R & D Cafe

I haven’t been in so long. The place was packed but then again, it is very small. I ordered the #10 which was well done flank and rare steak and a banh mi (grilled chicken). The phở had a good temp but the meat was a little chewy and the chicken in the sandwich was a little dry. I still enjoyed my meal and will be back to give a second try. The lady at the register is so nice and you can’t tell they have a lot of regulars. I say to give it a try =)

Just bad… Everything is bad. Waitress was rude, food is bad, don’t go there if you have more than 4 people, because they will not do anything to accommodate your need, that rather split up your party to accommodate the sitting.
Tried once and never again. Hope this is helpful.

This is my favorite place for phở. The food is delicious and the place is very clean. I always look forward to coming here for my chicken noodle soup.
I haven’t tried much of the rest of the menu so I can’t speak for the rest, but I wouldn’t doubt that it is as good if not better than their soups.
If you are looking for good Vietnamese food, you have to come to this place.

How did I not ever try this place when my chiropractor is right next door? I enjoyed everything we ordered down to their jasmine tea which really complimented the dishes and will be coming back because:
1. Papaya salad was the best I’ve ever had
2. Pork garlic noodles was not greasy at all and had a nice buttery taste.
3. Bun bo hue. Every place makes it different but this had the right taste for me. Only caveat was that the soup wasnt hot enough
4. Food came out fast and service was great

I really do love this place. Fresh, family run, and friendly. They have exceptional flavor and some menu items that cannot be found at just any Vietnamese place.
I love the char they put on their BBQ’d meat and the extra effort they put into the quality and taste of their food.
Some of my favorites:
— fresh spring rolls
— garlic noodles with pork
— vermicelli with pork and egg roll
— seafood phở
GARLIC NOODLES– delicious egg noodles sauteed with garlic and the meat of your choice. Love it! Served with a side salad and cilantro. Yum.
Like I said, great flavors, fresh, and friendly… The three

Absolutely love this place! Everyone is so friendly and the food is so yummy! I’ve tried the spring rolls, garlic noodles, vermicelli, sandwhiches, the spicy beef soup, & their thai tea. I recommend all of it! I live in newark so whenever I’m in San Lorenzo/​San Leandro area I’m always trying to come here.
The only thing that sucks is the card limit. so if I don’t have cash, & Im by myself I usually have to order at least 2 things. But I always make it work because this place is my fave

A surprisingly, unexpected place to order amazing Vietnamese food. I loved it! Even the server is friendly.
For lunch, I ordered iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk and #60, which was the garlic noodles with grilled shrimp + added egg, too. I wouldn’t mind coming back here for lunch again. It’s worth it!

Not a hard place to fine but it is located within a small plaza next to an Asian supermarket. Fairly smaller than an average Phở restaurant but the smell was just too good to pass. I ordered the bun bo hue and was so excited to devour it once the aroma swept across my face! However, it didn’t exactly taste the way it smelt. It was tasted a little watered down with extra spicy. The meat was also shredded awkwardly. I couldnt tell if I was eating meat or just shreds of tripe with bits of meat attached. But the pork cake was really flavorful.
I wouldnt say this is one of the top Phở restaurants to go to in the East Bay but I would recommend it if youre in the neighborhood.
Service was friendly and attentive. We got our food within 10 mins which was a plus! Wouldn’t mind coming again if I was sick and needed to wake up my sinuses hehe :)

Garbage, i Unilocaled phở hoping there might be some decent phở out in san leandro area.
Came here
Place bit dirrty its fine its phở
Soup not hot
Service sucks
I asked for side of soup like 3 times it finally came when im almost finish.
The phở is nasty it stuck together
Everything else is whatever.
Id rather take 10mins drive to somewhere better and authentic

The service was AMAZING. Our waitress was very nice and brought out the food quickly. I got Garlic noodles with grilled pork with a Thai iced tea while my friend got a tofu dish and it was BOMB. I will definitely be back

Great food. I’ve had the…
Seafood Phở, Beef Phở, Garlic Noodles, Papaya Salad, Spring Rolls, Chicken Sandwich, Pork Sandwich, Beef Sandwich, Imperial Rolls, and a few other entrée plates I can’t recall… consistently good food. I have yet to walk away from this place disappointed with their food.
The only reason I can’t give it 5 starts is because of the atmosphere when you eat there. The dining area is extremely small and cramped. When all the single tables along the wall are taken you are seated next to strangers at a long table in the middle of the small room. This is really uncomfortable and just feels weird to me. Also, there have been a few times other people sharing the table with you have been rude or inconsiderate.
Also, they have a small little window A/​C unit above the door to the restaurant that is in desperate need of replacement. It just doesn’t pump out enough to cool down the small little dining room area and it is often too humid and warm in there.
I really like their food and I’m not a fan of take out. When I eat out I like to have my food served fresh from the kitchen and enjoy it there at the restaurant so I have to decide every time if I want to put up with that dining room to eat there or take my food to go and eat comfortably at my dining table at home, but not enjoy the food fresh.
If it wasn’t for the uncomfortable dining area I’d eat at this place a lot more. VERY tasty food and good people working there. Also wished they delivered.

