seated us. We started with a Thai Ice Tea and an Emerald Ice Tea. We ordered them with coconut milk and I think the coconut made the teas taste with little watered down. They were both pretty decent though. We ordered a Seaweed Salad, the Butterflied Garlic Shimp Skewers, the E-Sarn Sausage, the Krah Pow and the Roasted Duck Noodle. The Seaweed Salad had a lot of citrus in it but it was okay and still refreshing. The Garlic Shrimp Skewers were grilled nicely and had a really nice fish sauce that came with it. Honestly I was using the sauce for everything because it was pretty good. The E-Sarn Sausage was pretty good also, it was served with sticky rice in foil that was hard to eat with chopsticks or a fork. The sausage was pretty good too, but it was honestly the only thing I ate.. The Krah Pow taste like it was made with sugar and soy sauce and that's it.. it tasted really cheap and not worth the $16.. it had too much suger honestly which gave the impression that they were trying to make up for a lack of something.. I took one bite and didn't eat anymore. The Roasted Duck Noodle was super bland.. I have had Duck noodles before and I know it is a subtle taste but there's still flavor. This one was so bland.. I was pretty upset because of the $18 price tag on it. I was waiting for the server to ask for salt or soy sauce but after five minutes of no one coming out from the kitchen I just got up and grabbed a soy sauce from the table with condiments. The soy sauce didn't help.. the noodles were good quality and the Duck was very tender but it also lacked flavor. I ended up just eating the Seaweed Salad, two shrimp skewers and the sausage with the sauce from the shrimp skewers. It was pretty disappointing.. Overall, Asian Bistro was a let down, flavors lacked, service lacked and prices weren't justified. I would skip it and try somewhere else.. It truly broke my heart to waste my money like this..

Had Christmas dinner with the family and we had stumbled here as backup because Dumplings and more had a waiting time for over an hour. The service was fast and great and the green curry was delicious and by far my favorite I ordered the level 5 spice and it met expectations to my taste bud. Will definitely come back and try out their other dishes but mainly the other curry’s 🤤

We had an excellent experience at Asian Bistro. The food was fantastic—fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. I tried the drunken noodles and tangerine chicken and both of which were amazing. The ambiance was cozy and inviting, perfect for a relaxed meal. A special shout-out to our server, Jo, who made the experience even better. She was attentive, friendly, and offered great recommendations. Her service truly stood out. Highly recommend this spot for anyone craving delicious cuisine with great service!

This place is eh the appetizers were a NO for me the salad was drenched in sauce that tasted salty and same with the sausage also salty. The entrees were okay but I feel like another Thai place could do it much better. The place is cute and the service was nice.

Best drunken noodles ever!! Yummy tom young soup. Fast n friendly service. My friends office orders delivery from here every week but he has never been here. He loves your fried sausage. He enjoyed coming here.

Fried rice! It's plentiful and delicious but not much difference between flavors. Thai Basil wasn't as "basil" as it could be but was decent. It's in the heart of Hillcrest so good luck with parking but it's a local favorite and good for take out too.

Simple review: 1. Drunken noodles were super salty and noodles were very soft. 2. Crab fried rice was basically all rice. Could not find the crab. Skip this one and just order regular fried rice.

👍🏽 Great food for a great price 💥 Excellent Service 💥 Super chill spot before 10pm Me and my wife came here for dinner around 8:00pm and the place was almost empty. We were seated quickly and the price of food will not hurt your wallet. Checking into yelp will give you a free drink so make sure you do that when arriving! Our server Andrea was very attentive to our needs and answered our questions without hesitation. The place was great for date night. After 10pm the place can be a bit crowded and the noise level gets much higher. On the weekends this place is open until 2:00AM and they get a lot of delivery orders so my best suggestion, get there early! If you haven’t checked this place out, do it!

Best thai food in town! Friendly staff, good service. and food taste authentic. Place is clean, good music.

This place is so fire!!!! 100/100. Called to place an order and I went during my lunch break not even 5 mins my food was ready. I tried the dumpling soup while I was there they were taking pictures of their menu and got to try the fire cracker shrimp 10/10 as well. I will definitely come back with family here to try some more food!!

