My bf and I always visit Pho Element when we pass by San Mateo! The food has been consistently…read moredelicious and we always order the same couple of items in rotation. We particularly love their HaiNan Chicken Rice, Pho Ga, butter tofu, and omg their GINGER SCALLION SAUCE!!! Service is always quick and all the workers are so attentive. Parking is quit difficult tho... like REALLY difficult unless you get lucky. Don't let that steer you away from this place though because I promise it is worth it!

I had such an awful experience here. I ordered the chicken…read morepho, and I was surprised when they told me they don't serve bean sprouts, lemon, basil, or mint.. the traditional toppings that normally come with pho. That really threw me off, especially because I saw a Yelp review before coming that showed bean sprouts with the pho. Secondly, they served my pho with thick, flat noodles instead of the traditional rice noodles you normally expect. I politely asked the waitress if those were the only noodles they offered, and she told me they also have the traditional pho noodles.. you just have to request them. I've honestly never had to ask for regular pho noodles anywhere else, so that was really strange to me. The broth was also very watered down and lacked flavor. The chicken was dark and honestly didn't even look like chicken, which made me not want to eat it. I took two bites of my bowl and ended up leaving very disappointed. I also want to mention that parking was a hassle. There's very limited street parking, which made the experience even more frustrating. I understand that every pho restaurant has its own recipe, and I'm very open-minded when it comes to trying different places. I'm not a picky eater at all, but this experience was just way off from what I'd expect when ordering pho. I'm honestly not sure how this place has so many positive reviews based on the experience I had. The one positive thing I can say is that the customer service was good. The staff was kind and attentive throughout my visit. Unfortunately, the food itself was a 0/10 for me, and I wouldn't come back.

Freakin' yummy Vietnamese pork sandwich. I added sliced jalapeño peppers…read more Customer-service: good:

I am usually all about supporting local mom and pop shops but not when they are this horrible to…read moretheir customers. I've seen sheer lingerie pieces that are thicker than the slice of pork they put in their banh mi and you only get one slice...a handful of veggies. The banh mi is basically just a flavored baguette. They are very shady in that they will give you your to go order and rush you out so you don't check that everything you ordered. They tried to skimp out on my Thai tea and got annoyed when I asked about it in which they finally made one for me....like bro I paid for it why you trying to not give it to me...this has happened twice. Just go somewhere else.

Fantastic service, small place so might be a short wait on Friday and weekends but food is great…read more Would definitely come again!

Rin-Tei is a delicious Japanese-Thai fusion restaurant that I'd highly recommend! I came here a few…read moreweeks ago with some friends on a Sunday whim, and we all thoroughly enjoyed our experience here. When we arrived, we were easily able to get seated without a reservation (perhaps because it was a Sunday). The service was wonderful from the get-go - they were extremely friendly and attentive the entire time, and made us feel very welcomed. And though we arrived on the slightly later side, they never made us feel rushed. The interior of Rin-Tei is minimalist and cozy, and had a very familial feel, as virtually all the tables are connected by a long bench along the wall. It contributes to the inviting, inclusive atmosphere of the restaurant, making it a great spot to meet up with friends. We ordered a variety of dishes which we all split, including: the garlic shrimp, the Vietnamese papaya salad, cold sesame TanTan pho, keema curry, calamari, sizzling wagyu loin, and a couple drinks. And everything we had was excellent! My personal favorites were the sizzling wagyu loin, which was perfectly cooked and abundantly juicy and flavorful, and the warm, tasty keema curry. I'd also never had cold pho before, but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I don't think you can go wrong with anything here. I loved my experience at Rin-Tei, and will no doubt be back soon!

Overall, the food was good. The papaya in the Green Papaya…read moreSalad with Beef was fresh and crunchy. The beef was tender and flavorful. The Ben Tre Appetizer Combo was also good. The shrimp rolls and grilled pork meatballs were my favorite as they were delicious. I was not happy with the Pho Dac Biet because the broth tasted watered down and was also not hot enough. On the positive side, it had a generous serving of tender meats, and the vegetable accompaniments were fresh. If I am in Millbrae and wanting Vietnamese food, I will give them another try.

The only thing good about this location is the service we received from one person. He was really…read morenice and always refilled our water. Talked to us and was super nice. The rest of them don't really know how to help the customer. Unfortunately, I did not get his name. The Garlic noodles we ordered were FLAVORLESS... the noodles were blank and only tasted like light black pepper. There's garlic bits in it but no flavor of it... by far the worst garlic noodles I've ever had. The kalbi plate I ordered was okay. Nothing special. Not much flavoring to the dish itself. Also found hair in it. The beef spring roll was okay. I've had better with more flavor. It has only a Smokey/ char beef flavor. If I came back... maybe I'd only stick to the pho and request for the tall nice Viet guy who was very attentive and kind. Also thought it was unprofessional when one of his colleagues took the check from us to help us pay, when the nice guy already was trying to help us check out and pay

