We really love their Tofu Spring Rolls and the Noodle Soup. It’s simply delicious, highly recommend.
Kenneth Lui
Ordered off-menu pho with filet mignon and tendon, which was delicious. The meat was tender, and the soup was tasty and at just the right temperature. You place order at the counter and pay up front before finding a table by yourself. Overall, while the food was good, I found the price to be a bit high for the service that you get.
D NFINITY
The food is very good, staff are very nice and the restaurant is clean. But, it seems their operation is understaffed as the service speed is on the slow side (you could end up waiting 30 minutes for your lunch). If you are not in rush, this is a very nice place to go for lunch. But, if you’re in rush probably should have lunch somewhere else.
Tiffany N.
Been going here since 2019, great customer service. I really enjoy the grilled salmon rolls, beef pho (they use filet mignon), and bun bo hue (spicy beef noodle soup).
Jenna Hellberg
So happy that Star Anise opened so close to where we live, and that they're still around even though they opened just a bit before 2020 came along. I love the grilled rib eye plate and their pho is so tasty!
Farshad M.
Place was empty and the service is as basic as it gets with a guy in his sweatpants taking your order and just dropping off the food. But the pho was one of the best with great beef flavor. Priced a bit high but it's because of the location.
Lin C.
I was just feeling like myself. Needed some comfort food. Got meatball pho and spring rolls. The broth was perfect. Not to salty. So many pho places are too salty. A squeeze of lime and all the flavors still came through. They give a lot of meatballs. Definitely enough for two meals. The place wasn't busy. So food came up fast. They have indoor and outdoor seating. There's a nice view of the mountain. I'm so full now and feel a lot better.
Lawrence M.
I'll leave a rather neutral review here.. pho was ok but wish I knew it was going to fresh noodles because it's not my preference at all.. secondly please update your price online because you don't hand out a physical menu when I ate there and the price is not the same.. turned out to be 18 instead of 16.5 which normally 16.5 is already very very high for pho or so I thought... quite literally the most expensive none special meat version of pho I've ever had.. it feels even worse now.. please update it.. lastly for asians this is more "clean" pho so if you know what that means there you go.. Also couple last points.. service was non existent and one of the few times I seriously debated on just leaving 0 tip but caved and just left 1..
Kart P.
One of the worst services. Extremely rude staff. Wont let paying customer use the restroom.
LeeLee C.
Kinda quiet during lunch hour. The interior is nice and cozy. Food is ok, nothing wow though we were told all ingredients are organic and seasonal. If you want a quiet place to talk this is an option.
On the recommendation of a friend, I came out here with a group of friends to try their food. I think if you don't really care about having authentic Vietnamese flavors , this restaurant would be pretty decent. But as a Vietnamese person I'm pretty biased and have higher standards for ~my people~ LOL. From what I understand Star Anise is fusion, Vietnamese and American. But from what I've seen/tastes it's more so Vietnamese dishes with substitutes that cater more so to the American tongue. Rice dish (com tam)- Pickled veggies are replaced by a chunk of mandarins and onions. Short ribs - kind of plain , you can tell the marinade hasn't set into the meat and was just more so brushed on Shaking Beef -- Flavors of the beef are not very traditionally Vietnamese for shaking beef, but more flavorful than the short ribs . Rather than potato, they sub it with mandarin and kale . Oof. How can you have shaking beef with no potato :( . Tamarind wings -- couldn't taste anything remotely close to tamarind unfortunately. Kind of salty. Salmon rolls -- can't go wrong with salmon baby. Standard spring roll wrap but with salmon ! Taro "i purple you" drink -- The taro is left in like, thin strands in the drink that catches your throat on the way down. Unfortunately not a huge fan, I prefer Tapioca Express much more. Passion Fruit Lemonade -- Not bad , flavors were typical of what this drink is at other places. Fruity and tarty! Seating // Indoor and outdoor available. Cute interior! Parking // Lots of parking on the side. Overall , I would not pay these prices to have watered down Vietnamese food that isn't authentic. If you really care about having true Vietnamese flavors just drive to SJ. This restaurant is white washed, but it's in a techy area so understandable.
Gabriella Herrera
Pricey for the portion sizes. Broth was good, but a lot of pepper and meat was not very soft. They also use thick noodles as there default but don't mention it on the menu. When I asked the server to switch to the skinny noodles he was rude and said I should have asked. He made feel uncomfortable and I explained it didn't say it on the menu so I couldn't have known. Won't be going back.
Marcus Chu
Great service, the pho broth goes hard with springy wide noodles, and the vermicelli bowls are light with wonderfully charred protein. There are solid drinks as well - both of their lemonades are great
Mei K.
I came here weekdays so the place not so crowded, the interior very nice, neat with beautiful flower vase as for decoration. Not so many staff but the server was quick, friendly and helpful. So in general the service is 5/5. The food I ordered was spicy Hue and this is the first time I tried Bun Ho Hue but not spicy or very light, the broth a little bit of sweet, the meat quality was good but less noodles. The veggies are clean, serve in small bowl with chili oil sauce, I even put the whole sauce in but not really much spicy so it's 3/5 for me.
Sara L.
Randomly found this place and quite surprised upon arrival as it was in quite a nice area and the restaurant looked like a modern cafe! Ordered the standard pho; it was a little salty upon first taste but It was probably because we came about 45 mins to closing time and probably got the bottom of the broth which also had the strongest flavours. I got my usual beef slices and brisket - beef slices were very fresh. Meat portion also generous but I felt I had more brisket than the slices. Portion is quite huge (for me), a little mediocre according to other half who is a pho expert lol. Price wise, it is a little more expensive than usual - the combination pho would be $15 as a standard price but it was $18+ here. Cleanliness was top notch and service was very attentive. Plentiful parking but it is located around offices so if it's peak hours, might be crowded. They have indoor and outdoor seating.