They say that the "freaks come out at night, " but I mostly find that it's actually really HUNGRY people! Lol! Open since the 1950s, The Asian Bistro ( @theasianbistrosd ), in San Diego, CA stays open, until 12:30am, so it's a great spot to grub out, on late at night! You'll see all different types of people rolling in there. All we want is a taste of their delicious Asian fusion cuisine. They offer tasty appetizers, like Thai-style E-Sarn Sausage, Chicken Satay. Hearty soups, like their Wonton Soup and a variety of Curries. Noods, like Phad Thai and Pad See Ew. Plus, the most delicious Coconut Ice Cream!!! From regular dinner, to late night dinner, this is your spot! #TheAsianBistro #SanDiegoCA #Hillcrest #1950s #AsianFusion #LateNightEats #foodiefriends #BFFventures #lovetogrub #supportlocal Instagram: @NelzLovesIt

I came here with a friend after saying that I was craving some asian food but wasnt sure about what specifically I wanted. the great thing about this place is that 1. the menu was large with a number of different asian options and 2. the food was absolutely great! Our server was extremely patient while we tried to figure out exactly what we wanted and I ended up getting so full that I had to take some food home. The portion sizes were well worth the price also. The location itself is not hard to miss being on University Ave and with a large sign that really grabs your attention. It makes the place seem bigger than it actually is, once you get inside it is a bit smaller than you would expect. This did not make me enjoy my meal less, if anything I appreciated that it was a smaller venue so I can gauge the wait times for the table.

We needed a late-night restaurant and stumbled upon this great spot. The service exceeded my expectations and the food was delightful! We were a group and didn't take pictures of our meals except for dessert, which was fantastic. The Thai dishes, like the drunken noodles, were yummy but could have used a bit more kick. We were warned about the true Thai spice levels, and I ordered a 2-3 but would probably go for a 4 next time. The drink selection was impressive, offering a wide variety to choose from. Overall, a wonderful experience, and I'd definitely return for late night food!

I was visiting in town for the weekend and was looking for late night places and this place showed up on Yelp. I was pleasantly surprised with how good the food was, I had ordered on DoorDash. The only bad thing was that DoorDash told us our food was done, but it wasn't so the time was a bit longer waiting for my food, but honestly, so worth it because the food was so good and the people were nice. I ordered two entrées both really delicious and I don't know much about the ambience. I didn't stay to eat in there.

The best food! Their soup is incredible! I love their cream cheese wontons. They have lots of veggie/vegan options, too. I've been here several times & I plan on going back next week! Yum, yum, yum! Oh, and they are open until 2 am.....

Stopped by here to grab dinner the other night while I was visiting. Decent sized restaurant with enough parking to make it work. It was a slower night so we were seated immediately. The inside is decently spacious, maybe about 12 tables or so. I was between the drunken noodles and the honey salt nut shrimp but I decided to stick with the item that had a picture. The drunken noodles come with your choice of protein: shrimp, beef, or chicken and the price varies depending on your selection. Shrimp came out to be $16.50. I thought it was expensive for just noodles but the portion was considerable and definitely meant to be shared. They will ask you to choose a spice level 1-5 with 3 being hot so I went with 2. It was just spicy enough to make the dish interesting but still allow the other flavors to shine through. The noodles had a nice chewy texture and the shrimp topped it off nicely. The bell peppers and egg definitely contributed harmoniously to the dish as well. We also got the deep fried ice cream and chocolate cake for dessert. The chocolate cake was standard, not too sweet but nothing about it stood out in particular. They were okay but you're probably better off going to a separate dessert place. Service was good enough and staff was welcoming. Remember to check in on Yelp to get a free Thai tea!! Overall solid food and experience, can see myself returning next time I'm in town.

Part 1: This was my first visit. I ordered a Level 4 crab fried rice and a Thai tea. Tea was amazing can't complain one ounce. The tea wasn't too sweet I loved it. But the rice was not spicy one bit I had to add my own sauces to spice it up. Level 4 was supposed to be very hot and it wasn't even mild. I'll return in a few weeks and give you guys a part 2 ‍

Was in the neighborhood and found this Gem Thai Fussion Resto. Oh wow Their flavor profile is on point and so Tasty!

