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Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
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I've been craving a big bowl of pho for the longest time (it's noodle soup weather right now) and Kim Son was the perfect place to go. The pho is really good and it comes in a satisfyingly large bowl. They have all the usual types of pho and they're all one size except for #1, the combo pho (it's extra large, $7.50). The regular size is plenty to really fill you up (must be all the broth); I didn't even have room for fro-yo afterwards.
I had the regular beef pho, #2. The broth is beefy with a lovely depth and balance of spices. I didn't think it was overloaded with MSG, though I'm not that sensitive to MSG (Since I'm Chinese, I grew up with MSG). All of the cuts of beef were delicious, including the very tender, silky tendon, beef balls, thin shreds of tripe, thin slices of beef, etc. I liked adding the fresh jalapenos and their pickled jalapeno slices, along with the fresh bean sprouts and fresh basil.
Minor flaws: The rice noodles were a little too soft and they gave me a wedge of lemon (I prefer lime).
It's not a fancy place but it feels clean. They have a huge golden Buddha statue and family shrine. Prices are good and they have other types of noodle soup (besides pho), vermicelli, rice plates, etc. Love the sauce caddy they have on the side, especially those pickled jalapeno slices.
$10 credit card minimum
Pho' Kim Son Restaurant is a neat little spot for some good food at a decent price.
The barbecue chicken is flavorful. I had the combination special at $7.95. I got soup, with my plate and a choice of either barbecue chicken, pork or beef. A few small shrimp were included as was a spring roll and a salad.
Atmosphere is friendly, clean and service is fast. If you bring in your ticket stub from the Balboa Theater which is a few steps away, the owners will give you a 10 percent discount off your total meal.
So, it is a value deal and worth a try.
Street parking available right outside. But Balboa Street is very busy and parking not easy to get.
Master Card and Visa accepted. Take some time to walk around Balboa Street. Lots of neighborhood charm. MUNI #31 bus runs up & down along Balboa Street.
Easy connections to Park Presidio Blvd and 25th Ave.
If you have any health issues, stay clear.
The salt in the pho will pay for a quick ride to the emergency room. Wow! It was so 'haum', I wanted to order a cup of hot water. Not to drink, but to dilute the thing!
We walked in with high expectations. Nice and open seating. Clean, friendly, menu's were modern. Yelp reviews were legit too.
But alas, I knew we were in trouble when our '5 spiced chicken over rice' came out literally 2 minutes after we ordered it. Hey, we know you re-heat it, but damn, lie to us. This too, was pretty salty. Flavor was there - but definitely just a quick soak and a basting on the stove. Nothing to write home to mom about.
The large pho, however, was large. I mean, Man Vs Food large. So, maybe it was an off night. It was Monday night, so I could of gotten leftovers.
Nonetheless, I'm cool off this place. It's not bad, but it's not great.
One of the few pho places in SF that is owned and cooked by real Vietnamese people so my Vietnamese parents actually like it versus the other pho places, which are usually a hybrid with Chinese style of food.
We get take out from them at least every other week. I like that they are very friendly and always more than happy to accommodate any special requests you have.
Pho w/ Five Spice Chicken:
-- chicken was yummy, nothing out of the ordinary.
-- the pho broth was bland, it did not have taste or had very little.
though I hear if you ask for extra noodles, it is free of charge. but SHHHH tell no one I told you. *winks*
I have lived around the corner from this spot for going on two years, and somehow I just never got around to trying the place. In the last month, I have gone several times, and I think I'm becoming a dedicated enthusiast.
They make some seriously bitchin' Pho' here!!! I have been trying as many different kinds as a I can, and everything thus far, has not only been delicious, but the portions are GIGANTIC. They make great spring rolls as well.
I haven't gotten into the main dishes yet, but I plan on trying as much as I can.
On top of the great food, the service is always done with a smile, the girls working there are adorably cute and very helpful, and the older gentleman that I believe either owns it or manages the place is always very friendly.
Great neighborhood spot, but for anyone trying to explore the city a bit, or maybe wanting some grub after a concert in GG Park or an outing at Ocean Beach, this would be a great spot to grab a bite.
