Extremely flavorful chicken pho noodle soup, I can see why! They have outdoor seating and I am so…read moreglad I sat outside. It was extremely busy inside. I will be back with my family! I ate my fresh shrimp spring rolls so fast, it was so good but I was also really hungry lol I had to order the mini shrimp pancakes because it looked like it's a "must" order... The waitresses were super friendly and quick with taking my order! To the owner(s): Please do not change your ingredients in your food menu! Thank you for offering delicious pho!

This was our first time here. We started off with a simple cup of Napa cabbage soup just to see…read morewhat it was since it was only $5 and there were no pics. It was tasty. Pretty underwhelming but, it had a nice seafood forward broth and it was very hot with tiny pieces of shrimp and lots of cabbage. I'd get it again. Then we got the chicken salad. Delicious. Shrimp chips were fun and the dressing had a great balance of sweet, and vinegary flavor with lots of chicken and fresh veg. Pork bahn mi was just okay. I've definitely had better. Bread was good. Meat was pretty sparse and the pickled veg could have had more flavor. Probably would order the pho next time. Everyone seemed to have that on their tables. And the sizzling beef looked great. Service was quick and courteous. I'll be back to try more

Second visit to Pho Benny, a nice local Viet spot. Large pay lot in back was a better option than…read morethe Trader Joe's hit and run lot across the street. We came in early and sat ourselves. Friendly greeting as we entered. Daughter loves crispy egg rolls and fresh shrimp rolls so we started with those dishes. Both apps were awesome! Nice and crispy with a tasty filling for the egg rolls. I ordered the Pho #1 and my daughter got the grilled pork rice plate. Good sized servings that came out quickly. Pho broth was rich and flavorful. Lots of beef and rice noodles... the beef was tender. We had two sodas which are served in large metal tumblers. Refills included . All in all, a great pho option in Lamorinda.

I drive by this weekly going to and from Trader Joe's and decided to stop in. When I entered the…read morerestaurant there was no host and I stood there for several minutes unsure if I was supposed to wait or be seated. Finally, someone came by and seated me. Ambiance was as expected and there was both table and bar seating. Space was open and quite nice. The menu is fairly standard for a pho restaurant including some beer and wine. i ordered the beef pho which came with typical accoutrements of basil, lime, bean sprouts, etc. The portion was good and meat was medium rare. Unfortunately the broth - the most important flavor component for me - was underwhelming. There wasn't much flavor and it tasted watered down. So I had to compensate with added salt, spice and other. It tasted very watered down. I'll probably try it again but on this visit alone, I give it three stars.

Kevin's noodle house has always been my go-to over the past few decades, whether it is Oakland, San…read moreFrancisco, Concord, or Walnut Creek. And after visiting Vietnam twice, I can confidently say it will continue to be my favorite Bay Area pho restaurant for its consistency. The pho special number 1 (large) has everything in it - tripe, tendon, flank, etc. and I always make sure to add extra onion and lime ‍ if possible! Pro tip: don't put the hot sauce or hoisin directly in the broth, put it on the side dish! Service is always appreciated, too. Extra onions? Served. Tea? Instantly delivered Walnut Creek's location is also the cleanest I've been to, so if that's important to you, keep that in mind. The food highlights: broth is clean, noodles always the right texture, and the smoothies are absolutely necessary for something sweet - no need for boba elsewhere after. Never a bad time here - they always pay attention to you and provide the best experience. Will be back again for the 100th time!

This is hands-down the best Kevin Noodle House out of all the other locations they have. I've tried…read morea few in the Peninsula and the other ones around here and the flavor is much better and consistent here in Walnut Creek every time. The restaurant is very clean and the servers are quick. Parking is around back but it's a small lot so you may have to park on the street. I come here often and my go to is the pho with steak and brisket or the vermicelli with beef and egg roll! The egg rolls are bomb here and the pho is very flavorful and tastes clean without being overly heavy. My wife likes to get the combo rice plate and the pork chop and fried chicken are always on point, especially with the fish sauce. For drinks, I usually get either a Thai Tea or Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Both are very solid and I prefer to come here over other cafes just for either of these drinks.

