Food was absolutely delicious. I got the herb crusted sea bass, which was one of tonight's specials. For starters, we got papaya salad, crispy soft shell crab, and the crispy egg rolls. I can't wait to come back and try the rest of the menu. read more

Elements Restaurant - Herb crusted sea bass - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

Good service Tasty Food We go there for my friends birthday Dessert presentation was very pretty read more

Came here on my birthday on a last min call. Let's just say I wasn't disappointed! Everything was so good. The only things is.. they close a 9pm so dont order the Wellington too late or they wont make it. It takes about 45min for them to make this specific dish. So worth it! read more

Elements Restaurant - Soo good! - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Made reservations here for my party of ten based on a recommendation. We had an absolutely lovely time. The service was fantastic and we all loved our food. The presentation was so special and unique and the flavors were delicious. We will definitely be back! read more

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Went there with entire family and everyone's dish did not miss! We got Tea-smoked Duck with Lotus Roots, Taro Au Gratin, Wonton Soup, Herb Crusted Salmon, Seared Ahi, Vietnamese Beef Stew, and Vegetarian Wellington. Highly recommend read more

Elements Restaurant - 53. Herbal Crusted Salmon - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

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I ordered the 5 spice Pho and had it delivered. It was EXCELLENT! Delicious broth with a generous portion of roasted chicken. Really really good. I would definitely order again! read more

Ate lunch here today, the calamari and zucchini appetizer was excellent. Followed by seafood pho. The broth was rich and flavorful and the seafood was fresh and plentiful. Really enjoyed the food and the server was outstanding. Definitely a great place for lunch at competitive pricing. We'll be back for sure! read more

We have been coming to this restaurant for 9 years, we started from the previous location at via valente. The food here has always been outstanding - our most favorites are wonton soup,, salmon Wellington and seafood pasta capellini. The desert selection is great too - lava cake, tiramisu and cheesecake are incredibly tasty. This place is family owned which adds a personal touch to dining where the chef remembers us by names and also remembers the menu items that we usually order. The service is always great, we never have to wait too long for the food . The prices are also comparable to the prices at other restaurants in Bay Area . We try to come here almost every week . read more

Our 16-year-old son is interested in pursuing a chef career. The chef, Tristen, was super nice to squeeze time out of his very busy schedule to talk to us and shared a lot of sound advice with our son. This chef traveled to 75 countries to learn different cuisines. He is passionate about his cooking. We ordered Rotisserie Quails with 5 Spices Salmon Wellington Tea-Smoked Duck with Lotus Roots, Taro Au Gratin We give 5 out of 5 for each of these three dishes. Each has its very own sophisticated taste because of the Euro-Asian twist. They are all one of a kind. I do not think I have had these flavors before. The textures of each dish are also well-designed. Our taste buds were pleased and challenged by the creativities from the Chef. The colorful and artistic presentations of the dishes made us ooh and ahh. I will say that the high quality of the dishes, the wonderful working team there, plus the simple but beautiful interior design provided us such an amazing dining experience. Highly recommend you this Elements because we definitely will go again. read more

Hidden gem. Very unassuming from the outside but once you step in there's a nice dining room with excellent food and service waiting for you. I've been here a few times and everything we've ordered has been excellent, including the salmon Wellington, rack of lamb, duck and the shrimp/scallops. Appetizers and desserts are also delicious. read more

Elements Restaurant - 52. Salmon Wellington & 62. Australian Rack of Lamb - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Went to Elements for our 30th anniversary. Decided to eat outside. Quiet and delightful. Safer for Covid as well. The menu is eclectic and creative. We had trouble deciding what to get because we wanted to try everything. Our plates were delicious and large so we had enough for lunch the next day. Service was excellent. Side note: I'm not sure what kind of butter they use, but waiting for our meal we enjoyed the bread with butter and asked for seconds because the butter was delicious. That sounds lame, but it's true. We will definitely go back and keep trying other interesting plates from the menu. This is a locally owned small business and we are happy to support! read more

Element's Restaurant is an incredible delight of tastes. We had an excellent dinner. Service was outstanding! The menu offers a variety of choices for the persnickety and for all. The dessert tops off this extraordinary experience. read more

