Honestly not sure what happened to the pho options in SF but suddenly it's like they all disappeared or went significantly downhill. This got us searching for replacements for our usual Kevin's or BenTre. I've been here a few times and each time it's always quite empty inside, not sure why because I feel their BBH is to die for! My friend always gets the regular pho and he says it's definitely better than Kevin's. Last time we ate in, and this time we ordered to-go. The portion size is huge as usual and they are very generous with the sides as well. The BBH is filled with goodies like a huge rib, pork feet, pork blood, your usual hams, and many other things! When we ate in person, they offered us more sprouts, peppers, and lemons when they saw that we were low; I've never had a place offer me those without asking; most even charge extra! I've always seen the same two (owners?) working here and and they're both great, we leave satisfied every time. The price is a little higher than normal, and I'll admit if it weren't a small family owned business, I'm not sure if I'd pay nearly $20 for a bowl of pho. However, it is my current go-to in the Sunset and I find myself back there about once a week!
Roger A.
I love the food. I had the lemon grass chicken. The kids liked the food as well. I will definitely come back to this place
Eddiel P.
The food was terrible there's flies everywhere including some of the flies was trying to land on my food it was just too many I never coming back in this place I have to drive 30 to have a dinner with a bunch of flies
Melissa M.
For a small restaurant, this place had amazing food you would expect from a fancy restaurant. The crab was fresh and flavorful, the papaya salad was balanced with basil, nuts and shrimp and the bone marrow spread was especially buttery and paired well with the bread. Overall, all the food was delicious. Service is super friendly and fast as well. I would highly recommend to dine here. Call ahead for crab.
E C.
Love the freshness of their noodle soup. Nothing beats a noodle soup that's made with fresh ingredients and heart! Their food also doesn't rely on MSG or other artifical ingrendients. It's as good as home made!
Katinka H.
Excellent Vietnamese cuisine! We had the Lemongrass Chicken, beef pho, and Imperial rolls. Highly recommended all those dishes. The pho broth is made over 17 hours, and it shows in the rich flavor. The staff was very friendly and welcoming, and the chef came out to talk with us, which was a nice touch. Nice ambience, family friendly. Will definitely go back!
Ang W.
Food is pretty good and it's conveniently located to me. I've had their bun bo hue several times and it comes with a giant dinosaur bone which is super meaty and filling. The broth is flavorful but I wish they gave more noodles. Service is fast and friendly. The two times I've gone for lunch, I haven't had to wait for a table even though it's a small restaurant.
Cherylynn N.
3.5 STARS Keith Lee has been all over my feed the entire week. The TikTok food influencer made his first trip to the bay to visit lesser-known mom & pop shops. He pays for his meals and keeps it 100% real...even if the food is not so great. The way it should because you can't give a unbiased review for a comped meal and the term: "best" is so loosely thrown around. But, I think a lot of people are wondering...who did the city dirty like that *and* recommended Double Decker for burgers and wings to Keith?! ( o _ O ) Keeping in theme of lesser-known mom & pop shops... I found Lemongrass Vietnamese Kitchen on yelp. Haven't heard of them but was looking for a resto that's open for an early 4 pm dinner. They opened in Spring 2023, taking over longtime Just Won Ton. They're open for takeout, delivery, and dine-in (all day with no breaks). M E N U Viet Cuisine with a Chinese bent. They have your usual staples: Apps, Phở, BBH, Bún (cold vermicelli noodles), Cơm Dia (rice plates), and chef specials with hard-to-find dishes like cá bông lau nướng da giòn (roasted whole catfish). Complimentary jasmine tea for dine-in. Cc's accepted. If you pay cash, you get 5% off (someone else mentioned it's 10% off but it's not). F O O D * #38 Cơm Đặc Biệt: Special Combo Plate w/ chicken, pork chop, pork skin, "steamed egg", egg roll ($20): --Gà chiên ngũ vị hương: 5-Spice Chicken The boneless thigh was on the dry side with a Chinese-style marinade of soy + oyster sauce (?). Didn't taste the usual spices. --Sườn nướng: Pork Chop Again, not your usual Viet marinade. Couldn't pinpoint what was in the soy-based marinade but I didn't taste lemongrass. I liked the scallion oil tho. --Bì: Pork Skin Different than what I'm used to. It was salty and not coated with roasted rice powder. --Chả giò: Egg roll Standard; crispy with a savory pork + wood ear mushroom filling. I don't believe there was taro. --"Steamed Egg" Typo on the menu? Cant go wrong with a sunny side up egg with an oozy yolk. --Rice Properly cooked. --Nước chấm: Fish dipping sauce Runs on the sweet side. There's sriracha and tableside hot sauce that looks like sa tế (lemongrass chili oil) but isn't. Not sure what it was but it was spicy and flavorful. S E R V I C E Cordial. We were the only diners so prompt food service. A M B I A N C E Modern, compact space with 6-7 tables. Canto pop playing. P A R K I N G Free residential parking tho can be tough to find. Overall, the flavors didn't hit for me but everyone has different tastes. While other restos are closed from 2-5 pm, Lemongrass is open so they're decent option if you're in the area and in need of sustenance. Just don't expect the usual Viet flavors (for grilled meats) and you're good! 3 stars for the food but adding .5 stars and rounding up for a local mom & pop shop.
