Hale Vietnam

we love this place! they always accommodate my family with 2 toddlers. the service is exceptional whether dine in a take out! the servers are personable and great sense of humor with my kids. its clean and not bad priced. try the imperial roll bun and salt pepper shrimp its so yum. the phở is always yummy and consistent in flavor! also try their lemonade ice tea. this will always be our go to phở place!

Good Phở and Summer Rolls

This was my go to place whenever I was craving Vietnamese food, but I haven’t been there for a year since they increased their prices. I do miss their imperial rolls and phở which was good quality. Now I go to Saigon right across the street.

There’s one place on the mainland where I currently live that comes very close.
The taste is very authentic Vietnamese and is always fresh and good!
Still crave this place from time to time, four stars instead of five because the service is iffy depending on time of day

Let me give you a little backstory: This place used to be my go-​to restaurant when my mom and brother were craving some vietnamese food. We always got the spring rolls, phở and summer rolls which were all very delicious. The summer rolls are the freshest tasting out of many vietnamese restaurants I’ve been to and the peanut sauce is also really amazing so I suggest you give that a try. The spring rolls are also good, served with a sweet sauce which goes well with the roll. The phở is just like any other vietnamese restaurants phở, not all that special. The prices are more on the expensive side but I guess the food taste makes up for it. Our waiter almost always was the same lady, I didn’t get her name but she was very sweet and kind. All the other workers are ok, it always feels like they’re glaring at you which can get a little uncomfortable.
Now for the bad part: My friends and I were craving some vietnamese so I took them here since they have never been to this restaurant before. Everything was going well until the end, when the guy with the glasses (I think he’s the manager or boss) ringed us up. We all got separate checks so I went first. He charged me for my meal, gave me back my change but when I counted back my change there was about 10 – 15 dollars MISSING! (I paid with a 100 dollar bill) When I confronted him about the missing change, he gave me the most stinkiest look I’ve seen in my life and rudely handed back my change. He didn’t even consider saying a simple «sorry». WTF? So you steal my money and when I confront you, you look at me like I was the one who did wrong? I have never felt more cheated before. I’m guessing he took it out as tip but you can’t just be taking out money like that out of peoples change! (I’m pretty sure thats ILLEGAL) People tip for the service and if your service is shit, its not mandatory for them to tip you. I don’t know if he thought that just because we’re teens we weren’t going to tip (which we were going to after we got our change back) but the fact that he sneaked the money out of my change without even telling me a word was just simply SHADY and I was NOT in the mood to tip after that. The worst part is, my friend went after I did and he TOOK MONEY OUT OF HER CHANGE TOO!!! She didn’t notice until after we walked out the door but at this point we were completely through with his bullshit so we just decided to donate that money and left. It makes me wonder how many other customers he has cheated and stolen money from.
1 star for the nice lady and food. ZERO stars for the man who stole our money. At restaurants like these, or any restaurants in general, customer service should be top priority. Yes, the taste of the food is important but how are the customers suppose to enjoy their food when most of the workers are glaring at you? How are customers suppose to feel good after eating when the cashier decides to steal money from you??? Utterly disgusted by that man, I will not be stepping a foot in here again and I will never recommend anyone here ever again. Bye bye forever Hale Vietnam!

I love phở and Vietnamese food. My friend Kekoa suggested we go here. We both ordered combination phở but I ordered mine with egg noodles for $ 1.50 more.
The Imperial Rolls are awesome. I love the rice paper wrapper which is super crispy. The waitress said that one of he rolls split open so she brought us an extra one. I wouldn’t have noticed so that was nice.
Lemonade soda was good. Nothing special but as expected.

I have been patronizing this establishment for over 20 years! Consistent service and food!
You will not be disappointed

This is my second time going to Hale Vietnam. I wasn’t quite sure why it was so long since but we decided to try it. It would be my husband’s first time there.
Once I sat down, I immediately knew why I hadn’t come back. I’m more of a seafood phở kind of person and Hale Vietnam doesn’t have anything on the menu like that. I usually like it with shrimp, fish balls, and squid.
Since they didn’t have that, I decided to try the chicken balls. It was okay. I think I just miss my fish balls. My husband got the flank and raw steak phở. He really enjoyed everything about his phở.
We also ordered spring rolls. It was a little different from what we’re used to. This one had imitation crab, which gave it an interesting taste.
These spring rolls were very tasty. And what made it stand out from other restaurants is the amount of lettuce they give. Of all the phở places I’ve been to, they almost never have the right amount if leaves per spring roll. Most times, at other restaurants, we always had to split the last leaf or half it.