We go here at least one time per week it is a great place for a fast dinner but with great food!
You don't leave with a craving for water like you do at alot of Vietnamese places in SF because they load the food with MSG!! this place is great do you self a favor and try it!
I noticed business has picked up here the last couple of times to where we actually needed to make a reservation for one of the big tables. Great news for such a good neighborhood restaurant in this economy.
The food's still consistently great. We always get the bbq pork plate with the rice paper wrappers that you roll yourself. The wrappers are brought out dried/hard and you dip them into a bowl of steaming hot water to soften and use as a wrapper for the pork and veggies. It comes with fish sauce but ask for a side of peanut sauce too -- so good. The bbq chicken is also some of the best around -- super tender and juicy.
I learned about Kim Son from my parents a couple of years ago and it's been one of my favorite… Read more »
LOVE IT. Came here on Friday Night, party of 4.
Eats: Appetizer spring roll dish where you make your own--THE BEST! I love it and now I know how to make spring rolls!!
Pho-YUM, delicious broth and very large portions!
Special Combo Rice Plat-YUM, flavorful, lots of food and delishhhcious!
Staff is extremely friendly and parking isnt too bad.
I heart vietnamese food. chowpchowpchowp!
Mmmmm. Pho coma everytime. Back this meal up with a serious dose of caffeine or be ready for a nap. Only knock on it is the location. Close to me (which is great) but far from everything else. God I wish they were open late.
I must have VERY HIGH standards because I found this Pho restaurant: unpalatable. I ordered BBQ chicken vermicelli and spring rolls.
1 - Overpriced
2 - Chicken was stiff, and hard to chew
3 - The pork in the spring rolls had no flavor with a consistency of a rubber band
I have had MUCH, MUCH better. Since this place is so close to my house, I MIGHT give it a second try.
I like this place. Good food, very nice people running the place. However, I have the nagging feeling the portions are getting smaller, and the prices are going up.
Kinda like a Hershey Bar.
Pho Kim Son is my destination spot for steak and tripe pho (my favorite Vietnamese snack food) in the Outer Richmond.
The pho is good but they charge an extra $1 for steak on the side, which accounts for only 3 stars. The dining area is open and inviting, although it can get noisy if there's a large crowd in the place. They give you tea in a beer sized glass and give free refills. If you have to do to get someone's attention, all you have to do is raise a hand, because the service staff (which is mainly Chinese speaking BTW) usually sits in a table in the rear corner of the dining room, when they aren't serving, and has no where to hide. The only other dish I've tried there is the goi cuon appetizer (unfried spring rolls) that I order when I'm really hungry, which seem a little short on shrimp, but are otherwise ok.
A great place to stop for a cheap meal before (or after) watching a movie at the Balboa Theater to save money that would be otherwise spent on overpriced (and essentially bad for you) popcorn, candy and sodas.
Pretty good Pho!! its Pho what else can you expect! People were nice, and it was perfect for my hang over!
Inexpensive and there egg rolls are pretty good as well.
I would come back!
3.5 stars, I round up. =D
Good little place in the Richmond. My friends and I arrived at roughly 8:00pm yesterday, Saturday night for some dinner. The place was pretty full. We were able to snag the last round table in back for a party of seven. I come here every now and then, but first review on yelp.
I ordered their dinner special which consisted of: soup of the day, "salad," imperial roll, and entree. I had the the BBQ beef entree. Overall the food is good - nice BBQ taste to the beef with the soft (not mushy) rice. The Imperial roll was also good; however, I noticed their lunch special, which is the same layout, you get a larger eggroll. I only notice this because the eggroll is actually good.
Overall, I was satisfied. I wish the portions were slightly bigger for dinner. They forgot the eggrolls that came with our dishes, so we had to tell them, but they brought it right out and apologized and gave us some more napkins.
Came here on a cold friday night hoping to get warmed up with hot bowl of pho. I've been wanting to try out this place ever since I read Patra's review about 2 months ago...since this is so close to my house! My bf and I came here for dinner around 8:30pm - oops place closes at 9! But we were quickly greeted and seated and given menu's.
