Bun Bo Hue Dong Ba - San Jose, California

Tai Pham

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Bekang

Great & delicious foods, awesome people, nice atmosphere, and a variety of good choices. The moment we walked in, the gentleman who was working here was very hospitable and very accommodating. Will definitely come back here. We just learned that this restaurant has been in this plaza for many years now. I have tried Bo Ne from different restaurants, but this is the best I have tasted so far. Will come back soon.

Sean Nguyen

Even though I was born in the city of Saigon, I love me some Northern (Hue) food! I enjoy the appetizer more than the main courses because it's small, light and quick to eat. I found this Northern restaurant, Bun Bo Hue in a Vietnamese strip mall off of Senter Road in San Jose, CA. I got my favorite appetizers, Banh Beo, Banh Bo Loc, Banh Ram It and Banh Nam. They all came with fish sauce on the side with slices of jalapeños. Luckily for me, the jalapeños were not that spicy so I was able to bite into them with each of the appetizers. I really like this restaurant because everything is always fresh. The food is flavorful and always on point. The shrimp taste fresh and clean. Every thing has carb heavy, but it was good and delicious. I definitely recommend checking this place out. To the naked eye, this restaurant is not visually appealing but the food is the best. If you want to take a date, I would recommend going to thier Silver Creek location. Much more cleaner looking and very modern.

Squirrel Friend

I had the BBH here twice. The broth needed more seasoning during my first visit. I visited them a second time due to convenience. The broth tasted so much better. The meat is nice and tender during both visits.

Winnie ThePooh

Originally posted this review for the wrong location. This review is for the Senter Road location.

This was my first experience with Bun Bo style Vietnamese food, but definitely not the last.  The food at Bun Bo Hue An Nam is delicious!

We started with the rice cake appetizers.  Each more tasty than the next. The pairing of rice cake with savory crackers and pork rinds dipped in fish sauce was an unexpected but pleasant surprise.

We continued with the house specialty Bun Bo Hue.  The noodles had wonderful texture and the pork the most tender and flavorful in a soup!  Excellent down to the last drop of broth.  Wow.

I added a picture of the pork from the soup because it was unbelievably tender and flavorful. Better than best char sui in ramen.

The servings were substantial and service was excellent. Add a 6th star for the very clean bathroom.

I should also add that I really like the spoon with extra long neck and hook. No effort expended on preventing my spoon from slipping into the soup bowl.  Nice!

Look forward to coming back.

Christina Dang

First things first, CASH ONLY. So I've been going to this restaurant with my parents since I was a little kid. I grew up competing with my sister and father on how much Banh Beo we could eat. We would stack our dishes up as high as we could (I usually win at 10-12 dishes high).

Sentimentality aside, it's a decent restaurant for Banh Beo. Could they try a little harder and make sure they're always warm? Yes. But because I come in with the right expectations aka none, then they're always good enough for me, especially for the price. I will have to say that they also deliver on the right texture consistency, rarely mushy.

The only other dish I would recommend here is Mi Quang. While I don't favor this rather pungent dish, my father does so I trust that it's better here than at other restaurants.

P. S. There's an ATM next door if you need cash. The fee is $2.

Kai Ng

I ordered two things: banh beo(the white steamed dumpling with dried shrimped in the mini bowls) and mi quang. The banh beo was 5stars. The wheat mi noodle was 3.5 . I should have ordered the bun Bo hue their specialty, but was hankering for yellow wheat noodle. I wasn’t super impressed, it was still good, but not as flavorful as others I’ve had. Their yellow noodle was ok, broth ok…

I also ordered 2 Korean bbq beef plates Togo for my hubby and son…only 3 stars, I think I could’ve made it better,the beef was a bit raw and flavor ok, not special

Thu Tran

2022 UPDATE—NEW RESTAURANT called Bun Bo Dong Ba.
May 2022. The 5 stared restaurant in my previous review is no more. Another restaurant takes its place. The food is decent but nowhere near the same as before. Last week I tried the Bún Bò Huế. The broth is still ok but the meat was cut paper thin, dried, hard without any taste. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s machine sliced from a frozen block of low quality meat. The noodles were not chewy but a bit over cooked. The number of item on the menu tripples. The price increases 50%. The bowls and chopsticks are new. The music is loud. By now you all can tell the sad disappointment I had with this new restaurant that takes the place of my most favorite bún bò restaurant in San Jose. I guess another good thing is gone from my mundane life. So normal yet so sad.

MOST AUTHENTIC ‘BUN BO HUE’ 2020
For over 30 years I have been enjoying the BBH and this is the only place I go to in San Jose area. Its Bun Bo is the closest to the ones I had in Hue and at home. I only took my 93 years old Mom who was a pure Hue ‘citizen’ 🙂 to this restaurant for BBH and nowhere else.

Its soup broth is light not heavily salted. The hint of lemongrass is there and that’s what make the special taste of BBH. The shrimp paste deepens the broth and absent in the smell. The slices of beef shank are soft enough and thick enough. A big plus compared to the paper thin slices at other restaurants. I was there last Friday and the soup was hot, really hot.

Now let’s talk about service. This is a family run and a friendly talk with the staff will help us being treated in a friendly way. Even a complaint can be done in a constructive conversation. I would not label the staff ‘professional’ but they were nice enough for me that I keep coming back year after year.

I was at the restaurant 4 days ago and the place was nice and clean to me. The price is very reasonable. No complaint here either. Weekday afternoons are the best times, quiet and few customers . Weekends are busiest...so please be patient with the busy staff.

This special place was handed down to the children who are doing a great job keeping the BBH authentic still. I just wish they add some Rau Răm to the soup. Just like with the lemongrass, this herb makes the taste of BBH what it is—the most famous and great tasting soup from Huế, the former imperial city in the Central of Vietnam.