Hoi An Bistro

Santa Clara Country Inspection Report Dated 2-​3-​2016
nspector Observations:
Under counter unit used to store food, is loaded with live and dead cockroaches in food
containers and between doors gasket. Unit is located in the preparation area. In addition, on the dry storage bottom shelf, observed dry mouse droppings, and paper-​towels in dispenser at hand washing facility are loaded with cockroach feces. [CA] A FOOD FACILITY shall at all times be constructed, equipped, maintained, and operated as to prevent the entrance and harborage of animals, birds, and VERMIN, including, but not limited to, rodents and
insects.
Several cockroaches were observed in a food container with cooked chicken in the
undercounter unit. [CA] All FOOD shall be prepared, compounded, packed, stored, transported, kept for sale, and served so as to be pure and free from adulteration and spoilage; shall have been obtained from APPROVED SOURCE; shall be protected from dirt, VERMIN (cockroaches), unnecessary handling, droplet contamination, overhead leakage, or other environmental sources of contamination; shall otherwise be fully fit for human
consumption.
48 HOUR NOTICE–
Our records indicate this facility has a delinquent account and is operating without a valid permit.

This place shouldn’t be in business. It’s heavily infested with roaches, the food was bad, stale, dirty. Don’t ever do this if you have a bad stomach, but if you dare to, walk into the kitchen and see how it really is. The restroom was actually cleaner than the kitchen. It was closed several times for failing inspection, that should give you an idea.

This was the worst restaurant I have been to in years. I would post no stars if I could. I am just posting this so you aren’t as disappointed as I was. Service was bad, food took forever and we left most of what was served on the table– borderline inedible. It was horrible

When you walk in through the front entrance it feels you are stepping into an authentic restaurant in Vietnam with the vibrant colors and huge mural of a day in the life of the Vietnamese.
Now for the food. Mm. Mm. Mm. We ordered the Banh Bèo which is comparable to most Vietnamese restaurants in the area. Great flavor and texture. I ordered the Caramelized Catfish and Pork dish under the Mothers Cooking entrees and it tastes like how my mother-​in-​law makes it at home. It was served in an clay bowl that added depth to the dish.
There was a little issue in regards to paying with credit card when we finished because the lady said the Internet was not working right but luckily we were carrying cash at the time. Overall it was a great experience and we would come here again.

Rude people and bad phở. I ordered combination phở (rare steak, brisket, tendon and gripe). I asked for the rare steak on the side, that’s how I always get phở. They bring out the phở with the rare steak on the side except none of the other meat was in the phở? When I asked where the rest on the combination meat was they said that since I ordered the rare meat on the side that I didn’t get the other meat. Even after I asked for the rest of the meat they only gave me some brisket and wouldn’t give me the tendon or tripe. It wasn’t very good either.

I went to there yesterday. Awesome! I liked the noodle in there, and especially chicken wings. I will be back next time to try another meal.

I recently dined in at this restaurant, and the food was really good. I recommend to try Hue Combo with Bun Thit Nuong (grilled beef with vermicelli). For appetizer, try Crystal Salad, I love that! The customer service was good too. Highly recommend this restaurant!

ROACHES!!!
I went here for lunch today and I liked the décor and how quiet the inside of the restaurant was. I ordered the BBH and wings and my co-​worker ordered the same. Her wings were burnt and mine were just okay. The BBH Special, had absolutely no flavor and you could tell the meat was previously frozen. The noodles were hard at the end which made most of them inedible.
I asked for different condiments (soy sauce, lime, sriracha etc) to try to add flavor to the soup. The cook (and most likely the owner as well) comes out and tells me I shouldn’t add anything to the soup. Thanks for telling me how I should eat, but I think I know what my palate enjoys.
Now to the part that should make you steer far away from this place. The soy sauce that was given to me had a roach floating inside the bottle. THANK GOD I looked before I poured. I told the waiter and he didn’t seem surprised although he was clearly a bit embarrassed. He brought out another one that I inspected before I poured. I really did not have much of an appetite after seeing that first roach but my co worker was still eating so I would take a sip of soup every so often.
Next thing I know a roach crawls onto my plate and starts eating my chicken wings. I yell to the waiter (who is the sweetest guy ever by the way, I feel really embarrassed for him), that there is a roach on my plate! He quietly grabs the plate and walks into the kitchen to throw it out. As my co workers sits there and waits for her bill (which I couldn’t believe she was still going to pay) I notice a roach crawling on her seat.
We had to get out of there immediately. That place is infested with roaches. Please do not eat here. They need a health inspection ASAP!

