Pho Tudo

Been to this joint a few times before they changed to having white bowls & plate & white plastic table coverings. Liked it a lot before, like it little now. On Wed. night, we were one of 2 tables of customers (the other was a table of Vietnamese men downing many ba ba ba …333 beers) and shouting at each other.
The food is not great. I found the: Bun cha gio thit nuong: just OK. (noodles w/​bbq pork, egg roll over noodles). My friend (who is Vietnamese) had «Hu Tieu Ba Nam sa dec» soup w/​the clear rice noodles/​portk/​prawn/​qual egg. It was good … saying this is the only place in SF serving this dish.
Make no mistake this is a Vietnamese restaurant, with many traditional (yup REAL Vietnamese) dishes, maybe not according to the high L.A. standards (like IMA from LA and OMG I know Vietnamese food). However, Phở Tudo has lost their way when they remade the menu & décor. Their menu made me laugh with things like… «warm bread with liverworst», «cajun rice», «lemongrass french fries», «angel wings»…huh??? What the Phở’?
It is a wannabe elegant upscale restaurant… in a downscale package.
It takes more than white dishes, a clear glass tea pot, and some «creative» menu items to make a good restaurant.
The food is mediocre, the «ambiance» feels contrived… unless I am stuck in the Richmond and starving, not a place I’ll go back to.
IMA heading to the ‘Loin for my Vietnamese food fix.

For most Asian restaurants, the quality and authenticity of food is inversely proportional to the quality or service and/​or the cleanliness of the establishment. Let me display the ASIAN RESTAURANT CONTINUUM EQUATION:
~
FOOD QUALITY + AUTHENTICITY = 1/​SERVICE QUALITY + CLEANLINESS
Take for instance Vietnam Restaurant (
) on Broadway. The sticky tables and cramped space ensures a satisfying bowl of authentic Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup). Then you have to look at the other end of the equation with Tommy Toy’s (
). A prix-​fixe menu, white tablecloths, and roasted duck served without the head and wings will usually ensure an unsatisfied stomach accompanied by a hefty tab. Sure there are exceptions to the rule… eh hem… R&G Lounge, that’s why there’s that squiggly thing on top of the equals sign. That means «approximately equal,» right mathematicians?
This brings me to Phở TuDo. This place has tried to go the full range of this Asian Restaurant Continuum Equation. They started it right a few years back with big, white bowls of Phở at reasonable prices. Why did I say «white» bowls? Well, you see after a hiatus in which this location was a restaurant named Avenue G, Phở TuDo returned.
Upon arriving I first noticed the cleaned up, contemporary exterior not similar to the more traditional look with a bright awning rittled with bad English and two other languages. When entering you see white tablecloths, but they’re not. They’re plastic tablecloths… err. covers? What’s going on? You look to the other tables and you see clear hard plastic bowls of noodle soups, not the traditional huge white bowl. Have they tried to transform? When looking into the menu I noticed the prices were definitely higher than before. But I’ll give them a chance. The proof is in the pudding… err… Phở.
We ordered the Bun Bo Hue (Pork Blood Noodle Soup), Phở Dac Biet (Special Beef Noodle Soup), and the Vietnamese-​Style Beef Carpaccio. These are pretty standard items to prove the quality of eats at a Vietnamese restaurant. My friend’s Bun Bo Hue fell flat on its face. She stated that it had no flavor and missing some essential ingredients. My Phở was a bit unnerving being in a clear bowl. I felt like I was eating from a pond or child’s aquarium. What made it worse was the lack of flavor. The broth is what makes Phở, and this broth was bland. The beef carpaccio did have flavor, but it wasn’t all quite right. Simply put, it just didn’t taste fresh. Not a good sign when you’re talking about raw beef.
All in all this reincarnation of Phở TuDo is quite disappointing when comparing it to its original form. If I’m ever in the area and want Phở, I’ll head up the street to Golden Deer. It’s definitely a better option. Phở TuDo, I wish could’ve like you just like the past, but you had to go screw with the Asian Restaurant Continuum Equation.

