Pho San Marcos

This is my go-​to phở place in San Marcos. Always fast service, great food, and very nice people. It’s not the fanciest of places, but the quality is really what counts here.
They serve beer and wine… if you think that pairs well with soup!
Always a good idea on cold, rainy days

Great Phở, great price, fast service. They serve Vietnamese beer, that’s a plus. The spring rolls are hit and miss, but the peanut sauce they come with is always fresh.

The worst lace. Taste disgusting. How can you get fried rice wrong? And it was $ 40 for two plates we didn’t even eat! Yuck yuck! I should of read the reviews! DONT COME EAT HERE! And they got my order wrong. I asked with no onions and they put onions on top of it being so nasty! Nasty taste! This is not a real phở’s! I would give them no stars if I could! Yuck!

Little spot near Carlsbad in a strip mall. I came to go to another Phở restaurant which was a few doors down but this one looked more inviting. I love they are open so early because I was sick and needed Phở asap. The service was attentive as I was the only person in there at 9:30 am and the waiters were getting ready for the lunch crowd. I did order Tofu Phở with Veggies but I didn’t know they were going to charge more for the Veggies. So my bill was $ 11 for veggie Phở. Other places have a veggie phở option but this one I guess I meal pieced it so they charged accordingly. 9:30 am Phở open, I was not going to complain.

I’ve been eating photo semi regularly since my college days and I have to say that phở restaurants have a problem with quality. I just can’t enjoy the broth at this place. It is lacking some depth, except for being salty and possibly full of msg. I always feel excessively thirsty after having a few spoonful of their broth. I can never consider ingesting more than that.
Otherwise, the place is fast. Although the last time I was there we had to ask 3 different servers for a glass of water before anyone bothered to bring one. It took about 15 minutes. In their defense they were really busy. But we were sitting right next to the counter area, and it would have been less than a min to get us water.
I have not really tried any other phở restaurants in the area, so I can’t say if there is any that is better. I usually tag along, so whoever wants to go picks and they usually pick this place. I am a doubter as to whether its worth eating here.

I’m not sure I’d rate them so highly if we weren’t regulars. After about 20 visits, one of the waiters actually made small talk with us! The speed of their service has ruined us for any more leisurely paced phở establishments… I suspect they amuse themselves by racing to deliver the food. The egg rolls straight out of the fryer (or possibly microwave because they aren’t oily at all) will absolutely burn your mouth, but they’re not as good as Phở Ca Dao’s, and you can’t get a mixed order of fried and spring. Sometimes the broth is less flavorful than others, but they are usually among the most generous in the amount of meat (I always get rare beef and tripe).
Plenty of TVs tuned to sports. They offer the full assortment of delicious Vietnamese beverages — the last time, the condensed milk to hot coffee ratio was off, but I like how the iced coffee is served already steeped, mixed, and chilled. The strength of the Thai iced tea and lemonade with soda is pretty consistent. I think I’m getting less ice now… perks of a regular!

Questionable Business Practices:
I knew what I wanted, and ordered a small phở without looking at the menu. I got the bill and it was $ 9.20. I checked the menu and a small phở is $ 6.95. If they’re really desperate for $ 2 more that’s fine, they can keep it. But I think upholding your business’ integrity is far better than hustling customers for a couple extra bucks.
Pros: fast service and not too much MSG in the phở broth.
Cons: shady over charge, sad rice plates, tiny noodle portions in the broth. Standard rice plates are not worth $ 9.
I would’ve overlooked the crappy rice plates and the tiny phở portions, but because of the sneaky over charge I will NOT come back.

This place was fine. The menu is quite standard, and they executed the phở and spring rolls pretty well.
Service seemed particularly awful for me. However, it seemed that most people were served pretty efficiently and promptly.

I order the #1 plate, which a special combination rice plate. This is one of my favorite dishes growing up. My first overall impression of the place, was good, there was a good amount of customers and the waiter was attentive. After looking at the menu, the prices should not deserve one $ sign, it should be 2 at least. $ 9 for phở? C’mon! Maybe North County its more expensive compared to Mira Mesa or places where there are plenty of Asians, but phở is pretty popular nowadays among everyone. Vietnamese food should not be that expensive!
Back to my plate. I wish I took a picture. On the menu it says I’ll get a over easy egg on top of my rice. Once I got my plate, I totally lost my appetite. I the egg was fully cooked without running yolk, and the meat was poorly seasoned. I cook Vietnamese food quite often and I can tell the meat was seasoned with generic flavors from a package. The meat was not marinated which traditional it should be. I really tried to enjoy my food even though, it was a let down.
On a good note, the service was okay, they were attentive and refilling our drinks in a timely manner.
Coming from a person who grew up on and cooks Vietnamese food, I would not recommend this restaurant.

