Trieu Chau Restaurant

Reviews

• Nereus L.

  star star star star star 11 June 2026

  Love this place! Hands down the best pho restaurant in Orange County IMO of course! I know this place because my family has been here before I was born, and I have been eating their great selections on the menu.
  
  My favorite is the house special #11 (which is what I grew up with) followed by #2 the pho with roast DUCK! My mouth is watering just writing about this.
  
  Btw this place gets packed real fast and from open to close there's always a bunch families waiting!

• Cindy P.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 3 June 2026

  I go here pretty often cuz it is one of my favorite breakfast spot! And this morning I went and enjoy myself as usual. However, I ordered 2 items for to go. Just got home right now and my assorted meat with steam rice order is missing the MEAT
  
  I hope when I go back I will be compensated.

• Mike M.

  star star star star star_border 1 June 2026

  This was my first time here and I'm glad I was able to scratch off another bookmark. It's located in what used to be the ugliest strip mall in town. I'm a huge fan of Newport Tan Kang Seafood right next door and the remodel that they have done on the mall is really nice. Still a challenge to find a parking spot but it can be done.
  
  I made sure to follow the advice of others and get here early. However, even at 11:45, I still waited about 15 minutes for a single spot at their counter. Not like a counter at Denny's, but more like facing a wall. The place was packed and the reviews are killer so why not, right? The high percentage of locals eating here also convinced me I was in a legit soup house.
  
  I was also glad that a ton of reviews led me right to the Noodle Soup. This is the lesser known Jan Brady-type of little sister to Pho. Now I loves me some Marsha Brady-Pho but this Chao Chow Noodle Soup was really something. If the broth is good, I'd eat a bowl of anything tossed in with it.
  Served with either rice noodles or egg noodles this delicate broth is like nothing I have tasted before. Much sweeter than I was expecting and such a wonderful flavor. I kicked it up a notch with some Sriracha but it needed little help in the flavor department.  The House Special Noodle Soup is like 9 bucks but the bowl comes overflowing with that delicious broth, egg noodles, a big hunk of duck, a few thick slices of liver, some fish balls, fish cake pork slices, some shrimp, garlic and onions. Tasty as hell and tough to finish.
  
  Damn....that's a big meal for under $10. The menu is huge, the service is swift, the ambiance is nothing but you can get in and out in 20 minutes. I'll be back to try some other dishes soon.

• Jennifer L.

  star star star star star_border 31 May 2026

  If you don't use Yelps Waitlist feature to check yourself in on the way to the restaurant, you're missing out. Like you're really doing it to yourself (as in making yourself hangry) if you seriously don't get yourself on their waitlist before hand.
  
  Ugh, this is starting to sound like a Yelp waitlist infomercial. But really, y'all, cut the line that isn't looking out for themselves!
  
  I was about 25mins out when I said there was a 30min waitlist. Was legit about two blocks away when I was notified I'd be next in line. When I got to the restaurant (you still need to check in!!), they seated me right away. It was glorious. Esp with the 25+ ppl waiting outside.
  
  Come for the delishhh eggy, ricey, noodlely goodness. The broth is simple and flavorful...but a smidge on the salty side. Soooo MSG? Not sure. The seafood in the seafood combo is good, but does there really need to be THAT much imitation crab in there? I meannn fish cake is even better. Maybe pricier. Sadness.
  
  Def return in another SoCal visit. 4 stars.

• Bill N.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 29 May 2026

  I guess this is what passes for cheap, good eats in Santa Ana... You basically can have similar quality food as in any HK cafe in Toronto, but somehow at a higher price, and with an insane lineup.
  We both got noodle soups, but they were the same, cept mine had a roast duck leg. I mention this because the duck leg tasted so damn old, it could have been a DINO leg for all I know, it was pretty much fossilized. It was so dry and ancient, I could barely even bite the thing!
  I guess the noodle and soup were alright. The soup was fine, in that "canned soup" cafe kinda way. Was a bit sweet for my liking. The "youtiao" was frigging awful. It wasn't even a youtiao, it was like a donut from Tim Hortons, sweet and doughy?
  It's tough to rate this place, because so much of it is coloured by the fact that you'll be waiting about 50 minutes to get in. I think that's just too much for food of this quality. If you're ever here visiting Vietnamese family or whatever (why else would you come here??!) do yourself a favour and go somewhere else.