Kayleen R.
Very friendly and cute. Only tried the veggie pho, papaya salad, and five spice chicken vermicelli. Not great veggie phot but everything else was good. They papaya salad was they highlight with thinly sliced prawns. Plus it's open on Tuesday when a lot of nearby restaurants are closed.
Susan N.
Friendly and fast; I got a papaya salad for lunch and it was very good and fresh. I will come back and try something else
I saw lots of picture with noodle and beef rib, so i went in today and decided tested it out myself, the place quite small, cozy, looking alot cleaner more than a lot of restaurants in SF... thats a plus... The noodle broth is clear and flavorful, the rib kinda plain and really soft... we vietnamese usually dont eat this big ribs with noodle but this place you guys should try it out at least once... delicious... the vietnamese coffee is very authentic, very VN... and plus the bill is 10% off when you pay in cash.... Definitely come back and try some other dishes they have on the menu
Polly C.
Love this place! Great service, clean and cozy. Food is fresh and consistently good.
Nick G.
I was pretty underwhelmed by this place. We ordered the Bun Bo Hue and the Grilled Porkchops with a fried egg and rice.Bun Bo Hue: it tasted sweet which was really weird. No fish paste flavor at all, and was not spicy. The only good part of the dish was the bone rib which was tender. (1.5/5)Grilled pork chops: it was okay. Standard Vietnamese porkchops. The dish itself lacked the picked veggies which was disappointing since I like to eat them to cleanse my palate. The part that threw me off was the fish sauce. It tasted very off to me and I couldn't use it at all. (2.5/5)Side note: that hot sauce on the table gave good spice but the flavor itself was gross.Overall, would not come back.
Honestly not sure what happened to the pho options in SF but suddenly it's like they all disappeared or went significantly downhill. This got us searching for replacements for our usual Kevin's or BenTre. I've been here a few times and each time it's always quite empty inside, not sure why because I feel their BBH is to die for! My friend always gets the regular pho and he says it's definitely better than Kevin's. Last time we ate in, and this time we ordered to-go. The portion size is huge as usual and they are very generous with the sides as well. The BBH is filled with goodies like a huge rib, pork feet, pork blood, your usual hams, and many other things! When we ate in person, they offered us more sprouts, peppers, and lemons when they saw that we were low; I've never had a place offer me those without asking; most even charge extra! I've always seen the same two (owners?) working here and and they're both great, we leave satisfied every time. The price is a little higher than normal, and I'll admit if it weren't a small family owned business, I'm not sure if I'd pay nearly $20 for a bowl of pho. However, it is my current go-to in the Sunset and I find myself back there about once a week!
I love the food. I had the lemon grass chicken. The kids liked the food as well. I will definitely come back to this place
The food was terrible there's flies everywhere including some of the flies was trying to land on my food it was just too many I never coming back in this place I have to drive 30 to have a dinner with a bunch of flies
For a small restaurant, this place had amazing food you would expect from a fancy restaurant. The crab was fresh and flavorful, the papaya salad was balanced with basil, nuts and shrimp and the bone marrow spread was especially buttery and paired well with the bread. Overall, all the food was delicious. Service is super friendly and fast as well. I would highly recommend to dine here. Call ahead for crab.
Love the freshness of their noodle soup. Nothing beats a noodle soup that's made with fresh ingredients and heart! Their food also doesn't rely on MSG or other artifical ingrendients. It's as good as home made!
Excellent Vietnamese cuisine! We had the Lemongrass Chicken, beef pho, and Imperial rolls. Highly recommended all those dishes. The pho broth is made over 17 hours, and it shows in the rich flavor. The staff was very friendly and welcoming, and the chef came out to talk with us, which was a nice touch. Nice ambience, family friendly. Will definitely go back!
Food is pretty good and it's conveniently located to me. I've had their bun bo hue several times and it comes with a giant dinosaur bone which is super meaty and filling. The broth is flavorful but I wish they gave more noodles. Service is fast and friendly. The two times I've gone for lunch, I haven't had to wait for a table even though it's a small restaurant.
