Dong Khanh Restaurant

Ahhh sh*t, son! M*hf*ckin’ Dong Khanh. Lil Saigon staple for late night food and drive by shootings on Bolza Ave in the 90s and mid-​2000s. Notice the «z» not «s» in Bolsa? Dong Khanh was one of the stops Gang Unit used to cruise by looking for trouble makers. Duuu ma! Well, that’s what I heard. I was a law abiding citizen and in bed by 8:00 PM back in those days.
The menu consisted of all your typical Vietnamese dishes like phở, com tam, bun and etc. If you never had «etc», it’s definitely a must try. The food was really good but also salty AF which made it popular after a few drinks. The tables were sticky, utensils barely washed, and the service was crap like they’re piss cause you came in to eat. I would have to say Dong Khanh and Thanh My were the Denny’s of the Vietnamese community. It’s open late and had a large menu.
Unfortunately, they closed down and another fond memory is gone like the wind.

Was, is, and will always be my favorite local spot to eat. Anyone know what happen to make it close?

Great place to order take out! My favorite here is the salt and pepper crab. 2 pounds for $ 30 in the month of July is not bad. Also ordered the braised catfish. Both dishes were delicious!

I don’t come here often since I live like an hour away, but when I do it’s so worth! Food is great with a cheap price!
People that work here are very nice and friendly!
Would recommend anyone who love Vietnamese food to come here!

I came for canh chua ca kho. The food is ok. The price is confusion: $ 21 + $ 3 additional for rice. The place is cash only, however, the male owner told me $ 28 total. He said the $ 5 is for tax. What??? Also when I gave him $ 100 bill, he said he did not have change for it. What??? Cash only & tax & no change for $ 100 bill???

Decent seafood hotpot and friendly service. Great that they open til late. Family style servings and the price is average. For six people we spent about 100 dollars for hotpot, calamari, grilled fish, and squid stir-​fry. Don’t know if I would come back again.

Always come to eat at least one a month. Best ca kho to ;) super good prices ;) highly recommenfed

My first time here and I ordered the special that they have on the menu, it was good (or may be I was hungry). Anything tastes good I am telling ya. I was a bit surprised to see that they have so many empty tables. I do not know too much about this restaurant’s history, so feel free to chime in anytime.
The service was average in American’s society but to the Asian Community, it is the norm. The first time I was served by an old gentleman, the mood or vibe (I tend to use this words many time) that I have from this restaurant, meh, cannot expect too much out of it, just come in order your meal, and leave.
I have been here twice and I can say they have enough empty tables to accommodate a big crowd of let’s say a family of ten plus. So the second time that I stopped by due my regular location was packed, same thing, lots of empty tables and I believed I ordered the same one that I had for the first time. It was literally awful, below par this second time. First time my boy finished his share, second time; unfortunately he did not. He is picky about what goes into his mouth.
I could have given it 4 stars but hey, must be unbiased you know. Plus, here is my defense for my rating; I have walked in twice and have witnessed twice that they have so many empty tables. That means that something is wrong, always reason (s) behind it. I can still recommend this establishment for someone who wants to try something new, although we have varieties of selections of restaurants. Until then folks.
See you on the flip side!

Just my kind of Vietnamese soul food. It really brings me back to Vietnam and the down to earth way of life. Dong Khanh serves it up just like mom would — sizzling hot, deliciously balanced and generously portioned. You really can’t beat the value of the set family meals!

The lobster is great, but the catfish is amazing. The staff is attentive. The only real drawback is the availability of refreshments. Snapple and soda cans are available. No refills. And just FYI this place is cash only. If you forget it has an atm machine inside.

The man who helped us, who I believe is the owner, down-​sold us because he said it’d be too much food for our family of four… Very honest and had a code of ethics. Haven’t had a sit down authentic Vietnamese dinner in so long and this place brought me back to life after going to so many Phở restaurants in Cali this past week. We got the 3 person Vietnamese family meal and the CA KHO TO (caramelized clay pot fish) was my absolute favorite. Super outdated place but restroom was surprisingly taken care of. Didn’t give five stars only because of how outdated the place was. It reminded me of the hood back in Vietnam but we would definitely visit again.

Go for canh chau and ca kho!
Most people from around little Saigon have heard or went to this place before. It’s that childhood joint that you went to with your parents. Real and good Vietnamese food, reminds you of home cook meals!

