Pho Huynh Sang — Restaurant in San Francisco

Summary-Friendly quite affordable pho with friendly but unattentive staff.

Pros -Decent quality ingredients at a fair price -Quite, Intimate and comfortable dining -Mostly Friendly Staff -Beautiful Flowers and a good art piece

Cons -Poor food timing. Pho came out within a minute while fried noodle dish came out in about 10 minutes. Appetizer was served after all main courses and had to be sent back. -Appetizer had to be sent back. Chicken instead of Shrimp. Human error anyone can do that and I wouldn't normally dock points for this however the waitress was quite defensive about the mistake. She asked if we had eaten the appetizer, we said no and she said it was so she could reserve it instead of throwing it away. This is a major health violation. -Water was empty for quite a bit until we asked for refills, empty plates were left on tables and we asked for check, was told it would be brought and we waited about 10 minutes before just going to the counter to pay. Wait staff and man behind counter were mostly just socializing with one table I assume was people they knew. There were about 6 small tables seated the entire time we dined. Should have been quite easy.

Constructive comments. -Wait staff should be more attentive to all customers -The beautiful flowers that were mostly hidden near the register would make great decor in shelves around the restaurant instead of being hidden -There was a fantastic art peice behind the register of a woman in a dress. Art like that would look wonderful around the restaurant. -Appetizers should always be served before main dishes. Main dishes should be served together. It's not fun to be hungry and sit at a table and watch others eat, or worse sit in front of your food and wait for everyone to get their dish. -Say it with a smile -The customer isn't always right, but don't be overly defensive -Once food is placed on a customer's table and left it cannot be reserved to another customer. Waste is bad but potential Food Born...

Updated review 12/15/2021: The price on the in-person menu is different than what they charge. My bill came out a dollar more than the menu price. No biggie. The Vietnamese crispy seafood noodles $14 were still good. There isn't a lot of other Vietnamese restaurants in the city that serves this dish. I prefer the way this place makes it because it is extra crispy without a lot of gravy to make it mushy.

Updated review 7/24/2021: We came here on Sat 7/24 for lunch. As expected, the food was terrific. I got my usual crispy seafood noodles. O that first bite. It was crispy and then I dipped the noodles into that gravy to soften it up a bit. My friends got the beef pho special and the chicken pho. They all loved it. Great job everyone at Pho Huynh Sang!

Original review: Indoor dining tonight 3/7/2021. Pho Huynh Sang only recently re-opened indoor dining on 3/5/2021. In terms of COVID protocols, they had barriers set-up for the take out counter and the back cashier booth. I ordered my usual #62 - Crispy Vietnamese noodles with seafood. It has been over a year since I ate this dish. This is the type of dish that aren't good for delivery or take out as the gravy will soak the crispy noodles. When my dish arrived, it smelled so good! It was like seeing an old friend that you haven't seen in a while. You can totally smell the black pepper and the fresh garlic bits. It came with plenty of vegetables and it was awesome. The gravy was a little plain but it did its job. It was a shame to see there were hardly any other customers inside because Pho Huynh Sang serves a good...

4/2025 update: Everything below is still true but I didn’t see the older gentleman I used to chat with, sounds like his days of running the place are behind him. I wish him well.

I also noticed that they have a good number of veggie and vegan options, cool. Best selection of condiments at the table of any Vietnamese place, don’t sleep on the house made garlic vinegar.

It’s still a low key great place to watch sports. Plenty of space and they never rush you. And the vibe still reminds me of Vietnam.

Original review:

The pho is straightforward and delicious. Flavorful broth, substantial portions, and the right price. The spring rolls are big and delicious. And I love their little single serve pour over Vietnamese coffee.

Better still, it has the most charming, lovely staff. It feels like your friend's grandparents run the place. When it's not too busy I'll chat with the older gentleman at the front of the house about sports or news. And you can count on them to have whatever playoff game is happening or the news if there isn't a game on or there's a big event happening.

The combination of food + experience makes this one of my favorite...