They open late on Friday night. There is a good variety of noodle and rice dishes and appetizers

Great service, from a friendly waitress helping us to pick what to get. Nice music with warm wood ambiance. Food was excellent in the way it expressed the thai culture, embodying it into food.

I like that they open late so it's great for the late night munchies. They have a good variety of food, drinks and dessert.

The food was delicious. We arrived just before 6pm and it was empty. The staff while they were really nice was dressed super casual, did not look like they worked there when we first arrived and looked a lil surprised we were eating in. Lots of food delivery drivers. The location is a little awkward to get to since its on the main road w/no up front parking.

Wow just wow... this place is great! Hadn't been before, walked in and was immediately greeted and sat. They weren't busy for Sunday night. There is a good amount of seating, loved the plant walls they have. So many good things to choose from on the menu. I went with the Tom Kah Soup with vegetables , the flavor was delicious! I chose the spice level 3 and It was a good kick but not overly spicy. Shared the soup with my boyfriend and for a small it was still shareable. The other dish we tried was the From the Wok Thai Basil Chicken with black rice. Chicken was tender and juicy, the rice was flavorful, and spice level was 3. Some of the peppers were spicyyy which made it even better. Could have gone up in spice though. Server was great, asked if we had been there before, went through the spice levels with us, and was attentive to us throughout. Will be back!

My fave! This is my go to dinner and late night spot. We've been going for years. I think we've seen the ownership change three times. What has remained the same is delicious food, great music and warm staff! I've never had a meal I didn't like. My personal faves are the drunken noodles, red curry, ginger with chicken, Tom Yum soup, the chicken wing appetizer, e-sarn sausage and all of the desserts. My spouse loves the Thai Chicken, BBQ chicken and the tangerine chicken.

Came 15 minutes before closing, and I am glad they still delivered with friendly customer service. It is difficult to find a place open late for soup. I ordered tom kha chicken. Low key wished rice wasn't an add on but at least they give free Thai tea.

This restaurant is particularly good because it's open late night. The food is consistent in flavor.

Some of the most mediocre Thai food I've ever had. The drunken noodles were bland, with none of the fish sauce, oyster sauce, or even the garlic you might expect. They tasted like something you'd eat out of a box. You know it's bad when the most impactful flavor is that of the thai chilies themselves, which even failed to make the dish anything exciting as far as spice goes. I got a 4/5 spice level on this one, so I'm not sure what happened here. I felt a bit conflicted about the house fried chicken; on one hand, it was cooked wonderfully, with crunchy, golden skin and moist thigh meat underneath. However, again, the flavor was lacking. It tasted as if it had been salted but not seasoned with anything else; as if it had been cooked the same way 100 times without ever being tasted. Super boring, and the sauce it was served with didn't help much, though not bad itself. The Tom Kha wasn't bad, but let's be real; it's Tom Kha. Anybody can make Tom Kha (seriously, just look up some recipes. YOU can do a fantastic job at home for a fraction of the price! There are even some great thai/lao markets out here with everything you'd need). It wasn't anything special and was still the best thing I tried. The service was good, though nothing much to write home about. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and the layout of the place was pretty casual, so it could be a nice place to catch up with a friend if you happen to stay in the area. Just don't expect them to be impressed with the food. Overall, I'd say there are far better places to eat in town. The food I got was nowhere close to being worth what I paid for it, in terms of both quality and quantity. Can't say I'll be back anytime soon.

We love coming here for a late night snack/dinner in our pjs & we checked in once to receive the free Thai tea which my daughter loved! When all other noodle places near us are closed we make the drive to come in & customize our own bowls of soup; it isn't that typical pho flavor so don't expect that aspect but for an okay broth given the time of night it does the job! I also enjoyed the lychee martini they have it was pretty yummy & a perfect end to my meal :) the molten lava cake was good as well a bit messy!