As the name suggests, Hoi An Bistro serves Central Vietnamese food including a selection of various Bánh Hue (dumplings
).
I got the Banh Ram It (3/​$ 5) and Mi Quang which they offer with Pork & Prawns ($ 8) or with Chicken ($ 8.50)
Banh Ram It is a glutenous rice dumpling with a thicker bottom layer which is fried on the bottom after initial cooking. These were topped with some scallion oil, fried shallots, chopped shrimp, and mung beans (
). The great thing about Banh Ram It is the textural contrast of the crunchy fried bottom vs. the chewy top section and this version did not deliver with the bottom not fried enough. The filling of the dumpling was bland as well.
Along with the pork and shrimp the Mi Quang was topped with scallions, crushed peanuts, fried shallots, and the crisp sesame /​rice crackers (
) The garnish plate was cabbage, jalapeño slices, lime wedge, mint, and perilla.
After the dumplings, my expectations weren’t high for the Mi Quang, but ended up pleasantly surprised. The pork was slices of both regular and belly meat tinged orange with some spice rub (
) and the two shrimp were shell on that were nicely cooked and seasoned. The tumeric noodles were perfect al dente and the broth was richly flavored with a spicy kick, not typical of Mi Quang, from some red pepper flakes.
Very friendly wait staff came by a few times to check on me.
Mi Quang: 4.5 stars
Banh Ram It: 2 stars

If I could give 0 stars I would. It took almost an hour to get our food and all we ordered were spring rolls and egg rolls. They couldn’t find to go utensils and it took 45 mins to bring out Thai tea. No wonder it was empty when we went.

Enjoyed a delicious & beautiful lunch today. First, I was w/​good company.
Second, the atmosphere was wonderful. Third, the owners/​host was very friendly & informative. My lunch date & I shared an appetizer together & 2 different dishes. I forgot what they’re called but I’m posting pix! Everything was delicious! Simple ingredients yet full of flavor.
I will definitely go back again & again & recommend this place to all my friends! I love Vietnamese food!

I’m impressed with the decorations! If you need the place to enjoy the Hoi An environment, so this is the one! Quiet and nice music, too!
The owner, Mrs Lien, is really friendly. You can talk with her and especally, she please to hear your complains or recommendation about her dishes.
The waiter was fine.
Banh Beo is the best here. The kids are really enjoy them with fish sauce.
The combination was ok.
Bun Bo and Mi Quang were good, too.
Enjoy your time!

I found Hoi An Bistro as a decent spot that had an «all around» menu — rice plates, noodles (with and without soup), and other Vietnamese food varieties to satisfy our diverse group. Our group of 8 arrived around 11:45 as the first group in the restaurant and were promptly seated. The waitress, hostess, and all around super star at Hoi An Bistro was extremely helpful in getting us set up, selecting our dishes and even providing picture menus to those less familiar with the cuisine.
Our Hue sampler appetizer was fun and even contained an appetizer that I never tried before: a sticky confection with a crunchy fried banh khot-​like piece attached to the bottom. Good!
For my meal, I decided, pretty quickly, on mi quang — a Quang Nam specialty. Unlike phở, this dish is typically served at restaurants that specialize in Central Vietnam cuisine. Long story short — I was not impressed. The bowl is much too huge with a too large noodle to broth ratio. The broth lacked flavor, making the noodles even blander and more difficult to eat. The toppings and meats did not taste fresh and the saddest part was that the rice cracker tasted so stale — no crunch! :(I would think that this is the dish to get, but I’ve definitely had better.
My lunch buddies were a little more pleased with their dishes. The shaking beef was a winner with compliments for «very tender beef.»
Overall, the food was decent and service very attentive though slow. The restaurant is understaffed, which creates a catch 22 for the whole experience. One woman tended to a modest 6 tables helping with everything from the seating, ordering, drinks and food delivery, and settling the bill. One would think that lunch hour would be busier, but with little staff on hand, you’ll probably be there past.

