Pho in La Jolla? When I received an email a few weeks back telling me of a Pho Restaurant opening right off of La Jolla Village Drive, that was my initial response. (Thanks Dan!) But after thinking about it, the location, close to many businesses, and the UCSD campus, made perfect sense.
Which led to me check the place out a few weeks back.
You'll quickly recognize the location as being the home of International Market & Grill.
The interior is clean, but they've sure managed to squeeze in a lot of seating in the place.
The prices on the menu pretty much fit the zip code… about $2 more than similar places in other areas.
Not having eaten here before, I went with the Pho Dac Biet (special – $7.50) so I could sample the whole range of meat. It's been my experience that each Pho restaurant will do different things well, so the first visit is exploratory.
The large bowl arrived several minutes later:
Along with a rather sparse amount of "garnishes", after tasting the broth I asked for, and received with no hesitation more basil. Ngo Gai (Culantro) was a "no go" however.
As for the broth, it had decent oil, but was just faintly beefy, and I mean faintly. There was no other flavor to make this broth stand out in any way. Overall, it tasted watery and bland, and reminded me of Pho T Cali, and not in a good way.
The noodles were in the standard clump, and were on the soft and over-cooked side.
The rare steak was dry and hard, the flank was not bad, soft, but lacking flavor, the tendon was good, but scarce, as was the little bit of tripe provided. Much like Phuong Trang, Pho Cali, and the afore mentioned Pho T Cali, this was MOR (middle of the road) Pho.
As you can tell, I was underwhelmed, especially after paying $7.50. This is Pho not to offend. I'm guessing if you are in the area, and are desperate for a bowl, this would be passable. But I'd be wondering why you wouldn't drive a few miles to Mira Mesa. Since this bowl was eaten just 2 weeks after opening, perhaps things will improve over time.
I heard that UCSD students and staff get %10 off with their ID. So perhaps you'll try it out, and let me know what you think.
Pho La Jolla
3211 Holiday Court #102
La Jolla, CA 92037