Blim’s

This is the first time I am giving a 1-​star, and I hope I would never have to give another one again.
This place has easily the worst wait staff I have ever seen. When I first arrived, it was around 3pm and the place was empty. A lot of the tables still had all the dishes that haven’t been cleaned up, which was already a bad sign.
I sat down at one of the empty tables, but after I sat down, they made move to another smaller table, even though this was already after lunch rush hour and there weren’t any new customers coming in (this was the case all the way until I paid and left at the end). The food took immensely long to arrive. And when I was paying my check, instead of coming to my table to pick up the money, the waiter waved at me to bring the money to her. What the heck? That’s her JOB. I don’t work at the restaurant!
In any case, I decided not to be a douche about it, brought the money for my check to her in the kitchen area, and included a normal size tip.
Needless to say, I am never going back to this place again.

I came here because of the Sarah and Vinnie morning show. Side note, Bryn is a very talented producer. Pretty good timing for the sound bites.
In any case, listening to Sarah discuss the phở made me want to go here. Perhaps, it was over-​hyped because I had high expectations coming into the restaurant. The phở was pretty not bad. It was pretty standard but nothing outstanding. Just for that, I would give this place a 3 star.
However, I have to dock a star for the Mexican food. They served carne asada fries which is one of the classic San Diego dishes where I lived for a while. Unfortunately, this place disappointed and it was not up to par. Meat was not that flavorful and the other toppings weren’t a good fit.
Blim, himself, is a very nice guy. Just don’t be shy going up to talk to him. It was very cool to get to know what the «real» Sarah and Vinnie are like. (They act the same off air as on air).
Really want to give this place a better rating but they should really focus on Vietnamese and move away from the Mexican food department.

I don’t know what’s going on here, but after Caliphonia closed down and remodeled, they opened as bLim’s, and then bLim’s closed down and remodeled, and they opened a few weeks ago as… Caliphonia? bLim’s? who knows. The owner says it’s both and she said the bLim’s menu is on page 3 of the Caliphonia menu labeled «Mexican Corner» so who can tell what’s going on here.
Crisis of identity I think, and they definitely got rid of the burgers that bLim’s had. But they still serve some beer and have pool table. Weird place for Phở and Mexican if you and your date disagree on what to eat.
One thing I know is I will never eat at Caliphonia again, since they had some serious funky smells coming from the kitchen area, probably garbage not picked up.

Sarah and Vinnie turned me on to this place as well. Of note: I am a noodle enthusiast. I’m not vietnamese. I just love any and all forms of noodles.
Facility: ¹⁄₅ (dirty/​low food safety standards, score: 88 on health inspection)
Food: ¹⁄₅ (there are better places with better value)
Service: ¹⁄₅ (customer service sub-​par, parking ticket from meter running out didn’t help)
Details:
The kitchen is a disorganized nightmare (cooking oils/​spice containers here and there, new and visibly used bowls/​plates in prep area, random newspaper strewn about), electrical cord «spaghetti» in the corner, I can’t tell what’s clean from dirty (which hands touched what and in what order)…
Food and drink — (beef phở with tendon, lemon chicken and garlic noodles, pork and shrimp spring rolls, hot tea, & vietnamese iced coffee). Phở came out first — bowl was pretty small compared to other phở spots (hello, Kevin’s!), cilantro leaves were wilted brown, noodles were extremely disappointing. They were the thin, rice noodles — not springy like i’m used to – and you couldn’t grab onto them with chopsticks! Spring rolls were also disappointing — dry, tasteless sheet of pork, boiled shrimp half, held loosely by a musty-​smelling rice wrapper. Even the peanut sauce tasted off. The lemon chicken was fried well-​done (gross) and garlic noodles greasy. I got one mug of hot tea (no refills).
The only time we saw our server was when she first brought our beverages. I think it was the «line cook» that brought our food out. I had to approach the kitchen (eek!) for the check. Waited a few minutes before someone acknowledged me. Really considered the dine-​and-​dash move.
Unless Chef Gordon Ramsay pays a much-​needed visit, I will not be returning to this place.

Could you imagine a half Mexican, half Vietnamese sports bar /​restaurant in the Inner Richmond SF? Well, it’s true. You can order burritos, tacos, nachos, wings, phở, chicken rice plates and more. It’s like San Jose in SF. The food is well priced, the phở, though small, is quite tasty. They have two large HD TV’s and great all day food and drink specials. Bang for your buck. Come here to catch a game.

Mexican dishes were whack. I felt like crap afterwards.
The idea seems cool with phở and mexican. Phở on the other hand had a ok broth. But still…
Draft beers were flat, tried two of them, both flat.
Meat for mexican dishes had no umami.

