Hea Cafe

The customer service was below mediocre. We were the only table there, and there was only one waiter. Being the only table, I’d expected at least somewhat courteous and attentive service, but he never came to check on us. Didn’t say anything besides «Are you ready to order?»
The spring rolls are small and sad, not filled with very much ingredients.
The phở broth was good, noodles were yummy. Beware, when you order the «wontons» with your noodles, you’re actually getting dumplings. And you only get three or four.

Worst customer service ever! It was my first time trying out the restaurant for starters and I made it clear to the server as well. After my meal came, it didn’t look appealing at all. I immediately let the server know after I gave it a taste that I didn’t want this and if I could exchange for something else. I’ve worked as a server in the service industry for many years now and if a table ever complained, I would immediately make them happy and get whatever request they wanted. Not HERE! The server said I wasn’t going to be able to exchange it. I got up to pay for the check and what looked like manager noticed I was upset and asked if everything was ok. I told her that it wasn’t and explained the situation. The server then whispered something in the Chinese language and they both just giggled! I left a Fat Zero tip and will NEVER return here again!

I usually do takeout here. Tonight I got sesame chicken instead of sesame tofu and I couldn’t eat my meal after a long day at work (I don’t eat meat). This is the first time this has happened but the guy at the front was rude on the phone when I called to place my order AND he was texting at the counter in front of me while I was paying. The service here is nothing to write home about. To top it all off, there was no soy sauce in my takeout! The kid that normally helps me (he wears an airforce shirt a lot) is awesome and very attentive. The food is cheap but it’s a good value for what you get. I’m revoking my payment for the meal tonight, but I’ll be back because they’re quick with takeout orders and they’ve always gotten my order right up until now. To top it off they didn’t answer the phone when I called to tell them about my fudged order and they were still open for a good 20 mins :(

Ugh! I used to really like this place but I returned this evening for take out looking forward to it. and it’s TERRIBLE! Spring rolls were dried out, noodles were crunchy!!! Vermicelli bowl is lackluster, no carrot or cucumber. Sauce, totally bland. They couldn’t even be bothered to cut up the egg roll. No, no, no. It pisses me off I wasted a meal and my $!!! So disappointed.

Nicc spot near walmart
Off the beatn path… Walking distance to a few hotel Very cheap. $ 7.95 soup

Ordered the Pad Thai, and was disapponted. The veggies were pale and so was the chicken; it all tasted boiled and very little flavor. Noodles were all stuck together in one big lump as well. Lunch tab for just the pad thai, no combo was $ 10. I won’t be returning.

The place was nice the food was good… but the bathroom. I saw a seal– there was a dolphin swimming in the sink. Urf urf

Decent Chinese food. Good for lunch. I had the sweet and sour chicken with fried rice and an egg roll. As an appetizer I had pan fried dumplings (probably the best tasting out of what I got). One thing I didn’t like was that sodas come out of a can and you’re charged $ 1.75 for it… other than that the pricing was decent. My total was about $ 16.

Yummy !!! It’s cold in here, stop by for lunch. Lovely restaurant. Very clean an warm. Will comeback.

Yum. Good Phở. Perfect for a cold day. Super fast, perfect for a lunch hour. I always get the Phở or their pork vermicelli (bun), so I can’t speak to any other dish they serve. The people are nice, food is consistent, I recommend.

My husband and I were pleasantly surprised by our experience here. The restaurant was relatively empty, especially compared to the crowds next door at Cabo Bob’s, so we weren’t sure how good the food was going to be. We ordered the egg-​rolls and wontons for appetizers, grilled-​pork/​shrimp vermicelli bowl with fried-​egg and grilled-​pork/​egg-​roll rice plate for the main-course.The food was all delicious, perhaps not the best in town, but I would not mind coming back here again soon.

We enjoyed it. They have a lot of vegetarian choices and they can make vegan accommodations easily. Good tofu spring rolls and peanut sauce! I also recommend General Tso’s tofu with broccoli.

Ugh, well I try to start out positive these days so this place is clean and feels clean. The old guy running the place was attentive and friendly. The food came out super fast… but the food isn’t that good.
I got the Singapore noodles. It had some kind of yellow curry sauce with pork and shrimp. The shrimp were clearly frozen as they probably always will be in this area of Texas, but they had minimal flavor to them. The cuts of pork were also really fatty. Despite the amount of shrimp and pork, which was generous, I didn’t enjoy the food. The flavors were off and even adding some of the condiments from the little tray of goodies on the table couldn’t do enough to save this dish.

Very average if that. We were craving noodle soup and didn’t want to drive all the way up to Chinatown so we came in here. Wish I made the drive up north instead. The Bún bò Hue was just ok. The broth was spot on but the ingredients were seriously lacking, where’s the pig blood and pig knuckle which is the best part of Bún bò. My Hu Tieu noodle soup was a massive disappointment. There was barely any meat and the 2 «won-​tons» in it I could swear are the frozen bagged ones you get at Trader Joe’s, no joke. It was lunch hour on a Saturday and the place was completely empty. Phở Saigon at this same hour is always packed, for good reason too. Make the drive up there, avoid this place or go next door to Cabo Bob’s.

