Had our holiday company dinner this year at Elements after trying it one night just before they closed. It’s in a strip mall off of Almaden in South San Jose. But once you walk inside, it feels classy with a big glass wine cellar to the right, and an open kitchen towards the back. The restaurant is family-owned and operated. The chef and his father both work there, with possibly more family working other positions. It was packed with patrons on a Friday night.
Their fusion cuisine is quite unique in that it is more French and Western than Vietnamese. So there are dishes such as Salmon Wellington that you would never see at a Vietnamese restaurant. For appetizers we ordered fried softshell crab, spring rolls and green salad. All solid in terms of taste and freshness.
For entrees, each person at our table ordered a different dish. I ordered the Salmon Wellington, which was nicely breaded, in a plate of cream. There was a thick cheese inside the breading surrounding the perfectly cooked salmon. I tried the Australian rack of lamb, also well cooked and seasoned.
The desserts were not quite on the level of the entrees. My colleagues had to chip away at the peach sorbet because it was frozen solid. The chocolate cake was spongy and tasty, but the ice cream on top was ordinary.
The drink menu was somewhat of a surprise in that they didn’t have any cocktails. Unsurprisingly, they had a wide variety of wine and some beer, but I had expected some creative cocktails given the food menu but I guess I didn’t see a bar there.
If you happen to be on the south side and want to have a unique French-Vietnamese meal, I recommend Elements.
Parking: Strip mall parking lot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Wellington, Tea-Smoked Duck with Taro Au Gratin, Australian Rack of Lamb, Lemongrass Crusted Chilean Sea Bass
David Friedman
Love this place and really need to come a lot more often.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Debbie Perham
This was our first visit at Elements, and we enjoyed! We had the crispy Egg Rolls, Salmom Wellington, and Crème Brûlée . Everything was perfect, and also enjoyed a Rumbauer Merlot . Surprisingly the bottle of wine was not too costly. Definitely a nice place to dine!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Wellington
Becky Morris
Food was really good. The presentation, smell, taste all were top notch. We were a party of 4 each ordering something different and all were very happy with what we ordered.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cindy LAM
Good food. First time there and definitely will come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
William Redenbaugh (WillWha!)
- Duck with taro 5/5: Duck was tasty, tender and flavorful. Mashed taro was good but overshadowed by the duck sauce. Apples were nice. -Salmon Wellington 5/5: New dish for us. Puff Pastry was buttery and paired well with fish and veggies. Salmon was good and veggies were cooked well. Not a traditional Wellington but the lemon sauce was a perfect tangy level to cut the creaminess. -Five spice quail 3/5: Hard to eat bird and compared to the duck this was not as moist or soft. The five spice flavor was good maybe too much cumin personally.
- Chicken Satay 5/5: excellent, wellseasoned and good peanut sauce
The staff was very demure, very cutesy, ran by elder viet folk. Homey and classy all at once.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Wellington
Bianca A
I’ve been to Elements several times over the years. I’ve gotten takeout each time but tonight was the first time we dined in. The restaurant was very clean and spacious. The staff is always so friendly and the portions are generous. They are a little on the pricey side but so worth it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Sean Powers
Great will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood Paella
Jon Hodgkin
Our favorite place we ate on our trip, great views, absolutely delicious food, wonderful service, and great for kids to run around and play.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
KKD City
First - certainly not last - time dining at Elements.The waitress was lovely. The food was off the charts! I started with a salad/papaya and had two appetizers. The charming owner came to say hello. Then, I ordered two entrees for dinner tonite! Gold Stars. A+ - very very impressed.
The sea bass and scallops were tasty. Service was prompt and friendly. Prices were reasonable. Beer glasses were frosty. I would like to visit again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alynn Nguyen
The food is surprisingly exquisite here and along with tasteful art work ambiance. I had butternut squash soup, so flavorful, light and not salty. Good thing that it’s not covered with heavy cream. Lemongrass herbs seabass is excellent. I like the fact that they even served it with black rice. Everything was prepared with much care. Thank you to the whole Element team. My only suggestion is to lower the noise in the kitchen. I heard as if someone was arguing. Which doesn’t create the
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Dennis Weng
Very good service and nice atmosphere. Much nicer than your typical Vietnamese restaurant. Food was average however. A few dishes were good, like the spider spring roll and tea-roast duck.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Mary Zipse
Please support this neighborhood restaurant. It's rare to find such a wonderful combination of Vietnamese and French food in such a lovely subdued environment. You could enjoy their Vietnamese offerings at lunch time now, But make sure youcome back for dinner when you can order their fine French cuisine. My absolute favorite is the smoked duck with cranberry reduction and taro au gratin. I literally relish every bite. The sauce is light and packed with flavor. My friend ordered the rack of lamb and loved it. The port reduction sauce was the best she ever had. My other friend was in the mood for pho and thought it was fresh and delicious. Because the portions are so filling.I rarely get too many appetizers but I do enjoy when they offer a crab soup or their version of clam chowder. And please, even though the portions are filling you have to save room for their wonderful desserts. The mango panna cotta and berries over ice cream with a brandy sauce are my favorites. Since they have a pretty decent wine menu, we have been really enjoying trying new selections, including the desert wines.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mango Panna Cotta, Tea-Smoked Duck with Taro Au Gratin, Fresh Wine Rolls, Desert Berry Bowl with Ice Cream and Liqueur, Australian Rack of Lamb
Stephen Rose
This place feels like the original owner/operator sold the business to a new operator who didn't have the same vision. Not all bad, the staff and facility are nice, but the food didn't deliver.I had one guest with me who got sick from eating the soft shell crab. That didn't factor into my score.
