Spice Kit

Is it just me or does their daikon hashbrown in the «Bacon and Egg» breakfast item not actually have any daikon in it? I hate being lied to…
The rice bowl/​porridge, however, is legit, and the steamed buns are decent also.
The chicken, beef and pork are usually a little too salty, the portions are generous, but I’m still not over the daikon hash brown not having [much, if any] daikon in it.

I order a Korean bowl with short rib and 64 degree egg togo. When I got home, I realized they gave me a Vietnamese bowl instead and the egg I paid extra for was not there. Make sure to check if you order your food togo!

This spot rocks! Everything on the menu is tasty. I usually go for the fried chicken on Wednesdays and Fridays but you really can’t go wrong here. The people that work here are top notch! They always seem happy even when I request special accommodations. I’ve been going here for over two years. If you want high quality food, fast and friendly service then this is the place for you!

I am giving this location a one star for the following:
Last night I went in and asked, «what of your meats are gluten free?»: Girl answered immediately: «all but the chicken» She seemed confident, responded immediately, and I felt re assured.
Today, i am ill, doubled over in pain as I have had zero gluten in years.
So I call back to this location: «Which of your meats are gluten free» A woman on the phone answers. «All but the chicken sir». My response; «So the beef is not marinated in soy sauce, which of course contains gluten?» She leaves and comes back one minute later, «Only the pork is gluten free sir.»
Thanks for that, now I have a week of pain and misery to look forward to.

Visited this little shop for lunch since I was craving something Asian that was also near my work place.
As is the trend nowadays in the «fast casual» restaurant world, this place lets you customize your meal one category at a time a la Chipotle. You start off by choosing how you want your meal prepared either as a sandwich (think banh mi), wrap (think giant spring roll), salad, or rice bowl (Korean or Vietnamese style).
You then move on to choose your filling and toppings, then sides, and finally drinks.
I ordered their Korean bowl with fried chicken as my meat. The chicken was flavorful, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. The seasoned kimchi rice and sauce had a nice kick which was balanced out with sides of bean sprouts, cucumbers, and greens. I kinda wished there was more chicken (there were 3) and sauce but the meal was otherwise well-​portioned. Then again, I always want more meat… always.
I also ordered the pork belly bun, which was also delish!
All together my meal came out to be about $ 10 – 11, which is great for downtown SF considering the quality and quantity of food you’re getting. Definitely gonna come back and try out their other styles and meats!

I like the bacon and egg which is daikon cakes. Today is not so good and I can’t believe they served this burnt piece of daikon cake. Look at the picture.

*Breakfast review.
I wanted to try to pork belly (applewood smoked bacon) buns for breakfast so I stopped by this place today. Not too sure if I’m entirely pleased with it.
(+) Pork Belly Buns. Definitely worth a try and it’s a good breakfast item if you’re craving a savory breakfast. However, for $ 2.50, the buns are SMALL. I can finish the whole thing with 3 bites. 2 for $ 5? You can definitely get a better breakfast deal elsewhere for a good wrap or burrito that’s more filling.
(/​) Vietnamese Iced Coffee. It was meh. Pretty watered down.
Overall, it was a pretty overpriced breakfast for 2 pork buns and an iced coffee. Maybe I’ll come back one day to try the lunch menu!

3.5 stars — pretty cool Chipotle concept but w/​Asian food. (1) choose your style (2) choose your filling (3) side. Ordered the five-​spice chicken korean bowl which came out fairly quickly, esp if you’re on a time crunch for lunch.
The five-​spice chicken was soo delicious, very flavorful, juicy,& really tender. The beansprout, cucumber&lettuce were refreshing. However, the kimchi rice was pretty bland&tasteless, so I had to douse it in Sriracha to give it some flavor. Improvement for this meal could be on the flavor, which seems to be a pretty common thing from the reviews.
Overall, really like the Chipotle-​Asian concept. I would come back here again to try out their other stuff like their wraps/​Viet bowl. Def recommend getting the 5-​Spice Chicken for your meat!

Fast, great tasting food with similar concept to Chipotle, Asian-​style. You can’t really go wrong here. The price is great, and the food is even better.
I highly suggest checking the Five Spice Chicken, and you’ll keep coming back. I’ve tried it once before, and it seems I come back every week just to get it (it’s limited to certain time of the week).
The line is pretty fast as well, and the employees are friendly. Just try it out!

Place was Pretty empty when we went in. We were in San Francisco for a few days and on our last day decided to go top the Farmers market. We should have just stayed at the pier. We tried ordering the pork belly sandwich (bahn mi) but they didn’t have that today… The only thing that we liked was the the 2 pork belly buns. Needed a little more hoisin in my opinion but over was good. We also ordered the Vietnamese bowl with chicks … Was kinda gross and only forced ourselves to finish because we were hungry and already walked a mile to get there. Only reason we went there was because the truck stop was closed on Saturday and Sundays, I guess too much competition from people going to Farmers market? Not sure, that would have been nice. Overall, I would not recommend going here and felt sorry that our last meal in town was this place.

