Alejandro Vogt

Delicious everything! Wavy noodles on the beef soup or sesame dish are amazing, and so are the dumplings. Spicy, flavorful and with great service. Fave.

James Lin

**4.5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ Formosa San Diego: Beef Roll Cravings with a 626 Wannabe Vibe** Tucked in the Convoy District of Kearny Mesa, **Formosa** brings that classic Taiwanese night-market energy to San Diego—bright signage, open kitchen rolling out scallion pancakes, and the constant sizzle of beef on the griddle 🥩🥞. The **convenient location** right in the heart of Convoy makes it an easy stop after boba runs or Asian grocery hauls—plenty of plaza parking, too. **Service was friendly** and classic fast-casual: order at the counter, staff with quick smiles and helpful suggestions, food out in under 10 minutes even during the dinner rush. Grab a seat inside or take it to go—no fuss. The star here is the **beef roll** (scallion pancake wrapped with tender sliced beef, hoisin, cilantro, and cucumber). The beef is flavorful and juicy, the wrap has decent layers, and the whole thing hits that satisfying savory-crunchy combo. It definitely scratches the itch for 626-style Taiwanese snacks down in SD. That said, minor deductions keep it from perfection. It was **too saucy** for my taste—hoisin overwhelmed a bit and made things soggy fast. I wanted **more crisp** from the pancake (edges were good, but center lacked that shatter), and the pancakes themselves tasted like they were **frozen** before cooking—slightly dense rather than fresh-rolled flaky. Still, Formosa earns a strong 4.5 because that **wannabe 626 feel** in San Diego scores big points—closest thing we’ve got to the real SGV deal without driving three hours. When the beef roll craving hits south of OC, this is the spot. I’ll be back—probably asking for light sauce next time.

+8

Lex Nguyen

Formoosa offers great selection and quality dishes. We enjoyed the crispy beef roll (see picture). It had delicious sauce and crunchy pickled veggies and the beef was perfectly seasoned. We also enjoyed the beef noodle soup and and pork on wavy noddles. Both had great flavors and large portions for the price. Brandon and Nina were awesome, quick, friendly, and attentive during our visit!

alex park

Walked in after looking at all the 5 star reviews, and I was not surprised. The atmosphere was very cozy and the layout of the restaurant was nice. The Beef Noodle soup was wonderful. I recommend getting the wavy noodles that you can substitute for free. I thought it was going to be a “quality over quantity” type restaurant but the portions were super large in my opinion. Overall a 10/10 experience. Shoutout to Brandon and Rachel for W service🙏🏽

Julie Monroy

Came in for a lazy lunch on a sunny Saturday. got the chili wontons and Cucumber and sesame noodles add beef and oh my goodness we loved everything. The Chili wontons were my fave. tangy and spicy! James and Brandon were efficient, personable, and attentive. Also hooks for my purse under the bar. Always a plus. Oh and I got the Guava Margarita it was very sweet. Overall lovely lunch.

Ria Parikh

Love the beef noodle soup and wontons! We were lucky to go at a time that wasn’t too busy, so the food got here pretty quick. Plus our server Aiden was really welcoming and helpful! Definitely coming back here again :)

Abdullah Tabra

The food was amazing, we got the Taiwanese beef noodle (the house specialty) and the beef rolls. We enjoyed everything and our server Bella made sure we were taken care of even though it got busy and she was by herself. We will definitely be coming back!

7

Super warm welcoming little restaurant. The dishes are super tasty. We ordered a noodle and a popcorn chicken.The noodle has a really creamy and flavorful sauce. The popcorn is crispy and juicy. I would definitely recommend this spot! Our server Brandon and Rachel were also super nice and helpful.

Kevin Lane

This is a great little show in the Convoy District. I ordered the Chili wontons, scallion pancake and the house special beef noodle soup. The chili wontons were perhaps the best I have ever had. The flavor was very elevated and it was a perfect appetizer. The scallion pancake was also good. Yeah, just the right amount of spice and was very easily shareable. The house special beef noodle soup was also a fantastic. A little spicy but in a great way. The noodles were great but you can also order wavy noodles which are a unique option. But the beef was super tender and it was very filling. Kind of enough for two people. Overall, this is a great restaurant. The only problem would be parking in this area which is always tough, but I would still highly recommend it.

