Roots Bistro — Restaurant in San Jose

Whenever I’m in San Jose, I always try to grab a bowl of Pho at a different Viet restaurant each time. Roots Bistro caught my eye with their modern & vibrant interior and Pho with Wagyu!

Stopped by for late lunch on a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant was packed. There were only two 2-top tables available as well as two patio tables. We initially sat inside by their Roots Bistro sign, but the chairs a bit uncomfortable for me, so we opted to sit outside. The staff escorted us out and sat us with menus.

We ordered the Wagyu Pho Special $19, Softshell crab salad $8, Thai Duo Iced Tea $5.50, and Viet Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk $5.50.

The Wagyu Pho Special was perfect for two people. It also came with a larger serving of tripe compared to other places! The broth was not very hot, but it had a fairly deep beef flavor. The wagyu was very tender & succulent and the tendon was like jello, it was lovely!

The Softshell Crab Salad was a lot smaller than we expected, but with the Mango Kaffir Dressing, it was absolutely delicious. It was very light and refreshing.

The Viet Iced Coffee was perfect! We thought about ordering another coffee to go, but we didn’t because we were so stuffed at the end. It was perfectly bitter, aromatic, and sweet. I’m curious to taste their plain black Viet coffee but they said that they were out of it. The Thai Duo Iced Tea lacked a bit of flavor, but it was refreshing nonetheless.

The restaurant felt a bit understaffed, so I was trying to extend some grace to them. They were very kind, and overheard us discussing the size of the salad and comped it from our bill for us.

I wished I had asked for them to clean off the table, there were a couple spots of bird poop and it was fairly dusty. But there was plenty of space, and it was a nice cool day. We knew what we wanted to order pretty quick and they took our order within 10 minutes. We waited an additional 20 minutes for them to bring cups of water to us as well. The wait for the food itself was very long- about 35 minutes, but at that point thankfully everything came out together!

I’m definitely curious to visit here when it’s not peak business hours or when they are staffed...

Roots Bistro is in a busy lot filled with noise and activity, but once you walk in I noticed the interior was super cozy and comforting. The spot wasn’t super big but the layout was very well done. First we started off with the Vietnamese egg coffee which was SOO good. It wasn’t crazy sweet and had a LOT of coffee flavor so I definitely enjoyed a lot more. Then we got the pork and shrimp spring rolls which were pretty good. There was so much mint in the spring rolls. They were quite tasty as the spring rolls came with a nice sweet peanut sauce that tasted really good with the dish. They weren’t anything really special though. Then I got the wagyu rare steak and brisket pho which was STEAMING when it came out so it was super fresh. The broth was mellower than I usually like though and all the noodles were just clamped together which was saddening too me. Although, o ex everything was mixed up it tasted pretty good. The beef was sooo tasty. There was so much ft and flavor and it wasn’t super overcooked which can happen sometimes in pho. Again this dish was nothing special but it was still good. The service at Roots Bistro was decent, the servers were very kind, but they weren’t the most attentive. I would deefinitely come guan just for the portions sizes and prices because it was quite affordable. OVERALL I would definitely recommend Roots Bistro to others for their drinks and spring rolls, but I probably wouldn’t come again because it was t the best Vietnamese spot I...

First time stopping by. I actually walked right by it. Looking for a Pho restaurant the last thing I would have looked for is a name like Roots Bistro LOL! The place was small and cozy and the perfect soup kitchen with tables available outside and inside. I walked in right before they close in the afternoon. I noticed some of the soup kitchens close in the afternoon and then open up again around 5pm for dinner time. Melissa the young cashier, waitress was great and took care of my cravings for a nice hot bowl of Beef Noodle soup. I ordered the all beef and went to NOM NOM town. The broth was perfect. Nice and clean. The sprouts and jalapeno's were good in the soup. Prices were perfect and fit my budget. I will be a regular at this place. Right next to my Massage Envy facility I go to every week. The weather is changing and getting colder so the bowl of hot soup hits the spot. The baby back ribs appetizer were screaming!! Falling apart on my fingers. Cooked in the oven for...