Been meaning to try this place for years and finally explored this lil gem twice within the past month. Service has been nothing but welcoming and friendly. Last time I was here, my friends and I were served by Gabe! He went above and beyond for us and made sure we were all taken care of. Some of the other staff have been nothing but accommodating too, I just didn't get a chance to get their names. I'd recommend the garlic edamame as an appetizer option! I also love how there's something for everyone on the menu and how it's open late night. I'll be back. :-)

First time here. I had the Druken Noodles with shrimp. This is their most popular dish. Wide rice noodles mixed with garlic, onion, egg, bell pepper, and basil. $16. Portion is large. The service is fast and friendly. The food is fresh and hot and very tasty. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. Great dining experience.

Let me start off by saying that the server, Christina, was super welcoming and helpful in making a decision for our dinner. The food was amazing! The mural on the wall was beautiful. Definitely another family night will be planned in the future.

This place fell off sooooooooo hard. I am heartbroken. Burnt food with embedded hair means it's time for me to sever my long term relationship with them. I'll miss you, Asian Bistro.

Everything is delicious! Hated the wonton soup tho. Service is a hit or miss, but that don't matter. Vibes are cool, they're open late so W

It's been awhile since I've been here, but I used to come religiously for their yum mama, lek yum, drunken noodles, money bag, fried banana dessert with vanilla ice cream, and flower cups. My husband always got their duck noodle soup or 3 flavored fish. Sadly, they don't offer flower cups or yum mama anymore. I believe it's been under new ownership for quite some time now. Located in the heart of north park, you should already know the parking situation. It's either getting lucky to find metered street parking or paid lot parking. It can be a bit of a drag especially during peak hours, days, etc. I love how they cater to the north park neighborhood where there are bars all around so they open until about 3-4am for the locals in the neighboring businesses. This is a Thai restaurant that does NOT play with their spice level so order at your own risk. I'm a spice lover so I love it. You can also request for their chili rack for extra spice.

It was the only place open after all the bars were closing last Saturday night in Hillcrest and I was hesitant to go due to not having the best service last time but my friends insisted. The service was a lot better than my previous experience which I was thankful for. I got the tom kha and it was flavorful and delicious. While I do miss the darker atmosphere of how it looked previously, I'm glad there's enough space to sit with our party of five.

These Duck Drunken Noodles are delicious and worth trying. The staff are friendly and good customer service.

Late night accommodations. Cant wait to try the soup. Cashew veggies hit the spot! Great location in the heart of Hillcrest

Okay, this place is something of a hidden star. From the outside, it looks a bit rusty and you won't know what coming. Food & Drinks: I absolutely loved the Pad See Ew noodles. It's one of my favorite dishes in the world and I love it when someone makes it well. I also liked the shrimp. The bulgogi gyoza was my least favorite, they were a bit underwhelming honestly. They had a good selection of sake. We got the house hot sake on a cold night, perfect. Service: The servers are sweet and prompt. They make sure to keep checking on you and the owner as well makes it a point to come to talk to the customers. Ambiance: Small hole-in-the-wall place in the truest sense. Nothing fancy but the food speaks for itself. In-all: This place has some good food, but I think I might just do takeout next time.

This place is bomb and they're open late. Their wonton soup is soooo light and good. I wait all day hungover until 4pm to order it to bring me back to life!

I always love it when there's some sort of controversy regarding the origins of a recipe's name, and this amazing Drunken Noodles dish fits the bill. One theory is that this spicy, sweet, and very savory bowl of noodles was invented by drunk people, for drunk people. As someone who has enjoyed the occasional late night bowl of noodles to "soak up the alcohol," this origin story makes a lot of sense. It might be unscientific, but it does seem to help. However, I'm a fan of this noodle with shrimp's and eggs. The spice level for me personally is level 1 so I don't have to order beer to water down the spice level lol. Fragrance of basils and red peppers with the sweet touch of brown sauce in pad Thai noodles blended very well to create a symphony of heavenly rice noodle andante! It's just the right amount of balance delights in your mouth. Everything is evenly combined so it's not too spicy, nor too sweet or too salty in the preparation. Ambiance is young professionals, University students, and travelers visiting San Diego. Music in the background are top hits from all decades of popular artists like Janet Jackson to Beyoncé. Calm interiors with comfortable lighting that invites you in for a good meal with happy memories created. People are sitting in the balcony after late night. Service is excellent. I loved the mango with sticky rice. If it wasn't for the waitress, I would have missed it. Thank you very much. Last but not least I like the Lychee Palmer ice tea, and the Thai tea. Price is vey reasonable. I come here to get my Thai food whenever I'm in town.

