Vietnam House

I knew I was in trouble when I heard the slam of the Liar’s Dice on a big round formica table populated by grizzled beer buddies who were yelling at each other for no apparent reason other than to show who owned the dice. I wish I owned the dice as I would have shoved them up the nostrils of the loudest one there. But I can’t really begrudge the restaurant for the clientele they attract unless they were buddies with the owner. Hey, it looked like they were as there was definite backslapping going on. There were no other customers in the entire place, another bad sign for the dinner hour, so against my better judgment, I stayed.
After all, I was in it to win it. Actually I wasn’t but what do you care? So as you probably know, spring rolls are my litmus test at Vietnamese restaurants. I tried the $ 5.50 Bi Cuon, shredded pork wrapped in roasted rice paper (photo:
), and the most charitable thing I can say is that it didn’t taste very fresh. In fact, I’d go as far as saying the pork tasted a bit old like it was left out of the refrigerator for a while before anyone noticed. Considering their 70 health inspection score, which I just noticed in their Unilocal listing, I don’t think that prospect was safely out of the realm of possibility.
As disappointing as that was, I have to say my entrée managed to sink my expectations even further to the depths. It was the $ 8 Com Tam Suon Bi Cha, which was a grilled pork chop, shredded pork, a slice of egg meat pie and broken rice (photo:
). First of all, the pork chop was dried out from staying on the grill too long, and the shredded pork had a mealy texture that I didn’t find too appetizing. Only the egg meat pie was decent, even though it was a sliver and they never did divulge what ‘meat’ it was. I could only manage to finish that and the broken rice. Meanwhile, the constant slam of the liar’s dice made me plain fidgety.
FOOD — 1.5 stars… felt like there wasn’t that much effort in the kitchen
AMBIANCE — 1 star… all I recall is the slam of the dice
SERVICE — 2 stars… they came by every once in a while but forgot me entirely toward the end
TOTAL — 1 star… a non-​starter with all the good options in Little Saigon

This place has decent space and really good phở and fried rice. We are visiting from LA area and we are so happy to have lunch at this place with my family. The owner is a nice old man and he remembers our request for a wifi password although he is busy handling our orders. We will definitely go back to this place for a yummy, good portion, affordable phở and fried rice.

Vietnam House is one of the most authentic Vietnamese restaurants in the city. My family enjoys coming here because the food is really good, the service efficient and we are supporting a local mom and pop shop.
Today I took my mom there for lunch and we ordered the Goi Cuon (spring rolls), Bun Xeo (Vietnamese crêpe) and Bun Cha Ha Noi (pork and sausage patties with vermicelli). Everything tasted really fresh. I especially liked the crêpe as it was pan fried to perfection. This place is totally under the radar and I see so many people who look at the menu on the windows and then walk away. I want to say to them, «Come in. Try some food and be pleasantly surprised.»

So glad we discovered this hidden gem in one of the seediest part of the tenderloin…
This is authentic Vietnamese food like my grandfather used to make. I was thrilled to find Banh Cuon as not all Vietnamese restaurants have them. (we used to call them Vietnamese ravioli when I was a kid) they were the best I’ve tasted in the city so far. My GF had the Banh Khot, very similar to the Vietnamese crêpe but presented as little cups with a shrimp on each one: cute and delicious.
*Super tasty
*Very affordable
*Ma and Pa restaurant (nice and efficient service)
*Clean and comfortable
I can’t wait to go back and try everything else on the menu…
Goodness

Very tasty Vietnamese mom & pop that caters primarily to middle-​aged Vietnamese men. (The more family-​friendly Vietnamese restaurants are on Larkin.) For the men, this is really their haven — their equivalent of a comfortable old dive — with packs of a half-​dozen or so gathered around a table, eating, drinking Tsingtao, playing dice, talking, laughing, and enjoying their time without the family. Someone mentioned in their review that they can be loud… but the restaurant is big enough that I didn’t find it a problem.
Their phở broth is surprisingly good, and very reasonably priced for the area… could use a bit more meat and somewhat few noodles, but it’s a full meal. Their bun was equally good. Not the best of either I have had… but I have had a lot of Vietnamese food, and this is solid. They also have a lot of things on their menu I am looking forward to trying… and they sell Vietnamese sandwiches.
The place is open until 9 officially, but might be open slightly later than that, depending on business… which is later than most Vietnamese phở places nearby. And, in a rarity, they take credit cards and ATM, presumably to settle those large drink tabs. They also have *really* strong Vietnamese iced coffee, *and* they sell Vietnamese sandwiches at reasonable prices. Other very interesting things on the menu include com bo luc lac, their phở chay (vegetarian phở), bun bo hue, grilled lemongrass beef with shrimp over broken rice, and several other dishes that you might not see elsewhere. This, plus the credit card availability and long hours means that this place offers something unique that other places don’t. It may not be your go-​to Vietnamese place, but it can certainly be the one that best fits what you are looking for under given circumstances.
It’s located on a rather rough street on the edge of the Southwest Tenderloin. It’s not the heart of TL and is much safer than a few blocks to the east, but Eddy isn’t a very good street, so there’s plenty of dealing and drug use going on nearby… which should not effect you., or have an impact your meal. Walk fast, act like you know where you are going, put your phone away, and don’t stop until you reach Van Ness, Geary, or Market and you’ll be fine.