Went out here for a New Year’s Day lunch, some hot soup on this chilly day of 47 °F in SF.
Ordered the friend angle wings for appetizer and a bowl of chicken ho fun noodle soup. The wings took 20 min to get to our table and the soup another 25! For a Phở place they need to crank the service speed, I wasn’t there to nap, sh*t. The food tastes ok here but pricey; $ 7.95 for that medium sized bowl and $ 2.95 for a skinny ass glass of Thai Ice Tea.
Oh yeah and most of the numbered items on the menu are out of order!!! As in: 63, 61, 64… LOL!
Slow service, pricey food equals a farewell from my ass.

Above and beyond amazing and accommodating service!
We had about 8 dishes altogether — all good — but what sticks out in my mind the most is the fried egg rolls, garlic noodles (OMG!), lemon chicken and definitely save room for their fried banana dessert and vanilla ice cream. Like whoa — poopaliciousness!
Okay, wait, but the best part… the beeeeessst part is their high tech bidet in their cozy little women’s bathroom. Now that alone, is worth coming to phở tudo! ;)

The order:
Beef Carpaccio — Tasty, good amounts of onions, carrots, peanuts, but beef could be sliced thinner and perhaps a little more fish sauce.
Bun Rieu — This came out really hot, and did cook the side cabbage (as it’s supposed too… but somehow doesn’t happen everywhere). Soup was tasty, but noodles were all broken, perhaps due to slight over cooking. Crab paste had lots of flour in it… more crab, more pork, less flour please.
Pot of Green Tea — This is a very simple yet nice touch, to be able to pick your type of tea and have it served in French tea cups instead of Chinese tea cups.

Many years in the past, this was my favorite Phở place on Clement. They were popular, cheap, and the food quality was good. For some reason, they left, Avenue G (AG) moved in and remodeled & modernized the location. AG moved to North Beach, and later closed due to lack of business (too much competition). Phở Tudo then came back to the improved location with a revised menu and prices.
But currently the location remains empty all the time. What happened?
I can get a GOOD wonton soup for $ 3, and most noodle soups/​Phở along the Clement corridor are priced at $ 4 – 6. Phở Tudo wants $ 8 for soup (almost everything else in their menu costs even more). Now can you figure out why this place is empty?!
I don’t understand what they were thinking when they redesigned the menu & prices. Clement street is a place full of shops that offer value and cheap prices — consumers know that. Why would you open a store that charges premium prices (compared to what’s available nearby), when the food is not that significantly better than others. In fact, some portions are smaller than what nearby restaurants serve. For example, the cha gio (imperial rolls) are the size of a pinkie finger. I liked the old Phở Tudo better, this new remodeled version is trying too hard be a fancy place.
Overall the food is not bad, but the value isn’t there if you know about the other restaurants in the area. Maybe the economy will force other restaurants to raise their prices, and then Phở Tudo’s price range will be more in-​line with others. Who knows.

It was a slow Saturday night my friends and I were in search of a restaurant in the Richmond. First thing that came to mind was BURMA «SUPERSTAR»!!! but we say the long line and we were deflated. Coming down celement we saw this decent looking restaurant and we decide to give it a try.
WOW!!! A nice clean restaurant with affordable prices. We ordered the «LAZY MAN» crab&garlic noodle, Vietnamese Shaking Beef, and Vietnamese sweet & sour fish soup. All I can say is amazing!!! I eat in Orange County «BOLSA» aka Lil Saigon area and I would have to say this place is almost as good.
I have been to PPQ down on Clement and the crab there is not comparable to Phở Tudo. Also, the garlic noodle here had more flavors (Garlic) if you like the strong taste. The best Vietnamese Restaurant in Norther California. Five Stars!!!
I am going back here for my friends birthday so stay tune!!!9/20/08