3.5 STARS Keith Lee has been all over my feed the entire week. The TikTok food influencer made his first trip to the bay to visit lesser-known mom & pop shops. He pays for his meals and keeps it 100% real...even if the food is not so great. The way it should because you can't give a unbiased review for a comped meal and the term: "best" is so loosely thrown around. But, I think a lot of people are wondering...who did the city dirty like that *and* recommended Double Decker for burgers and wings to Keith?! ( o _ O ) Keeping in theme of lesser-known mom & pop shops... I found Lemongrass Vietnamese Kitchen on yelp. Haven't heard of them but was looking for a resto that's open for an early 4 pm dinner. They opened in Spring 2023, taking over longtime Just Won Ton. They're open for takeout, delivery, and dine-in (all day with no breaks). M E N U Viet Cuisine with a Chinese bent. They have your usual staples: Apps, Phở, BBH, Bún (cold vermicelli noodles), Cơm Dia (rice plates), and chef specials with hard-to-find dishes like cá bông lau nướng da giòn (roasted whole catfish). Complimentary jasmine tea for dine-in. Cc's accepted. If you pay cash, you get 5% off (someone else mentioned it's 10% off but it's not). F O O D * #38 Cơm Đặc Biệt: Special Combo Plate w/ chicken, pork chop, pork skin, "steamed egg", egg roll ($20): --Gà chiên ngũ vị hương: 5-Spice Chicken The boneless thigh was on the dry side with a Chinese-style marinade of soy + oyster sauce (?). Didn't taste the usual spices. --Sườn nướng: Pork Chop Again, not your usual Viet marinade. Couldn't pinpoint what was in the soy-based marinade but I didn't taste lemongrass. I liked the scallion oil tho. --Bì: Pork Skin Different than what I'm used to. It was salty and not coated with roasted rice powder. --Chả giò: Egg roll Standard; crispy with a savory pork + wood ear mushroom filling. I don't believe there was taro. --"Steamed Egg" Typo on the menu? Cant go wrong with a sunny side up egg with an oozy yolk. --Rice Properly cooked. --Nước chấm: Fish dipping sauce Runs on the sweet side. There's sriracha and tableside hot sauce that looks like sa tế (lemongrass chili oil) but isn't. Not sure what it was but it was spicy and flavorful. S E R V I C E Cordial. We were the only diners so prompt food service. A M B I A N C E Modern, compact space with 6-7 tables. Canto pop playing. P A R K I N G Free residential parking tho can be tough to find. Overall, the flavors didn't hit for me but everyone has different tastes. While other restos are closed from 2-5 pm, Lemongrass is open so they're decent option if you're in the area and in need of sustenance. Just don't expect the usual Viet flavors (for grilled meats) and you're good! 3 stars for the food but adding .5 stars and rounding up for a local mom & pop shop.
Very friendly and cute. Only tried the veggie pho, papaya salad, and five spice chicken vermicelli. Not great veggie phot but everything else was good. They papaya salad was they highlight with thinly sliced prawns. Plus it's open on Tuesday when a lot of nearby restaurants are closed.
Friendly and fast; I got a papaya salad for lunch and it was very good and fresh. I will come back and try something else
Restaurantji Recommends
The pho needs a little work but i do recommend the raw beef carpaccio. Fire! Some of their other dishes are great as well.
Short of driving to San Jose, this place hits the spot. Highly recommend if you're in San Francisco.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meat Ball Noodle Soup, Short Ribs Garlic Noodle, Pho, Beef Soup
I saw lots of picture with noodle and beef rib, so i went in today and decided tested it out myself, the place quite small, cozy, looking alot cleaner more than a lot of restaurants in SF... thats a plus... The noodle broth is clear and flavorful, the rib kinda plain and really soft... we vietnamese usually dont eat this big ribs with noodle but this place you guys should try it out at least once... delicious... the vietnamese coffee is very authentic, very VN... and plus the bill is 10% off when you pay in cash.... Definitely come back and try some other dishes they have on the menu
Love this place! Great service, clean and cozy. Food is fresh and consistently good.
I was pretty underwhelmed by this place. We ordered the Bun Bo Hue and the Grilled Porkchops with a fried egg and rice.Bun Bo Hue: it tasted sweet which was really weird. No fish paste flavor at all, and was not spicy. The only good part of the dish was the bone rib which was tender. (1.5/5)Grilled pork chops: it was okay. Standard Vietnamese porkchops. The dish itself lacked the picked veggies which was disappointing since I like to eat them to cleanse my palate. The part that threw me off was the fish sauce. It tasted very off to me and I couldn't use it at all. (2.5/5)Side note: that hot sauce on the table gave good spice but the flavor itself was gross.Overall, would not come back.