Came here this evening for their soft opening. The inside of the restaurant is very nice and spacious with a good amount of seating. They served us with a bread basket to start off before ordering. The bread was fresh, warm and delicious. We wanted to try a few starters. We chose the lemongrass chicken satay and the chicken and herb wonton soup. We shared both and were very impressed. The soup was absolutely delicious with 5 homemade wontons stuffed with chicken and herbs, and plenty of fresh vegetables. The chicken satay was beautifully presented with a freshly made peanut sauce. I preferred he soup while my husband loved the chicken satay. To me the sauce was bland but I still liked it and the chicken breast was perfectly cooked. For our entrees we chose filet mignon and the rack of lamb. Both came with mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables. The steak and lamb were both so tender and juicy cooked to perfection. Each had an accompanying sauce, both of which were delicious. We enjoyed our evening and appreciated the attentive service. Excellent customer service. We are so happy they are back and ready fir business in their new location. Looking forward to coming back. read more

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The food was great and service was nice.... I love the environment was cozy such a good place to have dinner with your lovers.

The soft shelled crab and egg roll were delicious. The staff is quite attentive and made sure our glasses were always full. Thanks for the great service and food! read more

I've eaten here several times with my grandparents and each time has been a fantastic experience. Excellent service and beautifully presented food that tastes just as good as it looks. read more

Some dishes are ok and some - especially the 5 spice chicken sandwich is a zero. A lot of bread with a little dry chicken and some greens. Also, $18 for a 6 ounce glass of ordinary chardonnay is ridiculous. Our bill for two was more than $130 and was very unsatisfying. Very kind of you to answer my review. I am not sure the point on Rombauer wine but yes it is a step up from Kendall Jackson, but a 5 or 6 ounce glass should be way less than $18. I know you try hard, but for me it missed the mark - especially the dry chicken in my sandwich and my wife's shrimp were marginal. My point was not just the wine, but the meal was marginal. If the food was good, the wine would not even be mentioned. It was the whole package. I guess I just expected better. I am sorry had to do a negative review but I appreciate honesty from others. PS: The people are very nice and the place feels clean. I wish you the best. read more

Amazing food! Wonderful flavor and presentation! Lovely staff who were very attentive. Our new family favorite.

Almaden is so lucky to have a restaurant like Elements. Great menu, food is well flavored and they give very generous servings, I called ahead with a dietary restriction and they spent time making recommendations. I was SO satisfied with my dinner These are tough times for restaurants and I hope Almaden supports all our businesses- elements especially! The salmon, spinach and mashed potatoes hit the spot- perfectly cooked- my husband loved the pad Thai and Krispy egg rolls, maybe because of my dietary challenge, they kindly included a dessert that was fabulous. Can't wait to return for more takeout' read more

Great food with crisp fresh flavors. Fantastic service from a friendly staff. Nice wine selections that compliment the meal nicely. I will definitely return. read more

I finally tried Elements after living too long in Almaden. I was very pleased. Everything we ordered was very good. The atmosphere was excellent and the waiter did very thing he could to make sure that we were informed about our choices and happy. Soft shell crab, calamari, spring rolls, Tea smoked duck, filet mignon, Caesar salad, chocolate mousse, coffee gelato and chocolate bomba. Go and visit this local gem. I'll be there next week. I should have taken some pictures to show off to the yelpers, but I am not that guy. read more

Excellent beautifully served meal I had grilled prawns and scallops grilled zucchini prosciutto and pea sauce Service is excellent A meal to remember read more

We had a wonderful dinner yesterday at Elements. The setting is modest (strip mall, next to Safeway), but the interior is beautiful. We are still trying to dine outdoors, and since we were the only ones out there, we wondered if we'd be forgotten. We definitely weren't. Service was very friendly and attentive with frequent check-ins and questions about our meal. Nice people! I walked in knowing that my chosen meal (vegetarian wellington) would take extra time, so I ordered that as soon as we were seated. We enjoyed wine and an appetizer of Vietnamese crispy eggrolls (3 in the order) which were deliciously fried but not oily. The chile sauce that came with it had a little kick but didn't burn. Perfect. My wellington was excellent, and my husband was very happy with his choice of dinner (scallops, prawns). For dessert we chose to share the lemon pineapple bombe. The only problem there was that we were sharing. We could have easily eaten our own! We'll be back. read more