Die-​hard fans of Sarah and Vinnie and also a big Bryn groupie (damn those abs are amazing!)
I have to give an impartial review though, so 3 stars it is for 1000 clement! I wanted to get enough info to write an informed review, so of course I had to try the phở and a burrito. I appreciate the non-​MSG phở, which probably was the reason the flavor was slightly lacking. It’s not the traditional phở served at most restaurants… had a lot of cilantro and other green onions and didn’t come with enough basil. The broth was very light and didn’t have a strong beefy, umami flavor. As for the burrito, too much lettuce and not enough good quality meat. The meat didn’t have the authentic carne asada flavor and came in very tiny chunks (think slightly larger than ground beef). I also tried the lemongrass fries, which were interesting but I didn’t think it had enough lemongrass flavor to make them stand out.
I had to try it just b/​c of alice radio, but I don’t think I’d come back to specifically eat here. I came for a late dinner on a Saturday night and still had to circle around 4 – 5 times to find parking…

A for effort but I would have to agree with a lot of what previous reviewers have said. This is a work in progress restaurant. They have a lot of potential because they have a unique idea, but the result isn’t quite there yet.
I looked at the lunch menu and unlike a lot of other reviewers I did notice that there was a real attempt to fuse Mexican and Vietnamese together but there’s also a lot of options that are either/​or and just normal bar food. I ordered 3 tacos (fish, grilled chicken and beef) and a Vietnamese Iced Coffee… paired together is definitely a NEW eating concept but neither really influenced the other. Is there a way to join a horchata with a Vietnamese iced coffee? MAYBE. How about instead of grilled chicken there could be some kind of five spiced chicken? who knows how it would taste but that’s what would make this place something really special.
The service is quick and everyone is super friendly. They do appear to be in a transition mode… Processes not quite in place and some confusion with communication with the kitchen. But, the food came to-​go within 10 minutes and I was overall very happy.
I will be coming back… And I would LOVE to re-​review with a greater and better experience.

The tacos were tasty and service was nice, but I feel that this place overall is struggling with its identity with both its menu and décor. They have a menu for Asian items, Mexican, and have some American appetizers like jalapeño poppers lumped in. Good place to have a Guinness and watch a game on a big screen TV. It was pretty quiet when a group of us went for dinner and ordered lemon grass fries… I was a bit disappointed as I think they forgot to add the lemon grass because it just tasted like regular fries. Otherwise we were happy with our tacos (we had a variety). I think they have potential to do better, and hope they can improve how they market their menu and brand themselves.

Yummy beef phở lemon grass fries. And hot wings Great Burritos too

I admit the mix of Viet food and Mexican food is an interesting combo. Its not really fusion though because only one item «fuses» Mexican and Viet flavors. Its really either/​or.
The food is standard and rather bland. The carne asada is particularly disappointing. Hard and chewy. I can deal with bland though.
The low review is for service. I was overcharged for an item that I did not order so I brought that to the attention of the server. She walked up to the cashier and said to her in Vietnamese
«You ate all the food, why are you complaining.»
Restaurant was empty and I’m sitting right there. How rude. When I got the credit card receipt the overcharged item wasn’t removed.
So yeah, come here if you want to be overcharged and have servers to talk shit about you
(I guess they had the courtesy to speak a language other than English — but hey, some people understand Vietnamese)

We heard about this place from the radio as we are avid listeners of Sarah and Vinnie on Alice in the morning. We were out and we thought it would be good to give this place a try.
We got there a bit early at around 6:30 and the place was dead quiet. All the stores around was very quiet too and during the whole time we were there we were the only ones dining at the restaurant.
The food was great, the menu like most people threw us off a bit. They offer some traditional Vietnamese foods as well as Mexican Tuckeria style foods. Being that the restaurant is owned by Vietnamese we both ordered Phở as that’s what we looking for when we came here.
The Phở broth was great, probably one of the best we’ve tasted in SF. And for $ 6.95 how can you go wrong with those prices.
The décor was a bit weird, it felt like a bar that was a Tuckeria run by Vietnamese people serving Phở. Which probably was exactly what it was. The ordering was a bit odd too. Immediately when you walk in there’s a counter with a stand of printed out menus that you order directly from and pay at the counter before you sit down. Kinda like what you would do in a restaurant in Asia, maybe that’s what they were trying to go with here.
We didn’t try the Mexican food since we were really looking for Phở and honestly I’m not sure if we will try it. There’s plenty of places close by that offer Mexican which are amazing.
I really hope they stick with the Phở side of things and really make a truly great Vietnamese restaurant.