Of course we ordered the #1...combination pho. I think its the same on every Vietnamese restaurant's menu! The pho was def. delicious..and came out in a pretty big bowl. Nice and hot esp on a cold night! Since I read Patra's review before, I knew that there was an option to make your own spring rolls. I ordered the one with the bbq pork balls since I can't have shrimp. YUM! I loved this. You get the rice paper wraps (which you dip into a bowl of hot water and can roll it yourself), rice noodles, and all the veggie fixing's for it. This was really fun to eat.
Food came out really quickly too, and service here was super friendly. I believe it was the owner that came out and told us (since we were the last ones at the restaurant) to take our time and eat, and wasn't trying to rush us at all (even though they were closing). In fact, he brought out more veggie fixing's and hot water for the rice wraps for us! Best part - this place is CLEAN. Will def. come back here for the yummy food!
I blessed with an awesome running/post-run eating buddy, Patra B. She'll run through torrential rain, wind that painfully blasts sand over your body (free apricot scrub!), and through nipple hardening, snot inducing weather.
After a particularly difficult run along Ocean Beach where it felt like Kim Jong Il was testing a new freeze death ray on us, the only thing that got us to the finish line was the thought of hot food. I told her about Kim Son, but warned: No PHO!
Patra: What? I can order Pho if I want. Pho Shizzle!
Me: You can't order a Pho-king thing unless I say! So sit down, Jennifer!
Patra: *raises fist* What did you call me? This place better be Pho-tastic, or else you'll be eating a knuckle sandwich!
Me: Does that come with Oyster sauce?
Patra: *PUNCH*
Me: Ow, sheesh, fine... Trust me, it'll be good.
It didn't go exactly like that since Patra B's easy going, but we ended up at Kim Son, nonetheless.
Nestled in the outer Richmond, Kim Son is one of the BEST Vietnamese places in the city, hands down. It's so damn good, you don't even need to eat the Pho to get a fantastic meal, which was my challenge. Don't get me wrong, the Pho is EXCELLENT and sized huge as well.
We order Lemon Beef to start, which is completely raw, topped with lemons, onions, (the acidity "cooks" the meat) and fried sweet garlic http://static.px.yelp.... It is simply delicious, comes out quickly (minimal prep time), and healthy to boot.
Then we got my personal favorite, the special combination appetizer, which comes with prawns (sometimes), shrimp over sugarcane, grilled pork, fried egg rolls, noodles with peanuts on top, and pickled veggies and lettuce so you can make your own wrap http://static.px.yelp.... They also give you rice wrappers that you dip in water to soften, so you can make a roll, as well. Dunked in the cups of fish sauce they provide, and you can make as many combos as your heart desires. This is not a meal for the weak and timid and will induce food coma if eaten correctly.
So to fight the coma, we also had their drip coffee http://static.px.yelp.... . Tasty, sweet, not too heavy.
At the end, the beef salad came out http://static.px.yelp.... but we were pretty damn full by then. The beef salad is shredded lettuce, carrots, and greens, sliced beef, and covered in fried garlic. They add mint for an occasional flavor explosion. After eating this, I scoff at Western salads. *Throws head back and laughs*
By the time we finished (yes, we ate it all cuz we're oinkers), I felt so good I knew I could walk up to a miniature golf course and hit the ball through the windmill. On the first try.
Yes, Kim Son makes you feel that good. And Patra? You can try the Pho now.
Pretty authentic Vietnamese food at a reasonable price.
Things to try:
Vietnamese salad with shrimp: Freshly cut shrimps, assorted greens & pickled turnip strips, sweet lotus roots, everything topped with a sprinkle of peanuts and fried garlic.
Bun Bo Xao: Beef with Vermicelli Noodles with a mixture of greens. Pretty decent.
Canh Chua: Kind of a Vietnamese type of sweet & sour soup.Yummy! Various types of veggies, tomatoes, pineappes, & catfish! :D
Waitresses are superb. The owner was really nice too. He's always polite and talkative with customers. He's also very welcoming. Food comes out really fast. The setting is very welcoming and comfortable. Go try! :D
It was a sunny day in SF, so you'd think it would be a good day for a run. So Jason C. and I headed to Ocean Beach...stepped out of the car....HOLY @#$@#$@#$!!!!! It was freeeeezing cold and windy! I was ready to crawl back into the car, but Jason promised he would take me somewhere good to eat after, so off we went on our grueling run. After we got blasted by sand for 5 miles, we called it quits.