+1

COOL NORMIE

Wow! I am biased as Taiwanese food is my ultimate favorite food but this place checks off every mark. Chill environment, superb drinks and great food! We ordered the Sparking Yuzu Lemonade, Mango Jasmine Tea, Chili Wantons, and Taiwanese Mazesoba. The Yuzu lemonade is the BEST drink I’ve had in a long time. I would come again to try more of their dishes and cocktails ☝️🙂‍↔️😌

+1

Garrett Lew

Went with a party of 4 on Thursday night. No wait and service was really quick and good. We ordered 7 items (which might of been a mistake cause we got so much leftover). The food was good but a bit salty. Not much difference in flavor profiles but I don't think we were suppose to order almost the entire menu. Overall good experience and would come back again for the chili wontons, beef rolls, and mazemen.

+3

Millie Nguyen

Ordered the chili wontons, pickled cucumbers, and beef noodle soup—everything was absolutely delicious! The flavors were spot on, portions were generous, and we enjoyed every bite. We cleaned our plates completely and will definitely be coming back for more. Highly recommend!

Great service, friendly staff and amazing food!! Nina and Quan were absolutely amazing and friendly. Highly recommend

Absolutely loved this place the broth of the soup was amazing. Highly recommend the scallion pancake!

Great service, friendly staff and amazing food!! Nina and Quan were absolutely amazing and friendly. Highly recommend

Absolutely loved this place the broth of the soup was amazing. Highly recommend the scallion pancake!

Great service, friendly staff and amazing food!! Nina and Quan were absolutely amazing and friendly. Highly recommend

Amazing beef noodle soup and sesame noodles. Shoutout to Nina for the excellent service!

Absolutely loved this place the broth of the soup was amazing. Highly recommend the scallion pancake!

Amazing beef noodle soup and sesame noodles. Shoutout to Nina for the excellent service!

Amazing beef noodle soup and sesame noodles. Shoutout to Nina for the excellent service!

Small menu that packs a punch, every single thing was SOOOOOO good so fresh the new noodles pictured are INSANEEEEE!! Must go, great service and ambiance as well!!!

Small menu that packs a punch, every single thing was SOOOOOO good so fresh the new noodles pictured are INSANEEEEE!! Must go, great service and ambiance as well!!!

The food was amazing and tasted fresh! The service was great as well! Quan and Nina were amazing! The ambiance in the please as well was great!

Great dinner. Good prices and super big portions. The house special was great and would recommend.

great food. defo coming again\nmmmmmm yummmmmmm and pretty good drinks\nbeef roll was tender and oily, very savory

Food was good. Very reasonable prices and fast clean friendly service. Very chill and good food. I said that already but its hard to find these days

Delicioso yum yum in my tummy :D. Drinks are excellent everything reasonable price and ambiance is great. Nina and Rachel were great and attentive!!

Came here and had a good experience, definitely the beef roll, it’s a stand out! Shoutout to James and Branden for their service in a busy room just the 2 of them.

Came here and had a good experience, definitely the beef roll, it’s a stand out! Shoutout to James and Branden for their service in a busy room just the 2 of them.

We found this place last year during comic con. It's so good! I love the pork on rice, beef rolls, popcorn chicken, and milk tea. Only problem is it says they open late but not really. I'd call if y…

We found this place last year during comic con. It's so good! I love the pork on rice, beef rolls, popcorn chicken, and milk tea. Only problem is it says they open late but not really. I…

We ordered the cucumber salad, chili wontons, and dry noodles. The cucumber salad was very fresh and the sauce was light and tangy. The chili wontons were okay, missing spice! But the wrapper and filling ratio was good. The noodles were very creamy and delicious! Will be coming back next time we’re in town.

Food was awesome and different. Vibes was quiet, one other table. Thought food could've came out sooner. Beef rolls were like burnt, but over all the portions size of food was alot more than average appetizers.

Joseph Macy

Reasonable cost (relative to rest of Convoy) with large portion of tasty beef noodle soup! Kitchen ran out of bok choy and was very gracious to sub in extra meat to replace the bok choy! Noodles have good chew, broth isn’t spicy as mentioned by other reviews, but still very hearty. Nina and James were very kind and helpful!

Eric Joo

A pretty good Taiwanese joint. The flavors are a little Americanized but the delivery is solid. We got mazesoba noodles, popcorn chicken, cucumbers and beef rolls. The beef rolls were the family fave. Service was a little brusque but not hard to waive down a server and once we got the attention of James H and James A they were quick to respond.

