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Pagolac
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
655 Larkin St(between Ellis St & Willow St)
San Francisco, CA 94109
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
(415) 776-3234
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Sung C. said: "Castro is not necessarily the best neighborhood for food, it just does not live up to the expectations that you get from other parts of the city. I live nearby this place (about 3 blocks) and I have probably been here more than 20…" read more »
585 reviews for Pagolac
Review Highlights
"Try the 7 course beef, you wont regret it."
(in 158 reviews)
"I like both restaurants cause i love rice paper."
(in 88 reviews)
"The imperial rolls were top notch."
(in 44 reviews)
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584 reviews in English
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Review from Monelle P.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 2/3/2012 2 Check-ins Here
I introduced my boyfriend to the "7 flavors of beef" at Pagolac tonight. Although Pagolac surpasses Anh Hong with the service, ambiance, price, and 2 courses (beef carpaccio salad and beef rice porridge), I crave the sausage courses at Anh Hong. I wanted to update my review because of (1) the incredibly friendly and attentive wait staff and (2) a delicious dessert I tried tonight: a warm sticky rice pudding with taro, coconut creme, & toasted sesame seeds. It was unbelievably good: creamy, warm and comforting, with the perfect level of sweetness. It was very reminiscent of Ginataan, a Filipino dessert of sticky rice balls, stewed taro, and tapioca in warm coconut milk.
TIP: Cash Only!Listed in: Food Crack in the Tenderloin
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/14/2011
While Pagolac surpasses Anh Hong in ambiance (more modern) and price (slightly cheaper), I would… Read more »
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Review from Fiona A.
San Francisco, CA
1/25/2012
Do you love spring rolls? What about ROLLING your own spring rolls?! Sir or Madam, this is the place for you!
Before you say "Oh, I don't know how.." trust me on this, the learning curve is pretty high. It may take one or two attempts, but by the time you leave you will be a pro.
My dear friend and fellow vegetarian insisted that I try this place and I must say, I am now officially addicted.
I get the combo of mushrooms and fried tofu. It comes served atop noodles and is paired with a HUGE plate of fresh veggies. They bring you wrappers and a bowl of piping hot water! Pair it with some of their awesome dipping sauce and voilà! You are in heaven.
It's a fresh, delicious, light yet satisfying meal.
5 stars! -
Review from Wendy T.
Daly City, CA
1/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've been here twice and haven't had anything else but the 7-course beef. It's worth the price if you're a part of 2. They did not change the serving size very much for the first 3 courses when there were 3 of us. So you won't be so full leaving there if there are 3 of you (just a heads up!).
Their service kinda sucks. Only 1 of the 2 servers really remembered what we asked for (ice-water, more fish sauce, more veggies, etc...). The younger server would nod her head when you ask for something, but she would take forever to bring it to you (or not bring you anything at all). She was pretty bad. Occasionally, the cook would come out and bring you meals that you ordered.
I mean, the place is SMALL and for the service to be kind of bad...is kind of sad (I blame the younger server girl...sorry). The place is better off without her assistance since the older server lady was doing everything SHE was forgetting to do (she brought out all the stuff that we asked for that the younger server didn't bring out).
Tsk tsk tsk....
Now...about the food: my favorite of the 7-course beef is the raw beef marinated in lemongrass juice and the minced beef soup (you should add some ground white pepper to it though).
***THEY take CASH ONLY***Listed in: Asian Cultural Food Spots
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Review from Dee T.
Costa Mesa, CA
2/9/2012
no stars! worst viet food ever! the place looks like an old poor mission style church hallway. meat skewers look like someone ate it before it got to our table. all the dishes are like kid-size orders. I've been too many 7-courses of beef places and even the worst one is better than this one including its bad service and pricey per serving portion. my whole family dislikes it.
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Review from Jeanne L.