This low-key restaurant in Almaden is a jewel in terms of the food, its preparation, and the service of the staff. I enjoyed one of the best Paella's I've ever had! The butternut squash soup was so lovely - not too heavy and very aromatic with hints of orange. I was very impressed with the dessert - an orange sorbet which was artfully created; the sherbet was in a hallowed-out orange (like the French styled 'orange givree'), topped with a bit of whipped cream and mint leaves! My friend ordered the sea bass with black rice; it was delicious - tender and fresh. I definitely recommend this restaurant! It was only my second time eating there, but I will definitely return in the future! read more

my new favorite!! we came here spontaneously on a thursday evening and were seated right away. the butternut squash soup was a hug in a mug and the salmon wellington looked stunning and tasted just as good. the tiramisu was as expected and but the lava cake has my whole dang heart. & our server was attentive and very sweet! i have to say i was pleasantly surprised by this lovely restaurant- you wouldn't expect to get this kind of meal by the looks of the exterior read more

Elements Restaurant - lava cake & tiramisu - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

Elements is a lovely family owned Vietnamese-French restaurant in Almaden. We enjoy eating there, and getting takeout. They thoughtfully make sure that everything is perfectly packed for to go orders. Dishes we love are their salmon Wellington, meatloaf (it's different and really good), pho, and stuffed chicken and stuffed tofu. I love their black rice. Service is always so friendly. Perfect for a date night or casual stop for some pho. read more

Always a go to restaurant for me. Food great. I do a lot of pick ups if I don't want to dine out

We came here on a Tuesday night to celebrate my husband's birthday. Everything was fresh and delicious. We started with the spider rolls, I had the sea bass for my entree and my husband had the filet. We ended the evening with the Tiramisu and coffee. We will be back! read more

Elements Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

Dinner for three on a Friday night. Moderately busy but with tables open. The salmon entrée was awesome, but the five spice chicken with vermicelli just gets an ok. $120 for two adults with a glass of wine each and one kids meal. Not blown away but we will go again. read more

I've been here a few times with my family, for a valentine's date, and with a friend. I've tried many different dishes and have really enjoyed each of them. A few that stand out in my memory are the salmon wellington which is soooooooo good, the meatloaf (never knew I liked meatloaf til I tried it here), and the herb crusted salmon. In addition to the food being great, I've also really enjoyed the wide selection of wines and drinks. I can't remember ever having any bad experiences with wait staff or anything of that sort. read more

This place is an instant hit! The food is GREAT! Quality of food and ingredients was top notch. Atmosphere is clean and inviting. The service is GREAT. Try it for sure - you won't be disappointed. Also, talk to Tristan, the general manager who is one of the most hospitable people. We will make this place as one of our regular restaurants to attend. read more

The service is fantastic. You can't go wrong with the paella and the calamari. I hope that I can make a return trip to this spot. The desserts are also top notch! read more

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I was really excited to try this place since everyone seems to rave so much about it. Boy was that a big mistake. The food is mediocre. Not to mention the sad and pathetic service we had that night which is why i'm only giving this place 1 star. It's a shame there isn't anything less. At first the service was good, don't get me wrong. My party was seated instantly, our water glasses were filled and our orders taken shortly after. However, after 35 mins and still no sign of our entrees, i tried to flag down a server but every single staff member was completely oblivious to me. Not only did they pay no attention to me, i also noticed a couple next to us that came in about 15 mins after we did and already had their appetizers and main course! Are you kidding me?! After another 20 mins i finally got a waiter's attention and asked about our entrees. Surprise, Surprise, they didn't even start on it. Not to offend anyone, but i did notice that my party and i were the only Asians there that night. The rest of the restaurant was Caucasian, which wasn't even the least bit bothersome. I find it funny how all the staff members were Asian, but their main priority was to make sure EVERYONE ELSE was happy. It made me feel insignificant which seriously pissed me off beyond belief. Word of advice to the staff, Get your sh*t together. read more

Love this place! Great food, presentation, and service. Recommend the chicken satay, any of the Wellington's, and the vermicelli with veggies. read more

The owner and chef of the place (a financial services/banking client of my ex is how I discovered the place), Tristan, is very friendly and gracious. Of course it wasn't mentioned that I'm a "perky" Yelper so I'm sure he thought it was a bit odd I was taking pics and looking around so much. The papaya prawn salad was a miss for me. I don't know if it comes served as it was (we each got a plate with one fried prawn) or because we were sharing. The serving was measly and I felt the whole salad was overpowered by dressing. I peeled off the fried coating on the prawn but apparently it was what made the prawn yummy. What still gets me is the serving size, anywhere you go, you get a giant salad with at least more than 2 prawns! The Salmon Wellington was almost perfect. I wish the crust was more flaky and crispy since it supposedly was puff pastry. But if it were any flaky/crispier then the salmon would have been overcooked. This was delicious! I loved the creamy sauce. Yum. The Tea Smoked Duck surprised me. They are not skimpy on the portions for this dish! So many slices of duck. Yummy! The description included sweet potatoes and I didn't see them until I realized they were crispy shavings on top . Interesting combo. Dessert was average but hey you can't really go wrong with chocolate. Ambiance is pretty good, I mean what do you expect in Almaden? Older crowd. Service was kind of off and on. I wasn't expecting "fine dining" but there are a lot of ways they can improve on it so it's more professional and smooth. I would come back because there were quite a lot of interesting dishes. This is the place we go to because he loves hearty american/french traditional food and I always need some Asian flavors! read more

