Tay Giang Restaurant

I would give this place a 5 but their service is super slow. Ther food is excellent and yes the staff is friendly, just takes really long to get the food. I get the crêpe, catfish in claypot, claypot rice… has taro in it which makes it suppper delicious! I also have tried their Yummy imperial rolls. Love this place!

I have never tried this place but I just called because I heard rumors they were closing due to their lease expiration. I wish I knew about this place earlier!!! Missed my chance by a week.
They said they are moving to Elk Grove Ca. I guess I will have to drive out there to try it!

The food is not hot. The food is too slow. No one refill the tea. When I order, I need to change to different one cause they don’t have the dish available then y put it on the menu.

Pains me to come in on their last night to find out they are relocating… X. X and that they are booked for the rest of the nightttttttttttttt.

Cute little family owned looking place.
Well the décor was definitely older and not modern, but it has a family feel to it.
The food was good and fresh! The portions were huge for a decent price so that’s why I gave them 4 stars — good food and big portions.
Things to try:
Fresh spring rolls with hoisin and peanut butter sauce
Vermicilli noodles with egg rolls and grilled pork

The only place I’ve been to where you can assemble your own spring rolls. Their portion sizes are decent but I thought their wrappers were on the small side. The broth for their phở is good, even though I got an msg headache afterwards. Don’t come hungry, there is a long wait for the food to come out.

Pros: accepts credit, good tasting phở
Cons: still very slow service
I haven’t been here in a long time because the last time I came, I didn’t have a very good experience. But, I didn’t let that stop me from coming back and giving Tay Giang another chance.
My friends and I ate here for dinner tonight around 7pm and there was a nice amount of diners. We looked at the menu for a good five minutes and after placing our orders, there was a very long wait period before we got our food. I remember the slow service from the first time I ate here and I see not much has improved. The food came out all at the same time which is different for me. I usually see dishes coming out at random times and I guess I liked everyone at the table getting food at the same time. The phở was so good. I’m used to the very sweet soup and tasting this broth, I have found good phở. It is more of a meaty, savory broth and I wouldn’t mind paying the $ 6.25 that they charge here for phở than the $ 7+ at Lam Hoa Thuan on Irving. The small is a big enough portion to fill up on. I didn’t like the small amount of bean sprouts, and mints that my two friends and I received for our three phở dishes. Besides this, I enjoyed what I got today and I actually would consider coming back for the phở. Accepting credit card makes it all the more appealing to me also. Very friendly staff and a nice quiet, family friendly dinner environment.

Great fresh Phở. The broth tastes so clean. We ordered the rare beef and meatball Phở with out the meatballs and asked for extra of the rare beef. The gentleman who took our order told us not to worry they would add extra automatically as a substitution.
It feels nice to be treated as a valued customer and enjoy a delicious meal. I highly recommend this spot. I would be here more often if it wasn’t all the way out in the sunset.

Service is extremely slow. There were 6 – 7 tables on a Friday night, but only one waiter was available.
Grilled cat fish: I don’t think they grilled the fish. It’s more like they deep fried the fish. Very dry. It tasted like fishy jerky. I had this dish in Little Saigon, Orange County before. It wasn’t like that.
7 courses of Beef: Awesome! We will most likely order this set again.
Shrimp omelet with bean sprout: Just OK
Spring roll: Just OK

Hidden gem in Sunset! Though the ambiance is just ohhhkay, I was pleasantly surprised by the food quality and large portions at relatively low prices :) I’ve been here many times, and have never left disappointed or hungry.
My go-​to dish is the Jellyfish Salad, which is a mountain sized salad filled with a variety of veggies and piled high with fresh jellyfish, shrimp, and pork! The dressing is yummy as well, with sweet and tangy notes.
The other dishes here are good as well. Both the phở and vermicelli bowls come with generous portions of meat. The broth also has the right level of flavor without being over salty.
One of the only downsides is the lack of service. Even when there’s a line out the door, the owner does not greet or acknowledge the customers. There’s only one server and she runs around from table to table. She is really friendly, but the owner is quite the opposite.
Overall, a good place for an affordable, generously portioned meal!