This is a Phamily favorite.
Kids ask for it because they love the banh beo and banh nam. Parents come back because we love do an hue (viet food from the hue central region). Hoi An is a city in the central region. When I was little I would literally have banh beo for dinner stacking the little dishes high with pride.
The combo is a good sampler plate to get a taste of hue food. The banh ram it and banh beo are stand outs. They provide a lot of fixings on the banh beo which is the best. The banh bot loc is only ok. The banh nam is good (kids love it). Nuoc mam is rock solid.
Bun bo hue has to be tried in any place serving hue food and was very good. To the point where we have trouble sampling anything else on the menu because why would you pass up a solid bun bo hue ever?
We go here pretty much anytime we are in downtown sj. Kid friendly and always plenty of parking.
Best banh beo in sj. There I said it.

Was disappointed with their banh ram it and mi quang. Added a tablespoon of fish sauce in my noodle soup, but that didn’t help with the bland flavors. I ordered the mi quang ga di bo (walking chicken) which would normally be good because it’s the better choice of chicken. However, I tasted as though it was cooked days before and reheated.
Unless Robert Irvine works his Restaurant Impossible magic, I will not be a returning customer.

Yikes… I came here again today (just ate there yesterday) as I wanted to try other dishes. Yesterday we got our food togo. Today we ate there.
Pros:
Empty at lunch
They have their own parking lot
The owner is really nice
Really good thit nuong
Cons:
The restaurant smelled like incense and cleaning supplies. It was hard to taste the food from all these fumes.
The eggrolls were burnt almost black. We sent them back and they came back the same. I think their oil is too hot or too dirty.
The eggrolls were super greasy and fell apart and wasn’t crispy.
Our lettuce was dirty. There was actual dirt on it. We showed them and they got us new lettuce.
The cucumbers tasted like soap.
I ordered the phở ap chao and it was gross
I’m so glad I went to eat there again, as I was planning to host an event there.
If you go, just stick w/​the bun thit nuong.

I went to this place for a casual lunch between work and school with a friend. When I went inside, the décor was very nice and clean looking! It looks more expensive than it actually is! We got seated right away, it wasn’t crowded at all even though it was around 12pm, but the service was really great nonetheless!
There were many options on the menu, all ranging around $ 7-​$ 12. I went with the «Carmalized Coconut and Tofu» vegetarian dish ($ 7), while my friend went with the Pork Chop Rice Plate ($ 8.50). The reason I am giving this place 5 stars is because of the clean look inside and the great service from our waiter! He gave us a nice portion of soup and salad and our lunch plates also came with a side of rice (you can choose from fried rice, tomato rice. and various other types). Everything was perfectly portioned, not too much food and not too little. The food itself was good and came in a timely manner. There was a lot of variety and for the price of only $ 7 it was a steal price!
Our waiter came to check on us multiple times and made sure we had everything we needed! I would definitely come back again for lunch!

I was so surprised that this nice little restaurant is open right across from my church. The decoration was definitely nice but a little overwhelming as they try to fit too many things in one little place. It does however give that feeling of Hoi An and many of the decorations are representing what I’ve saw in Hoi An (lovely little historic old town in Vietnam).
So food was average. I thought their Mi Quang was interesting as they did a great job w/​the meat but overall it is only average. I was hoping that the sauce would be more flavorful. Anyway, I would love to come back and try their Mit Tron since I’ve tried it the last couple of times I came. The waitress serving us was very cute and attentive :)

Yummy!

CASH ONLY. My co-​worker told me that Hoi An Bistro was open so had to try it. It’s on E. Santa Clara St near 9^th, three blocks from City Hall in the old Asian Fusion location.
I was the 2^nd table at the restaurant. Service is slow right now, they really need to work on it.
You can get hot tea or water or both. I just asked for hot tea, but the girl brought water first. Tea was just a cup & was ok.
Menu is pretty long, many things sounded interesting. Lunch & dinner prices are the same, no lunch special deals.
I got:
#25. Mi Quang Tom Thit — pork meat & shrimp tumeric noodle $ 8. It was a good size bowl with lots of yellow (from tumeric) thin rice noodle, 4 small pieces of pork, 2 large shrimp, a side of greens to add to the noodle dish. Some broth on the bottom of the bowl. Tasted just ok.
Took me almost 1hr to get my meal & pay. They need to make dishes faster.
CASH only for now. They hope to get the credit card machines soon. No to-​go menu available, no business card either.
Open: Daily 10a-​10p