Phở San Marcos is actually a really good phở place if you ask me. The portions are large, food is extremely fresh and service is always very prompt. I’ve had several menu items at this place and each and everyone has been delicious. Aside from the phở, the vermicelli with pork and egg rolls is pretty delicious and when you wash it down with some Thai ice tea, game over. Overall, San Marcos isn’t exactly known for their Vietnamese food, but this place delivers some delicious options that keeps me coming back.
Pros–
Appetizers
Overall food taste
Thai iced tea
Fast service
Always fresh
Inexpensive
Parking
Cons–
You smell all phở after leaving, literally for the rest of the day…
Location is meh

Walked in, party of 2, & a gentleman motioned for us to sit at a table near the kitchen. An all table, no booth restaurant. Maybe about 20 – 25 table restaurant? Bigger than phở-​ever. I always order rare steak & brisket, here that’s #22. Regular. My bf got the large. I’d say they were the same size, the large is just in a bigger bowl. And of course, my thai tea w/​boba, which is delicious here. :-)
The broth is a little bland here. Watery I’d say, less flavor than I’m used to. I didn’t say anything of it, but then I knew I wasn’t imagining things when my bf said it too. Ah well. It’s the closest to home & well, we had our phở fix, but we’ll probably try somewhere else next time.

I gave them one star more than last time, because after coming here for more than 10 times, their Bun Bo Hue stands to be the best I’ve had in North County, if not in San Diego. Yes, their Bun Bo Hue is better than Phở Ever 5 times!!!
Because of this, Bun Bo Hue is almost the only thing I get here. Their phở is not bad but not the best, yet.
Also, they easily have the best egg rolls in North County too! Piping hot, crunchy, flavorful which makes you wonder what secret ingredient they put in them?!
Trust me. Order these two dishes and you’ll keep coming back.
Warning: Bun Bo Hue has pork’s blood cube and pig’s tail. It’s supposed to be a very nourishing and savory soup so either man up and eat whatever’s in the bowl or just tell the server to skip the blood. I’m Asian but I still got asked by the server many times because I don’t look like I’ll eat it or what? But if you’re white, the server will very likely ask «Have you had it before? You want blood?»
…Yes I want some blood!!! Give me some blood!!! Happy Halloween guys…

Gave this place a second chance and so glad I did… They updated their menu and now has a section specifically for vegetarians. I had their vegetarian bun and it was AMAZING! Can’t wait to go back and try the tofu phở. And they haven’t over charged since we went back. Yum!

I am guessing for this surrounding area this is somewhat ok. I have had better, but for the time being this was manageable. The potential is there to be better, now mind you the Phở I had ordered was OK. I had gotten the Beef Phở with steak and brisket added to it. The broth was a little bland, with the extra’s I had added (lime wedges, basil, bean sprouts, and hot peppers) with the supplied condiments it turned out to be good.
Phở S.M. served its purpose, or the I guess I got the fix I needed. When you are «Jones-​ing» for that special item I guess you’d settle for the closest thing. We also had gotten the pork spring rolls with the peanut sauce on the side, which was OK. I guess I am spoiled with the Phở locations I am used to in Philly.
This location is clean with plenty of seating from a small group to a large group. The one other issue is their service, where it was slow with a few mess ups here and there. This all can be worked out, and this is not taking anything away from the dishes they make.
For the price this is reasonably cheap for the amount that is served. I did enjoy their coconut water which is served to you in a coconut.
In all these guys are OK, with a little set backs here and there, it is still worth going in for that quick fix.

#42 with salad instead of noodles is a total option and my go-​to for months.
Quick (absolutely zero communication with waiters other than your order), which is good for a short work lunch.

The phở here is pretty standard — nothing outstanding, but still good. There is ample seating which is nice, especially during a lunch rush.

Came here on a Sunday realizing Phở for Queen was closed. Started off with Chia Go egg rolls as an appetizer. My boyfriend and I really enjoyed them. Order the #16 or #17 lol not quite sure but it was good. Pricing seems a bit too much but for the amount Phở I got it seemed worth it. Enjoyed the Thai Tea with Boba (Yum!) My favorite so far lol. They have canned soda so no free refills. FAST service seemed a little sketch but we were in and out. Lack of customer service and felt a bit rushed. oh well I might or might not return.

I’ve been to this location a handful of times and I must say that Phở San Marcos’ phở broth is deliciously tasty.
When I come to Vietnamese restaurants I usually judge by their phở broth, customer service, and portion food. They had a lot of noodles and meat than most Vietnamese restaurants when it comes to Phở.
Phở Broth: 5 stars
Portion of food: 4 stars
Customer service: 3.5 stars
Definitely come back for their phở but don’t expect top notch service like other Vietnamese places.

My family is Vietnamese, and although we live in San Marcos, we tend to pass by Phở San Marcos in favor of Phở-​Ever in Vista.
I’ve dined in as well as gotten take-​out from Phở San Marcos… but haven’t felt that it’s particularly special or anything to rave about. It’s not completely terrible either.

I don’t know what «good» Phở is suppose to taste like. Every time I go I think well this is just broth with a lot of noodles in it. But it would seem that I’m a fan of broth with noodles in it so I keep going back for more and I’m very happy with the BIG warm bowl the nice guys at Phở San Marcos serve up. The vegi’s are always fresh and crisp. The service is always fast and nice. They have great egg rolls and the price is very reasonable.
I’ve tried other phở places and I can’t say that they were anymore amazing than this place. It’s starting to get a little cooler around these parts and I can see a good number of my winter lunches spent at this place. Phở Sho!