District36 Diner

The hubby and I tired this place out for the first time today. Good food with great flavors. The 5 spice chicken fried steak was delicious. I could have just eaten a whole plate of egg rolls and been super happy. Looking forward to coming back soon.

Came across an instagram post for this new Viet/American diner concept and HAD to check it out! First off, the place is so well decorated and put together and reminds me of establishments in Hanoi, Vietnam. And love the diner fusion feel of the restaurant’s seating! My group and I wanted to try the breakfast items and we were so impressed with the concept and flavors! 2 people in my group were born in Vietnam and came here later in life and were pleasantly surprised with how all the food tasted and the American spin on the traditional flavors! Mama’s crispy rolls (viet eggrolls) 8.5/10: perfectly crisp and super fresh (and not oily like most Viet establishments, compliments on the clean oil as well since we all know how viet restaurants aren’t the best with that). Good balance of filling as alot of places tend to skimp out on the meat inside. Sweet fish sauce vinaigrette (nước chấm) was authentic enough and not too pungent for the demographic of South Fountain Valley. The District Breakfast sandwich 9/10: The lemongrass sausage patty they make is such a smart take/fusion of American breakfast patty and Viet lemongrass sausage (chả for bún chả Hà Nội). Hearty but not heavy! Egg inside was fried perfectly and the slaw was a nice acidic balance. Was unsure how cheese paired with everything but it was what was needed for the richness. Came with nicely seasoned Tater Tots! Bún Chả Hash Bowl 8/10: A vietnamese take on a hash bowl with tater tots for the spud! The scramble was delicious and had that addictive lemongrass sausage (we couldn’t get over the familiar but new flavor until we realized it was a great modern take on a classic) and bell peppers which helped to enhance the lemongrass flavor! Most american hash bowls have that overwhelming bell pepper flavor but this was the perfect pairing. We felt it needed another element in terms of flavor besides the pickled onions on top but wasn’t too sure what. Maybe a “freshness” element to tie in the Vietnamese influence? Five-Spice Chicken Fried Steak 11/10: This was by far our favorite. Five-spice is usually very overwhelming but the chicken was PERFECTLY seasoned! Super juicy and moist and the batter was extra crispy! On top was a healthy amount of their take on sausage gravy (made with that lemongrass sausage… couldn’t get enough. We were about to get the biscuits and gravy just to indulge in the gravy but were too full with 4 items between 3 people) sprouts and pickled onions. Everything worked so well together and we ended up “licking the plate” with the tater tots it came with to get the gravy. I do suggest serving this dish with bread or something instead of the tater tots (even though we loved the tots) to tie in the breakfast dish as it did come with eggs (sunnyside-up. The only way to enjoy breakfast eggs with fried chicken and gravy). All in all, my group and I really enjoyed our food and would definitely come back again and will be spreading the word! Biscuits and gravy are gonna be a NEED next time and the Avo Toast with pate. As a fellow Vietnamese-American, thank you to the owner for reinventing and expanding our culture and cuisine for Orange County to experience in a familiar setting that also gives comfort those with our heritage.

+1

I’ve been here a couple times every time I’m in the area and the food is soooo good. The restaurant has very cute decorations and models an American diner concept with an Asian twist. Very retro and cute! The owners have operated a series of successful pho institutions across the US and wanted to do something different here and focus on not only traditional Vietnamese food, but also fusion offerings to bring something different since California has a lot of pho restaurants. I recommend the special pho bo koh, it’s a hearty dish that combines 2 very classic Vietnamese dishes. It really blew my mind— the meat so tender and melts in your mouth. The items are very affordable priced as well. Please do yourself a favor and stop by! The owners are so friendly and nice!

Got the 5 spice chicken fried steak and pho Bo kho, both cool takes on Asian fusion. I liked the chicken fried steak a bit more due to its crispy texture and gravy used on top. The bo kho had flavor, I would’ve preferred a stronger, deeper flavor of the bo kho soup! Overall 7.5/10 spot (my ranking: 7+ worth trying)

I ordered the pho and spring rolls. My girl ordered breakfast sandwich. The pho is delicious and the price is good. Lower then alot of pho places around here. I love that the limes they give you are actually good limes where you get alot of juice from them vs every other place ive been do where limes always look dried out. The spring rolls were very good as well. I absolutely love the peanut sauce it comes with. The breakfast sandwich is a good size, looks colorful and presentable. Tastes so much better then what she was expecting. Will be back again.

