Y & Y Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in San Francisco

If you're scanning for a Vietnamese spot in the Richmond that balances bold flavors with comforting familiarity, Y & Y has quietly been doing its thing.

I recently visited and ordered their satay noodles, and it turned out to be one of those meals you linger over, slowing down to savor every spoonful.

What I Loved Depth in the broth. The satay base had a rich, nutty backbone layered with spice -- not just heat, but complexity. You could taste peanut undercurrents melding with lemongrass, garlic, and chili in a way that felt warming and bold rather than aggressive. Spice done right. It hit the sweet spot -- spicy enough to awaken your senses without obliterating them. And the heat built rather than dominated, which encouraged you to keep sipping. Noodle + texture play. The strands soaked up the broth beautifully -- slippery but not mushy. Added onions, herbs, and bits of protein gave contrast and a freshness that kept the bowl from feeling heavy.

If your goal is a bowl that feels both comforting and full of punch, the satay noodles at Y & Y are a must-order. It's a dish worth planning for -- go when you have the time to linger. After this, I definitely want to come back and try their pho and spring rolls (which others...

It was our family's first time here for lunch on a mid-October Sunday in 2018. It was fine until one out of our party of 6 didn't get his food order while the rest of us were half-finished with our meals. After asking at least 2 different wait persons, the pho finally came. However, my brother-in-law had ordered pho with well-done steak and meatballs and he received rare steak with no meatballs. After flagging the waitress again, instead of fixing the order, the waitress showed us the handwritten order and insisted that my brother-in-law got exactly what he ordered, basically saying we were wrong. She could have written anything, since we didn't watch her write down the orders word for word. My brother-in-law said 'forget about it'. Minutes later, the waitress returned with 4 halves of meatballs and said 'the boss' said it was okay to give us some meatballs, like she was doing us a big favor. Just not the most pleasant or...

I love the pho here! Granted, my soup was very basic (beef noodle soup with rare beef steak). I asked if they can add tendons with it and the staff was great in adding what I wanted.

I have to say, tendons seem to be a hit or miss at some of the Vietnamese restaurants I've eaten at - some are hard which I don't like and others are deliciously slimy and soft. The tendons were definitely on point here. There was something about the noodles that set this restaurant apart from previous ones...they were more firm in texture. Whatever noodles they used, it was delicious!!

I will say that the staff seemed a bit unorganized at one point. One of the ladies came up to me and offered me a bahn mi until I told her that that's not what I ordered. Shortly after we found out that the family over to my right were the ones who ordered the sandwich. We laughed it off. No big deal, I've just never experienced that mix up type of...