We really love their Tofu Spring Rolls and the Noodle Soup. It’s simply delicious, highly recommend.
Ordered off-menu pho with filet mignon and tendon, which was delicious. The meat was tender, and the soup was tasty and at just the right temperature. You place order at the counter and pay up front before finding a table by yourself. Overall, while the food was good, I found the price to be a bit high for the service that you get.
The food is very good, staff are very nice and the restaurant is clean. But, it seems their operation is understaffed as the service speed is on the slow side (you could end up waiting 30 minutes for your lunch). If you are not in rush, this is a very nice place to go for lunch. But, if you’re in rush probably should have lunch somewhere else.
Been going here since 2019, great customer service. I really enjoy the grilled salmon rolls, beef pho (they use filet mignon), and bun bo hue (spicy beef noodle soup).
So happy that Star Anise opened so close to where we live, and that they're still around even though they opened just a bit before 2020 came along. I love the grilled rib eye plate and their pho is so tasty!
Place was empty and the service is as basic as it gets with a guy in his sweatpants taking your order and just dropping off the food. But the pho was one of the best with great beef flavor. Priced a bit high but it's because of the location.
I was just feeling like myself. Needed some comfort food. Got meatball pho and spring rolls. The broth was perfect. Not to salty. So many pho places are too salty. A squeeze of lime and all the flavors still came through. They give a lot of meatballs. Definitely enough for two meals. The place wasn't busy. So food came up fast. They have indoor and outdoor seating. There's a nice view of the mountain. I'm so full now and feel a lot better.
I'll leave a rather neutral review here.. pho was ok but wish I knew it was going to fresh noodles because it's not my preference at all.. secondly please update your price online because you don't hand out a physical menu when I ate there and the price is not the same.. turned out to be 18 instead of 16.5 which normally 16.5 is already very very high for pho or so I thought... quite literally the most expensive none special meat version of pho I've ever had.. it feels even worse now.. please update it.. lastly for asians this is more "clean" pho so if you know what that means there you go.. Also couple last points.. service was non existent and one of the few times I seriously debated on just leaving 0 tip but caved and just left 1..
One of the worst services. Extremely rude staff. Wont let paying customer use the restroom.
Kinda quiet during lunch hour. The interior is nice and cozy. Food is ok, nothing wow though we were told all ingredients are organic and seasonal. If you want a quiet place to talk this is an option.
Restaurantji Recommends
On the recommendation of a friend, I came out here with a group of friends to try their food. I think if you don't really care about having authentic Vietnamese flavors , this restaurant would be pretty decent. But as a Vietnamese person I'm pretty biased and have higher standards for ~my people~ LOL. From what I understand Star Anise is fusion, Vietnamese and American. But from what I've seen/tastes it's more so Vietnamese dishes with substitutes that cater more so to the American tongue. Rice dish (com tam)- Pickled veggies are replaced by a chunk of mandarins and onions. Short ribs - kind of plain , you can tell the marinade hasn't set into the meat and was just more so brushed on Shaking Beef -- Flavors of the beef are not very traditionally Vietnamese for shaking beef, but more flavorful than the short ribs . Rather than potato, they sub it with mandarin and kale . Oof. How can you have shaking beef with no potato :( . Tamarind wings -- couldn't taste anything remotely close to tamarind unfortunately. Kind of salty. Salmon rolls -- can't go wrong with salmon baby. Standard spring roll wrap but with salmon ! Taro "i purple you" drink -- The taro is left in like, thin strands in the drink that catches your throat on the way down. Unfortunately not a huge fan, I prefer Tapioca Express much more. Passion Fruit Lemonade -- Not bad , flavors were typical of what this drink is at other places. Fruity and tarty! Seating // Indoor and outdoor available. Cute interior! Parking // Lots of parking on the side. Overall , I would not pay these prices to have watered down Vietnamese food that isn't authentic. If you really care about having true Vietnamese flavors just drive to SJ. This restaurant is white washed, but it's in a techy area so understandable.
Pricey for the portion sizes. Broth was good, but a lot of pepper and meat was not very soft. They also use thick noodles as there default but don't mention it on the menu. When I asked the server to switch to the skinny noodles he was rude and said I should have asked. He made feel uncomfortable and I explained it didn't say it on the menu so I couldn't have known. Won't be going back.
Great service, the pho broth goes hard with springy wide noodles, and the vermicelli bowls are light with wonderfully charred protein. There are solid drinks as well - both of their lemonades are great
I came here weekdays so the place not so crowded, the interior very nice, neat with beautiful flower vase as for decoration. Not so many staff but the server was quick, friendly and helpful. So in general the service is 5/5. The food I ordered was spicy Hue and this is the first time I tried Bun Ho Hue but not spicy or very light, the broth a little bit of sweet, the meat quality was good but less noodles. The veggies are clean, serve in small bowl with chili oil sauce, I even put the whole sauce in but not really much spicy so it's 3/5 for me.
Randomly found this place and quite surprised upon arrival as it was in quite a nice area and the restaurant looked like a modern cafe! Ordered the standard pho; it was a little salty upon first taste but It was probably because we came about 45 mins to closing time and probably got the bottom of the broth which also had the strongest flavours. I got my usual beef slices and brisket - beef slices were very fresh. Meat portion also generous but I felt I had more brisket than the slices. Portion is quite huge (for me), a little mediocre according to other half who is a pho expert lol. Price wise, it is a little more expensive than usual - the combination pho would be $15 as a standard price but it was $18+ here. Cleanliness was top notch and service was very attentive. Plentiful parking but it is located around offices so if it's peak hours, might be crowded. They have indoor and outdoor seating.