Very fun and flavorful creations of Vietnamese and American cuisines. All dishes that we tried were a delightful discovery of unassuming combination of ingredients. Would highly recommend the Boat Bouillabaisse, Cha Hash Bowl, and Bò Kho Fettucine. Lovely staffs. Can’t wait to try out more from this place.

+5

District36 Diner is an American-Vietnamese fusion diner that serves American breakfast foods with a Vietnamese twist along with classic Vietnamese dishes if you’re looking for lunch or dinner. It’s located in a quiet plaza that matches the chill, cozy interior. I love the retro decor and all the artwork they feature on the walls! All the staff are super friendly and their service is on point, too! I visited during their soft opening for dinner, and the food was exactly what I wanted after a gym workout. The coconut juice was super refreshing and probably the best you can get without ordering an actual fresh coconut, and the chicken pho was solid! Something special was the dipping sauce you get for the chicken. At first it seems like a standard salt, pepper, fish sauce dip, but there’s a perfect hint of spice, fresh herbs, and citrus that really elevates it. I also ordered the lemongrass chicken Bún Bowl, and was very happy with the portion size. It had plenty of chicken and I ended up taking home half. Definitely looking forward to trying their breakfast next!

+3

Saw this restaurant instagram as a Vietnamese/American Diner style and had to try it. We got the OG Beef pho, 5 Spice chicken fried steak and the bun cha hash. All 3 dishes were top notch especially the 5 spice chicken fried steak! The gravy was amazing. The hash bowl was delicious, especially how the eggs were done, as you can taste the hint of fish sauce. The Pho itself was really clean and savory, really good meat quality years as well. Would definitely recommend and will be back soon!

The hash browns are fantastic here. The service here is super nice too and I enjoyed the atmosphere

We ate Lunch at District 36 Diner for the first time today and enjoyed our meal in a relaxing and casual atmosphere. They accommodated our group of eight easily. The food was delicious and the presentation was beautiful. I had the bun bowl with grilled lemon grass chicken and thoroughly enjoyed it. Others enjoyed the rice plate, breakfast sandwich, breakfast burrito, avo pate toast, and spring rolls. We all agreed we would definitely eat here again.

Came here bc of social media postings. First impression was there’s no one here, so I felt a little sketchy. Ordered some food and to my surprise the Tuna melt was pretty good except for the cheese not being fully melted. All the other dishes that we ordered were good. The hash bowl was worth a try and pretty decent in my book. The Pho good too.

+4

Stopped in at the brand new District36 Diner in Fountain Valley this morning. They are Vietnamese/American homestyle cuisine. It's a cute spot and has a nice feel to it. It's good, but may need to work out some kinks. I ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls, Five-Spice Chicken Fried Steak, and a Vietnamese Iced Coffee. The spring rolls were very loose (a little difficult to eat) and served with pickled carrots/radish on the outside, would have preferred them inside the rolls. Plus I did not detect any herbs like mint, cilantro, or basil within. It was just lettuce, noodles, and protein. The hoison/peanut dipping sauce was quite tasty but very thick, basically a paste, and needed to be applied with a knife. Definitely needs to be thinned out. The five spice chicken fried steak had nice flavor, the spices gently came through, it was a tough piece of chicken and needed more gravy. It was very crispy, which was nice, but yeah, needed at least double the amount gravy. Perfect Tots and over easy eggs cooked properly. The Vietnamese Iced Coffee is probably the darkest and strongest I've ever had, it was borderline muddy thick. Not saying that's a bad thing but was wow, thick. I drank a third of it, brought it home, and added creamer and water to it, and it was still strong and muddy. Maybe it was straight-up concentrate? If you like it that strong, definitely stop in. I know this may sound trite but I'm a big napkin guy, hate it when paper napkins are so thin you need 5 to wipe you hands/face with from one bite of something and these were that thin. Also, no salt & pepper on the tables. They may have been available if asked for, but...again, annoying. There are other things on the fairly simple menu I'd like to try, so I'll be going back.

+5