I went to lunch with my coworkers the other day. It was pretty empty, so I was a bit worried. I ordered #45: chicken with egg rolls and rice vermicelli. I also ordered a Thai iced tea.
I enjoyed my meal. The veggies were fresh, and the egg rolls were fried perfectly. And my total was around $ 10, so it’s a really good deal.
The location is in a sketchy area, but if you can brave the walk, you’ll find this place to have some good food.

Delicious lunch enjoyed by large group. Service was terrific and all the dishes delicious. My favorite was a vegetarian dish with delicate tofu. Also loved the egg rolls. Will be back!

Cheap, subpar food in the Tenderloin !!!
If you live in the neighborhood or want a culinary experience in the Tenderloin, get banh mi at Hoang Dat, Saigon Sandwich or even Lee’s Sandwich. Go to Anh Hong, Pagolac, or Bodega instead. Please avoid this place due to BAD NEIGHBORHOOD, BAD FOOD, POOR SANITATION. Their health score is ⁶⁴⁄₁₀₀.
On our visit, we saw the neat interior and met a nice older waiter. Only another table was occupied, otherwise the restaurant was empty for dinner. Four of us ate bad food:
Banh cuon: 5/​10, rice crêpe skin too thick, excessive use of minced jimaca while very minimal meat and wood-​ear mushroom.
Bun bo hue: 5/​10, unremarkable broth, excessive MSG
Banh canh cua: 5/​10, boring broth, dry and tiny crab slices atop a sea of glass noodle (banh canh), excessive MSG
Cha gio: ⁵⁄₁₀
Banh khot: 5/​10, poor batter, lousy as compared to Vung Tau and Mama Do’s banh khot.
We also ordered 3 other dishes but I cannot recall. Hubby and one friend got MSG overdose from bun bo hue and banh canh cua. Hubby got heart palpitation, discomfort, a sense of malaise, headache, and fatigue. He almost called the doctor’s office, but the symptoms wore off overnight.
All in all, I recommend you go elsewhere for food, saving from a big disappointment and possible food poisoning.
P. S. 3 nice things: good waiter service, food not greasy, clean and neat interior

I come here pretty often! The service and food is super fast! Their meat to noodle ratio is amazing in my opinion, I am part carnivore. The prices are very reasonable. The only thing I don’t like about this place is the neighborhood, but you occasionally get a meal and a show at this place if you face the window.

I place an order for pick-​up at 8:30PM Sunday night. I get there around 8:50ish, and this restaurant’s location is super skeezy. I know it’s in the Tenderloin, but right outside the restaurant was a crowd of homeless people who eyed me up and down as I got out of my car, and when I came back to my car, they were sitting on it.
This place is totally weird. I step inside, and there are two large tables of Vietnamese men just sitting there singing karaōke. Am I at the right restaurant? The person working there ignored me for what seemed like 10 minutes, as I stupidly stood by the door with the two tables of sleazy looking men staring at me, and they seemed to be talking about me. Finally the server pays attention to me and gives me a bunch of attitude like I am making him do work and I am such a bother.
I get home and open up my orders of:
1. Shaking Beef with Garlic Noodles
2. Grilled pork chop with shrimp with vermicelli noodles
3. Pork and wood ear rice rolls
The shaking beef was alright at best, but the garlic noodles were disgusting. They are not the normal «mein» noodles you should get. They are plain ol’ spaghetti noodles. The spaghetti noodles did not work for me. They also had this funny rancid taste to them. I could not eat them.
The grilled pork chop wasn’t a pork chop. It was just reallllllly dry pieces of scrap pieces. It tasted like jerky. The shrimp were rubbery and had no color or sear.
The rice rolls were off. The rice flour wrapper fell apart despite it being thicker than normal. It also had a weird texture to them. No thanks. Did not finish.
I would not come here again for take out, and I would definitely not dine here. Poor food, poor service, poor atmosphere.