Needed a quick Canh Chua Ca Fix and they did the trick! I ordered to-​go and they separated all the veggies and fish from the broth (THANK YOU!) They are open late and have the food ready in no time.
Will be coming back here again

A weekly Sunday night dinner with my mom brought me to Dong Khanh. I’ve actually been coming to this restaurant since I was very young (think 1^st — 2^nd grade young) and always find myself hit with a sense of nostalgia after every visit. The interior of the restaurant isn’t much to brag about. It’s a typical Vietnamese/​Chinese restaurant. You go for the food, not for the décor and definitely not for the service.
The waiter that helped us is a familiar gentleman — he’s always been working there for as long as I could remember. Rumor has it he is related to the owner. My mom and I ordered the ngheu xao (stir-​fry clams) and the infamous ca kho to (braised catfish in stone pot). The chef brought it out to our table still sizzling in the stone pot. I highly recommend getting the fish. It is very flavorful and tender. The ngheu xao wasn’t too salty so it balanced out the fish and went well with the white rice.
My mom and I reminsced over what the restaurant used to look like before the renovation. In my opinion, it looked a lot better before.

Always come here for family’s dinner. The braised catfish in clay pot, sour soup are the must try! Open late and fast service

Came here after Disneyland with my family & we ordered a bunch of plates to eat. The food was pretty good, service was okay — It was quite empty in there the day we went. The restrooms could use a little fixer-​upper but yeaaaaah, haha.

I’m the duchess here and I haven’t written a review yet?
This place has always been a family spot for me. Com Phan is the best deal. Comes with ca Kho to (fish in the clay pot), canh chua soup, salt and pepper shrimp (my fave), mussels, and salt&pepper squid depending which one you order.
I also love the bo nhung dam here (beef dipped in vinegar). As I have posted in my tip, I think they raised the price on that dish because of me lol.
A few other favorites: won ton soup, bo luc lac, Ech chien bo, bo tai Chanh and phở. I really think everything is good here and the prices are decent.

It’s been so long since I’ve eaten here. I can’t believe I’ve never written about DK. It’s that OG Vietnamese spot that serves that home style Vietnamese cooking. Our party of 10 ordered a good amount of dishes. I’ll speak on the stand out ones.
The french style shaken beef, salt and pepper crab, deep fried tofu, braised catfish, and the sour soup. This isn’t the typical Vietnamese spot that just serves Phở and Rice dishes. Come and eat the stuff that our moms cook at home. And make sure to go with a Vietnamese person. This is family style so all plates are shared.
Recommendation: The french style shaken beef, salt and pepper crab, deep fried tofu, and braised catfish

Went here to grab late night dinner w my mom. It’s fathers day but we celebrated it at lunch already .
I usually go here to get the canh chua which is the sour soup viet style .
Today we got the family style meal bc it’s varieties and since it includes the 2 dishes we wanted to order anyways so why not .
There r many diff options to choose fr for the family meal or u can order the dishes individually which comes out even more expensive
Canh chua ca bong lao– catfish sour soup. Bomb! If ordered separately this would be $ 11. 5stars
Ca kho to– Catfish claypot. Separate order $ 10. 4 stars
Tom rang muoi– salt n pepper shrimps 4 stars
Chem chép xao day biet– mussel in special sauce. 3stars
All for $ 24 plus $ 1 rice per person.
Everything was good. One thing about this place thou is that it has alot of MsG that’s y it’s so good. But it’s bad for you so if you’re health conscious then I suggest do not dine here

This is our go to restaurant, everyone has one of those. When you can’t decide where to eat, and your hungry. This is our default restaurant.
It’s not the cleanest or cheapest, but they make down right good food. Our family comes here for their Com Phan (family style) menu. For a fixed price depending on how many diners you have your presented with soup and a couple entrée’s.
We usually go for the Com Phan Trung Hoa and it never misses. Their steamed fish filet is to die for, although its not always cooked exactly the same. Ninety percent of the time it’s spot on in terms of flavor and freshness. We absolutely enjoy their calamari (there are two variants) that is fried to a golden crispness yet not oily.
If your not down with family style, a solid dish I usually get is their Mi Hoanh Thanh (Won ton noodle soup). It tastes like home for me, and when I’m in a noodle mood it truly hits the spots.
The downsides, of course there is. It’s not the cleanest restaurant in Little Saigon, but then again its not the worse I’ve seen. Remember to bring cash as that’s all they accept. There is an ATM machine, but I’m sure there’s a transaction fee.
They do open late as well, consider that when your hunger calls late.