Everything about this place lets me down. The food is a fixed set box or wrap with different meats but there is no definitive taste to it. It’s a very mediocre taste, served in a way that’s ok. I wouldn’t be going back given the options around the area.

My little pillows of pork bun heaven… followed by a refreshing rainfall of Thai iced tea has made this place my new favorite place to go for a quick fix. I love Asian inspired dishes and when I need just a little something something, I can count on Spice kit to bring it !

Spice Kit has a great concept, picking your type of bowl/​salad and then what kind of protein you would like with it. You are also welcome to add sides such as peanut slaw and pork buns. So in a way, it’s almost like an Asian Fusion Chipotle. However to me, the taste is just not exactly on point. Here is what I ordered:
1. Style: Korean Bowl
2. Protein: Kalbi Beef
3. Sides: N/​A
The rice was too soggy and it definitely needed some type of sauce to bring it to the next level, except, the shop didn’t have red pepper sauce (gochujang) to offer. It can also use a little more sesame oil.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad meal, but that was after I squeeze the *bleep* out of that siracha bottle. I have also ordered a porridge for breakfast the other day, but I personally think for $ 5.00 with tax, you can offer to give a little more than a tiny CUP of lierally boiled down rice. I definitely wasn’t full after that, and I don’t even eat that much. The taste of the porridge wasn’t bad either, but it just was not awesome.
Overall, love the concept and modern vibe of the restaurant, I just think taste and quality can be improved.
Not sure if I will be back around, but since I work around the area, I might give it another shot someday.

Hells yes! I was really hungry so unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of my chili garlic tofu wrap but hot damn! I’m pretty sure I could eat another one– not because they’re not filling (which they totally are), but because they were that friggin good. Tofu and spices and kimchee and sprouts– it was both hearty and refreshing all at the same time. at $ 8 a pop this won’t break the bank for lunch either.
So yes, it’s like Chipotle but for Asian food. Service is quick/​friendly, and efficient. I went around 1pm and from line to receiving my order it took about 8 minutes.
Our office just moved to the fidi and I see a lot of group trips in our future! I heart you Spice Kit

Found this hard piece of plastic in my kalbi beef Korean bowl.
Other than that it was good. Maybe I’ll go back but kinda scared now.

Checked this place out during the mid-​week lunch rush, around 12:30 pm. There was a long line, but it moved super-​quickly, and the orders came out 5 – 10 minutes after ordering. They have some bench seating inside, but this isn’t a place to bring a date — it’s about grubbing efficiency.
I got the 5-​spice Chicken Korean Bowl ($ 7.75), which came with meat, kim chi fried rice, an unsettlingly-​large pile of marinated sprout/​beans, and some shredded cucumber salad. Topped with some sriracha it was a solid, if not overly filling, meal.
The sprouts were pretty off-​putting, and even though I ate them all, it’s not an experience I’m looking to repeat anytime soon. Lettuce at the bottom of the bowl became heated up by the chicken and wilted into a floppy, rubbery mess. The rice and spiced chicken were on point, and the cucumber slaw was alright. With a vegetable facelift, this place would be way better! Looks like next time I should get a salad. :-P