The most authentic Vietnamese food I’ve found so far in SF. I had the pleasure of enjoying the Banh Cuon and the Banh Khot. Both were amazing. My niece enjoyed the Com Thit Nuong and my boyfriend had the Phở. We were giving a huge helping of fresh veggies and a lot of fish sauce! I will come back again. Definitely a mom and pop place.
Side note: When I visited, there was a loud group of men eating and getting drunk. They were SO loud, I could barely hear anything at our table. I will try again but hope those men are not there.

I’m giving this a 3 star only because I am always happy with the delivery. However, I came in for dinner and ordered the Phở. It was all broth — barely any meat. Food in the restaurant is — eh.

After reading some positive comments, I decided to give this place a try on a Monday for lunch. I ordered a grill pork vermicelli and an ice coffee. When the owner brought me the food, I saw TWO strands of human hair embedded in the vermicelli. I was immediately grossed out but didn’t have the guts to confront him. The owner looked intimidating and I don’t want him to spit on my food, so I decided to just eat it up and get the hell out of there.
While I was eating my meal, a pervy looking male customer walked in and sat next to my table. He was very talkative and chatted up a big time with the owner. They talked about Obama, days at the neighborhood, and then they went on about the topic of prostitution in Vietnam! The owner continued the topic with him and completely ignored my presence. There were only two customers at the restaurant — me and the pervy guy. You can imagine how uncomfortable I was, while they are talking about finding prostitutes in Vietnam and me being an Asian female sitting there.
The food was mediocre and the coffee was below average. Not to mention that I saw hairs (plural) in my food. The owner didn’t seem to respect female customers. With both disastrous hygiene issue and a unpleasant environment, I will never, ever, come back to this place.

[04/​09/​2012, 3:30pm]
I needed to go to the Vietnam Consulate to apply for a visa so I planned to stop here for some banh beo. I read on a Unilocaler’s review that they had good banh beo here, so I made a final attempt in my quest for authentic banh beo.
Exhausted and starving, I enter the restaurant. There’s a crowd of white people eating soup, and another white lady sitting by herself. The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated. The owner seats me and is very friendly. I quickly scan the menu — no banh beo. When the owner comes back, I ask him if they have banh beo. He regretfully informs me they do not. This threw me off. I had been waiting all day for this! I ask him about a few different items on the menu, and he recommended the Banh Cuon Cha Lua, since it’s a dish that you can’t get just anywhere.
About 10 minutes later, he brings it out. It looked pretty but the portion was meager. There were only five rolls of banh cuon that were about three inches long. TINY! I was disappointed. And there were only five half slices of cha lua. SAD. And worst of all, they didn’t give me enough nuoc mam! I normally would have asked for more, but I was in a hurry.
Taste: Okay, I’ve had a lot of banh cuon in my life. And this one tasted like it had been microwaved, and not just that, that they had left it microwaving too long. It was mushy. You couldn’t even see the individual layers of the banh cuon. First of all, banh cuon should be made fresh and eaten the same day. I don’t know why restaurants think that microwaving old banh cuon is acceptable. If I’m paying $ 8 plus tip, I don’t want some microwaved banh cuon. If I wanted that, I would have just bought a package from Lee’s sandwiches and heated it up at home (maybe that’s what they did…)
This will be my last attempt to find banh beo or banh cuon in the Bay Area. I’m done. When I go to Vietnam next month I am learning how to make it myself so I don’t have to eat peoples’ microwaved leftovers.
I can’t really speak to the other items on the menu, but I think that this is reflective on the principles of the restaurant. If a restaurant thinks that the food it serves doesn’t need to be fresh, then I have no reason to go there.
I do have to say that the owner was really talkative and friendly… but maybe he was just trying to distract me from the lack of authenticity and qualify in the food.