Noodles in their phở is always so good. They serve it out so fast. Service and food are wonderful.
Definitely would recommend.

Hale Vietnam is probably one of my favorite places on the island to get phở. And that’s saying a lot because there are a TON of phở places here!
I like that it’s very clean in here and it’s a really convenient location. There’s always parking thanks to the parking lot that’s shared by all the restaurants and businesses (cheap parking also).
I’m not much of an adventurous phở eater: I like my phở with rare steak and rare steak only. And phở is the cure for everything in my books! Especially to cure those deadly hangovers and sickness. And I also love ordering the spring rolls here at Hale Vietnam. It’s the perfect combination to eat with phở and you never feel completely stuffed, just a comfortable full!

I was craving phở today and came here today for my fix. The phở here is ok. Customer service here is good. They lack the other hot chilli oil sauce on the table so I’m not sure if you will need to ask for it. Parking can be tough and it’s all metered and paid parking.

CODY drove to Kaimuki
CODY chooses HALE VIETNAM for dinner
CODY had to wait outside for 15 minutes for open table
CODY orders beef phở and stuffed chicken wings
CODY made wise choice
CODY happy with food and service
CODY drove out of Kaimuki

Solid! Really solid place. I couldn’t ask for too much more, the place was affordable at $ 10-​$ 15 per person including tip. The taste was authentic here and the restaurant was aesthetically pleasing. There was lots of space to not only sit, but also room in between each table. Food took about 10−15min to come and the portions were enough to feed me — a growing young man. You may need to pay for parking at a meter or the nearby parking lot — keep this in mind! From what I read and tasted, Imperial Rolls are king here. I loved them and suggest to order anything that includes it. I believe it is family owned and workers really care about the restaurant, I love supporting «ma & pop» places. Just a good place I’m content with.

Love the food here. Every dish I’ve tried has been yummy, unfortunately the prices are such a turn off. The only reason I use to dine here was out of sheer convenience, since I have a short lunch and this place is just around the corner.
Also, The service is just ok. I’ve never been treated badly, but never all that great.

Delicious Phở. It gets pretty busy at lunch. But the service is pretty quick. The eggrolls were a bit different than what im used to. The wrap was a bit tougher. Not crunchy i guess?

We got here, ordered, and not even five minutes later we got our Phở. It was delicious.

I have been coming here for most of my life with my family. After my last experience, I am so disappointed and will never eat here again. The customer service here is HORRIBLE! The angry guy behind the register is always arguing with me about my order, rude when I ask him questions, doesn’t even say thank you after I pay. He tried to charge me $ 70 for my take out and gave me a hard time when I asked him to see the menu to verify the prices. Turned out that he was charging me wrong and my total was really $ 55. He tried to make me feel like I was wrong when it was really him. Many years ago, he also argued with me when I asked him nicely if he could separate the siracha sauce and plum sauce. Told me he couldn’t do it period. He needs customer service training. I kept coming here because it was a family favorite but the service has really gone down hill in the last 8 years.

Really enjoyed the food! The ambience is just ok. Service was quick but not particularly attentive. Parking is easy in several nearby lots.
We were pretty hungry when we ordered so I wanted to get more than we would have been able to eat but Alessandro provided the voice of reason. We ordered only entrees. I got the tofu sautéed in peanut sauce and he got the vegetable fried rice. The food came out in about 15 minutes, which is ok because it was a Saturday evening and the place was buzzing.
My tofu was fried, sliced, and served over noodles in that yum peanut sauce. There was a LOT of it. The fried rice was huge, came with a bowl of vegetable broth and a side salad. I wondered why he got so much food, but that was just my hungry eyes asking. The food I got was more than sufficient and it was delicious. Everything was super yummy. The peanut sauce was just right. The fried rice tasted just like at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn. I would have posted photos but we ate the food so quickly that it was practically gone before I remembered. Oops!
The main reason Hale Vietnam does not get 5 stars is the service and ambience. Most importantly, I ordered a dish that I did not know came served over noodles. When I ordered it, the waitress asked me if I wanted white or brown rice. That question, said in that way, meant to me that the rice came with the dish and I was to merely decide which one I wanted. I was surprised to find the noodles and so didn’t really eat the rice. I was charged for it though. That’s not cool. On the positive, we sat down, got menus and water immediately, ordered within 5 minutes, and were served efficiently. We were never checked on once our food arrived but the servers were always around so if we needed something we could have flagged them down. The ambience is not horrible, just not that great. It might be the lighting, the paintings on the wall, the tables… I don’t know. At a certain point I looked around and said, «meh». But since the food is so good, I don’t suppose it really matters all that much.
Overall, we really enjoyed our meals and will definitely come back.