Just moved to Orinda and stumbled on a total hidden gem!…read more It's not your typical café, but that's what makes it great. They've got a really solid lineup of grab-and-go meals, drinks, and snacks that actually taste fresh. Everything I've tried so far has been super flavorful and clearly made with quality ingredients. What really sets them apart though are the take-and-bake meals. You can order ahead, bring it home, and have a legit, home-cooked-style dinner without the hassle. Perfect for busy weekdays! The owners are incredibly friendly and you can tell they genuinely care about what they're putting out. They also run a catering business, which makes total sense once you try the food. If you're local and haven't checked it out yet, you're missing out.

Sandwich was simple and delicious and the chocolate chip cookie was one of the best I've had in the…read morebay!

I was eating out with my partner and my parents. We wanted Vietnamese food, so we went to this…read moreplace to try. I have not been here before but it looks cozy. There is a lot of parking since it is in the Safeway shopping center in Downton PH. We were sat right away and looking at the menu, a lot of the dishes felt more modern than traditional (when I compare it to other Vietnamese restaurants I go to). Decided to go with my comfort dish, which is Grilled Pork Rice Plate. Grilled Pork Rice Plate: I opted for brown rice for a healthier approach. The pork was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. It was also not dry and had a good amount of flavor to it. It sat on a bed of lettuce, which gave it a nice presentation. Overall, a simple dish which I thoroughly enjoyed and had leftovers after. I had a great time eating lunch with my parents and my partner. I look forward to coming here again.

Recently moved to the area and wanted to check out some of the pho spots. I always order veggie no…read morematter where I go, so this review is mainly comparing it to competitors. Flavor: The soup base is really good, probably one of the best tasting I've had. Lots of flavor and not bland like some of the others. Veggies: Definitely lacked variety. Other places load up on the veggies....this place only gave broccoli, zucchini, celery and jalapeños. Very disappointing. Egg Rolls: Fried to perfection, flavorful and a good amount of filling Bf ordered the mussels...I didn't eat any but he said they were really good! I might come back, hopefully they'll add more veggies upon request...

New menu item - grilled pork salad. Do not hesitate. Just order it. Absolutely delicious and…read moresatisfying Add some fresh spring rolls and you have some great eats! Pad Thai helps too!

Food: Crispy tofu salad was AMAZING! Beautiful flavors, light and filling. Chicken laap was one…read moreof the better ones I've had in a while out here in the area. Plus's side is you can really taste the rice powder which unfortunately, some places seem to omit all together. And lastly their Pad Thai...nothing special, but overall good taste. Loved everything we ordered. Can't speak on the service as this was a take out order but lots of parking in the lot. Overall great food. Will definitely be back for some laap!

Happy hour ladies and gentlemen, excellent value on tasty bites. Standout is definitely the…read morecarpaccio, tender, flavorful and the perfect few bites before having dinner. Staff is attentive which is impressive given the sheer size of the space itself. Great location right below the cinema and for sure money well spent.

Lunch for two on a random Tuesday, we decided to come here. I have always wanted to come and try…read morethis place, I've been passing by here so many times and every time it is packed, but today, unusually it was not busy and plenty of room. We were seated immediately. Beautiful and spacious inside, customer service was good. We had the yellowtail for the appetizer (yummy!) and the chicken vermicelli and the lemongrass pork chop for our mains. The chicken was nice and tender with a nice char. Plenty of vegetables. Dipping sauce included. I asked for chili oil and they said they charge $3 for it. I have never heard of such thing. The lemongrass pork chop tasted good as well, nice sear to it and it was tender. No dipping sauce included, we had to ask for it. I wanted a Diet Coke but they said they don't serve sodas, only sparkling waters (I believe flavored ones). So we opted for just water instead. Our server was friendly and attentive. When the bill came I was surprised they automatically added a 20% tip for a party of 2. You don't normally see that for small parties, I also don't remember seeing it on the menu, maybe I overlooked it. Overall this was a nice place to have lunch, for the price point, however, I was expecting more flavor and bigger servings. It was definitely good but nothing spectacular. We paid $100 for 2 people including 1 iced coffee. I was told by my companion the iced coffee was okay. This place is at the lot so plenty of parking.

