Le Soleil — Restaurant in San Francisco

No MSG Vietnamese cuisine!!!!!

Le Soleil doesn't resort to using MSG, but the kitchen gently coaxes out maximum flavor instead by using fresh premium ingredients, and classic cooking techniques.  This is the only place I'll have Vietnamese noodle pho soup -- they only offer one kind of Beef Pho, but the broth is MSG-free which is pretty much a rarity.  Le Soleil's able to get a rich, deep and tasty broth by cooking beef bones for 10 hours (no instant beef broth cubes or canned chicken broth here).

Dennis Wong, the executive chef, is very personable, relaxed, yet impeccable in how he runs the kitchen and its execution of dishes.  He's been an "executive chef" for the last few decades (has other restos including one in Hong Kong), but Le Soleil is his home base.  Don't let his title intimidate you, Dennis is so down-to-earth he was helping to bus my table (I came in 15 minutes before the lunch service ended) and graciously answered my questions about Le Soleil and warmly invited me back.

I've been there for Lunch, Happy Hour and Dinner -- everything is delish!  What I've had so far:  Spring rolls;  Vegetarian rolls; Imperial rolls; Spicy chicken coconut soup; Lemongrass beef over Rice Vermicelli noodles; Traditional Beef Pho; and Turmeric Crepe (aka "Banh Xeo" -- a rice flour Vietnamese crepe made with no eggs).

I also really enjoyed the Garlic Roasted Dungeness crab with noodles — this is the only place I’ve come across in SF where they truly don’t use any MSG. Many items are also gluten-free, but be sure to specify with your server if that's a health concern. The only items I didn't care for were...

I remember dining here at this Vietnamese restaurants 2 months ago with my guy friend when we were visiting San Francisco for a day. I'm Vietnamese and know what's authentic and this isn't it. This place is way too expensive and over priced! My guy friend didn't get anything but I just wanted something light and got a $12 shrimp papaya salad. It wasn't anything special and I prefer the Thai/Laos version of papaya salad more. For $12 I got a a small tiny portion of bland papaya salad with a few shrimp. All you are paying here for is the presentation and the atmosphere, because the food is way over priced for the portion size and quality. What a disappointment. I also got a $2 puny side of rice noodles to eat with my papaya salad. For $2 for a tiny portion of rice noodles, I felt cheated. The small papaya salad didn't help either and I felt i just threw $20 down the drain that night and wished I had eaten anywhere else with my money. I prefer my hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurants and should of gone there. My mistake. The older lady asian lady was nice though. Overall I wouldn't be back since there's better Vietnamese restaurants in San Francisco that are way cheaper, bigger portion, and better quality. Avoid this...

What a great restaurant gem in the Richmond. I was invited to a dinner and didn't have to worry about food or drink as it was all pre planned.

It's intimate but not cramped. The venue is very well maintained and clean. From the bathroom to the dishes.

I got to try many dishes and they were all good but my favorites were the rice shrimp cracker with raw beef carpaccio, curry crab, papaya salad and fried chicken lollipop.

I've had many Asian dishes and they added personalized unique twists of their own. Again everything tasted yummy and we got to try a new seafood chowder with Dungy crab and shrimp. Dinner also had local wine, champagne, lobster, noodles, Hainan chicken, roasted quail, veggies and a hot dessert with mochi that was delicious.

Service was amazing. Annie was social and doing an incredible job hosting every party. A true superstar of a restauranteur. The chef even came out for cheers and pleasantries.

What more could you want? We were a group of 10 but a date, solo or smaller group would also be perfect...