Our family have been coming here for over 15 years. The food and service were good. Last year the cashier started to add tips to my bill?! I don’t know if they do this to tourist to rip them off but tip should be something the customer decide to how much. Remind you it was not for a large party, this was for party of two or three. I ask the manager what it was for and he tries to not hear what I was saying. I never give one start for a restaurant but management really sucks.

Came in for lunch on a Sunday with a group of six. The wait wasn’t long and service is quick. We shared an imperial roll and I got a large phở combination. Both very delicious. Their phở is one of my favorite on the island.

Good food but WAY OVER PRICED !!
Very rude staff, one 5ft waiter is able to look over every ones head, I tried to be friendly with him, but he just ignored me. Will never go again.

Hale Vietnam…
Award winning Vietnamese food…
Considered by locals to be the best…
It was our family favorite for years…
And now… Not so much.
Let me start by saying the food is good. Really good. I have dreams about the Imperial rolls. Our family will sometimes still brave coming here because the food is delicious.
Why three stars? Why do you seem disappointed?
The service. Our family has been coming here for years. Before I was born. I think my dad’s been coming before he even met my mom. But the past couple years the service has been so rude that it’s slowly been deteriorating our love of this restaurant. The servers seem annoyed they have to take your order or fill up your water glass. I ordered the Vietnamese coffee and no one warned me that it’s the equivalent to 3 sips. Also, the prices have been steadily increasing.
So yeah, if we start really craving the imperial rolls we’ll come in but I actually prefer the phở at Mama Phos in Aina Haina.

There’s a reason this place has been here… like forever. I’ve had phở many times at many places and the beef phở here is one of the best, in my opinion. I’ve had phở where the beef was chewy, got stuck in your teeth and hard to swallow. The beef in my phở here was tender and simply delicious. The soup broth was so tasty that I was tempted to drink everything. We started with the imperial rolls — deep fried spring rolls served with basil, mint, lettuce, cucumbers and rice noodles. You eat this by making a lettuce wrap. One thing to note is that the rolls were obviously cooked at the right temperature because it was crisp and not soggy. I was also impressed with the quick service we received. If going for lunch, go early because the restaurant fills up rather quickly. Expect to pay $ 30 – 35 for lunch for two. It’s a little cheaper without the appetizer.

This was the one restaurant I never thought I would ever write a bad review for. I mean I’m 28 and started eating here since I was 7. It’s been 21 years and my family are still regulars. I just feel like tonight we were disappointed in many ways.
We made a reservation for hours ahead of time earlier in the day for dinner at 8pm. When we arrived, not only were they not apologetic that they misheard and only saved a table for much fewer people, the server was unwilling to accommodate us. We overlooked their first mistake of not getting the reservation right since people make mistakes. After that the table next to ours offered to move so as to make more room. The servers were still reluctant to accommodate us and at one point even raised his voice. What gives? Some of our family members were already quite hungry and wanted to head to another restaurant to eat but other family members were gracious to stay and give them business since they finally gave in to arrange their seats. The same server who raised his voice was still shooting angry looks over at us the whole time. I mean, talk about having an uncomfortable meal.
You outdid yourself this time Hale Vietnam. I used to introduce friends to your spot for phở. Now the servers have become quite hot tempered and service has gone down the drain. I’m saddened to say we won’t be frequenting here anymore. Also lets not forget the fact that many say their quality has also been dwindling over the years. :(

I used to be a regular, and been coming here on and off for 15 years. The phở is just ok the imperial rolls the only bomb thing here but the service is horrendous. We’ve called to make a reservation for 12, they heard us wrong and got us a table for 4. When we arrived, there were multiple tables available but not only were they reluctant to arrange the table for us even though they were the ones with poor comprehension over the phone, they gave us a bad attitude and didn’t give a crap about us. We still sat down and ordered despite that because my grandma was there and she didn’t want the hassle of going anywhere else. I’m not coming back here again.

