Pho Fifth Avenue at 3807 Fifth Ave has anchored Hillcrest's Vietnamese dining scene since 2010, building its menu around a broth simmered for hours with aromatic spices. The original Hillcrest kitchen still prepares each bowl to order despite the chain's multi-location expansion, a single-store craft focus shared by independent operators like James Coffee Co.'s in-house roasting program on Fourth Ave. The restaurant has expanded to multiple San Diego locations, but this original Hillcrest kitchen still prepares each bowl of pho, plate of shaken beef, and banh mi sandwich to order. The banh mi sandwich program layers house-marinated proteins and pickled daikon on fresh baguettes, adding a Vietnamese sandwich counter to a Hillcrest deli corridor that includes Rubicon Deli Mission Hills's craft sandwich builds. The flagship Pho Fifth Avenue Special layers filet mignon, brisket, tendon, tripe, and meatballs into a single bowl of bone broth, representing the kitchen's most ingredient-intensive preparation.