Pho Lantern Cafe

10+ years return customer and consistently fast and great tasting.

Great place. Food is spot on. I've only had the pho with fillet mignon. It's incredible.

Super yummy pho and very friendly staff:)

something about this pho is so addicting. The broth is very good and great quality! They’re consistent and very quick for a fast lunch break.

My go to spot for a mid week pho. Number 32 every time. Hits every time

Ga tom is delicious, the broth is good. I love that they made the soup not as hot as we asked.

BEST VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT!!! I just moved down here from the Bay Area and was looking for a new Vietnamese place to call home. THIS PLACE IS IT. The pho is fresh and delicious and the spring rolls are some of the best I’ve tasted. The staff is ALWAYS super sweet and friendly. The overall experience is what keeps me coming back. 🍜♥️🔥

Lovely restaurant, absolutely stunning decor food was delicious and super yummy. You can tell lots of love in the cooking staff was nice and hospitable. This is definitely a small business family run restaurant. I absolutely recommend trying the food!

I love this place! Their menu has a whole vegetarian section. And the flavors are popping. The vegetarian was really good, I highly recommend it. My friend got a chicken dish number 71 on the menu and she recommends that too. She said the chicken melted in her mouth.

Love their shrimp pad thai, summer rolls and pho! The shrimps are sooo juicy and cooked to perfection 🤤 Service is excellent! Everyone is very friendly. Will definitely visit the place again 😍 Highly recommended!

We shared a large bowl of the Pho with raw beef and tendon. And we ordered fresh spring roll (#3) and appetizer assortment (#15). The spring roll was fresh and the appetizer assortment didn’t disappoint. The Pho had good flavor. The rice noodles and beef/tendon complement the broth 😋😋. Will definitely comeback for their other menu options in the future

Such a lovely place to enjoy a yummy meal. The service was amazing! We had a party of 9 and the staff was friendly and quick. We all enjoyed our food and had a wonderful experience! 10/10 recommend visiting for yummy Thai food

I eat allot of pho and this happens to be some of my favorite pho’s around. I highly recommend trying it and coming in and grabbing a delicious bowl. Thanks staff for making every meal special I’ll be back soon!

A true Pho restaurant. I placed a pick up order for two regular chicken pho. I live about 5 mins away. It's on a busy corner off Newport Blvd and 17th street. It was ready when I arrived and it was hot and delicious when I got home. They sell beer and have out door seating. I have brought my dog there before too. Highly recommend if you love pho.

SUPER YUMMY freshest Pho in Newport area always smacks... super fresh leaves and veggies yummy broth fast service... it's my go-to in Newport Mesa area.

Oh this place is amazing, great portions, lots and lots of meat, just everything was fantastic, the waitress was like one of the most friendly and attentive waitresses I've ever had. Hopefully you get her haha. Got the #43 bowl and I don't really see a reason to ever get anything else, it's that good :D The calamari was really good, a little on the skimpy side of portions for it but nothing to upset about.

This is an excellent choice for Pho in Costa Mesa/Newport. I went with a few friends, and even though it was later in the evening, we still received excellent service from both Peter and Joe. The food tasted great and was a nice portion size.

The beef broth is different from what I’m used to a a bit salty, but extremely tasty! And very knowledgeable about what was in the food, with good recommendations based on allergies.

Alberto Rodriguez

Lovely restaurant, absolutely stunning decor food was delicious and super yummy. You can tell lots of love in the cooking staff was nice and hospitable. This is definitely a small business family run restaurant. I absolutely recommend trying the food!

Neesha Patel

I love this place! Their menu has a whole vegetarian section. And the flavors are popping. The vegetarian was really good, I highly recommend it. My friend got a chicken dish number 71 on the menu and she recommends that too. She said the chicken melted in her mouth.

Elleen Agustin

Love their shrimp pad thai, summer rolls and pho! The shrimps are sooo juicy and cooked to perfection 🤤 Service is excellent! Everyone is very friendly. Will definitely visit the place again 😍 Highly recommended!