So off we went and we ended up at Kim Son. Vietnamese food is one of my fav's! Even though I was frozen like a popsicle, I was told I couldn't order pho. Jason did all the ordering, so we ended up with fresh beef with lemon( http://static.px.yelp.... ), the special combo( http://static.px.yelp.... ), and the Vietnamese beef salad( http://static.px.yelp.... ).
I dove right in to the fresh beef with lemon. The slices of lime made the dish very refreshing, and the fried garlic on top made it extra yummy. The special combo was so good. The egg rolls were nice and crispy, but eat with caution or you'll burn your tongue...they're hot inside! They give you the veggie platter and rice paper wraps, so it helps to balance out all the fried stuff....or that's what I tell myself. By the time the Vietnamese beef salad came out, I was already getting full, but I had to eat it anyway. Put food in front of me, and I'll just keep eating!!!
We had a late lunch, so they weren't too busy. Service was very good, and the food came out fast. The prices are good and the portions are big. I'll have to come back to try their pho next time.
I'm a little conflicted about this experience.
On the one hand, it was just the right size, just the right amount of noodle and HUGE quivering slices of tendon. I'm talking about thick, gelatinous, offensive chunks that were not overcooked and retained that perfect chewiness. 5 huge stars.
On the other hand, there was a $1 extra charge for tai on the side, the broth was not mind-altering, and the imperial rolls were lacking (though it made up for it in quantity). My lunch cost $16 including tax. That's a lot of money for vietnamese food. A lot of money. Some places, I could get nearly 3 meals out of that much money. 3 stars.
Vietnamese food prices are on the rise. This is not the go-to place for pho. There's a dirty, little place in the TL that sits in the dark, cold recesses of my heart. The Asian women at the next table got this lovely looking plate of imperial rolls, BBQ pork, tons of lettuce leaf and more, which looked delicious. It's just not for me.
I visited this restaurant on the recommendation of friends. It was a cold, windy Friday night when I was there and as soon as I walked in the first thing I noticed was other patrons enjoying huge bowls of pho. It was the perfect night for hot noodle soup. The waiter greeted me and we backtracked to a table in a corner nook at the front of the restaurant. I opened the menu to discover a vast selection of noodle soups, rice plates, noodle dishes, appetizers and a la carte choices.
On both side walls there are dry erase boards with daily specials and brief descriptions written on them. I must admit that the waiter's service was not ideal as he chose to wait on two tables who had entered the restaurant after I had entered seemingly because their faces were more familiar to him. It would seem like he sat me in the corner so he could forget about me. Ignored, I finally flagged down another waitress who in return gestured to the waiter and said something to him (not audible to me). I believe it is a husband / wife team that waits on the tables. The waiter returned to my table, apologized and asked if he could take my order.
I knew the menu pretty well by this time, and I might have been a bit grouchy too because I was hungry. I ordered the Fried Prawn Rolls appetizer from the specials board and the Pho Bo Ko, beef stew with noodle soup. Since I didn't get any hot tea I ordered a canned soft drink to quench my thirst. The waiter brought a plate of pho accompaniments (bean sprouts, jalapenos, fresh basil and a piece of lime) immediately along with a canned soda and a tall glass with ice. He even popped open the can and poured the soda for me.
The kitchen works fairly fast as food arrived a short time later starting with the Fried Prawn Rolls (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). These were tail-on shrimp combined with a pork and seafood paste then wrapped in layers of scallions and basil leaves and wrapped again in an egg roll wrapper and deep fried. The result was a crispy sensation of shrimp, creamy scallion and basil. The taste of the meat paste was kind of lost next to the basil but these were delicious nonetheless. These came served with pickled carrots, daikon and scallions (very good) and a chili sweet and sour sauce that was more sweet than it was hot.