Im soooo disappointed!! I selected this restaurant because of the great reviews but the food was prepared without love, concern nor care. $65 I received the x3 dishes I requested but all three were almost inedible. The tangerine chicken was over cooked, flavorless , dry, and difficult for my children to chew; similar to beef jerky. The green shrimp curry #2 spicy was extremely to spicy and contained only broth x4 pc of mini shrimp and 3 tiny pcs of eggplant. Lastly, the pad Thai chicken spicy #1 was nothing but a bowl of sticky noodles- missing fresh veggies, no egg, 2 pc of tofu, no balance of flavors, no acid, hardly any chicken just a bowl of sweet/ too spicy noodles. - very disappointing. Im not sure what happened last night... But, I don't think your business can stay open with poor quality of food.

Perfect place for late night eating after a Halloween party. The landmark for finding this place is the big Chinese dragon out front. My friend, being Thai, approves of this place, so you know it's gotta be good. We were seated right away and we immediately started to order. Soup: Chicken Tom Yum. You can distinctly taste the lime and lemongrass, which is comforting on a chilly night. Main: Chicken Panang Curry. This is my favorite type of curry due to its notes of peanuts in the sauce. This one didn't disappoint with an abundance of chicken floating throughout. I also was pleasantly surprised to see it paired with forbidden rice. The curry was good as leftovers the next day. I did get to try the House Fried Chicken. The pieces were large and crispy but it didn't have much flavor despite being marinated in white pepper. I also tried the gyoza, which was okay. Service was great and the ambiance is lively and fun.

WHAT is this? It's not meat. If it is idk what kind. Nothing worse than spending money, waiting a whole hour for your food (DoorDash) only for it to show up as the incorrect order and something you don't even want to put in your mouth. I ordered CHICKEN lo mein. WHAT IS this mushy, nasty mess? Cheap, imitation, county fair looking noodle mess. I threw it in the trash. DoorDash refunded me but I'm still out my tip money as I was not going to penalize the driver for the restaurant's mistake. UGGH.

Food was great, service was good. Kinda expensive for four. But, great food makes up for it.

Ordered the duck plate, fried rice, honey walnut shrimp, and pad Thai with the banana cheesecake dessert and 3 thai teas. Super tasty! It hit the spot after we all came from an escape room just nearby. Glad it was walking distance! Service was nice and the food came out super fast. The dessert was a bit too cheesecake'y' for us but still delicious. The inside is spacious and well-lit in the evening. It was a Thursday night so the restaurant wasn't too packed which was great. Glad we were able to find something quick and delicious!

Great spring rolls. Really great wonton broth. Much better than most places. Pad Thai wasn't my favorite. I guess I should've ordered drunken noodles which is popular there. It was pretty packed on a Wednesday night. Good and easy to go service. They had my order ready in 15 minutes when I called :)

This place is open late night which is always nice when you have those late night cravings. The chicken Tom kha soup is nice and comforting. We also ordered the pad see ew with beef and the garlic peppered shrimp. Very tasty place!

Leaving my review for a free Thai tea. Will update once I eat loll. Appreciate y'all a whole lot

We live in LA, but we have and will gladly drive down for the Thai food here in SD. Everything we ordered here was perfect and the price point makes it worth the drive. The portions are huge and we can share it family style among four people with a bit leftover. The staff are very prompt and provide great service! Great place to eat honestly!