Talked to the owner he sounds like a cool guy trying to make the place work.
But… the food was ok at best.
Phở was not bad, i can come back for that,
but the mexican food needs work.
There was just not enough flavor in the mexican dishes to make it mexican.
Just think of it this way, ask a 1^st generation asian mother to make you some mexican food and all she had to go by is some pictures and taco bell. Thats what you get. It looks and resembles mexican food, but the taste seems off.
Carne asada fries just tasted like chopped up pieces of beef with lettuce, cheese and tomatoes with some guac. the carne asada salad just tasted the same sans the fries. fish taco was bits of dried fried fish with lettuce and tomatos in tortilla.
I would give it a 2, but the cool owner made it a 3

3.5 stars for their Mexican menu.
It would appear that bLiM’s has a bit of an identity problem. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. From reading prior reviews I assumed this was a phở shop or a newer place where I could get in on some Asian grub. I happened to be in the area last night and when I saw the storefront at the old Cali-​Phở-​Nia site I decided to check it out.
I walked up to its big windows and immediately noticed the big posters announcing their carne asada fries and fish tacos. I’m pretty certain there aren’t many Mexican food options in this neighborhood so I was quite interested to see how their food compared with other places in the City.
There’s a menu posted on their door, and yes, they do have phở and rice plates along with some appetizers, but I had taken a sudden detour and was very much interested in the Mexican food menu which consists of tacos, burritos, nachos, tostadas and yes, carne asada fries.
You order at the cash register inside. Make sure and take a peek at their specials board slightly to the right of your line of sight when you’re looking towards their big pool table in the back of the room. They have a nice selection of beer and bottled beverages. The tacos are sold individually so I ordered one with fish and one with carnitas plus an order of the carne asada fries. They give you a number and you find your own table. They had the skills competition from the NBA’s All Star Saturday activities on their gigantic TV so I was highly entertained as I waited for my food.
My tacos (
) were brought out first, and I immediately noticed the huge mound of shredded lettuce. Take a look at the photo. I mean how can I not notice that? The tacos are fairly simple. It’s the meat of your choice topped with some fresh pico de gallo and a mountain of shredded lettuce on a single corn tortilla. There’s a sauce that accompanies the tacos but I found mind just a bit too salty for my taste so I didn’t use it.
I took hold of the carnitas taco first and took a big bite. The carnitas was quite flavorful and they gave me lots of those crispy edge pieces that I love in a good carnitas. What I noticed most in their pico de gallo was the fresh chopped cilantro which I loved. The lettuce however simply got in the way. The Fish Taco (
) was good too, but I quickly found out why many restaurants use two tortillas when the moisture from the ingredients obliterated this tortilla and sent it crashing to my plate. Suddenly this taco required a fork to eat. The two pieces of crunchy fried fish were very good and the kitchen did an excellent job of eliminating the frying grease residue on them.
The Carne Asada Fries (
) were a lot more than I had hoped for with another massive offering of shredded lettuce, a nice heaping serving of fresh guacamole and more sour cream than I wished for. I knew this wasn’t going to be as good as ones I’ve tried in various places in San Diego, but it was actually pretty good considering I haven’t had it in a few years. The fries are of the skinny variety and even underneath that mountain of ingredients I managed to find fries that were still crispy. The carne asada was sliced thin then chopped. It had good flavor but I did find a few pieces of beef gristle in there. The melted yellow cheese wasn’t very noticeable. I enjoyed the fresh guac and the pico de gallo on there, but the overuse of shredded lettuce and sour cream was quite the turn off.
Overall though, I liked it and who knows? Maybe I’ll be back to try something from the Asian menu next time. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate on ordering from their Mexican menu again.

Still very early in its life as it’s figuring out its concept, so things are likely to have changed — but based on 2 experiences, really good with a lot of promise.
Phở is good — noodle to soup ratio is higher than average, but still gives you sufficient broth.
As others have mentioned, the lemongrass fries are great. They are also flexible if you want to order other variants (we did some kind of nacho toppings on fries variant that my friend wanted).
They had just introduced the Mexican menu, and they should definitely keep it. I ordered a chicken taco just to try it out, and it was great. It’s basically a taqueria style taco, except they added lettuce on it (not sure if that will stay on, since the owner said they were just trying the lettuce thing out).
When we were there, they had $ 9 all you can drink mimosas — great deal.
Ambiance is a little bit different/​unique/​still evolving, but I like it. There’s a single huge TV, and also a pool table. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a get your own utensils, refill your own water place (the set up would make it seem that way, but we were always served as in a regular restaurant).
All in all, will definitely be back — curious to see how it evolves over time as they figure out the concept. Could definitely see this as a great late night place (although I think they close at 9pm right now).

bLim’s had no one here noonish. no patrons and just the cook/​waitress
menu: phở (chicken or beef 6) plates (pulled pork and ?, 7) fried indulgences (4,wings, fried, zuchinni, egg roll, jalepenos poppers), hamburgers (6ish) salad, salad bar and lots of beer.
eats: beef phở (6)
–heavy sweet. broth with some beef fragrance, the usual msg and rock sugar flavoring
–not much noodle
–beef slices mostly fatty beef brisket
–phở size small, taste about average.
–bean sprouts fresh, the few pieces of it.
leftovers:
–sign on wall says serve yourself utensils, water.
–msg aftereffects felt.
–value 2.5