Carmelo Abaoag

We shared a large bowl of the Pho with raw beef and tendon. And we ordered fresh spring roll (#3) and appetizer assortment (#15). The spring roll was fresh and the appetizer assortment didn’t disappoint. The Pho had good flavor. The rice noodles and beef/tendon complement the broth 😋😋. Will definitely comeback for their other menu options in the future

Paige Seegmiller

Such a lovely place to enjoy a yummy meal. The service was amazing! We had a party of 9 and the staff was friendly and quick. We all enjoyed our food and had a wonderful experience! 10/10 recommend visiting for yummy Thai food

Jason Blakemore

SUPER YUMMY freshest Pho in Newport area always smacks... super fresh leaves and veggies yummy broth fast service... it's my go-to in Newport Mesa area.

Taylor Wheeler

I eat allot of pho and this happens to be some of my favorite pho’s around. I highly recommend trying it and coming in and grabbing a delicious bowl. Thanks staff for making every meal special I’ll be back soon!

f h

A true Pho restaurant. I placed a pick up order for two regular chicken pho. I live about 5 mins away. It's on a busy corner off Newport Blvd and 17th street. It was ready when I arrived and it was hot and delicious when I got home. They sell beer and have out door seating. I have brought my dog there before too. Highly recommend if you love pho.

Kyle Lowman

Oh this place is amazing, great portions, lots and lots of meat, just everything was fantastic, the waitress was like one of the most friendly and attentive waitresses I've ever had. Hopefully you get her haha. Got the #43 bowl and I don't really see a reason to ever get anything else, it's that good :D The calamari was really good, a little on the skimpy side of portions for it but nothing to upset about.

An amazing experience all around! The staff here is incredibly attentive and friendly, making sure we were comfortable throughout the meal. I tried the pho, and it was fantastic—the flavors were rich and well-balanced, and the fresh herbs added a great touch. The ambiance of the restaurant was inviting, with a modern yet rustic feel that made for a relaxing and enjoyable dining atmosphere. If you're looking for delicious Vietnamese food in a cozy setting, this is the place to go!

Awesome pho & great service. My favorite pho I ever had…the broth is so so good. Will be back soon.

I found this place last Monday and I have been back 3 times in 7 days. Lights out! best Pho I have ever had, spring rolls and peanut sauce is out of this world. If you are looking for the perfect authentic flavourful experience, look no further. My only disappointment is Google doesn't allow a 10 star rating! This will be the go to Pho spot for our family. 10/10

Ryno Seven

10+ years return customer and consistently fast and great tasting.

Jared Bucci

Awesome pho & great service. My favorite pho I ever had…the broth is so so good. Will be back soon.

Sem Smuf

An amazing experience all around! The staff here is incredibly attentive and friendly, making sure we were comfortable throughout the meal. I tried the pho, and it was fantastic—the flavors were rich and well-balanced, and the fresh herbs added a great touch. The ambiance of the restaurant was inviting, with a modern yet rustic feel that made for a relaxing and enjoyable dining atmosphere. If you're looking for delicious Vietnamese food in a cozy setting, this is the place to go!

Tim Quocksister

I found this place last Monday and I have been back 3 times in 7 days. Lights out! best Pho I have ever had, spring rolls and peanut sauce is out of this world. If you are looking for the perfect authentic flavourful experience, look no further. My only disappointment is Google doesn't allow a 10 star rating! This will be the go to Pho spot for our family. 10/10

Very good, fresh foods. Amazing soups, crisp veggies, the sliced meats were quality and portion sizes were good. Service is not their strong suit though, they're trying. Come for the food...

Great food, fast seating, good variety on the menu, friendly staff. My favorite Vietnamese.

I ordered vegetables and tofu with fried rice and it was so delicious. Trying an original coconut drink was a great experience.

Not the best Thai/viet I had but it was decent. Pad Thai was 😗

Generous portions of pho. Ordered the pho dac biet (combination), which came with plenty of tendon, tripe, steak, and meatball. Despite the ample portion, I found that the steak was somewhat tough (and was more fatty than actual meat), the broth needed more salt, and the noodles were soft, like they had been sitting for a while. Service was quick, though, and the menu offerings were thorough.

Good Vietnamese food located in Costa Mesa, CA. We went out for dinner and we were seated right away, the food was good, the service was descent and the atmosphere was ok. For a good hearty meal Pho Lantern Café is the place.

2024: Am updating my review to a solid 4-stars for the Costa Mesa area. Had #64 grilled lemongrass chicken vermicelli. 2018: I’d give Pho Lantern Cafe 3.5 stars if I could. It is popular amongst locals and they do a brisk takeout business, but it’s not my favorite spot. Food here is okay; not always consistent and not nearly as good as in Westminster or Garden Grove.