The Pho Bo Kho (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) arrived as I was enjoying my crispy appetizers. I love Asian beef stew and Kim Son's is very good. The meat was simmered long and had absorbed much of the flavors of the seasonings. The meat was extremely tender too. There was a good assortment of meaty pieces combined with fatty pieces but no tendons. I'm not a huge fan of the tendons anyway so this was perfect. There were two huge pieces of soft, simmered carrot and the amount of soft rice noodles in the bottom of the bowl was very generous, and the thick, brown broth was rich and full flavored. I even tasted some star anise in the broth. The beef stew noodle soup was excellent.
The service started out poorly but improved quite a bit after that. Judging by the foot traffic this is a very popular Friday night eat spot as folks were still coming in and seated after the posted closing time. The foods I tried were delicious, and if I'm ever in this part of the City again I won't hesitate to go back.
I have to deduct a star after branching out to other dishes here. I still stand by the assertion that they have the best pho in the city, but for anything else, not so much.
I am all about the combination clay pot. I just can't get enough of chinese sausage, shrimp, and chicken with rice that is baked onto the clay of the pot it is steamed in. But I don't get any of that baked on goodness here because they don't actually bake the dish in a clay pot; rather, they just dump the ingredients over steamed rice. Totally not a clay pot. I could deal with that, though. What I can't deal with it the consistent ignoring of my request for no ginger. What is it about "no ginger" that is difficult to understand? For the third time today, I opened my steaming ingredients over rice clay pot wannabe and bit right into a strand of, what else, GINGER! So then I had to go through and try to pick out every last strand of it. I'm so over it.
Again, best pho you can find with great, friendly owners and employees, but being friendly clearly doesn't make you competent in taking food requests. For a good clay pot, go somewhere else.
Original review (12/08):
I can't believe that I haven't written a review for this place yet! I could have sworn.....
The pho here is the best I've ever had. Period. I always order the same thing: BBQ pork pho, which is 2 meals. everything about this place is awesome. The owner is always super friendly (and even tought us a little Vietnamese once). When ordering take-out, they always give us hot tea while we wait.
The pho broth is perfect, as is the balance of meat, sprouts, noodles, and herbs. I've tried pho in lots of places, but I will always keep coming back to Kim Son.
I can't believe that I haven't written a review for this place yet! I could have sworn.....
The pho…
Read more »
This is undoubtedly the best Pho I've had, ever.
The number 3 "Pho tai" is absolutely delicious, the beef is nice and soft and you get a really big amount of noodles. The staff is very friendly and makes you feel comfortable to be eating there.
I love the jalapenos in my soup too.. mmm spicy.
Probably the worst bowl of Bun Bo Hue I have ever had. I asked for no pork and.... there were 2 freezer burned pieces of pork fat with traces of meat swimming on top of the soup. The beef was not well prepared; the cut was tough and flavorless. Nobody expects beef tenderloin for $8, but a good recipe can make even the cheapest cut of beef taste good. The broth was spicy but bland; basic beef broth and hot pepper. Their Imperial Egg Rolls are not made to order... they're pre-fried, and after they've been sitting out for a few hours, they're thrown in the deep fryer again. Mmmm! Nice and damp.
Service wise it wasn't bad; the owner was nice and the waitstaff was polite.... I really hope I could give these guys a better review, but the food just wasn't good.
Their imperial rolls are the best ones in the City. They are crispy, fresh and flavorful. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's comfort food to me. I am already craving them again by typing up this review.
Their other dishes are great too. I enjoyed the beef stew and combo plate with five spice chicken, shrimp and 1 imperial roll and rice.
The family that is running this restaurant is very nice and welcoming.
My San Francisco Pho search is officially over!
#3 Pho Tai is all I need.
Love the chicken or pork bun with imperial roll and the Vietnamese iced coffee. The pho is good too. Inexpensive, good food and wait staff.
I have stayed away from Vietnamese, I just did not find it to my liking.
About two years ago I started going to Vietnamese restaurants because others wanted to.
I found that I liked PHO, but I did not like some of the things they put in it.
Then I went to Kim Son, what a great place.
I tell them exactly what I want in the PHO, and they get it perfect every time.
Now I go in and they just do it without me even saying anything, I just say PHO and there they go.
So one day the waiter said why don't you try the special.