Ryan Zhang

Pretty good comfort good restaurant with some authentic Taiwanese and Chinese options, although the execution may not have been perfect. We tried their star dish, the beef noodle soup. The broth was a little lacking, it tasted a little too much like soy sauce and didn't really have a great beefy flavor. However, the noodles were chewy and retained the broth flavor well. And the best part of the dish was definitely the beef. They didn't skim on the amount and each piece was thick but tender. The ramen style soft-boiled egg was an unexpected but nice addition. In general their noodle dishes are good. In fact they might've done a better job with the sesame noodles and Taiwan mazesoba than the beef noodle soup. Their popcorn chicken, sesame balls, and scallion pancakes were also good.

+2

Francelina Nichols

Couldn’t decide what to eat, so we turned to Yelp and found this spot with great reviews and I’m so glad we gave it a try. It’s a cozy place, with most of the space taken up by the bar, giving it a laid-back, intimate vibe. The menu is small but thoughtful, and everything we ordered felt intentional and well-prepared. We were greeted and seated right away, which set the tone for a smooth experience. The food lived up to its descriptions. I especially loved the scallion pancakes..they were fluffier than what I’ve had at other places, which was a pleasant surprise. The sesame wontons had a bold sesame flavor, which I personally loved (definitely one for sesame fans!). The beef roll was a hit for me..tender beef paired with crisp cucumber and a touch of sweetness. My husband wasn’t a fan of the fresh cucumber or the sweet notes, but I appreciated the balance of textures and flavors. I’d definitely come back to try more from the menu. It’s a spot worth revisiting. Props to James and Brandon for friendly service!

+1

We came in an hour before closing. Service was attentive and checked up on us. Nina and Quan were our servers and they were great! The portion of meat in our beef noodle soup was adequate and tende…

We came in an hour before closing. Service was attentive and checked up on us. Nina and Quan were our servers and they were great! The portion of meat in our beef noodle soup was adequate and…

We came in an hour before closing. service was attentive and checked up on us. Nina and Quan were our servers and they were great! The portion of meat in our beef noodle soup was adequate and tende…

My friend and I came here for the first time just to get a drink a few weeks ago. The drinks were delicious! The service was fast. The ambiance was adorable. We just walked in, no reservations. It …

My friend and I came here for the first time just to get a drink a few weeks ago. The drinks were delicious! The service was fast. The ambiance was adorable. We just walked in, no reservations. It …

Happy hour would have not been as enjoyable without Aiden's service! Happy hour on weekdays 2-5pm, which includes alcoholic drinks and small dishes!

I would come back. A couple of slices of beef had tendon that made it too tough. The beef soup was good just a little too spicy

Braised beef noodle soup was too sweet in my opinion, I was expecting a much more savory beefy taste which this place was not giving. Popcorn chicken was also very salty. Service was at least decent. Food came out at a reasonable time.

Katerina

Tldr: seating layout is kind of awkward (it's a sushi bar). Food is good but not great. Service is good. Free dessert with review is red bean sesame balls (they're decent!) Fried chicken - 3/5 - there's a Sichuan peppercorn flavor I wasn't a fan of due to the numbing sensations. Plus, the chicken was dry-ish (but I've definitely had worse). The basil was a nice touch - always love fried chicken with basil! Beef noodle soup - 4/5 - we got the wide noodles, which ended up a bit over cooked but were otherwise good. The beef was tender and the soup broth more flavorful as it sat. They used a torch to sear the meat before serving - I felt like it was unnecessary Spicy wontons - 3/5 - I didn't like the addition of black vinegar into the chili sauce and the wonton filling needed more flavor (or just some salt). Otherwise the wonton skins were nicely cooked and not too thick and the chili oil was enough to cover the wontons.

George

I love Taiwanese food so was excited to give this place a rey. The beef roll packs a lot of flavor! Popcorn chicken is tender, crunchy, and juicy, although missing the Taiwanese street food flavor I was craving. Unfortunately the beef noodle soup was just slightly spicy but otherwise quite bland not sure how this is possible at a Taiwanese place. Did they forget to add something while making the broth? Anyways food-wise, generally mixed. Location itself is on the smaller side, with bar seating around a central area and three 2-seat tables. Can feel a little crowded when full, and the servers are friendly enough but maybe a little on the inexperienced side. Generally, worth checking out and getting your own opinion.