Maybe Next Time?
We came here this evening with hopes of trying their most talked about dishes such as the fried catfish. When we arrived, the restaurant was full with nobody waiting although I did notice there was a table for 4 open. Within a couple minutes a girl came and greeted us and we asked for a table for 3. She said she didn’t have anything available but something should open up in 15 minutes, so we decided to wait.
Not even a few minutes pass and another worker comes up to us and tells us that they will not have a table available to us due to several upcoming reservations and that it might take at least 45 minutes. At this point, i kinda already felt that we weren’t very welcomed. He finished by saying, sorry, maybe next time.
We have shared our experience with our friends who have also wanted to try out this restaurant, but after hearing about what happened to us, they won’t be going there anymore and neither will we.
There will not be a next time.

Two words — FRIED FISH!
Look no further, Tay Giang serves one of the BEST fried catfish around town. Crispy and flavorful on the outside, yet moist and meaty on the inside, you definitely get your fair share of fish, even if ordering just their small size. Accompanied with an assortment of veggies, pickled carrot, noodles, and herbs that you can wrap into a rice paper roll… these spring rolls are not only addicting, but super healthy too!
Their other grilled dishes (meatballs, prawns & pork) are good too, all meant for wrapping, but I can solely come to Tay Giang for their fried fish and be a happy camper. The hubby enjoys their Bun Goi Va (prawn & pork noodle soup) too so we usually get an order of that to go with the fish. If you are just dining out with just another person, the fish + maybe an app. is honestly more food than you need. It’s always best to come with a larger party to order more things, but you seriously cannot come here without ordering their fish.
They also serve Bo 7 Mon (Vietnamese 3 course beef) but I would much rather go to TL for that.
Service is always friendly and they are super accommodating when we ask for more veggies to wrap in our rolls. If you live in The Sunset, Tay Giang is a great place to go for Vietnamese family style comfort food.

Apparently, this restaurant has been at the same location for decades. Yet, when I lived in the Sunset, I never knew about it.
On my recent trip back to SF, my buddy took me here for their famous fried fish. I didn’t have a chance to look at the menu so I can only review the fish dish.
The order came with one plate of fried whole fish, another plate of fresh lettuce, basil, mint leaves, bean sprouts & carrots and a stack of dried rice wrap & a bowl of got water. Dip the wrap in hot water to soften, then add ingredients, dip in a sweet sauce and enjoy.
The fish itself is slightly salty, and that’s it. But wrapped with everything else,‘it somehow works. For me personally, it’s decent. But judging from how many other tables ordered the same thing, it must be a very popular & authentic Vietnamese dish.
I do suggest everyone w/​an open mind to try it at least once. For me, I won’t crave it but if we do somehow end up here again, I won’t complain.
Notes:
* parking on Noreiga can be a nightmare. metered before 6.
* their service is slow. but all regulars seem to know that
* try to ignore the décor. seems like they haven’t remodeled or updated anything since they opened.
* it’s eerily quiet in there. no music, no tv. just ppl talking at a low volume.

First of all, I’m a self-​proclaimed master of wrapping rice paper rolls. It’s hard to find restaurants that let you wrap rolls yourself these days. Most of the time, the spring rolls come pre-​wrapped as an appetizer.
Tay Giang serves an amazing crispy fried catfish to wrap. This is really crunchy on the outside, but still moist on the inside. One of my favorite dishes, and Tay Giang combines it with hand-​wrapped spring rolls. Genius.
Other dishes that were good were the papaya salad and the shaking beef. The catfish was the highlight of course. Bring your family and friends, because there’s plenty of parking, plenty of seating, and no wait!

Food is GREAT! Best baked catfish! But service is so SLOW!!! Come like an hour before you are hungry and expect to ask 2 – 6 times for something like extra greens lol

For me, the best thing here is the catfish. It’s fried and comes with a side plate of veggies (think lettuce, mint, carrot, cucumber, etc.), rice paper, noodles, and fish sauce. The fish has the perfectly crunchy texture on the outside and is super moist and flavorful on the inside. It’s crunchy with a yummy savory glaze.
I also liked the flavor of the raw beef carpaccio but wish that it was sliced more thinly. We tried the spring roll and phở but I didn’t find those too exciting. Stick with the catfish!