I was concerned at first, but I did.
It was 5 spice pork with a salad, rice, soup, and an egg roll.
You can also get chicken or beef, but I went for the pork, it was great.
I could not believe what I had been missing.
The flavors were well rounded a little spicy, a little sweet,little savory, everything you could want.
I still go for the PHO most of the time, but that special gets me now and then.
Its always on the menu at 7.95 its a great deal.
The people there are vary nice.
The place is vary clean.
I took my Vietnamese friend there, he said the PHO was vary good, and hes picky about PHO.
Love Kim Son!! The staff is friendly the food is great.
I almost always order the BBQ pork Pho, the best I have had. Every now and again I get an egg roll also great.
My wife gets some of the plates they offer, something new ever-time and has liked them all.
good prices great food what more can you ask for
A solid three stars; after speaking with Kate V. last week over her methods of reviewing restaurants/etc., I decided I would put her method to use. Basically, instead of writing a review right after the initial visit to a new place, I waited to try the place again before I could get a full grasp of the atmosphere/value/etc.
This is what I did with Kim Son; I first came here last Saturday (not so long ago, I know), mainly because I was out hunting around for wonton noodle soup per my dad's request (apparently, Taishanese people eat noodle soup on their birthday because noodles symbolize longevity/long life). I wanted to find a place in my neighborhood, and Shanghai Dumpling King was super busy/not worth the wait that day. So I walked around a little more and stumbled upon Kim Son; looked at the menu outside, and found what I was looking for. I went inside and ordered my wonton noodle soup.
First impression: well, the place was packed for a Saturday afternoon, which I wasn't too surprised about. The place appears to be family run, with the younger members of the family being the servers on the weekends. Decoration is bare-bones/not overly fancy, but I don't think that's what they want to play up to draw in customers. Overall, the feeling I had last Saturday was that the place was very family-friendly and more concerned with catering to locals.
I received my wonton noodle soup quickly; took my time in eating it. The place emptied out relatively quickly (within a half hour or so) as people shuffled on out to enjoy the gloriously sunny day. Nothing seemed super special about the wonton noodle soup: it had wontons, it had noodles....not like I had never eaten either before.
Yesterday, i went back to Kim Son to try something a little different. I was turned off by how unfriendly the first server was to me when I entered...not sure if she found it irritating that I didn't seat myself (I didn't see a sign saying "Please Seat Yourself", plus, on Saturday I was seated by one of the other servers anyway).
I ordered the #36 Bun Nem Nuong (BBQ meatballs with vermicelli and fish sauce); portion was HUGE as expected. They were generous with the meatballs in the dish; throughout the whole time I was there, I felt like the server wasn't too friendly to me, which turned me off a little more. Hey, I'm sorry if I'm not one of those locals who comes around often...but if you want me to become a returning customer, could you at least treat me a little better? I noticed she was fine with all the other customers, which further made me feel like I wasn't being treated fairly. Sigh.
The price of the food is average for dinner; the lunch special prices/deals seem good though, and they're in effect all week (Monday through Sunday) from 11-3.
Overall, Kim Son is okay. I may or may not come back, depending on how I feel in testing the server's attitude towards me again.
When I asked my co-worker, a woman in her 30's who's lived in San Francisco all of her life, what her favorite restaurant was in the city, she said, "Kim Son. The Pho is good, and the owners are really, really nice."
The next day, my friend calls me and tells me she's had a rough night - not only was she sick, but she had some guy drama to boot. I tell her, "Girl, we need to get you some pho" and we high-tailed it over to Kim Son.
The combination pho was very tasty, and the owner, a kindly Vietnamese man, was indeed kindly.
When I'm in the mood for more pho, I'll head to Kim Son.
#32 - VERMICELLI WITH EGG ROLL N PORK
At first I thought the meat and egg roll tasted a little nasty... then I got used to it and actually liked it. :) Some jerky cooking my noodles didn't get his stir on enough so I had some clumps. :(
PHO WITH RARE BEEF
Soup was really good, noodles were bueno, and the meat was tasty. I'm a fan.
OVERALL
Wouldn't go out of my way to get some, but if I'm in the hood, it's a good option (though the Japanese place across the street is far more likely to get ma cash).