A couple friends and I grabbed dinner here on a Wednesday night — the food was great, and the service was even better. This is Chipotle-​style Asian food, meaning you choose the method (sandwich, wrap, Vietnamese bowl, Korean bowl), you choose the protein (chicken, pork, beef, tofu), and you choose additions (sous-​vide egg and pâté). Our favorites? The wrap, which is a Vietnamese spring roll style rice wrap only burrito-​sized, and the Korean bowl. The beef was by far the best protein.
The great thing about coming in the evening is that they’re not very busy so you get very personal service. Here’s where I give my shout-​out to Jack (working the register 4÷15÷15 in the evening), who was so nice to us! He…
— Was super cheerful and enthusiastic. Gave great recs.
— Let me bring my bike in.
— Gave us samples of the beef and tofu when we were wavering.
— Comp’ed my meal because so many things I was asking for were out! (See my receipt:)
— Had us sit when we ordered and brought our food out to us when it was ready.
— Gave each of us a free box of ginger paste.
— Let us hang out and talk way past closing time.
The downside to coming so late is that they end up being out of so many things. The breakfast items look fantastic but, obviously, they’re only served in the morning. My friend got the last coconut juice (they buy 13 coconuts and make 8 cups a day, fresh!). They were out of lotus chips.
MUST-​HAVES: 1^st choice on method: Korean Bowl. 2^nd choice: Wrap. Beef is the best protein, tofu is pretty good too. Must get the steamed bun!
* Ginger paste — 3 stars
pic:
I like the mix of peanut and ginger, but it didn’t have a lot of flavor otherwise. It’s a little bit soggy. Interesting to try, but I wouldn’t necessarily get this again.
* Steamed pork bun — 4 stars
pic:
The bun is perfectly fluffy, soft, and moist. The pork is has chewy fatty parts and crisp lean parts, and it has a great sweet/​savory seasoning.
* Pork in Vietnamese bowl + egg — 3 stars
pic:
The pork is a bit hard/​overcooked. These are bowls where you end up mixing all the ingredients together (especially with the added egg), and that just doesn’t work as well when this has a watery fish sauce and large pieces of pepper and carrot. It’s got all the ingredients that go great together in Vietnamese food, but I think as a big mix bowl it doesn’t quite work.
* Kalbi Beef in Korean bowl + egg — 4.5 stars
pic:
The beef is so good! Its so chewy and fatty, and the flavor is delicious. THIS works great as a mix bowl — the sauce is thicker, I love love loved the bean sprouts, and the egg brings it all together. It’s like a modern bibimbap bowl,
* Tofu in Rice Wrap with Pâté — 4 stars
pic:
We were impressed with how well the rice wrap held together! This was great, the tofu had a sweet-​spicy flavor, and the pâté had good texture — grainy, and there was tons in the wrap.
My receipt:

After reading reviews from my trusted fellow Unilocalers I had to give Spice Kit a try. For those of us that do not work in FiDi, I was happy to see that they were open on Saturdays.
The restaurant appears to be more for take out than dining in, although there is some seating available both inside and outside the restaurant. I have tried the ssam, the Korean wrap with five spice chicken and the banh mi with the roasted pork. Both items should be eaten fresh, especially the ssam.
Both items were fresh and filled with a generous portion of meat and vegetables. The ssam can get a bit messy to eat towards the end as it doesn’t hold together well once the juices soak into the wrapper. However, both dishes were flavorful and satisfying. Although the items here were a touch on the pricey side, the quality of the ingredients is quite apparent and justifies those prices.
Ordering is fairly easy, with a choice of «style», protein/​filling and then any sides or drinks. The menu isn’t extensive, but there are still quite a few combinations to try. This is a great option for lunch from the usual sandwiches, burgers and salads in the area.
I look forward to returning to try other items on the menu.

Another entry in the long standing tradition of food catered for lunch meetings at work. This time, we had Spice Kit and ordered a bunch of chicken and veggie banh mi sandwiches for delivery.
I’m no banh mi connoisseur, but the chicken banh mi was better than most that I’ve had. The bread was fresh, the sandwich was big, the chicken tender, and the spicy mayo gave it a nice kick.
The delivered sandwich was good enough for me to consider going to Spice Kit and actually ordering an in-​person lunch and trying the rest of their menu. High praise, coming from a lazy lazy man!

A few of us at work decided to go grab some lunch at a food truck. Our first option was way too busy, however, someone suggested we go to this joint. I’m always up for some Asian grub and when I heard it was the Korean style Chipotle, I was super excited!
When you enter the joint, you get that modern feel. Concrete floors, minimal walls, exposed ceilings. The place gave off that industrial feel. When it came to ordering, there were 4 steps:
1. Choose your style: Sandwich, Wrap, Salad, Korean Bowl or Vietnamese Bowl
2. Choose your filling: Five Spice Chicken for $ 7.75, Kalbi Beef for $ 8.75, Lemongrass Pork for $ 8.25, or Chili Garlic Tofu for $ 7.25. At this step, you could also add an egg or pâté.
3. Choose your sides: upcharge of various items
4. Choose your drinks: only if applicable
For lunch, I got the Kalbi beef Korean bowl with an extra side of chicken for an extra charge of $ 1.50, EXCEPT, when I got back to my desk, there was no chicken :(They forgot to add that into my bowl or gave me someone else’s bowl. I was pretty livid but since it was about 4 blocks away, I wasn’t gonna walk back just for $ 1.50. Based on what I did have, the bowl came with chunks of kalbi, julienne cucumbers, seasoned rice, kim chi, marinated bean sprouts and their signature sauce. The bowl was ok. I didn’t care for the taste of the sprouts. It almost seemed like it sat out for a while. The kalbi had a nice flavor but was a bit dry. I liked the rice and the cucumbers brought a fresh flavor to the dish.
Overall, the place was just ok. I’m sure I’ll be back in the future but I wouldn’t necessarily rate this at the top of my list. If I’m ever craving Korean style Chipotle again, I’ll come by and make sure I have all proteins the next time!