Highly disappointed. Been coming here for years and would usually be a decent review until tonight (even though a snail did fall out of my spring roll before when I was younger). Had a reservation for a large family party – but when we showed up, they claimed it was for 4 and were NOT nice about it, exclaiming it was our fault (???) and told us we had to sit separately. I haven’t seen many of these people in my family for a while, so I really wanted everyone to sit together. (Also, why would we make a reservation for 4 when there were 3 other 4-​person tables open? We know this place, & we know when it gets packed.)
But okay, fine. Miscommunication happens. But their attitude was quite distressing, and I wanted to walk out at that point, but stayed for the sake of my grandma who didn’t want to look bad for walking out. So we snagged a large table that would seat most of us, and the kind couple next to it offered to give up their small table so we could have those seats too. When we told the server, he kept refusing for the couple despite what they said, and even started raising his voice at us. I went to the manager and got approval, but upon walking back the waiter was STILL yelling «No! That’s not possible» to us.
In the end, we got our people seated, really bad temperament from the servers, and probably spit in our food.
We are never coming back again.

So happy to see Hale Vietnam in business a decade + after I moved from Honolulu. The food, alas, doesn’t seem to be quite as fresh, filling, and tasty as it was in the 1990s, early 2000s. At this point I’d have to classify it as quite good but not modestly dazzling as it used to be. Not sure what it is – my bet is the the veggies, leafy greens are not as fresh as they once were. Still, a worthwhile stop in Honolulu. A full house at 9:00 on a weeknight proves that other share my view…

Best phở in Honolulu! Coming here is never a disappointment. Service is always really good. And they constantly keep your water filled. Every time I come here, I get the phở tai (phở with rare beef), and the imperial rolls.
Phở tai: the broth here is always very flavorful and the portions of meat are pretty generous and are more tender than other places. A medium runs a little over $ 10
Imperial roll: deep fried spring rolls… Soo good! You get a piece of lettuce, add some noodles inside, and a spring roll. Wrap it up and dip it in the light sauce that accompanies the dish. So good
Definitely my favorite place to get phở, and I love how the place (and bathroom) is clean. I used to go to Phở 777 but I got grossed out of pictures/​reviews of bugs or hair in their food.

I can’t honestly say I’ve tried the phở or Vietnamese rice dishes here cuz I haven’t. This review is solely on the Vietnamese fondue. I’m going to be pretty biased as this is the only place I’ve ever tried Vietnamese fondue at, but dang, I’m hooked!
If you don’t know what Vietnamese fondue is, you’ll definitely have to give it a try. It’s a savory hotpot (fondue) with a tom yum-​like flavored broth. What you do is first pick what kinds of meats you want. There are a few options, but I always opt for the beef and shrimp. It comes raw along with rice paper, lettuce, and pickled veggies. You dip the paper in water, cook your meats in the fondue, then make your own rolls by wrapping the cooked meats and veggies in the paper. The broth is also very tasty to eat on the side while eating the wraps. It’s a little on the spicy side but the experience and flavor trumps all!
Best part is ending at Via Gelato next door to cool down!

Now that all the hype of Hale Vietnam has reached Unilocal and all the tourist line up outside for their bowl of Phở with a side of Imperial Rolls, I hardly get to dine in here.
I remember eating here often when I would go to school in the area, be it between classes, after class or after working out. Back then it was much easier to get a table on a whim. I get my usual here… Phở Tai and Imperial Rolls. They are one of the few places that does Fondue. Mmmm so tasty and fulfilling.
Thank goodness they take reservations. So if you can, take full advantage of that handy feature or you’ll be sitting outside for awhile. If you want to change things up, start with dessert and grab some Via Gelato next door.

Really yummy imperial rolls (fried eggrolls with rice paper)
I also liked their papaya salad, the shrimp was really fresh.
If you like authentic Vietnamese food but not overbearing smell/​taste of fish sauce, give Hale Vietnamese restaurant a visit.