Had our holiday company dinner this year at Elements after trying it one night just before they closed. It’s in a strip mall off of Almaden in South San Jose. But once you walk inside, it feels classy with a big glass wine cellar to the right, and an open kitchen towards the back. The restaurant is family-owned and operated. The chef and his father both work there, with possibly more family working other positions. It was packed with patrons on a Friday night.
Their fusion cuisine is quite unique in that it is more French and Western than Vietnamese. So there are dishes such as Salmon Wellington that you would never see at a Vietnamese restaurant. For appetizers we ordered fried softshell crab, spring rolls and green salad. All solid in terms of taste and freshness.
For entrees, each person at our table ordered a different dish. I ordered the Salmon Wellington, which was nicely breaded, in a plate of cream. There was a thick cheese inside the breading surrounding the perfectly cooked salmon. I tried the Australian rack of lamb, also well cooked and seasoned.
The desserts were not quite on the level of the entrees. My colleagues had to chip away at the peach sorbet because it was frozen solid. The chocolate cake was spongy and tasty, but the ice cream on top was ordinary.
The drink menu was somewhat of a surprise in that they didn’t have any cocktails. Unsurprisingly, they had a wide variety of wine and some beer, but I had expected some creative cocktails given the food menu but I guess I didn’t see a bar there.
If you happen to be on the south side and want to have a unique French-Vietnamese meal, I recommend Elements.
Parking: Strip mall parking lot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Wellington, Tea-Smoked Duck with Taro Au Gratin, Australian Rack of Lamb, Lemongrass Crusted Chilean Sea Bass
Love this place and really need to come a lot more often.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was our first visit at Elements, and we enjoyed! We had the crispy Egg Rolls, Salmom Wellington, and Crème Brûlée . Everything was perfect, and also enjoyed a Rumbauer Merlot .
Surprisingly the bottle of wine was not too costly. Definitely a nice place to dine!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Wellington
Food was really good. The presentation, smell, taste all were top notch. We were a party of 4 each ordering something different and all were very happy with what we ordered.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good food. First time there and definitely will come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
- Duck with taro 5/5: Duck was tasty, tender and flavorful. Mashed taro was good but overshadowed by the duck sauce. Apples were nice.
-Salmon Wellington 5/5: New dish for us. Puff Pastry was buttery and paired well with fish and veggies. Salmon was good and veggies were cooked well. Not a traditional Wellington but the lemon sauce was a perfect tangy level to cut the creaminess.
-Five spice quail 3/5: Hard to eat bird and compared to the duck this was not as moist or soft. The five spice flavor was good maybe too much cumin personally.
- Chicken Satay 5/5: excellent, wellseasoned and good peanut sauce
The staff was very demure, very cutesy, ran by elder viet folk. Homey and classy all at once.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salmon Wellington
I’ve been to Elements several times over the years. I’ve gotten takeout each time but tonight was the first time we dined in. The restaurant was very clean and spacious. The staff is always so friendly and the portions are generous. They are a little on the pricey side but so worth it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood Paella
Our favorite place we ate on our trip, great views, absolutely delicious food, wonderful service, and great for kids to run around and play.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First - certainly not last - time dining at Elements.The waitress was lovely. The food was off the charts! I started with a salad/papaya and had two appetizers. The charming owner came to say hello. Then, I ordered two entrees for dinner tonite! Gold Stars. A+ - very very impressed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The sea bass and scallops were tasty. Service was prompt and friendly. Prices were reasonable. Beer glasses were frosty. I would like to visit again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is surprisingly exquisite here and along with tasteful art work ambiance.
I had butternut squash soup, so flavorful, light and not salty. Good thing that it’s not covered with heavy cream.
Lemongrass herbs seabass is excellent. I like the fact that they even served it with black rice. Everything was prepared with much care.
Thank you to the whole Element team.
My only suggestion is to lower the noise in the kitchen. I heard as if someone was arguing. Which doesn’t create the
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Very good service and nice atmosphere. Much nicer than your typical Vietnamese restaurant. Food was average however. A few dishes were good, like the spider spring roll and tea-roast duck.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Please support this neighborhood restaurant. It's rare to find such a wonderful combination of Vietnamese and French food in such a lovely subdued environment. You could enjoy their Vietnamese offerings at lunch time now, But make sure youcome back for dinner when you can order their fine French cuisine. My absolute favorite is the smoked duck with cranberry reduction and taro au gratin. I literally relish every bite. The sauce is light and packed with flavor. My friend ordered the rack of lamb and loved it. The port reduction sauce was the best she ever had. My other friend was in the mood for pho and thought it was fresh and delicious. Because the portions are so filling.I rarely get too many appetizers but I do enjoy when they offer a crab soup or their version of clam chowder. And please, even though the portions are filling you have to save room for their wonderful desserts. The mango panna cotta and berries over ice cream with a brandy sauce are my favorites. Since they have a pretty decent wine menu, we have been really enjoying trying new selections, including the desert wines.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mango Panna Cotta, Tea-Smoked Duck with Taro Au Gratin, Fresh Wine Rolls, Desert Berry Bowl with Ice Cream and Liqueur, Australian Rack of Lamb
This place feels like the original owner/operator sold the business to a new operator who didn't have the same vision. Not all bad, the staff and facility are nice, but the food didn't deliver.I had one guest with me who got sick from eating the soft shell crab. That didn't factor into my score.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
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