Most, if not ALL, patrons are Vietnamese. I did spy a Hispanic guy. But he was with a Vietnamese girl so that doesn’t count.

Seeing as this place is mostly occupied by Vietnamese people, you KNOW their food must be authentic and worthwhile.

My bf and I went crazy (haven’t had real Vietnamese food in a LONG time) and ordered Banh Beo Chen (10 little plates), 2 bowls of Bun Bo Hue, and Banh Bot Loc (5 pieces). Yes, we are fatties! But it only came out to $21!! Mind you we did not finish everything and had to to-go the banh bot loc.

I’d definitely come back. What a great place. Good service and plenty of seating. 

To all non-Vietnamese, word from the wise (fatty), this isn’t pho — it is nothing like it. However, definitely worth a try.

We were visiting from SF and some friends took us to this place they kept raving about and kept taking pictures of. It sure did sound amazing and looked good.. but I had to try it for myself.
We quickly got seated and ordered right away since the menu isn’t too complicated. I had a hard time deciding between the bun bo hue {which everyone got} but I opted for the Bun Tom Cua {AKA sour catfish soup}. NOW THIS WAS AMAZING. It is so hard to find this noodle soup in SF and I was really glad to have tried it at Hoai Hue. It was a fairly big portion and came with huge shrimp balls, we all left with left overs, but that could also be because we ordered two orders of banh beo which was also delicious. MMM I cannot wait until I’m back in SD to come back and eat.

The first time I tried Bun Bo Hue at a different Vietnamese restaurant who doesn’t specialize in this specific type of Vietnamese soup, I almost gagged. It was perhaps the most traumatic culinary experience I’ve ever had because when Bun Bo Hue goes wrong, it can go terribly, tragically wrong. I thought I was studly enough to take on any strange soup concoction, having cut my teeth on pho and menuedo. How wrong I was. Bun Bo Hue contains ingredients that can make the insides of even the most hardened food conneiseur freeze up in stark terror. After the bad experience, I was sure I had PTSD as even the mere mention of Bun Bo Hue made me feel dizzy and break out in a cold sweat.

I consulted my Vietnamese friends, who cheerfully scolded me that you ONLY get Bun Bo Hue from places that know what the hell they’re doing. Lots of pho resturants will throw Bun Bo Hue on the menu, and just wing it despite not having chefs who know how to make food from that region of “The Nam”. They indicated Hoai Hue is the mecca of Bun Bo Hue, and reluctantly, I let them take me there.

Jackpot! After I got my first tenuous bowl down, the proper neurons and taste receptors fired off in my brain, and an addiction was born. I am now addicted to Hoai Hue’s Bun Bo Hue, although admittedly I have them leave out the pork blood and pork hock in true caucasian style.

Wow! I fell in love with this place after eating there once with friends. Everything I tried was good (especially the soups), and the service was fantastic too. If you’re into oriental food, you should really try Hoai Hue Restaurant.

This place is BOMB dot com!! This little gem is known for their Bun Bo Hue and I have yet to find a place that makes better BBH. Unlike other places like Mien Truong, the broth is full of flavor, it always comes out fresh off the stove and scorching HOT. mm..I’m salivating just thinking about it! Sometimes I’ll come here several times a week because the withdrawals are unbearable. Prices are definetely cheap. For just $6 for a big ol bowl, you’ll definetly leave with a full tummy and a full wallet.

Also, the pork combination rice dish and the porridge are both a mussst try! The flavor is on point. Sometimes I’ll end up getting the BBH plus one of these two dishes because its just too hard to resist!

This place is a family owned business, so the staff is extremely friendly and attentive. I’m telling you, you cant go wrong here people!

Thank you yelpers for helping me and my friends find this place! Truly a hidden gem on El Cajon. I had bun bo hue and it was the first time I had it and still to this day is the best tasting I’ve ever experienced besides homemade. There’s also a dish that has circular rice paper, served with pork cracklings and shredded dried shrimp that was really good. This place is hard find off the street so google maps or gps this place before you try to find it.

Hoai Hue gets my 5 star review for being the best Vietnamese restaurant in the area. That being said, I must point out their amazing udon (noodle soup) which is my favorite dish. 
They have a great staff that’ll serve you everything with a smile and make sure you have all you need. I admire that kind of customer service and believe that other places should learn from them.
To sum it up: great food at good prices, fantastic service. Enjoy!

Came in after reading the positive reviews about the Bun bo hue. They close at 730 pm so you need to get here early for if you plan on dinner here. The restaurant’s decor  is nothing fancy and the area is borderline scary. 

I started out with the banh beo for an appetizer and followed with a large large bowl of Bun bo hue minus the pork blood and tendon. The bowl was gigantic and contained crab meat, a slice of a pigs foot, and a variety of meats with a spicy broth. I combined the bean sprouts, lettuce and limes for added flavor. The soup was incredibly satisfying and so fulling. The banh beo was warm and fresh and they topped each one with tiny pieces fried pork skin for added flavor. 

I can understand now why Hoai Hue Restaurant has such a high rating great Vietnamese food at reasonable prices makes this a winner in my eyes. 

Definitely will be returning here in the future to try some other entrees.