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Elements Of A Very Good Restaurant..... Pros: Excellent food. Tasty menu. Convenient for the Almaden Valley. Cons: Gut busting noise when crowded. Downbeat exterior in an older strip mall. Suggestion: For dinner Friday and Saturday, make a reservation. Remember, they're closed Sunday. Star Ratings: - Overall: 4 - Food Quality: 5 - Food Quantity: 4 - Dining Room Attractiveness: 3 - Menu: 5 - Wine List: 4 - Service: 4 - Noise: 2 - Price: 4 - Value: 4 - Parking: 5 - Ambiance: 3 We almost tried Elements for my wife's birthday in mid July, but some of our friends couldn't make it so we postponed our visit by a few weeks. When our group of 3 couples arrived for dinner at 730 PM on a Saturday evening, the restaurant was full and jumping with energy. Fortunately, we had a reservation and got the last table open at that time. - Dining Room: Elements is essentially a storefront in an older strip mall along Almaden Expressway about halfway down Almaden Valley. They've dressed the place in a series of cool, soothing greens, yellows and blues with widely spaced art offering bursts of color along the sides. Tables are not on top of each other which allows for normal conversation. However, the acoustics magnified the sounds of both the patrons and open kitchen so the full house we encountered seemed more like a wall of noise until the crowd thinned around 9 PM. By the time we left at 10 PM, everything in Elements was set for the next day with shiny clean dishes, tableware and glasses. - Food: Very good to excellent. Appetizers are meant for sharing, so we ordered Calamari, Crab Cakes with Shrimp and Vegetarian Spring Rolls. All were great...whether using the accompanying sauce or naked. For some reason, it took 25 minutes from the time we ordered until the first food appeared. That shouldn't happen. I followed the "starters" with a Caesar Salad. It was very good, but small...although about the right size for a price of $7. Other people in our group who had Green Papaya Salad with Tempura Prawns said it was very tasty. However, Elements seemed to charge an extra $1 for 2 people sharing and an extra $2 for another couple splitting the dish. For the entree, 4 of the 6 people ordered Scallops and Prawns on a bed of risotto or accompanied by vegetables. I didn't hear any complaints. Another friend, known as a rather finicky eater, got the Salmon Wellington. He said it was "okay". I had the last plate of Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna, a special dish available in the restaurant that night. It was great with lots of fish and vegetables...plus I also picked up most of the risotto on my wife's plate. I was in hog heaven ( and probably looked that way ). We still had room for dessert, so I had the Triple Chocolate Mousse. It was great. I could've had 2 more. The other 5 people shared several orders of a good looking dish with 2 ice cream flavors wrapped in a chocolate shell. Each dessert was $7.50 and worth it. - Menu: Not large, but attractive. The menu is divided into Starters ( 11 choices ), Soups and Salads ( 5 ), Burgers and Pasta ( 8 ), Entrees ( 11 ), Menu For Kids ( 5 ) and Desserts ( 7 ). While many restaurants have long menus with lots of "filler", almost everything at Elements sounded good. Plus there are several vegetarian versions of traditionally non-vegetarian dishes which was nice for at least 3 of the 6 people in our party. - Wine List: Long, but not overkill. They completely filled 2 large pages with 8-10 selections each of the major types of red and white wine. I can't imagine not finding something worth trying. I didn't pay close attention since one of our friends brought a bottle, but he said it was quite impressive with reasonable prices. NOTE: I thought the list said the corkage fee was $10. However, after we got home and I checked the bill, we were charged $15. Their website also says $15...so they need to update the menu. - Service: More laid-back than prompt. My wife and I waited 5 minutes for a hostess to greet us when we arrived. Aside from the slow "starters" ( see above ), everyone was friendly and helpful. - Price and Value: Quite reasonable. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. They added an 18% gratuity for our group of 6 and we still escaped for less than $100 per couple. - Bathroom: I never got that far. My wife went and said it was okay. - Parking: Lots of space in and around the area. Elements didn't knock our socks off, but it was certainly good enough to try again. read more