I had a pretty awesome experience here at Pho de Nguyen. The service was great. A very friendly…read morestaff who steadily checked in on me if I was ok or needed anything. Customary at most Vietnamese restaurants, you get your food with minimal check ins and not even a plate clearing until the bill comes. This was NOT the case here. There service was definitely in the A/A+ range! I ordered on my phone via QR code, but there was an option to order in person from a server. I ordered many items to try out. I ordered spring rolls, crispy salt and pepper wings, grilled pork banh mi, beef dac beit pho, and a Thai iced tea. Thai Iced Tea was pretty good. Grade: A I thought the Spring Rolls were decent, but what made them even better was the peanut sauce! I always hate when the peanut sauce is watery and this was far from that! An excellent gooey peanut sauce and maybe one of the best I've had fpr consistency. Grade: A- Crispy salt and pepper wings definitely had an incredible crunch. They were up there in crunchiness. The drumettes were meaty which I appreciated. They were well seasoned also. I think I need to try their other wings before crowning these, but some of the cruncheist wings I've had for sure. Grade: A- Beef Dac Biet Pho had some real high quality meat in it. I had options in noodle and my go-to for any pho spot is the egg noodles. I wish it had more bo vien in it, but I appreciated the combo of meats. The broth seemed authentic, but I wanted a tad more flavor out of it without adding sauces. Overall, the pho grade was a B+ bordering an A-. The star of the show was the grilled pork banh mi. The meat was tender and saucy. In fairness I asked for extra pickles and mayo, but I was very impressed. The bread had the crispy crunch we all look for but minus the stale bread. The breads soft yet crispness made it seem as if it just came out of the oven! I'm going to dub this as the best I've had in the Bay Area! There I said it! Grade: A+ Everyone who ordered the sampler seemed very pleased at other tables, I would definitely try that. Also, want to try the other banh mis and noodle options for the pho. There was a nice vibe at this place. I didn't feel rushed although they do close fairly early at 8pm. The server's mom is the one cooking in the kitchen and I appreciated the family feeling at this place. They do have a newer location in San Francisco that has a DJ Friday nights that I may check out. I believe the server said that they are open til 2am on most nights, but I may have misheard her. Feel free to Yelp that location. My only disappointment was that I really love papaya salad and it was not an option. I may make this my go-to spot from now on, but as a Yelper, we all know we will keep trying new places. This will be the one I continue to frequent. Well done Pho de Nguyen!

As our search continues for great pho closer to home than San Jose, we decided to try Pho de Nguyen…read moretoday. Overall, the meal was okay. We can't really complain, but it also wasn't memorable enough for us to come back. The broth was decent, but if you're a pho lover, you know the broth is what makes or breaks the experience and this one just didn't stand out. After lunch we went grocery shopping, and that's when things took a turn. My husband suddenly started sweating, and my stomach began making all kinds of unhappy noises. We hadn't eaten anything else that day, so we suspect something from the meal didn't sit well with either of us. That said, we can't say for certain that the restaurant was the cause. The restaurant itself looked clean, and the service was perfectly fine. Unfortunately, between the average broth and how we both felt afterward, it's just not a place we'll be returning to.

This is my first time trying this restaurant even though it's close (one of the main reasons I…read moretried them). So, my expectations were low since I had no experience with them although the reviews looked good! Also, and "against" my better judgement, I was going to order their soup to go (which doesn't always work well). However, I was sick and didn't want to leave the house. WOW! What a WONDERFUL SURPRISE! I only ordered their #1 popular item, the Spicy Rice Noodle Beef Soup with veggies. 1) Order was delivered within 15-20 minutes! 2) Everything was fresh & still hot 3) All items were separately bagged and/or combined where it made sense. 4) The beef was tender and delicious (NOT salty either) 5) Even though I mixed it, the entire meal was excellent! I do soup like this a lot in the area, and mostly dining-in, so to experience this kind of quality for take-out was exceptional! I am really looking forward to dining there, in person, and trying other items from, what appears to be, a pretty varied menu!

Hunan Mifen is another good spot worth trying if you love authentic Asian cuisine…read more I don't eat spicy food so I was happy that they have some dishes that is not spicy, I love the flavor of their broth, tasty not salty and it has a balance. I love that they have variety of appetizers and side dishes. Price is very reasonable for a freshly cook dishes. I would give them two thumbs up

I've been here a couple of times now, and I've enjoyed the food every visit. I usually order the…read moreTokusei Ramen, which comes with a light pork broth. The noodles have a great chewy texture. I've also tried the tuna tartare, and while it's good on its own, I don't think it pairs particularly well with ramen, so I usually skip it and stick to the noodles.

In the mood for dipping ramen as I have not had it in a long time, and my partner suggested going…read moreto Taishoken as she felt it was as good or even better than Japan when she went. We were headed toward San Mateo and were able to check in when we were closer, it looked like there were about 7 parties ahead of us so we walked around. About 20 minutes later, we got the message to be seated and walked on back. The place is nice, very intimate, you have the tables right in front of you when you walk and the chefs on the right side behind the counter making the food. No Tv's but I was able to catch FIFA on my phone! We both had the Tsukemen dipping ramen with pork, and damn, was it yummy! Broth was great, the meat was tender, the egg was perfectly cooked, and things mixed extremely well with each bite! I'm also a sucker for Karaage chicken, and the Karaage here did not disappoint, perfectly crisp, tender inside, and the sauce was delightful, washing it down with a cold Sapporo was great after a long day! I'll definitely be coming back to try the other items on their menu, like the duck!

They have the best bun I've tasted. The egg rolls are so crispy and the pork is so good (#41)…read more They really grill the pork and it is higher quality pork than other Vietnamese places I've tried. The service is also accommodating.

Horrible. Ordered to go based on a photo in the menu. Picked up my order, opened it in the car, and…read moreit was nothing like the picture of the order I placed. Went back in and told them, and they referred me to a sign that said not to refer to pictures when you order. Wthell, then why would you have pictures next to the order #'s? And on top of that, why didn't you even say anything before we placed the order? No comment from them other than to look at the sign. No apologies or anything for the misunderstanding or warning. Customer service is a zero for me. Will def not come back here.