I used to love this place when it was Saigon Cuisine. When it became Vietnam House, I was skeptical but I gave them a shot. I had ordered delivery and it took 50 minutes to get to me despite only being a few blocks away (I had to work through my lunch)
Well… I came back after a year and a half. Let’s just say I shouldn’t have bothered.
ordered:
banh khot — savory Vietnamese rice flour cakes
banh canh cua — crab noodle soup w/​thick rice noodles
bo luc lac w/​garlic noodles — Vietnamese shaking beef w/​garlic noodles
So…The restaurant took a very long time to get the food ready. It was only my friend & 1 plus 2 other people inside the restaurant. We got here at maybe 5 or 6 minutes past 1pm. The restaurant was completely silent until about 1:30pm, meaning NOBODY WAS COOKING OUR FOOD UNTIL 1:30pm which is nearly TWENTY MINUTES AFTER WE HAD ORDERED. Our food came out at about 1:40pm and my lunch was already nearly over.
The banh khot were not like what I remembered of Vietnam. Of course it isn’t going to be exactly the same since this is America (duh) but these were the sweetest banh khot I have ever had. I ate them nearly every single day the entire week I was in Vietnam. I’ve also had these a few other times here in the U.S. and it was never nearly as sweet as the way they were made here at Vietnam House.
My friend’s crab noodle soup… Oh man. It was really thick and gelatinous. It smelled like corn starch and to be honest, there wasn’t really a crab flavor to it.
My garlic noodles were. okay I guess. Just spaghetti noodles with a little minced garlic and something that smelled like Parmesan cheese.
I’m sorry Vietnam House but you take too long and I remember why I always pass you up now.

well, it’s amazing. it’s super close and great spot to hit up, possibly catch a little football on sunday.
the Phở is the best we’ve had since moving to the Loin. Flavorful broth, the beef for the Phở Tai that we had on the side was just beautiful thin slices, and my Phở Ga was hearty and hit the spot.
We got a starter of the Cha Gio, stated as egg rolls, but to us, they are the best imperial rolls since eating at PPQ, and yes, we’ve tried about every restaurant around here that offers them.

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed any restaurants on Unilocal but I want to keep this little restaurant around. They have one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes that I rarely find in the countless eateries in town and they do it well: Banh Cuon. (Ground pork and mushrooms in a delicate rice wrap).
The restaurant is on a street frequented by vagrants but that just means there is always parking. ;)

Errr, 4.5 Stars on Unilocal?SERIOUSLY???
Among all the positive reviews from my fellow Unilocalers, I’m going to be the Black Sheep of the bunch and give Vietnam House their lowest rating thus far… NOT WITHOUT REASON of course.
I’ve always been enticed by the dishes on VH’s menu like the Thit Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef), Com Tat (Broken Rice) dishes and Garlic Noodles, however, on the times I’ve passed by they were closed. So today, before my co-​worker and I left for lunch, I called to make sure they were open and they were.
We arrived at VH today at 12:30 PM and were promptly seated.
F O O D:
*BANH KHOT (Rice Flour Cakes w/​Shrimp — $ 7.95): OK.
The banh khot was basically a cupcake version of banh xeo (Vietnamese savory pancake) topped with a boiled shrimp. It was crispy around the edges however; the inside had a cakey almost raw taste to it indicating it wasn’t cooked thoroughly. The banh khot is very mild in flavor but had a strong coconut taste which was a bit overwhelming.
*BUN BO HUE ($ 7.50): MEH! Ok, maybe I ordered the wrong thing here (I was cold and wanted soup) but this was the WORST BBH I’ve ever had!
The BROTH was bland and flavorless; it tasted like water infused with droplets of chili oil for color. It was missing the stewed beefy flavor, had no hints of lemongrass and was very mild in flavor (NOT spicy as it was indicated on the menu).
There were very scant pieces of beef shank, oxtail, pork blood and cha la (steamed pork sausage) that were all flavorless, overcooked and/​or dry; except for cha lua that had a very unappetizing fishy taste to it.
The NOODLES were chopped up and were overcooked and not al-​dente which are both food pet peeves of mine. I am not an infant so please don’t prepare my food like I am one.
S E R V I C E:
Slow and inattentive.
I can care less about the inattentiveness of Asian restaurants because it’s expected and I only go there for the food. However, how slowly they turned out each dish was mind-​boggling. With most Vietnamese places, I normally get my noodle soup within 5 – 10 minutes, however, it took over 30 minutes to get my Bun Bo Hue. If I’m going to wait that long, at least serve me a bowl of soup that has some flavor which shows me it has been simmering in a pot in the kitchen. Also, what’s up with giving us a metal tablespoon to eat our soup?
Paying the bill was impossible. After getting tired of waiting for over 10 minutes, I decided to just get up and go to cash register myself to pay the bill.
*SIGH*

BOMBDIGGITY!
My sister and I decided to order lunch from Vietnam House today. We got the chicken w/​eggrolls over vermicelli and garlic noodles w/​beef cubes. Luckily I read about the garlic noodles on Unilocal because it wasnt listed on their menu.
Portions were really generous. We ended up sharing with another coworker and it was enough. The garlic noodles w/​beef were sooooo good! The garlic noodles werent overpowered with garlic and the beef was sooo tasty. The chicken and eggrolls were also really delicious.
I will definitely be back!