The parking is horrible. Service was a little slow but acceptable. The egg-rolls were pretty bad. They weren't rolled right... Not tight enough and so the flavor was heavy on the oil since they absorbed too much from the fryer. However... The#37 Pho is excellent!!! Great beef base broth.

Monsieur Sammy

Good Vietnamese food located in Costa Mesa, CA. We went out for dinner and we were seated right away, the food was good, the service was descent and the atmosphere was ok. For a good hearty meal Pho Lantern Café is the place.

M A S

2024: Am updating my review to a solid 4-stars for the Costa Mesa area. Had #64 grilled lemongrass chicken vermicelli. 2018: I’d give Pho Lantern Cafe 3.5 stars if I could. It is popular amongst locals and they do a brisk takeout business, but it’s not my favorite spot. Food here is okay; not always consistent and not nearly as good as in Westminster or Garden Grove.

M. S.

The parking is horrible. Service was a little slow but acceptable. The egg-rolls were pretty bad. They weren't rolled right... Not tight enough and so the flavor was heavy on the oil since they absorbed too much from the fryer. However... The#37 Pho is excellent!!! Great beef base broth.

I have mixed experiences here. This was the first place I've ever ordered vegetarian pho and I loved it so much, I brought a couple of people with me on subsequent visits. On my third visit I brought my parents along and had an unfortunate experience. We ordered food and after an initial wait one of the dishes was served. However, we waited another 40 min and when we flagged down a server they asked if we wanted the check. It was infuriating that they forgot our orders (except the one dish) and didn't even realize that from looking at our empty table and asked if we were ready to pay. To be fair they were quite busy with pick up / delivery orders so I sympathize with them but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth. On a later visit the vegetable pho broth was watered down (this was one out of the five times I've eaten veggie pho there) and on my recent visit we ordered spring rolls and were surprised that they charge $8 for two spring rolls. I really wanted to love it here but the overall feeling is negative/mediocre.

I went to this place a number of times and always ordered ox tail pho soup and always left pleasantly impressed by the quality and service. Not this time. The soup was greasy, the taste was mediocre and the service was bad. The young fellow and the young gal were very attentive but the older guy was having a bad day and when I left I knew I was not going to be back. Trust and appreciation is gained step by step but can be lost at once.

Enjoyed the Pho soup. Seems family run and kinda chaotic. Also communication was challenging too as I felt like they didn't understand anything I said and had to get other staff that struggled too. Just asked for more water, silverware and a napkin as there wasn't any on the table and my bill. Had to ask twice as they seemed preoccupied. Customer service is their weakness. Also the man who works there got the table order behind me wrong after 2 attempts and during the third the customer asked him if you would like to write it down. He said no. Their to go/pick ups were complicated for those that came in to pick up. They seemed agitated yet patient.

De De

Enjoyed the Pho soup. Seems family run and kinda chaotic. Also communication was challenging too as I felt like they didn't understand anything I said and had to get other staff that struggled too. Just asked for more water, silverware and a napkin as there wasn't any on the table and my bill. Had to ask twice as they seemed preoccupied. Customer service is their weakness. Also the man who works there got the table order behind me wrong after 2 attempts and during the third the customer asked him if you would like to write it down. He said no. Their to go/pick ups were complicated for those that came in to pick up. They seemed agitated yet patient.

Our family really wanted to like this place. Google review was above 4 stars. We called and they were kind enough to hold a table that seats six. When we arrived at the restaurant, the food coming out of the kitchen looked pretty good as they were on the way to the customers. Unfortunately, the "good" ended there. The restaurant immediately became chaotic. Service took a while to grab our order. Other customers had to wave to the servers for us to get their attention for service. Now for the "bad". The Pho Dac Biet and the kids meal pho soup (3 orders - 2 chicken and 1 beef) arrived warm/near cold instead of hot. The fried egg rolls were hardly crispy. The Pho Dac Biet should have rare steak like all the others that came out of the kitchen. Ours, again, was not only served near cold, but had much less serving compared to other Pho restaurants and did not have the rare steak. The first set that came out of the kitchen must have sat waiting to be served for sometime. The 2nd set of food which was the beef salad and bbq pork with rice were served hot and well seasoned. We may give it another try if we're in the general area. Right now wouldn't recommend based on our experience today.