The dishes served here have elaborate presentations and are somewhat pricey, with the appetizers ranging from $7 to $10 and the entrées ranging from $15 to $27. All the waiters and the host were very friendly. I've been here a couple of times, but have yet to write a review. This restaurant is great for small, special occassions! I went with my family, on a date, and on a double date. The best times to go is on a weeknight, as weekends tend to be busy. The dishes below are some of what I've had and recommend: Appetizers: - Vietnamese Style Crab Cakes and New Zealand Mussels in Tamarind Essence, were superb! Entrées: - Tea-Smoked Duck that was served with spinach and a taro-potato cake, fantastic combination. The duck was excellent; it was soft, tender, and juicy from the cranberry sauce. - Paella Variation in Clay Pot, which had a combination of various seafood served with rice. When everything was mixed together, it tasted delicious and the level of spiciness was just right. - Salmon Wellington, unique presentation, very delicious. - Australian Rack of Lamb, a must for lamb lovers! - New York Steak with Red Wine & Peppercorn Sauce, get with garlic fries. The sauce is fantastic and goes with everything, even the garlic fries! Dessert: - Mixed Fresh Berries in Brandy Essence, which was strawberries and blueberries over ice cream to mellow out the brandy, topped with whipped cream. A nice cold, refreshing dessert to top off the meal. - Raspberry Marzipan Cake, the BEST cake EVER! read more

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My wife and I really enjoy eating here. We've gone a handful of times, but I think this will become a place we go more and more in the year ahead. Food is great, staff is really good, too. read more

Now that we're living down here, we're looking for great places we can make our regular haunts, the problem with this area is that it's overrun with chain restaurants, so this was a pleasant change. It's always mildly questionable to realize the fine dining establishment you are approaching is in a strip mall, but the interior decor makes up for that with very soothing colors and a sophisticated look. We ordered the spring rolls, stuffed chicken breast and the duck. Everything was very tasty, and the flavor medley signature for euro-asian places worked and didn't seem forced. My only problem was that there were so many waiters hovering, which usually is a good thing, but in this case I would still be chewing and they were trying to take my plate away! Also, I do agree with previous reviews that this is not a Vietnamese place. The wines were only OK, but the deserts all looked amazing and I definitely would have indulged if not for the fact I was heading to the wine bar next door. Also be aware that this places closes at 9! read more

Yeah, I need to make more reviews here. So, I'm back from (properly named) Elements, a worldwide combination restaurant if you ask me (I wouldn't call it a Euro-Asian fusion restaurant now), for my birthday and yes, I decided to let Yelp decide for me. Ha ha ha! (I really wanted okonomiyaki initially, but I don't think it was a good time to go to San Francisco for the food.) 3 for 3 Yelp. I better get this statement out of the way. The place is marred by inconsistencies, which is why there is no perfect score. Still, I will agree with the rating. Initially, I thought that this is really in a bad location, especially since it's so pretty, and yeah, I'm pretty sure a good amount of people will agree with me. The staff members wished that I made a reservation prior, but they were glad to see the fam and I anyway. The staff members are good people. They constantly checked on us if we needed refills on water and they gave us an extra bowl since my mom wanted an Asian dish in the rice noodle soup. Oh. We got calamari to start off the experience along with bread, wine, tea and apricot juice. (I don't get apricots enough, which is why I got the juice.) The zucchini pieces are really good. Some people don't like the bread, but my youngest brother did. Just about the entire fam got Filet Mignon. Tried some of it and it's pretty good. The Stuffed Chicken Breast & Marsala au Jus, the food I got, however felt a bit off, though I suppose that chicken in general is not easy to cook to the point of perfection. It has the right idea, but it's not perfected yet, as it could use some juice. I spent more time helping mom finish the soup and it didn't help that we ate a pizza slice or two before. We got a cake slice to finish the meal. I don't eat cakes/pies a lot these days (I'm a crepe person), but this is probably one of the best cakes I've had in a while. It's hard to put it into words. It's that good. The prices seem right. The staff members are great. The food is solid. Elements just needs consistency. +: Diverse food that's excellent, great staff members, the place is solid. -: There's a consistency issue. read more