Golden Deli San Gabriel

Reviews

• DD

  Dan

  Dec 15, 2025
  5.0
  Golden Deli is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Southern California. It's on most "best of" lists and is highly recommended by my Vietnamese friends. It regularly has a line outside. I've been coming here since 1999 and it's consistently good. Best things for me is that it's allergy friendly. My child is allergic to gluten, sesame, and dairy. And he's able to eat at Golden Deli! If you go, say that you're allergic or celiac and ask for Michael. He's the owner or manager who serves us. He has told me multiple times that if the restaurant is open then he's there. His staff take special precautions. For my son, all pho are gluten-free and safe except beef ball (#12). Cha gio (egg rolls) are gluten-feee. They're wrapped in a rice wrapper and fried in a wok, not deep fryer. When they know about an allergy/intolerance, the cha gio will be fried in a different wok with new oil. One vermicelli dish is safe if we substitute for rib eye, which isn't marinated. The marinated meats are marinated in soy sauce (contains wheat). Michael can tell you which one and help with the substitutions. Spring rolls are safe but peanut sauce is unsafe because it has soy sauce (contains wheat). Substitute peanut sauce for the nuoc cham (fish sauce based) - which is better in my opinion. Service is top-notch. They regularly fill my water without being asked.
• JW

  Judy Wong

  Dec 11, 2025
  5.0
  Another great Vietnamese Restaurant. It was pretty busy for lunch, but the food was very good. We had a lobster fried rice, beef salad and fish cake. Delicious
• WW

  whysoseriouz

  Dec 7, 2025
  1.0
  Vietnamese pho has always been my comfort food. I enjoy randomly seeking out restaurants like this—delicious and quick. I rarely leave negative reviews, but that changed when I visited this place today. From the moment the first male waiter, with his hair slicked back, sternly ushered me in, to leaving without even a "thank you," I realized I didn't want to simply attribute the poor service to them being busy today. I would still frequent restaurants with poor service but great food because my purpose is to eat. However, for this place, I can only give my first negative review for a pho restaurant. The broth was bland. The fatty parts and gristle on the beef were poorly trimmed. The noodles were clumped together and hard in texture, which I believe was due to being undercooked. The baguette for the Vietnamese sandwich (Banh Mi) was excellent—soft and airy, and the vegetables were fresh. However, the pork had a strong gamey flavor and was also untrimmed with gristle. Approximately sixty percent of the meat was uneatable and I had to discard it. The overall experience was terrible. I almost wanted to say that the residents of San Marino do not deserve to have a place like this, until I saw the actual address. All I can say is that the constant look of discrimination I received is completely inconsistent with the honors displayed on their wall. I will not recommend this place to anyone.
• CN

  Carlo N.

  Nov 22, 2025
  4.0
  Golden Deli is a small Vietnamese food joint in SGV. They have been providing bowls of phở, crackly egg rolls, and other Vietnamese classics for 40 years. This casual, family-run restaurant is one of the best in the San Gabriel Valley. I have known and pass by this spot copious times for the past six years; never had the audacity to dine-in until now. We were fortunate that we didn’t wait to be seated given its popularity. I came late afternoon for a late lunch. Their food and drink menu was vast and it took me a long time to read the entire menu. I end up with my usual Vermicelli Chicken x Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Both food and drink were alright. I was still hungry after devouring my scrumptious meal. Service was really quick. Staff were competent and assiduous. Prices were reasonable. Atmosphere was noisy. Overall, I had a modest-in and out-experience.
• JS

  Jason Schmid

  Nov 16, 2025
  5.0
  I have been coming to Golden Deli for at least 10 years. In that time I’ve forgotten that they are closed on Wednesdays a couple times. On those Wednesdays I was sad. But that’s as close as I can come to saying anything resembling a comment that is less than a 100% resounding endorsement. Simply put, Golden Deli is the kind of place that reminds you over and over again that good, simple food prepared perfectly and served by a staff that is always on point is what dining out is all about . Golden Deli isn’t fancy and it doesn’t try to be. The push the tables together into long rows to maximize the amount of people who can dine in, and they’re unafraid to push bus carts through the dining room to maximize efficiency. But the staff is always on top of the game, never falling behind even when (as is often the case) there are 20-30 people waiting outside. The menu offers a great many items which you can order confidently and any of them will be good. But as any number of others will confirm, the pho and the Phan Cha Gio are the absolute stand out stars. Both are ordered so frequently that they are made to perfection and also with amazing speed. Order the pho and don’t be surprised if it’s at your table in just a minute or two. And the Phan Cha Gio won’t be far behind, it’s being made constantly so it’s always freshly made. Pro tip: order a Bahn mi to go, they are deconstructed to go, and are even better the next day.

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