Mi Novio is getting tired of eating soup. I been making novio eat soup with me for 5 nights straight already.
I dragged poor novio to eat soup again tonight.
Wonderful novio did not pout, did not shout, didn’t even try to bitch me out.
Fortunately, for novio, Phở Tudo has more than just phở.
I slurped loyally on my Dac biet phở (chicken rice ho phun soup, $ 7.95).
Novio had Saigon Chicken Curry over rice ($ 10).
We all be happy now.
During previous visits to Phở Tu Do we were delighted with the following dishes:
Lemongrass Fries ($ 5)
Chicken Salad ($ 9)
Goi Cuon Shrimp Rolls ($ 8)
Chilean Sea Bass ($ 15)
Not delighted by «some» of the pricing. I admit the restaurant has nicer presentation and a more modern interior than most traditional Vietnamese Restaurants. However, they don’t hit the extra notch to be charging these kind of prices.
Also, I don’t like the containers for the Sriracha sauce and Hoison Sauce. Kinda old and sticky.
Overall: The food is good, the service is awesome. The waitresses are attentive and happy about the customers.
Waitress did try to take the Sriracha Sauce away from me. WTF?
Novio immediately jumped in and said, «I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.»
Good novio.

Let’s start with the most important: The food is quite good. I had the beef noodle soup and it had perfectly tender and tasty pieces of beef and the tendons were included. A tasty treat that I haven’t yet strayed from. Appetizers are really good too!
I love coming here because the owners are absolutely precious. I feel like I’m at home here. They really go above and beyond to accommodate your needs and it’s well-​appreciated.
Let’s also establish that this isn’t a hole in the wall. Décor is pleasant and clean but hardly over the top. It feels like I’m in their home. As a result, it’s a bit pricier than some other Vietnamese places in the area. I also found the portions to suit my appetite quite well.
Definitely a place to try if you’re cravin’ some noodles in the Rich. This has authentic goodness without the need for a sanitizing shower afterwards.

This restaurant is between your typical phở restaurant and the slanted door. Not in a good way. Food is very expensive for the amount of food that you get. Portions are VERY SMALL. You can easily spend over 30 dollars a person if you intend to get full. Meaning you are going to have to order at least two entrees. There’s no way that you can charge that much for your type of food especially at this location and not get full. Sorry Brian P… but this was a miss for me. I will probably not go back to this establishment again. Don’t get me wrong… the service was great… but then again we were the only ones in the restaurant during this time.
We had the lazy man crab with garlic noodles. I guess the lazy man ate some of the noodles and crab before it came out. They squeezed the noodles and the crab meat into the shell of the crab. The crab was not that big… can you imagine the portion?
Fresh beef roll. It was not tight so everything collapsed upon biting into it. beef wasn’t too good and the vermicelli was over cooked.
Fish claypot. this one was actually good but I found a hair on my fish. Couldn’t eat anymore. Alot of flys for some reason and they started to burn incense. Eatting with the incense is not a good combination. It got rid of the flys at least but it also got rid of us.
It’s not a bad place to go check out. This place will allow you to appreciate the other vietnamese restaurants that are out there that you do like.

Ahhh… delish! Hubby and I went to the zoo today, which left me completely depressed (what a sad little place SF Zoo is) so I needed a meal that would hug me inside and tell me everything would be ok.
We drove around and ended up at Phở Tu Do which was a great find! The restaurant is impeccable (superrrr clean), not fancy but everything looks nice and new. We started with the roasted quails which were delicious — skin was crispy and it came with a delicious lemony dipping sauce. Then I had the Dream Fish, which was beautifully presented inside of a coconut. It was a little spicy but mild enough for a sissy girl like me to finish the entire thing without hyperventilating.
The service was really great: friendly and fast. Overall, nothing fancy, but a great meal. We will certainly come again.

