OB Noodle House & Sake Bar

Reviews 3

WA

Walter Macalma

I love Pho. I literally eat Vietnamese food weekly, more specifically pho. My go to is an XL bowl (extra tripe and meatballs), spring and eggs rolls split with someone if possible, vietnamese coffee and Im good. Yes thats a lot, but thats me. I started coming here before that weirdo Guy Fieri came here, in fact this place was very popular before his nuclear glowing hair shined their light on it. Very popular with the locals. Its got a very OB attitude to it. Its solid late night eats for the area, but I just never thought it was "authentic". The bowls were too small the profiles dialed down. Dont get me wrong the broth is pretty good, but remember I said I Love Pho, love it so much I took cooking classes and had friends teach me so I can tell the subtleties that can separate good from great. My very first though was, this place is small, its dark and got a lot of party kids who look to be local. I was right on all accounts and realized thats just OB. You have to deal with the crowds and the wait, but if you can snag a spot with some friends you can have a solid time with the food, drinks and area. Tip: If the wait is long, give your cell #, they will text you when your up and you can track the progress with a link theyll send you. This is ingenious, but also means the wait could be significant and probably is if this technology is being offered. Im certainly not an OB local, but I am San Diego born and bred and if you know where the good stuff is up on Kearny its worth the drive. If your not a "will drive" kind of foodie then this is all youll know because it is the only contender for Vietnamese food in this immediate area. Chow Fun is salty and overloaded with sauce, I prefer mine dry, but had no option for this, good noddles. No Flank, what kind of anything Vietnamese pho based noodle shop is this. What is flank not up there with tripe. Talk about westernized. Where are the onions for garnish. Broth is ok, ingredients are ok, bar is pretty cool. I wish the area was a little cleaner though, not their fault necessarily. Casual dining for sure. Egg rolls are pretty good. Well seasoned, but perhaps a little heavy on the fat mixture, hot and the mint tops it off nicely. Sauce was light on the fish sauce. Its more a pho based noodle lounge than a Vietnamese restaurant. Summer Shrimp is pretty cool looking, but nothing amazing, just noodle wrapped and fried shrimp, a thicker sauce would help. Rice is well cooked, but limited menu. Beef is tender and excellent on all dishes. The chicken wings are only ok. They arent salt and pepper or anything like that. Overly sauced, not enough crunch. Service is so so, Ive had great and Ive had mediocre on visits. For being busy its pretty good, but like I said its more lounge than restaurant so I really do differentiate between the 2. I do like the fact that the owners still work and come by here. Keep it real. In conculsion this is not a Vietnamese restaurant, not a pho place, not an Asian fusion place. Its a Pho based fusion noodle lounge. Equally as much about the drinks as the food, built to serve the local community in their own unique way. Do not come here hungover looking for the cure, it will be so loud it will negate any healing effects of the golden broth filled with electrolytes. I only give 4 stars because Im not trying to make this anything different than what it really is. 3.5 for the food, 4.5 for the concept and ambiance when not packed, 3 for the authenticity.

LY

Lyndsi Winer

This place is hands down amazing!! The food is absolutely some of the best food that you will ever come across. Their service leaves quite a bit to be desired and it seems like their servers are a little absent minded if you get what Im saying, I mean it is in OB. If you can have patience with that and the fact that you wont get the server back to your table all that often through the meal the food here will not disappoint. I have been here dozens of times and Ive come to the determination of the things I like and the things I absolutely LOVE! My go to items are always House Special Fried Rice which is a combo of beef, chicken, shrimp and the best little Chinese sausages you will ever have. Its absolutely one of the best food items Ive ever had! I also cant help but get the Fresh Spring Rolls. They are a raw style spring roll with shrimp and a slice of pork with lots of mint and other veggies in the middle, you can also get them with tofu. It comes with the most delicious peanut sauce you have ever had! They are filling and a great cheap appetizer. Everything here is very reasonably priced! I also always must get a side beef broth. Its only 1.50$ and when I dont want the Pho, which is what they are known for, the little bowl of beef broth is perfect. Its what they are known for and its amazing! The star anise really comes through and any newcomer Ive brought here has always reacted more than pleasantly when I introduce them to just a spoonful of this broth. Some of the other dishes I get but, less often are the Crispy Noodle Chicken and the terriyaki chicken dish was also very delicious. Its been some time but their spicy garlic chicken wings are also extremely good! My boyfriend and I come here split the broth and the spring rolls and usually can also find a dish to split and still go home with food! This place can be pretty busy so my number one rule is call ahead ask the wait, get on the list if there is one and if theres not RUN down there dont walk! Ive called and had no wait and then arrived no less than 3 mins later to a 30 min wait, yes it happens that fast Im not kidding! If the wait is a half hour or so there are plenty of little bars close to kill time dont worry they text you when your table is ready and if its just too long to wait try their other location about 6 blocks away! I guarantee that will be far less of a wait!

DO

Douglas LeClair

UPDATE: Quality has definitely slipped in the last half year as they put effort into their new location and built out their patio. Prices have gone up, quality is the same, consistency is a little more hit and miss. The interior remodel is no longer cozy and laid back. Half the inside seating is on concrete slabs that is very uncomfortable. For the reduced happy hour, 30%-50% of the beers are marked with an asterisk are not on sale. Tap list is not rotating as quickly as it used to, so some beers are sitting for months. For me it has been between Pizza Port and OBNH for my Ocean Beach hangout and Ive been going to Pizza Port much more often -- much better beer selection, and better overall value. 3.5 stars ORIGINAL REVIEW from 2 years ago: Weve come here on average of almost once every other week for over three years. The selection of beers is amazing considering it is the sake gets top-billing on the restaurant title. The pho, and all the sauces are made in-house in huge batches every day. You really cant go wrong with anything on the menu, but our favorites are the Korean Short Ribs, the Garlic Wings, The #1 OB Special Pho, the Beef Dry Chow Fun, and the House Special Fried Rice. The Happy Hour is a generous time frame (3-6pm) and they have a $2 craft beer on tap until 6pm as well. You have to keep in mind they were featured on an episode of Diners Drive-ins and Dives so when it occasionally re-airs, expect a line of at least an hour to two hours. They have an excellent waiting list queue system that texts you when your table is ready, and allows you to see your place in the list. I guess the thing that keeps me coming back to this place is the people. Ive never been to a bar/restaurant that is this family friendly and has a really good cross-section of all types of people (sports people, tourists, beach locals, the occupational drinkers, etc)