Truthfully, this place has the best Phở Ga (chicken rice noodle soup) in the SF/​Peninsula/​East Bay, hands down! I’ve had my fair share of Phở Ga in SF area and East Bay area and I never had the inclination of wanting to come back to this joint. I only wish their hours were longer! Honestly, I was quite surprised that this gem was hidden in my neighborhood. I cannot speak for the other dishes here as I haven’t really tried them, but definitely go for the Phở Ga!

My go to spot for Vietnamese food, it’s convenient for me since its located in the San Lorenzo village. Service is fast and the food is inexpensive. Today I had the papaya salad and pork spring rolls with a pork banh mi sandwich to go. Good hit the spot and felt guilt free since I just finished up at the gym. They have your usual phở bowls and traditional rice plates and to top it off you can get boba drinks with your meal. Sometimes I’ll sneak in the occasional Vietnamese coffee for that pick me up. In all I’m satisfied with the overall experience and friendly service.

This… Hands down the best phở/​noodle place in the area! Amazing service, they are all soooo welcoming and nice. Fantastic food. This is our Weekend spot and I feel like I’m cheating if we go somewhere else. LOVE LOVE LOVE this place!
What to try? Garlic noodles. Bun bo Hue. Sandwiches. Papaya Salad. Omg. Soooooo good.
It’s a small place but you do feel like family. Not your typical hole in a wall where all you see are asians like me but this place is a melting pot of different people who LOVES FOOD!!!
Ok. Time to eat!!! I’ll post more pictures!

Service super friendly and fast
— Shrimp spring rolls: ~$ 4.5, pretty tasty
— Phở Ga: $ 8 for a large, chicken was pretty good. Some white, some dark meat, but the broth was a bit too sweet for my taste. tons of noodles!
— Avocado shake: not enough avocado in it for me, a bit too much cream. Nonetheless, it was still fresh, and they were kind enough to accommodate my not too sweet request!
Overall, this place is pretty decent, but the phở broth was a bit of a disappointment for me :(

I prefer their entrée dishes over the Phở and Bahn Mi (which everyone else usually goes for) because these items taste just a little funky to me compared to other restaurants I’ve been to.
They also just recently raised their prices on the Bahn Mi – lame! — and seem to be taking a lot longer to give out your order than usual. I also always take my stuff to go because I don’t find it very comfortable inside.
They don’t serve up the best but I’m right down the street so they’ll stay on my list for now!

Hands down best Vietnamese food in the San Lorenzo/​San Leandro area.
+ THE FOOD
You cannot go wrong ordering anything here. The prices are a little more expensive than a typical Vietnamese restaurant but it’s because the portion sizes are way bigger and the quality is much better. The phở is clearly not laden with MSG and the soup tastes clear. You can tell the noodles are freshly cooked instead of being mushy like many Vietnamese places that are too lazy to cook it on the spot. I also tend to order the bun bo hue, and it has a lot of various animal products, such as pig blood, beef tendon, beef brisket, and much more. The rice plates are delicious as well because they grill the meat to perfection and do not over-​salt anything. I’ve tried their famous garlic noodles before and they were pretty good as they were slightly crispy on the outside.
+ THE ENVIRONMENT
I’ve honestly never encountered any Vietnamese restaurant that was so clean before! No sauce dripping out of containers, tables were wiped clean, floors were not sticky from food. The restaurant is kind of small, fitting only 7 smaller tables and 1 long table, where you would share with other guests, so the wait can be daunting during lunch hours.
TIP: If you don’t like beansprouts raw, they will kindly cook it for you! Also, they’re not open on Mondays :(

Nice little restaurant with a homey atmosphere. Since I usually get my fix of Vietnamese food at home, I usually don’t go out to viet restaurants very often but this place hit the spot.
I would normally order phở or Bun Bo Hue but I wanted to get something different for a change so I got the Bun Thit Nuong which is a vermecelli dish with charbroiled pork, egg rolls, fresh veggies, topped with fish sauce and peanuts! Pretty good alternative if you’re not really feeling phở!
I managed to get a bite of my girlfriends phở though and that turned out to be pretty yummy too. You can usually tell if it’s good phở by the broth and this for sure did NOT have TOO much msg to it.
Not that much seating but the servers are more than willing to rearrange seats around so that it will accommodate your party and everybody else that is there!

Had the spring rolls and chicken garlic noodles, came on a Sunday afternoon. Small spot, but there wasn’t a wait, service is efficient and friendly. There were plenty of regulars coming in, listening to the conversations going on, which is pretty rad. They speak Cantonese here also.
Everything was super fresh and flavorful. peanut sauce was extra thick and sweet. Chicken cooked perfectly, garlic noodles had a decent chew and mild garlic (I wouldn’t mind it stronger) flavor. Since it comes with a side salad and fish sauce I tried dipping my noodles in it — makes for an interesting profile, but takes away from the garlic. I know I’m weird.
Overall great experience, would def come again and try the phở.

A+ for the customer service. Me and my love walked in here and was soon greeted by Lisa. I have to admit the place is really small only about 7 tables but the food is AMAZING! I was happy that after we sat down, Lisa did a good job coming to take our orders. After about 5 minutes of waiting our food was arriving!
The food was delicious!. I couldn’t even finish all my food but I made sure to take the rest home.
I will definitely be back here on a day I’m feenin Vietnamese food!
Thank you Lisa