Negs:
1. Portions are smaller than in usual Phở places.
2. Less meat
3. Take Credit cards, BUT DOESN’T DO MULTIPLE CHARGES. (We we unable to pay with 4 cards)
Pros:
1. Awesome friendly service
2. Nice variety dishes on the menu
3. Clean, nice looking restaurant
I would recommend to go there, but not for Phở. :))

This place is a really nice place for a Phở place. I’ve never really paid for food here, but I think my bowl was $ 9 or something? I’m simple, I like Tai Phở. So, this place would’ve gotten 5 stars but the times I’ve been here, it was not very busy (actually, it was lunch on a weekday both times) and it took forever to get someone’s attention and when I asked for hoisin sauce, they poured it for me (about the size of a dime) and took it away. I mean, they were refilling the bottles and there were a handful of people in the restaurant and they couldn’t give us our own hoisin? wow? seriously?
I mean, this place would’ve gotten 2 stars from my overall experience, but in the women’s restroom, they have this toilet seat in there that is HELLA cool. Look it up, its called a lotus toilet seat… haha. Scared the shit outta my co-​worker cause she used the bidet feature on it. haha. And it scared me, because I sat down and it was warm and I wondered why. I mean… WOW… A HEATED TOILET SEAT IN A PHO RESTAURANT?! crazy!

4 stars.
Definitely one of the better Vietnamese restaurants in the Richmond area, actually probably the best i’ve been to in San Francisco. I guess you can compare Phở Tu Do to Phở Phu Quoc, but i think Phở Tu Do flavors are a lot better PPQ. The prices are a bit cheaper then PPQ, but to bad they don’t have garlic roasted crab there! DAMMIT! The Décor is very modern and contemporary for a Vietnamese restaurant, it reminds me of a classy french restaurant, very romantic if you and your spouse in feigning authentic Vietnamese food and not a fusion cuisine like slanted door.
I went here with a couple friends and we ordered two appetizers, Crab Ragoon and Fresh crab meat spring rolls and both of them were damn good! I ordered the lunch special which was the five spice chicken + 3 eggrolls + a fried egg on top of my rice. This was one of the best five spice chicken dish i’ve ever had! I also tried some of my friends Bun Bo Hue. and damn that was some bomb ass broth!
The Owner cook and waitress were both wonderful! They will make your dining experience there wonderful! If something is wrong they will fix it! Make sure to be nice to them!
–1 star
It smelled like cigarettes in the back!

I ate here recently and was very impressed with the food. We ordered the noodle dish cuz I was under the weather — that was only a 4-​star.
However, they made up for it with very friendly service and the dinner dishes are excellent. The lemon-​grass chicken was very tasty and their brown rice was extremely yummy.
I’ll report back after trying more dishes. will be back!

Man, I thought Vietnamese food was supposed to be… yaknow…cheap? I kinda got the impression that their prices were slightly higher than most of the competition. Which I could understand if this was a classed-​up joint. Granted, it was far from a hole in the wall dive restaurant, but still, $ 40 for two people to eat two entrees & one appetizer (while sticking to water) seems a bit much when I’m used to dropping $ 30 at a standard Vietnamese joint.
Still, the food’s great & they’re SUPER friendly there.

Yay! I had a really nice meal here a couple weeks ago and I’m looking forward to returning.
Most of the Vietnamese restaurants I frequent in the Mission are pretty bad — mostly inconsistent and unauthentic — don’t get me wrong, I frequent them because they do have their good days and their food can hit the spot. However, if Phở TuDo came to the Mission, it would easily be my go to Vietnamese restaurant.
I ate here a few times back when it had the tacky bamboo wall paper (I kind of miss that) but I’m impressed by the new décor. It’s nice and clean and no longer tacky, but the highlight is the new fancy toilets that seem to do more than just flush. There were many buttons — all of which intrigued and scared me. Is it a bidet, a toilet, a massager?
As for my meal itself, I have zero complaints and was actually quite impressed. Maybe because I had a dish with crab in it and the season is upon us! Yippee, crabs are yummy! I also saw a neighboring patron’s crab fried rice dish that was garnished with a crab shell which is a nice touch for a casual restaurant and also shows that they use the real stuff. I had a bowl of the Bun Rieu which is a noodle soup that is not found at too many Vietnamese restaurants, and rarely done well. It has a clear crab, shrimp, tomato based broth with vermicelli noodles. Along with the noodles there are cubes of fried tofu, chunks of tomatoes, and bits of crab meat. Julienned lettuce or cabbage, mint, and lime finish this bowl off perfectly! The flavor was spot on and it warmed me to my soul :) Oh my, I’m making myself hungry just writing about it. Yum!

