Mint Leaf — Restaurant in Berkeley

I love Mint Leaf!

What the food is like: The pho is good. Flavorful enough to not be boring, and plain enough that it is comfortable to eat. I like to get the special rare beef pho. The shaking beef plate might be my favorite when I want to be spoiled. It's basically a plate of big chunks of well-flavored meat (garlic, onion, salt, probably other flavors too). Love the sizzling sound it makes while it is served. The spring rolls are all really lovely, too. They have a lot of crispy textures stuffed into them. Most of the dishes are very flavorful. Some of them are also rich.

Online ordering: I appreciate that Mint Leaf recently incorporated the ability to use Online Ordering through GrubHub and other platforms. I love being able to schedule a pick-up time. I used to order via telephone and would ask for extra jalapeños on the side, and they would sometimes be forgotten (totally okay!). Now that I am ordering online, though, there's a printed receipt that shows the request for extra jalapeños. It seems like this has been making it easier for the staff to ensure order quality. The person who is usually behind the counter has been kind enough to double-check that the jalapeños are there when they see the receipt, without me even having to ask.

Thank...

We have come here maybe once or twice a month for years, including one very rainy January where we ordered takeout several times a week. My husband loved their pho ga. Our experience today was not to par and we will not return. We had eaten, our order was wrong but no big deal. They’d just forgotten the appetizer but at least it wasn’t on our bill. We were chatting after eating and the woman who had delivered our bill came to our table and announced they’d been closed for 15 minutes and could we please pay. It was bizarre as there were people there still eating and tables with dirty plates still on them, so it’s not like she’s done for the day. Anyway, we went and paid despite posted hours being open until 8 PM (it was 3:15 PM). I mean, whatever, I guess. Then she decides to make it better (??) by telling us as we are checking out that she’d like to eat her lunch too. She wasn’t even our waitress but you do you, I guess, rude lady. God knows what she did to clear the other diners out; pulled the fire alarm I guess.

I worked in restaurants for years and this was like a “bad manners restaurant worker” orientation video. 0/5 do not recommend. There are so many great restaurants in the...

This branch of the original Alameda restaurant has been open a couple years, but my wife and I discovered it only recently. It is in a Berkeley flatland location (adjacent to both Berkeley Bowl and the former location of Scharffen Berger) that is gradually becoming an arts and crafts nexus.

The restaurant is modern, very clean, and spacious with high ceilings and lots of North-facing windows. The staff are efficient and pleasant. The food is prepared with obvious care and attention, and portions are adequate. What more could one ask for from a moderately-priced restaurant? Even parking is easy there, unlike in Gourmet Ghetto.

We didn't happen to try any pho on our first visit, but we can recommend the salt and pepper squid appetizer. The batter was admirably light.

Despite the pleasant surroundings, they seem to do about as much take out as sit-down in the evenings. I'm told they can be very busy lunchtime from all the local businesses.

(Also the IPA Indica beer from Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe was another find. While this beer comes from Eurika CA and is therefore not strictly Vietnamese, it's smooth dry stuff!)

Try this place. ...