Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant — Restaurant in San Francisco

I stopped by Mai's because I was craving some imperial rolls over some vermicelli noodles. From this single experience and from ordering this single dish, I have a few thoughts. Mai's is a quaint and unassuming restaurant - it has a very old-school feel inside which is common amongst restaurants along Clement. The service was good and the food was prepared in a timely manner. I had the "imperial roll and bbq chicken over rice noodle" plate, which came with a single fried imperial roll, pickled carrot/veg and bean sprouts all over a generous serving of chicken and noodles. The imperial roll was okay. I thought it tasted good, but the meat inside felt dense and very homogeneous. The chicken tasted great, especially with the sauce that the plate comes with. I think if the imperial roll was just a bit better quality, I would have loved it. However, I was a bit underwhelmed. It seems like other people have had better experiences with other dishes here, so I am looking forward to being back at Mai's to try out...

I'm not sure if other reviewers have had authentic Vietnamese food because the food here seems like the quick and dirty version. The beef pho broth tasted like the pho powder you can get at the supermarket and didn't taste like a deep bone broth at all. At least the meat quality was okay. Ordered the imperial spring rolls and although it was crispy, it was also dry and again it tasted pre-made from the supermarket frozen section. I'm not saying that is true but I wouldn't want my food to taste like that either. I came here to try the nem nuong rolls since it is one of the only places in the city that serves it. It was super dry and overcooked. And again again it does not taste like they made the meat mixture themselves. Overall, the ingredients like vegetables and beef tasted fresh but some parts of the dishes tasted frozen. However, I still had a great time because the lady owner was extremely caring...

W brought me here. He said it was his favorite spot in San Francisco. He gifted me a sand dollar he had found. I put it on the table. We shared Five Spice BBQ chicken and Special Beef Phở. everything tasted so good. desire is a mouth. I thought, this is my favorite spot in San Francisco. We left. I forgot the gifted sand dollar on the table, not because I didn't cherish the object, but because I forget things often. Whole things. I called the next day to see if they had it. I thought there is absolutely no way they will have it. They had it. I walked to retrieve it. A man greeted me and so genuinely apologized for accidently breaking the sand dollar while they cleaned the table. I said, I just can't believe you have it. He opened a drawer and handed it to me. He had gathered and kept every small, fractured piece in saran wrap. Every piece of sand. And I thought, these are my favorite people in...