Sometimes you just stumble onto a good thing. That’s what I encountered this afternoon while taking a walk along Clement Street. I saw the restaurant’s signage from a half block away and thought to myself, «I can go for some phở today.»
The restaurant was fairly empty. I think there were four tables occupied, each with a single diner. The folks seemed to be enjoying their food very much. I decided to make it five. The waitress seated me at a roomy table by the window, and gave me a menu. I looked over the menu selections carefully, and I decided to try something different today. I ordered the Goi-​Cuon Shrimp Roll (S5 on the menu) and the Bun Thap cam (cha gio, thit nuong, ga nuong, bi) (S46).
Ice water in a fancy, slender glass was brought to me as I surveyed the interior. The restaurant is fairly modern in its décor and quite clean. There is an open kitchen area that one can look in to. There is a flat panel television on one wall showing programming from the Animal Planet channel. Different but how cool is that?
My food arrived rather quickly, and the presentation was beautiful. This was the part where I shocked the waiter by whipping out my camera. The wait staff, by the way, is very friendly and they speak Vietnamese, Cantonese and English. Anyway, back to the food. Wrapped in a thin, translucent rice wrap was shrimp, rice noodle, green apple, bean sprouts, leaf lettuce and mint. The shrimp rolls were served with a hoisin and peanut sauce enhanced by chopped peanuts and julienne carrots. The ingredients were very fresh and the fresh mint with the noodles and the sauce created a delicious taste combination. The presentation of my entrée which was a vermicelli dish with egg rolls, barbeque chicken and pork strips was equally as nice. A base of crunchy cucumbers and fresh bean sprouts in a light vinegar-​based sauce was topped by a mound of rice vermicelli. Off to the side of the noodles were sliced baby egg rolls, delicious barbeque chicken and seasoned strips of lean pork. Chopped peanuts, green onions and scallions finished off the dish. The different flavors of the egg roll, the chicken, the pork, the cucumbers and especially the peanuts combined with the blandness of the rice noodles was sensational. A cup of sweet and sour sauce is served with the entrée, but the dish was fabulous without it.
The restaurant sits corner to corner with Be My Guest Thai Bistro, but between the two, I’ll be dining at Phở Tudo much more often.

I’m usually weary of the fancy looking asian restaurants bc I can’t believe that they can do the down home cookin’ at a price that will satisfy my wallet and my tummy. But Tu Do has proven me wrong! And I will surely pay the extra 50 cents or dollar for the extra thought in the décor and plates!
UPDATE: Came here last night for dinner with m. The chef was at our table the whole time helping us decide what to order. He was suggesting every other item without being too pushy. We got the carpaccio, sugar cane shrimp cakes, eggplant and tofu, and country fried fish. All came out delicious and full of flavor. The only downside was the carpaccio which was a little warm and didn’t have enough fish sauce. The food was so good and the service was so friendly that we paid in cash like good asians do when they want to be nice.
I like the chef. He says that I’m pretty.

Went there for dinner on a Friday night and was disappointed all way around. Not busy — with 5 – 6 tables filled.
First thought: they need to get an EXHAUST FAN. The whole place smells like oil and food. The smoke from the kitchen & from the food in the dining area are all congregating in the ceiling — making the place look hazy. Kids are playing in the kitchen/​back room — noisy.
Second thought: Décor looked nice and modern but the menu has misspelled words (my pet peeve). «Soup» was spelled «Suop» more than once on the menu. You would think they can at least do spell-​checK?
I ordered the Bun Rieu (Shrimp paste/​Tomato noodle soup) and my guest ordered Rice with Charboiled Pork + dried pork skin + egg. My dish was SOOOO salty! It is MSG to the max! I was thristy instantly but did not get any water filled. My guest’s dish was OK, although a small bug was found in the meal. Result: A bathroom run hours later.
Waiter was impolite –A blunt «You done?» and took the plates away.
I will never go back to this place again! This is one of those places that try too hard to impress the patrons with a modern décor and think it is enough to charge people higher prices for simple Vietnamese dishes. No way!