Cho XO Asian Fusion in National City

10/10! This is such a beautiful/clean restuarant. Every single thing I ordered was absolutely delicious & the portions were perfect! I’m at a loss for words. The food is super flavorful. Staff is extremely friendly/accommodating as well. This is definitely my new favorite spot. You MUST come check them out, I promise you won’t regret it. 🔥

The food is excellent!!! Really great blend of Asian and Latin food. The chefs were able to combine their own speciality and make a cohesive dishes. Wonderful and fantastic atmosphere, casual and relaxing. Being native to National City, I am happy to see places like this open in the area.I had the Garlic Noodles with Chuck Roast, it was very garlicky which I very much appreciated. The beef was super soft.The standout for me was the Margarita Wings! Sweet and tangy! Crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside!

Okay the restaurant scores for the country of National City. Owner very nice is learning the restaurant business. The servers are professional and explained the menu and their zero % drinks (process of obtaining ABV license). The food was really good with a plethora of flavors offered in their dishes. The dry rub on the wings definitely a winner. The birria dumplings are a must try due to the texture and broth. The Saltado Chaken with filet mignon was the star of the show. The freshness of the veggies, tenderness of the meat, and on of a bed of French fries. Fusion does not mean a mixture of cultures it means a persons combining two dishes that allow for flavors to combine for an authentic original dish or meal.

Birra dumplings was deliciousCrab guacamole was yummy. The chips tasted like it came out of a bag. Lol.The kare curry was deliciousThe pandan horchata was perfectPeach tamarindo drink was deliciousVietnamese coffee could have been better. didnt have that sweet creamy texture.Decor was beautiful.Service was nice.

To be fair I do not enjoy fusion foods. Many seem to lack or miss the mark on flavors.Example, the Birria Pho should have been offered differently. With either bean sprouts and the whole pho side veggies or they could have gone more Latino and should have offered a good spicy Mexican chili oil, jalapeños, diced onion, and cilantro (the way we eat birria consume). That would have made the dish completely superior and delicious. I left completely lacking both flavors between pho and birria. For the price… I’d say skip.The server brought out a chili oil that was sweet and had no kick and they also had no jalapeños.Giving them a 3 star because my kids enjoyed the prawn garlic noodles. And my husband enjoyed his dish for what it was…not the price.

I was so excited for the first Asian Latin Fusion restaurant in San Diego that serves dishes like Lomo saltado shaken fries, Tom Yum pasta, and birria. These dishes have been trendy for years in other parts of SoCal and Bay Area and I was looking forward to not having to travel hours for them.When I found out Chào XO was participating in SDRW, I immediately made plans with my SO to try their dinner menu. In my excitement, I invited some friends, but in the end Im glad they didnt come or else I wouldve felt bad for them spending so much time and money to trek to the other side of town for a lackluster meal.Restaurant decor: the design and decor of the restaurant is very modern and chic. Love the large modern art around, the furniture, and the grassy/leaves.Service: friendly and professional, a little bit slow for our food to come out on a Saturday night (25-30 min). One of our entrees came first before any of our appetizers did. Because we were starving, we dug in without waiting for the appetizers.Birria Truffle Fries:Surprisingly big serving size for an appetizer. The meat was so soft and perfectly seasoned (not too salty). The truffle flavor oil was nice and not overpowered.Unfortunately the tragic flaw of this dish was that the fries were so soggy from the sauce it was sitting in. The fries could use a little more cooking (current state like In-N-Outs fries).Another suggestion would be to have the birria consume sauce on the side, instead of all over the fries.Tom Yum Pasta: *allergen alert* it contains shrimp!I could not tell from the menu that it had any protein in it, but was pleasantly surprised that it came with large succulent shrimps. The shrimps were perfectly cooked--juicy with a nice chew. The linguine was Al dente and the sauce was delightfully cheesy. The presentation was fantastic as it came out sizzling on a hot plate.Where it fell short was there was 0 Tom Yum flavor. Not a hint of sour, tamarind, or herbs like galangal or kaffir like leaf. As a pasta dish, this was stellar, but dont expect Tom Yum.Lomo Saltado:Filet mignon Beef: delicious and tender, a little bit too salty.Rice: a little dry, but it was necessary to even out the saltiness of the beef. Big serving size.Fries: like in the birria truffle fries, undercooked and not crispy. Big serving size.Cilantro sauce: Tasty! My favorite part of this dish.Fresa con cream: this was a surprise that it came out purple/ube when the menu didnt indicate so. It came with sliced strawberry and plenty of cream. Sweet, but not too sweet and balanced from the tart strawberry. Presentation: beautiful color, in a margarita cup with a purple orchid.Overall the food concepts were good, presentation was fantastic, and ambience was pleasant, but executions fell short:Underdone soft/soggy fries, salty saltado meat and dry rice, and misleading menu.But a positive note was that the food wasnt too oily/heavy, which led to a light-feeling stomach despite the late night meal.