This place used to be Saigon Cuisine Restaurant, but the ownership and name have changed, as told to me by new owner Nguyen Tuan Anh. Outside, you’ll still see the Saigon Cuisine Restaurant hinged sign standing on the street, but the yellow awning above tells you that you are at Vietnam House. Upon entering, one encounters warm yellow walls and brown tones in the décor, and your eye may be drawn to the starfish radial wall piece along the back wall, which I love. After the SF Film Society’s Taiwan Film Days festival screening Sunday evening, Nov 8, 2009, of Taiwan’s Oscar candidate submission for the 2010 Best Foreign Language Film, «No Puedo Vivir sin Ti [Bu Neng Mei You Ni]» was cancelled midway due to a defective print, my friend and I walked from the nearby Landmark Opera Plaza theatre for dinner.
My friend and I were given a table near the front windows, under the large screen flat tv. There was a family eating along the back wall, and friends of the owners at another table. I enjoyed the convivial atmosphere, and it was nice and comforting to hear the Vietnamese conversations in the background.
At first we were given the lunch menu (which also happened to a party that entered after us), but we were also given the dinner menu a few minutes later. My friend ordered off the lunch menu, #18, com bo luc lac (Shaking beef cubes pan-​seared with garlic, onions & black pepper served with steamed rice or fried rice or garlic noodles). My friend ordered it with the garlic noodles, $ 8.50. At dinner this is $ 13.95 without rice or noodles. It didn’t come with the usual dipping dish of salt, pepper, and lime, but was otherwise very good.
We shared off the lunch menu #4 (#5 off the dinner menu) an order of banh khot (aka Vietnamese cupcakes, crisp rice flour cupcakes with shrimp served with mixed greens, similar to Khmer num kroot, sand dollar cakes), $ 7.95 at both lunch and dinner. You get 7 with your order. This is a southern specialty. The mixed greens consisted of large pieces of lettuce, with which the banh khot are to be wrapped in, and stuffed with the accompanying mint leaves, cucumber slices, and pickled carrot and daikon strips, and then dipped into the bowls of nuoc cham (diluted fish sauce). These were great.
For my entrée, I ordered off the dinner menu, #20, ca kho to (claypot catfish simmered in a caramelized sauce with garlic, fish sauce & black pepper), $ 9.50, not available at lunch. This is one of my bellwethers and favorite dishes with which I use to judge a restaurant. It was excellent. As usual, the leftover sauce can be used for several later meals with rice if needed. Steamed rice was $ 1.00 for a small bowl; I was disappointed it wasn’t a small pot of rice, but the presentation was nice, the rice an upside-​down bowl shape on a plate with a garnish of parsley.
Dessert consisted of complementary orange slices, 5 for the two of us. Very simple and very nice, it reminded me of meals at home growing up. Service is pretty good, no complaints, water refills were fine.
Their menu has lots of interesting other things to try, such as: Goi du du kho bo (papaya salad with dried beef), banh cu cai chien trung (fried daikon flour cakes with egg), banh cuon cha lua (rice flour rolls with Vietnamese cha lua ham/​bologna), banh uot cha lua (plain rice flour rolls), com tam suon cha opla, bun cha Ha noi, chim cut quay (quail roti), ruot heo chien gion (deep-​fried pork intestines), suon rang muoi (salt and pepper short ribs), muc xao dua cai (stir-​fried squid with salted green mustard), ech chien bo (frog sauteed with butter), kho qua xao trung (bittermelon tossed with egg), and chao hai san (seafood congee rice soup). Yummy! I love bittermelon!
As of Oct 21, 2009, their liquor license was pending transfer from the previous owner, but their menu offers beer (Corona, Tsing Tao, Heineken, and Saigon beer) [what, no 33?].
Definitely worth returning to for their delicious food and unique menu!