Bun thit nuong chai gio is how I typically determine the quality of any Viet restaurant I go to. I’ve had it enough times to judge the freshness of the vegetables and pairing of hot/​cold, spicy/​cooling etc.
The bowl I’ve gotten several times now is good. It’s definitely not the best but my one complaint are the warm noodles. I prefer the noodles be room temperature as it’s a great contrast to uncooked bean sprouts, grilled warm meat and cooled refreshing cucumber. Overall I wouldn’t pass the place up but definitely not the best around.

I was really craving some phở but had to leave with bún curry (rice vermicelli) w/​tofu instead. It’s a pretty good Vietnamese place for veggies like me but nothing special. It seemed like there was no curry sauce as promised on the menu so I don’t see the difference in getting the Bún Nuong versus the Bún Curry. The phở is cooked in beef broth, so if you’re okay with that, go right ahead and order Phở w/​tofu, veggies, or egg roll.
There was absolutely no other customers in there when I walked in around 7:00 on a Friday which was was surprising, and I ordered carry-​out so even when I leaving, it remained a ghost town. I think I will come back sometime if I’m doing grocery shopping in the area and I’m craving it again. But if a friend is in town and we are looking to go somewhere good, this won’t be at the top of our list.

I have been to HEA several times and I am always impressed. Even though there may be a language barrier and lack of service, the dishes have always been a delightful marriage of spices that always makes my tongue scream UMAI!
The phở is a nice portion, broth always steaming hot and noodles never over done. All the usual accompaniments come fresh and crisp. As hard as it may be to finish because of size, I never want to waste a drop of the liquid gold in that bowl.
I ordered the bahn mi to go today and still was very happy with what I received. Now wishing that I took a picture of this masterpiece, I can only say that it has so far been the best one I have found in the area. Crunchy aromatic French roll, tender meat, wonderful sauce, and bountiful with cucumbers and pickled goodies. They even put a little container of fish sauce in the box that I’ve never gotten with my sandwiches to go. Kind of pulled at my heart strings for a moment. Just a moment passes quickly though as I enjoy eating it and have a lovely iced thai tea that cools the slight slice of the jalapeño.
Yes I will continue to come here in the future… A LOT

My client and I view a couple of homes in south Austin. We’ve built up an appetite on our home tour so I favored vietnamese. We were greeted promptly and seated. This is a true café which is limited on specialty vietnamese dishes but overall accommodating to general Viet food. I opt for the stir fried beef rice dish garnished with fresh cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, and lemon fish sauce. Beef was a bit oily but tasty to bite in. Steam rice was too dry. The owner LAN was friendly and check on all the patrons to make sure if we needed anything. I will comeback to try other dishes to monitor consistency on food and service. This first visit special and I don’t see anything that would shy me away. Tucked away in neigborhood center. They been in business for 7 years so I’m optimistic that it will continue. Nice to have a vietnamese eatery in the limited south side on Austin.

Kinda a crappy location. IDK how they get any business besides people driving by. Anyway, the atmosphere in there is fine. Really open. It was a cold day and I was hoping to get some delicious hot and sour soup. I mean, it’s Vietnamese AND Chinese, right? Well, they basically have almost nothing in the way of Chinese, save for 3 or 4 Chinese American staples: Sweet & Sour Chicken, Kung Pao, General Tsos, and something else. No hot and sour soup, only wonton. Yuck. I was super disappointed.
Also the service was pretty crappy.
This was fine for a last-​minute lunch but I won’t be back. Mediocre at best.

Real star rating 3.5.
We came here out of convenience because we were starving and running errands.
So it was a little bit of an awkward experience with the waiter. He didn’t really speak much at all but I have to give it to him — each dish was pretty much on our table as soon as it was cooked (granted we were the only table that ordered… The other two tables of people were closing up shop).
Crab wontons — plus is that it was filled with a lot of cream cheese, odd part was that I think it had shredded carrots in it, and negative is I couldn’t quite taste any crab.
Mi Don Stir Fried Noodles — this is the first place I’ve actually gotten crunchy crisp noodles when ordering stir fried noodles. The picture taken of it is pretty blurry but I still wanted to post it so people have an idea. The veggies were not overcooked and still had a slight crunch. The way the dish was allowed for sauce in the bottom where some noodles could soak and soften if you like. Sauce had a good flavor and not too salty. I added my fave chili in oil sauce for some spice. Not too bad… would’ve liked a little more chicken. Wouldn’t order again but do not regret ordering it.
Cup of wonton soup — this was a pretty typical wonton soup but for being only $ 1.75, this is a steal.