This is my favorite place for phở besides Phở Tri on Kalakaua, which was closed for renovations the last time I checked. I have to thank my girl, Julie, for taking me and the hubby out for lunch today. The food has been good every time that I’ve been here.
I got the medium seafood phở. The hubby got the large chicken phở. Julie got the imperial roll with shredded pork on Vietnamese thin noodle. The soup base for the phở here is outstanding. It’s very flavorful without being salty. I got three pieces of shrimp, three pieces of imitation crab and about six pieces of calamari in my medium phở bowl. The basil and bean sprouts that you get here are fresh. When they bring out the steaming bowl of phở, you add those items in ASAP, so it cooks in the soup to bring out the flavor of the broth. I also like to sqeeze a bit of lemon juice in my broth. Some other phở places that I’ve been to, the basil and bean sprouts were brown and old looking. It made me not want to put it in my broth. While I didn’t eat the imperial rolls today, I’ve had them in the past. They’re awesome. It’s filled with imitation crab, pork, long rice, carrots and onions. It’s fried to a crisp and served with rice noodles and cucumbers. You wrap all the items in a lettuce leaf and dip it in the fish sauce. The imperial rolls are on the smaller side.
Julie ordered their lemonade which I tried for the first time today. I could tell that it was made from fresh lemons and not from a powder. It was a little sweet but definitely watered down. I didn’t like it.
Here’s a tip if you’re new to this place. They have the hoisin sauce and sriracha hot sauce already on the table. However, they have this garlicky hot sauce that they give you only if you ask for it. It’s made in house and it’s not printed on the menu or anything. You just have to ask the servers for it. This sauce is so much better than the standard sriracha hot sauce. I get the garlicky hot sauce and mix it with the hoisin sauce. Then, I dip my noodles in it and it’s the best. You’re welcome for the insider secret!!!

I’ve eaten phở at so many restaurants on Oahu but Hale Vietnam is easily my favorite of them all. I come so often the wait staff rarely brings me a menu unless they don’t recognize me. My order is always #11 Large with beef ball. Basically rare beef, briscuit, tendon and added beef ball. I compliment it either with an order of Spring Rolls or green papaya salad.
The broth here is what keeps me coming back. Without having to add anything to it, I just love the taste of it. Of course I splash a generous amount of fish sauce in it because I love fish sauce too!
Spring rolls are always fresh and tasty and the green papaya salad is so refreshing on a hot day. A great compliment to the steamy bowl of phở. The staff, always friendly of course maybe because I’m there weekly but they are always quick with the food, refilling my water and helpful throughout the meal.
I may continue to taste the other phở shops just to compare the broths but there has been none that I’ve found that come close to Hale Vietnam for me!

After finishing hiking Koko Head Trail last weekend, my fiancé and I decided to stop by here for dinner on the way home. We had heard about this restaurant from some friends but haven’t had a chance to try it until now.
To start off, we ordered the lemon beef salad, which was pretty tasty and refreshing. We also noticed on their menu that in addition to having the usual phở, rice places, and vermicelli noodles, they served Vietnamese «fondue» where you dip your meat into a flavored broth, and afterwards roll them in rice paper to make a summer roll. I haven’t had this type of food since I was back on the mainland, so instead of going for the typical phở or noodles, we decided to go with the fondue. The broth was super flavorful and we ordered the combination meat that comes with beef, calamari, and shrimp.
FYI, for anyone in need of assistance to properly make a summer roll… you take the dry rice paper and QUICKLY dip all parts of it into the water bowl, making sure to maintain the round and flat shape of the rice paper. Once you have wet all parts of the paper (both sides), you lay it down flat on your clean plate. Afterwards, you can lay down the veggies, herbs, and meats onto one edge of the rice paper, and then roll it up like you would a burrito. Lastly, you dip in the dipping sauce and enjoy! I personally am not a big fan of the anchovy dipping sauce that it comes with, so I requested an extra bowl of regular fish sauce, which to me isn’t as fishy-​tasting. hehe.
My fiancé and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I wouldn’t say that it is the best Vietnamese fondue I’ve had (as it just doesn’t compare to that on the mainland), but it is definitely good for Hawaii standards, especially since I haven’t found another restaurant that actually serves this here on the island.
I still have yet to try the phở but I’ll most likely do that during our next trip back here!