Still good. No complaints. I had both the combination pho and their bun thit nuong after a nice day at Ocean Beach.
You get service with a smile and zero attitude. I like that.
For those of you who've read my review for Clementine, you already know that every Saturday, in an… Read more »
in short, this is the saltiest pho i've ever had in my life. i ordered the #1 and was pretty much blown away by how salty the broth was. on the plus side, there was a lot of meat and goodies in the bowl (which itself is rather large).
oh and the laminated menus were pretty disgusting. i know, i know... it's a pho place but still. no one likes a thick coating of grime on their menu. right?
I never thought it was possible to find a good Vietnamese restaurant in the Outer Richmond, but wrong I was. I really, really like Kim Son! Their prices are decent, service is good, and the wait staff is friendly.
I highly recommend the #32 - bun thit nuong cha gio (aka vermicelli with bbq pork and egg rolls). The pork is cut perfectly and radiates with flavor. The eggs rolls are crispy but not too greasy. The vegetables in this dish are very fresh. My pet peeve with a lot of bun dishes is when there are too many vegetables, which can easily overpower the rest of the dish. Fortunately this is not the case at Kim Son because there are just enough vegetables to complement the succulent pork and tasty egg rolls. The nuoc mam (fish sauce) is made to perfection and not spicy, something not easily found in other Vietnamese restaurants. Mmmm...as I'm typing this, I'm salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs.
Pretty big restaurant and its actually quite nice to grab a window seat before sunset and just enjoy your dinner with the sun setting into the ocean.
We ordered the spring rolls, which had shrimp and shredded pork. This was done quite nicely and the shrimp was small and dinky like how some places do.
My lady had the vermicelli with beef. Came in a large bowl and was done quite nicely. Beef was a bit chewy for her tastes but I thought otherwise.
I just had the porkchop with shredded pork and egg over rice. Also came in a large portion. Pork chop was nice, a bit overdone but good none the less. The egg was also quite tastey.
Service was nice and quick and towards the end of the meal they also gave us two slices of melon~ yay
Best Pho place to cure a hangover! Truth!
I have come here on a handful of occasions to cure my early Sunday morning hangover. And guess what, once i get up and leave the restaurant...i'm cured!
I always get the #1 which is traditionally the Pho with everything in it, and to be quite honest with you it tastes like ever other #1 i've had throughout my life. But i'm not giving the restaurant stars based on its food, which i've heard from my relatives that get different things on the menu is actually pretty good.
I'm giving the place stars based on reliability, the food never changes what i expect. The same everytime, and i love it. Service, the staff is friendly always smiling always giving me more water. Price, yeah pretty much dirt cheap. Cleanliness, you know how people say that the best Pho is in a real dirty place, well Kim Son is a hybrid of dirty and really clean, so i'd have to say medium status for cleanliness. But the food is as good as a real dirty place.
If you are a true Pho connoisseur like i am, everything i just said above makes sense.
I APPROVE!
A bowl bigger than my head means this was gigantic. $28.00 for the entire meal which included imperial rolls, a Spicy Beef Soup, and a Combination which has everything from beef tendon, beef, all the way to tripe. The total cost including tip was $28.00 Not bad.
The service was friendly, even if it was a bit of a fake smile. The prices have gone up with the new year about a dollar, but whatever. The soup base was flavorful and they had all the veggies! Yippee for southern style viet. Add some hoysin sauce, cock sauce (it has a picture of a rooster), and your straight.
Definitely a place I would hit up again.
Dang: How culla forgot about reviewing this wonder GEM
First, my favrit: the bbq beef "BUN", that's over dry softened rice vermicelli.
-and, after that, everything mostly, is delicious and bountiful.
Family-friendly, meaning also, they very very reasonably priced.
Mebbe I go THERE instead?
I usually come here once a week and order #30 - the BBQ Pork and Prawns over rice. Totally incredible. Everything else I've had is also awesome.
They also have the most amazing hot sauce in the world. It's not so much hot as it is full of amazing flavor.
They have plenty of seating for large groups and have extremely fast and friendly service.
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Vietnamese
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