I'm absolutely blown away. I was surprised about how good everything was. Might have been the best…read morefood I've had this year. My family ordered 1 appetizer, 4 entrees, and 2 drinks, all shared, and all 4 of us agreed that EVERY single item was phenomenal. That has absolutely NEVER happened before. At most restaurants, there's always at least one thing that someone doesn't like, and often multiple things that multiple people don't like. Not the case here. The appetizer was the spicy basil wings. Very good to start. But little did I know what was coming my way. The drinks were Thai tea and lychee limeade. The Thai tea was normal. As in good, I liked it. The lychee limeade was amazing, had to order another one. I would like to try the mango next time (there will definitely be a next time). Very sour, which I love. I hate lemonade that's not sour enough. Oh and that too, I usually hate limeade, don't really care for lemonade, and don't drink soda. I usually only drink water, juice, or tea (no coffee, alcohol rarely). So that's saying something. The Laos fried spring roll entree was really good. I always liked fried rolls but something about this tasted better. They were Laotian rolls, so maybe that was part of the difference from the ones you get from Pho restaurants. The duck over rice was amazing. I'm not usually one to pick duck, I don't mind it but I usually don't order it, but this was my mom's choice and it was really good. I like the sauce too. The Panang duck curry was so good. My mom doesn't even like curry and she liked it. And the Chiang Mai soup dish, I've never had anything like it. It was still hot after, I don't know, 20 minutes maybe? At the bottom especially. We all ate this together at the end, while the other dishes were in the order I listed them for myself (mostly, kinda switched around a bit eating family style), and generally the same for everyone else. I tasted a tiny bit of the soup in the beginning and thought it was nothing special, like when my spoon was clean it was the first thing I scooped. Only the soup though, none of the stuff inside. Honestly I didn't read what was in it, some crispy noodle or something. I was not sure if I would like it but my sister said she had it in Thailand and liked it so if I didn't like it she could eat it. That ended up not being a problem. Okay so anyway, we started on the soup at the end. To start, it was pretty good. Somehow, every bite we took tasted better and better, for at least like 5-10 bites maybe. At that point, I was thinking it's the best thing I've ever tasted. (But of course that's probably not actually true, and I'm just falling for the recency bias, kind of like how my favorite song changes all the time.) Never had anything like it. I've been missing out. But wow, I have to come back. And I highly recommend this place. Life changing experience honestly. Like if you asked me right now if I wanted to get Japanese or Korean (my other favorites) food or this, I would go here. I honestly wanted more of every single dish, especially the fried spring rolls, duck over rice, duck curry, and soup. Wait a second... that's all the entrees we ordered! Also the limeade. I need to get that again. But I also want to try other stuff next time so I'm torn. I literally need all 4 of these dishes again so I don't know what to do. I hope these dishes aren't seasonal or otherwise temporary. I noticed the menu had a month and year listed (I think it said April 2026 and it's May 3 2026 today) so I believe they update it frequently. If I lived closer I would come 20 times in a row and try every single thing, but unfortunately I live in San Ramon so it's not like I'm trying to go to Oakland every day. Soon though. My sister lives there, if I were her I would go here every day until I was sick of it, if that could ever be possible. I don't know if I could ever enjoy other food this much again. I was also completely sober so it wasn't like I had munchies or anything (felt I should specify being a young adult who grew up in California). Hmm, that gives me an idea for the future though. Even the pricing is fair (no dishes over $30), and the place is nice. Great service too. The only drawbacks are small tables for parties over 4 people, and it's REALLY loud in the restaurant, but well worth it. If you are sensitive to noise I'd recommend earplugs, earmuffs, earbuds, headphones, or something. The place is also relatively small. I'd recommend making a reservation if you plan to go on a Friday or Saturday night. It got busy, very busy. Well our reservation was at 6 and it wasn't crowded yet, a couple tables open, but by the time our food came out the place was absolutely packed and I think people without reservations had to wait to sit. I'm not sure though, I was too focused on the amazing food to care. Anyway, once again, highly recommend and I will be back.