Chao XO is Latin Asian fusion. This place did not meet my expectations at all. We came on a Saturday within the first hour of opening and they already ran out of crab congee. Also, the kitchen failed to make rice early because our 2 entrees came out without rice. After 20 mins without rice, we packed up the remaining food and asked them to box the rice to-go when it’s ready.The only items I can vouch for are the drinks. We got pandan horchata and egg coffee. Both really good. The egg coffee was strong and even after mixing the egg custard, it was still strong.We ordered:-Lomo saltado ($19+$5) 5/5: We added filet mignon which was tender. This was the only dish that I would recommend. The fries and meat had great bold flavor.-Kare curry ($22) 1/5: A Filipino beef stew dish and it was poorly executed. The thick peanut sauce tasted like the peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls. It was overly sweet and too much peanut butter. The green beans were old because the texture was chewy and exterior wrinkly. It was not fresh and didn’t have that crips snap when you bite into it. The egg plant was the only thing I ate.-Garlic noodles ($17+$3) 2/5:This was so bland and needed salt. We added salmon as the protein and asked for lemon. The salmon was perfectly cooked but noodles needed seasoning.-Sweet Chili Wings ($16) 3/5:Not bad, decent size. It had cojita cheese which I’m not a fan but I wasn’t able to taste it.-Birria pho ($18) 4/5:I had home made birria the night before at a Mexican bday party and I have to say, the broth tasted the same and it was high in flavors. It’s basically birria with pho noodles. Almost like Vietnamese bò kho beef stew dish. I wouldn’t order this again because it’s really fatty. It was worth a try.Had some failed dishes and some decent dishes. Portion size is more like tapas so best to order family style to share.The ambiance and decor has that indoor outdoor feel. They have a beer license but not liquor. All the drinks are mocktails. Feels like they are missing a tv for sports but that would change the atmosphere.Overall, presentation of each dish was outstanding and beautifully plated and garnished. But don’t judge a book by its cover because it was lacking flavors. 2.5 stars, rounding to 3 with room for growth if they can be consistent with flavors and prep ahead of time.

Cool place, aesthetically pleasing. Mashka was our server and she was great. Super helpful, friendly, attentive and gave good recommendations as it was our first time in. At the time they did not have their liquor license so we couldn’t order any drinks but the drink menu looked bussin, definitely coming back.

I came here the other night with some friends to try this place and we were so impressed. The owners are so nice and explained the different dishes to us. They really do a great job of integrating different Mexican and Filipino flavors in with their own Vietnamese recipes. I didnt get a good photo, but the birria pho is just loaded with so much meat, and the broth is rich and flavorful. The birria dumplings had to be my fave, but I was really impressed with how they do the Kare Curry - a cross between Filipino kare kare and a coconut curry. The meat just melts in your mouth. And the pandan halo dessert is less sweet than the typical halo halo, and more creamy like the Vietnamese desserts. Their coffee and mocktails are amazing too!This spot is so cute, and they can put tables together to accommodate groups. Parking can get difficult on weekends since its right by Seafood City and a bunch of other restaurants, but the lot is big so just be patient, the food is worth it!I cant wait to go back to try more!

I love all the food that we ordered!!! Tom yum pasta is to die for…the margarita chicken wings too! The fresh egg roll veggie are sooo fresh…like they just harvest it in the backyard…lol! first time here but definitely not the last!!! 😍👌🏼😋