I’m not sure what bLiM’s angle is yet. Hopefully this feedback is taken more as constructive and less critical.
They’re very new on Clement street, and still figuring out their menu (they even mention it at the top of the menu). The way it’s advertised is «burgers and phở,» which although sounds odd, is not the most crazy combination of cuisines (think sushi tacos).
I get they’re trying to cater to the sports bar fans, providing several large screen TVs around the place, a pool table towards the back and a great selection of beers both on tap and bottled. Let me repeat myself: great selection of beers for under $ 4…that’s hard to find! However, sports bars are known for just that, a bar. bLiM’s doesn’t have a bar so I don’t see guys (or girls) going to grab some beers and watch a game here while sitting at a table, taking up space where others may want to eat. I didn’t notice whether there is a place to set your drinks down if you wanted to play pool either.
Also, there’s a buffet table along the wall at the left when you walk in. I have no idea what the concept of that is. There was no mention of a buffet on the menu either.
I had the beef phở and lemongrass fries on the recommendation of other Unilocal reviews.
Beef Phở — for $ 7 the dish is filling however it is smaller than what one would find at other phở places nearby for the same price. The ingredients are fresh and the flavors good.
Lemongrass fries ($ 4) — I was looking forward to the fries, I’m one to try new flavors. The basket of fries is small-​ish, and the serving we were given had all the small (I call them butt fries) pieces of french fries you find at the bottom of the bag. Disappointing. The lemongrass flavors had been completely muted by the frying oil and had almost no flavor. Not sure if this is how they’re serving this or if we had a bad batch.
Service is slow (waited longer than usual for the fries, and turns out our order had been forgotten), but they are nice and well-​intentioned. I know this sounds harsh, but it’s an honest review on things that could be improved.

Oh man, so good!!! I was originally a little annoyed that my friend wanted to eat here because there’s no info on it anywhere! No phone number, no operating hours, etc. etc. We had heard it opened at 6 (which it did) but we got there early just in case, would up hitting up a great happy hour across the street at the Thai restaurant.
When we went to the restaurant we sat down, got greeted immediately, took our order and within 10 minutes had our food. We ordered an appetizer to split, the lemongrass french fries. THEY WERE AMAZING!!! It wasn’t a huge portion, but they were amazing, so it didn’t matter. It came with the great dipping sauce, I don’t know what was in it, but it was sweet and spicy.
Then I and my two friends all order phở and it was delicious and it came with all the fixins which some restaurants don’t always give. It was 6 bucks and worth it. After we were getting close to being done eaten, the owner/​chef came out and asked our table and another on how the meal was, what would we change, what would we add, etc., which I thought was really cool. I recommended added more info to the Unilocal page (for obvious reasons), but they’re only been one 2 WEEKS!!! So I’m trying not to hold their lack of info against them. Then afterwards (since the restaurant was empty) my friend chatted up the owner/​chef guy while I and my friend played pool. Pretty cool way to end the meal.
I really loved this place, everything was DELICIOUS and a good price, but I live in the East Bay, so it’s not a restaurant that I will be able to eat at all the time, but next time that I am in the city, especially in that area and it’s during their limited open hours, I will definitely be coming back.
ALSO, just fyi. Their dinner hours right now at from 6 – 9 and the photo you see of the menu is the entire menu (plus drinks on the back). It’s small — appetizers, burgers, phở and rice plates.

Beer on tap. A pool table. Big screen tvs for sports. Bar food and phở! What else do u need? I had the beef phở, Garlic fries, zucchini sticks, fried chicken and beer on tap. I recommend the hoegaarden beer.

bLim’s is an awesome addition to Clement Street. The new restaurant replaces Cali PHO nia. The interior has been updated. They have been doing soft openings as they are still determining hours and maybe updating their offerings. I highly recommend to stop by and check them out if you’re in the neighborhood.
bLim’s is not just another asian restaurant as the serve some great snacks at a really good price.
We had a pulled pork rice plate ($ 6) which is really good. It was a nice portion and came with a side salad. The Beef Phở ($ 7) was sizeable. The beef also wasn’t crappy gristle but good meat. It’s apparent that both plates were well seasoned as they were flavorful where most phở/​rice dishes can be bland.
We also had the lemongrass fries ($ 4). It was the highlight of the meal. It was really tasty and plentiful.
Overall, we had a great experience on our first visit. It food was great and they didn’t mind our questions about he new restaurant. For the summer, I noticed they had some outdoor seating which is going to be great for bringing out our four legged friend.
Also, the owner works on the Sarah and Vinny morning show on ALICE.