Came here on a Sunday night with my family, and we might have a competitor for our favorite Laos…read moreplace. We got the following : Lao Appetizers Plate - Everything had great texture with the sausage standing out the most to me. Very soft and not too salty. Garlic Pork Spare Ribs - Great flavor, but a little on the dry side. Still tender enough to enjoy. Duck Larb Salad - Bright flavors and everything worked really well together. Recommend adding this to any meal balance out the other fried items. Kao Piak - I find that most places over cook their chickens, but the meats here were cooked perfectly. Broth was a bit salty for me, and I usually like the broth thicker, but still good overall. Mango Sticky Rice - I liked the crispy fried rice bits that added a nice crunch. Mango wasn't quite in season right now, but it was still sweet and soft enough. Overall service was great, and there is a lot of parking in the area. Def recommend checking it out.

Monsoon is a Vietnamese restaurant on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, a block away from Fenton's…read moreCreamery. They have a wide range of items, I've tried their pho noodle soup and their rice places. I particularly like their lemongrass pork ribs combo, their fried chicken banh mi (not sure if that's a traditional dish but it's pretty good how they make it). When I've ordered ca phe (Vietnamese Coffee) it really seems like they make it from scratch using the metal filter, if they just poured from a jug they'd bring it out to you really quickly, The pricing is reasonable, but like a lot of places on Piedmont Avenue tend to at least a little pricier than your average bear. This place isn't super far from home, plus they're currently on the Rewards Network Dining, which I'm part of to get more Alaska/Atmos points, so that's a bonus. When in line to get takeout from Fentons, I recently called Monsoon to get a Fried Chicken Banh Mi and they turned the order around in about 15 minutes. If you're on Piedmont Ave, try them out.

It's been a while since I've visited this family owned business and not much has changed. From what…read moreI've heard from talking to the family during slow hours, they've been doing pretty good. The food as always is yummy and I got to hear a funny story whilst having meal. Apparently, the main server had a Togo order, and was asked to deliver it to some office nearby. Now note that the customer who placed the order wasn't actually expecting the server to go run down the street and deliver her Banh Mi sandwich, instead, the customer was intending to pick it up at the end of the day. The level of dedication this family has to customer service is unreal! But I also heard that the overall health of the owner is declining due to working so hard, so that they plan on selling soon if able. It's sad to see such an awesome restaurant go, but perhaps we can give these guys one last token of appreciation by showing some love?

Everything, beef luc lac, duck slaw, and hot pot ingredients, were so fresh and amazing. I could…read moreeat this beef luc lac everyday and never get tired of it; it's that delicious. Kayla is the best and took such good care of us. We will definitely be coming back! Need to try the garlic noodle next time.

We came on a week day for dinner and was seated right away. The restaurant is in the Blanding…read moreShopping Center. Love the modern atmosphere and decor. We ordered the banh hoi with lemon grass tofu and mushrooms and salmon claypot. The banh hoi was tasty and fun to eat with the lettuce and herbs. The salmon claypot was full of flavors and so good with steamed rice. The portions were small, which was perfect for us but a little on the pricy side. Service was excellent. We will definitely be back and try other dishes on their menu.