We waited 10min just to be seated while the restaurant is half empty. We arrived at 6.50pm in the evening, at the half empty restauarnt and food doesn’t come until 7.40pm.
Foods are okay, we ordered chef special chicken and beef.
The teapot is dirty, obviously never been cleaned for a few years (see attach pic)

Bo Tai Chun– YUM (+1)
Banh Hoi Chao Tom– The Sugar cane was good. The Shrimp wrap was a bit undercooked it seemed. (–1)
Beef wrapped leaf– For once its not dry like how some restaurants overcook it. (+1)
Café Sua Da– Perfectly strong and sweet. finally i found one…(+1)

A chinese/​vietnamese restaurant where I had a chance to try with my cousins awhile back.
The restaurant is not really eye appealing when you go in but there are plenty of room for people to sit in. Service is manageable but you don’t expect too much from it.
I thought the phở was only decent and the bamboo with shrimp wasn’t bad as well.
The thing that set it all apart was their Fried Fish. It was a HUGE fish that is deeply fried that comes with rice paper and other veggies. THe rice paper is really unique because it comes raw and it comes with hot/​warm water for you to dip it into because it comes out hard as a hard paper and you can’t bend it in anyway unless you want to rip it. Once you dip it in to the water, it will become soft like vermicelli. It’s pretty cool. You add other condiments into it and lastly add the fried fish and it just simply becomes wonderful. The fried fish was really tasty and really worth it. It might be fried but the inside was still fresh even if you don’t add the rice paper and vegetables, it is a stand off item where I definitely recommend trying it if you are here.
I apologize for not knowing the name as my cousins/​family ordered the dishes!

The BEST Phuckin’ Fish You Will Ever Taste In Your Life (Ok, that didn’t sound right)…
You heard of the «CRACK» chicken wings at San Tung right? Well, Tay Giang serves up the «CRACK» fish that will leave you FEENING for more. Hell, I don’t even like fish and only eat sashimi but Tay Giang has made me a cooked fish convert.
On Monday, 8.1.11, my friend and I came to Tay Giang for dinner at 6:45 PM. Tay Giang is your typical no frills Asian restaurant and a place you come for the food and food only.
F O O D
The menu is quite extensive with apps, phở, bun, com dia, and entrees. There are even pictures to help you decide on what to order. But, you can forget about everything else on the menu because the MUST get is the Charbroiled Catfish!
*Bahn Hoi Ca Bong Lau Nuong — Charbroiled «CRACK» Catfish (Small-​$ 35, Medium-​$ 40, Large-​$ 45): CAN I GIVE 10 STARS?
This dish is a «Build-​Your-​Own-​Roll» dish. The catfish is butterflied then charbroiled to a crunchy crispy goodness (you can even eat some of the bones). The crackling skin was filled with sweet and savory flavors from the spices and herbs which was a nice contrast to the moist and tender flesh. The catfish is served with round rice paper sheets (wrapper), vermicelli noodle squares, veggies/​herbs (lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, pickled carrots, mint, basil, and shallots). It’s also served with a sauce (a sweeter nuoc mam) which has a garlicky sweet tanginess to it.
To make a roll, start by soaking the rice wrapper in the bowl of hot water for about 8 seconds. Then, stack the noodles, veggies/​herbs and the fish and roll it up like a burrito. The wrapper gets really sticky, so the roll is sturdy. A quick dip into the sauce and each bite is like a fireworks of textures and flavors popping in your mouth; crunchy, crisp, soft, salty, savory, sweet, tangy, herbaceous freshness, and spice! IT’S SO PHUCKIN’ GOOD!
*Bo Luc Lac — Shaking Beef ($ 15.95) — 4.5 STARS
The chunks of filet mignon were succulently tender and moist. It had a rich beefy flavor with sweet undertones from the hoisin sauce The accompanying lemon pepper sauce gives it a pop of citrus and spice to help balance the richness. Perfectly executed and deliciously savory, I think the Shaking Beef at Tay Giang rivals the one at Slated Door.
S E R V I C E
Cold but efficient which is typical for most, if not all Asian restaurants. I noticed a some Unilocalers complain about the service so I can imagine Tay Giang having terrible and inattentive service when it’s busy on the weekends. If you need something, be prepared to holler or wave your arms in the air. Despite the borderline rude service, the food more than makes up for it and will keep me coming back for more (just on a weekday of course).
PA R K I NG
Easy metered parking.
«Fish» and «feen» don’t even belong in the same sentence, but somehow Tay Giang manages to make it so damn irresistibly fitting. Ahhhhh…