Walked in and were greeted by a very friendly man who seated us right away. It was about 5:30 on a Friday and wasn't busy then, but filled up hy the time we left. Our server got our drink order right away - a large hot sake and Sapporos. The sake seemed pretty typical of most places at a similar price point. I am definitely not a sake expert though. We ordered the drunken noodles with tofu and tangerine chicken. Both came out piping hot and great portions for the price. The tangerine chicken was super crispy despite having a good amount of sauce. Love that it didn't seem soggy and drowned in sauce. The drunken noodles were tender, and the tofu nicely fried with a little crisp on the outside. The spice level was perfect for me. The service was fast and friendly, but not rushed. I would definitely come back again. I like that there are a variety of styles - Thai, Chinese, etc. Great little Hillcrest gem!

Ordered To Go for dinner. Not sure where the hype is on this place. I am not impressed. Currently standing clear and next to the toliet. I order a side of sticky rice and side of white rice. White rice was filled to the top of the to go box as for sticky was a small shaped heart about 2 spoons of rice. Did not make sense. The springs rolls were made with iceberg lettuce. Not a fan and my chicken was wayyyyy over cooked. Along with the edamames had way to much oil.

Smaller place with less than 15 tables, service might be a bit slow if you're there during dinner rush and there aren't too many servers. I ordered the ginger chicken stir fry as recommended by others here on Yelp and it was great. I ordered 2 out of 5 spicy but it was really quite spicy, luckily i enjoy heat like that.

Ordered the Panang Salmon with brown rice. The entree was flavorful and the salmon was tender. I enjoyed the meal. Service was great and the restaurant had a cozy, semi-fancy ambience.

Outstanding Thai food! Unfortunately the portion size keep's shrinking. I love coming here because the service is top notch, but when I place an order to go the food is placed in a plastic container that when left outside my front door, juices leak to the bottom of the plastic bag. And When I contact the manager I'm met with sympathy but noting more. I'll have to boycott this establishment or lose some level of self-respect. You guys need to do better...

Great food for a great price Excellent Service Super chill spot before 10pm Me and my wife came here for dinner around 8:00pm and the place was almost empty. We were seated quickly and the price of food will not hurt your wallet. Checking into yelp will give you a free drink so make sure you do that when arriving! Our server Andrea was very attentive to our needs and answered our questions without hesitation. The place was great for date night. After 10pm the place can be a bit crowded and the noise level gets much higher. On the weekends this place is open until 2:00AM and they get a lot of delivery orders so my best suggestion, get there early! If you haven't checked this place out, do it!

My go to spot for the late night vibes. Being open so late, this spot is a great alternative spot instead of fast food or taco shops. The wonton soup with the egg noodles was pretty damn good. Get it with the duck broth. So savory and rich. Get a side of the roasted duck too! I've gone here a handful of times and it hits

Our go to spot for a late night bite when we're craving Asian noods! We always order drunken noodles with shrimp & egg noodle wonton soup with added roast duck. Everything is delicious and service is good. Mike usually takes care of us there and always provides wonderful service! Will definitely be back again and again!

The Asian Bistro [such a generic , boring name!] is part of the Airline Rewards Network. Accordingly, I receive five AA miles per dollar spent, including tax and gratuity, which was my impetuous for selecting this restaurant. When I walked in, there were two tables occupied, a man waiting for take out staring at his phone in the back, and two women ahead of me patiently waiting to be seated. No staff members were in sight. It seemed to take forever for a harried waitress to dart out of the kitchen, to motion to us to "sit anywhere". She was not particularly friendly. When I mentioned to her about the shoot out in the room that resulted in bullet holes riddling the dining room walls, she just looked back at me blankly. The shredded duck in Thai basil sauce was good and nicely presented on the plate. When I informed the waitress I had finished my meal, she again just stared at me without any action. I had to ask her a couple of times to please remove the plate. When she reluctantly did so, all she did was pick it up and place the dirty dish on a nearby table. It is apparently the practice of this restaurant to leave the dirty dishes on the table until you leave, and then a staff member sweeps in to clear the table after the fact, based on my observations of other tables. Therefore, when you are paying your bill, or even having the chocolate lava cake, you are surrounded by dirty dishes.