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding an incident that occurred at your establishment, Pho Lantern, on August 15th at 1:30 PM. I have been a loyal customer since you opened, and while the food has always been excellent, the service my son and I received on this occasion was unacceptable. My son arrived at the restaurant before me as we drove separately. While waiting for me, he asked to use the restroom but was denied access unless he purchased something, despite explaining that he was waiting for his father to arrive shortly. When I arrived, my son informed me of what happened. I immediately spoke with the waiter and expressed that this was unacceptable, and we subsequently left the restaurant and will stop going there. I sincerely hope that you will address this customer service issue to prevent similar incidents in the future. Omar R.

Omar Renteros

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding an incident that occurred at your establishment, Pho Lantern, on August 15th at 1:30 PM. I have been a loyal customer since you opened, and while the food has always been excellent, the service my son and I received on this occasion was unacceptable. My son arrived at the restaurant before me as we drove separately. While waiting for me, he asked to use the restroom but was denied access unless he purchased something, despite explaining that he was waiting for his father to arrive shortly. When I arrived, my son informed me of what happened. I immediately spoke with the waiter and expressed that this was unacceptable, and we subsequently left the restaurant and will stop going there. I sincerely hope that you will address this customer service issue to prevent similar incidents in the future. Omar R.

VERY POOR SERVICE … which is unfortunate because the food is usually decent here… but the service on our last visit was absolutely awful, despite my best efforts to explain what we wanted. My son and I ordered chicken SPRING rolls and a large bowl of chicken and vegetable pho, both WITHOUT cilantro - which I very clearly explained to the server. Unfortunately, the spring rolls came back as fried egg rolls, so we sent them back. The egg rolls were replaced by pork and shrimp spring rolls (not chicken), which despite not being the chicken ones we ordered, we decided to just keep and eat… BUT they turned to be full of cilantro!! Third was the pho, which arrived covered with cilantro, so here again, we sent the dish back. Three minutes later, they returned with the same dish from which they had just scraped the top - still a bunch of cilantro leaves had slipped down into the soup. When I called on the lady to explain the issue, she literally looked like she had no idea what I was talking about, and in mid-sentence, she didn’t acknowledge any of what I had just told her, she just turned away and went back to the kitchen, never to be heard from again. I strongly suspect some communication challenge here, but I simply don’t know how to resolve it. Unfortunately I will not be setting foot in this restaurant ever again. The food is fine but the service is severely and unacceptably lacking.

Not only was I charged $40 for items that cost about $15 elsewhere, it was the most disgusting meal I’ve had in a long time. They also gave me old rice mixed in with new rice. It was brown and Rick solid. I don’t even leave reviews but this experience disgusted me. I’m heated

Been here a few times as it’s near my home but not my go to by any means. This time it absolutely disappointed me. Ordered a brisket pho and they have me almost no noodles and the meat was dreadful. Like what is this quality… really disappointed.

Food was okay, server forgot part of our order…zoom into the attached picture. My bowl of pho had a small floating roach…

Made me sit at a strange spot when there are plenty of other sits.. Rude waiters, never said thank you, angry looking all the times. Foods are okay. Don’t like to come again.

This place is usually good when I come in, but we spent $77 on a delivery and the meat was literally RAW and FROZEN SOLID. Like ice cube frozen. I called in and a staff member told me to just stick it in the microwave and it would be fine…. Unbelievable. No apology or anything. The rest of the order was cold and a total mess, and they didn’t include any spices or sauces. I’m actually in shock at how bad this order was. Who would eat this?

Kody Frank

This place is usually good when I come in, but we spent $77 on a delivery and the meat was literally RAW and FROZEN SOLID. Like ice cube frozen. I called in and a staff member told me to just stick it in the microwave and it would be fine…. Unbelievable. No apology or anything. The rest of the order was cold and a total mess, and they didn’t include any spices or sauces. I’m actually in shock at how bad this order was. Who would eat this?

Ricky Martinez

Been here a few times as it’s near my home but not my go to by any means. This time it absolutely disappointed me. Ordered a brisket pho and they have me almost no noodles and the meat was dreadful. Like what is this quality… really disappointed.