1/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
We ordered the Seven Courses of Beef (featured in the 7x7 Top 100 list), which comes with:
# 1: "Salad" of thinly sliced beef with chopped mint, peanuts, all in lemon juice - delicious!
# 2: Thin slices of unmarinated beef boiled in a firepot
# 3: Thin slices of marinated beef grilled at the table.
# 4: Beef skewers, lightly marinated.
# 5: Grilled beef wrapped around onions. This was my least favorite. The taste of the onions was overpowering.
# 6: Grilled beef wrapped in leaves. I enjoyed the taste of the leaves.
# 7: Watery porridge with rice, minced beef, and green onions. A little bit oily.
The courses come with rice paper, a giant plate of veggies (lettuce, bean sprouts, basil, pickled veggies) & individual dishes of fish sauce (for dipping).
It's a fun DIY food experience -- cooking your own beef (#2 and 3), soaking your own rice paper in a bowl of boiling hot water, and wrapping your own spring rolls. But the beef itself was *not* anything special. Each course was small, and more like a sampling. However for the total cost ($16.... $20 after tax/tip per person), it was worthwhile.
Service was slow. Our server was too busy playing on her phone to notice when we were ready to order. Our piercing stares and 'subtle' coughing wasn't enough to get her to notice. Ah well. I don't usually expect good service at an Asian restaurant, but overall the experience just warrants 3.5 out of 5 stars. -
Review from trustmeonthis t.
Alameda, CA
1/31/2012
YUMMY is all I have to say for this place. Not just great bang for your buck but the customer service is excellent. We have always had a great experience and great food when coming here. ENJOY
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Review from Nicole S.
I've come to Pagolac a couple of times and I always get the must have 7 course beef because it's good and it's cheap ($16/person, 2 person minimum). Their 7 courses of beef is also on 7x7's "100 Things to Try Before You Die" list and this is one time I can say, 7x7 got it right!
7 COURSES OF BEEF:
1. Rare beef marinated w/lemon juice & peanuts
**Courses 2-6 is served with rice paper and a side of veggies (carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, lettuce, & mint) so you can roll everything together and make your own spring rolls (option to add vermicelli noodles for $2)**
2. Slices of raw beef you cook yourself in a vinegar hotpot
3. Marinated raw beef you cook yourself on a grill
4. Beef wrapped over peanuts on a skewer
5. Beef wrapped over onions on a skewer
6. Marinated beef on a skewer
7. Beef rice porridge
With the exception of the beef peanut skewer (I didn't eat this because I'm allergic to peanuts), everything is good. My favorites are the raw beef, beef you cook in the vinegar and wrap yourself, and the rice porridge. The rice porridge contains beef, green onions, and what we believe is the crispy rice usually stuck to the bottom of pots...a delicious end to the meal (I wish it came as an entrée).
We also ordered the crispy imperial rolls which were accompanied by vermicelli noodles. The rolls lived up to their name and were very crispy which I loved contained chicken, glass noodles, veggies, and taro inside.
Don't forget, they're CASH ONLY!!
SERVICE:
The woman who I assume is the owner is nice and friendly. Once the food starts coming, she does check in with you to make sure you know how to make the spring rolls. She regularly checks up on your table without being overbearing.
PARKING:
Meter street parking, you shouldn't have too much of a problem finding parking after 6pm.Listed in: My Top Places To Eat
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Review from Carson L.
San Francisco, CA
1/24/2012
Love this place, great food, great location.
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Review from Dana O.
Sacramento, CA
1/21/2012
The seven flavor beef is awesome!
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Review from Sheila T.
San Francisco, CA
12/29/2011
The food was tasty, but the portions were a little small. I wish I would have ordered more! The service was friendly and it's cash only. 3 1/2 stars.
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Review from Vitaliy L.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2012
7-course beef is awesome. Fresh ingredients, play with your food. Awesome.
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Review from Best O.
Oakland, CA
9/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
The dark, bare monastic setting had me expecting a server to appear in a saffron robe chanting the menu. The noodle bowls are yummy with your choice of toppings, noodles on the al dente side, meat portions a bit meager but tasty.
