This is literally the worst Vietnamese restaurant I've been to so no idea why people call it "authentic," which unfortunately tricked me into trying it. I'll talk about food first and then about service. For food, they seem to only use white meat on pho ga (chicken rice noodle) and I absolutely wouldn't call that authentic and the meat is tasteless. For pho rieu, the taste is horrendous compared to Pho Kim Long because the flavor is too light to blend well with the crab meat and the shrimps are not fresh. The worst is my egg noodle signature soup which is so bad that I stopped after 2 bites. I ate all the fish cakes because that's all that's edible even though they are only so-so in flavors. The fried shrimp and pork egg rolls are definitely not even freshly fried but instead reheated so they are hard and the skins are too thick. They are also understaffed so it takes a while to seat you and not very welcoming but that's expected in an Asian restaurant so I didn't take any stars off because of it. It's definitely possible that I ordered all the wrong things but they did call the egg noodle their signature noodle soup.
My wife, son and I visited for the 1st time on a Saturday for lunch and the restaurant was less than half full. The food was quite good, pho with rare steak, imperial rolls, chicken pho, and the pricing was fair and the portions generous compared to dining in San Francisco. With 3rd Avenue running in front of the restaurant, parking was quite difficult. Because of this, I would only come back if I was in the neighborhood and visiting at off-peak hours.
I was just hungry and looked for Vietnamese food around my last chore.I’m soo happy I found this place! I order a spicy beef pho and it’s DELICIOUSTotally authentic!! Broth it’s just in the right side of the spice, meat it’s super fresh and tender, Portion and price GENEROUS!Im definitely coming back and try more foodAlso the staff was super kindThank you for the great unexpected experience
If you enjoy using your hands, get the "grilled pork balls" appetizer. I've been coming here for longer than I can remember and this is my favorite dish. You get a bowl of hot water, a stack of rice paper wraps (still hard), a plate of rice noodles shaped into small patties with the pork "balls" (they are not balls, they've been pressed flat and grilled) on top, with sliced scallion and peanuts on top, and a plate of lettuce, cucumber, shredded radish and carrot, and cilantro, and a dish of a fish sauce based sauce, and another dish of peanut sauce. Soften the rice wrap in the hot water, then load it up with a little of everything and some hot sauce and enjoy!! It's so good! And really fun.
Got pick up and service was fast and efficient. Pho with rare beef, tendons and tripe: the broth was flavorful and not full of MSG, the tendon was nice and soft and the tripe had good texture. The rare beef seemed to be of decent quality, but was tough because for some reason it wasn't cut against the grain. Bun with grilled pork and imperial rolls: the imperial rolls were some of the better ones I've had recently, but the grilled pork was so dried out, it was worse than pork jerky and not edible. Portions were good for the price and flavors were authentic, but the issues with the meat will mostly likely keep me from coming back anytime soon.
I had the egg rolls and an XL bowl of Pho with rare steak, tendons, and beef balls. It was all very good and hit the spot on this chilly/windy day.
Good pho and the service was fast. I grabbed the bag and go so did not have time to checkout the restaurant service area.My only problem is the price for pho was too high...
Classic, authentic, high-quality Vietnamese at a great price. I love the Bun Bo Hue soup (pictured) here - the portions are generous and it has the right level of spice. It is busy here, but turnarounds are quick. Great for small groups and solo diners.
Placed my order over the phone and the woman was very nice. 10 to 15 minutes and my order would be ready for pick up.Got there and my order was ready for pick up. Paid at the counter and happily walked out with my food that smelled so delicious I could hardly wait. ?Location of this place is a little tricky, but it is accessible and finding parking was pretty easy.The quality of the food was impeccable. I was so extremely happy with the amount of food I received for what I paid. The flavors and preparation of the dishes I ordered was so satisfying and delicious. I look forward to dining here again when I am in San Mateo. ?
Their phos are great in a different way: not salty but deep. You can enjoy natural tastes of all the ingredients. As a big fan of pho it was a eye opener. Noodles were perfectGenerous portions and nice service