Be sure to take a trip through the kitchen to the tiny, ancient bathroom. On the way check out the hobbit size hole punched through a wall which opens to a basement staircase. Hmmm, what's that all about? -
Review from Deb T.
San Francisco, CA
Very clean. Very nice staff. Great food. Definitely not heavy or greasy.
Bit of a sketch neighborhood. Lol It is Little Saigon afterall. Just head left and up the hill when you exit and you'll be fine! ;) really...if you just know where you're going it's all good. -
Review from Eva L.
San Francisco, CA
10/4/2011
I found this restaurant to be MEH....(just ok). The waitress was nice and everything but it was missing the pizaz. When the food came I thought to myself (that's it? What are you trying to feed an ant?) The serving size will full you if you're a 98lbs 24 year old anorexic.
The quality of the food was okay. Would I come here again? Not likely. There are plenty of other vietnamese restaurants around the area with bigger serving sizes.
PS IT'S CASH ONLY -
Review from alicia k.
8/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
3.5 for the food and 2-stars for the service. I came here to eat the beef seven ways. The place is rather nice and clean given it's location in the tenderloin district. We came on a Saturday evening. There were about 3-4 tables filled when we arrived. The service is excruciatingly slow. The food does not come out of the kitchen in a timely manner. We waited about 30 minutes after ordering, which took about 20 minutes after we were seated, to get our first course. There is one hostess/waiter who seems to be way overworked and a guy that comes in and out from the back room to bring tea and collect dishes sometimes. Our dinner took an unexpected 2.5 hours.
The beef seven ways was pretty good. They give you a large plate of "salad" and rice paper to wrap your beef. Each beef course is about 2 -3 bites of beef so you are not getting a whole lot of food. The food is not stellar, but high quality for the price.
I don't recommend getting the pho here. There are so many much better "pho" houses in the area.
FYI, it can get pretty loud when the place fills up. -
Review from Kat M.
San Francisco, CA
8/28/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This place is ok. I have been here 2 times now. Service is medium, the seats were vibrating the last time we went which was a bit annoying. The food has been hit and miss (The shrimp in sugar cane is not as great as it sounds.)
Not a place I think I would seek out again when thinking, "now where's a place I'd walk through the Tenderloin for?" -
Review from Kevin W.
7 courses of beef?!?! it's definitely not as gigantic as it sounds, its more like 7 SAMPLINGS of beef. My friend really enjoyed it, its actually not that filling, everytime i have the 7 Beef I'm never left with a heavy/greasy feeling. If you've never made viet spring rolls before then its a cool way to experience it. Or if you've never grilled your own meat before since there's a beef you need to grill. For only $15 a person its a pretty good deal.
The service was good and the place was clean even though its in the TL. I also really enjoyed their lemonade with club soda! -
Review from Josh K.
8/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
I dig the idea of the many courses of beef and certainly they were all good. But I did not feel it was a very relaxing experience since all the pieces of beef cooked very quickly and required a lot of concentration so as to not overcook them. Then in the end we had a shortage of rice paper and it takes a while to soak those through.
However, for the variety you get, the price is right. If not for my personal opinion on "DIY" type eating, this would easily be a 4/5 since the service was pretty good. -
Review from Carol K.
San Francisco, CA
9/9/2011
I went to Pagolac for some 7 course beef yesterday with three of my girlfriends. We ordered two orders of the 7 course beef, a grilled shrimp with ban hoi, crispy tofu salad, Imperial rolls and two side orders of imperial rolls.
Everything was pretty good. I thought the shrimp were okay. It was pretty good but nothing to rave about. The crispy tofu salad was a little dry for me. Everything else was pretty good.
Service was lacking a little bit for them. I felt like I had to wave them down for somethings.
Overall, it was a great experience! I will definitely be dining there again! =) -
Review from E C.
San Francisco, CA
9/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
So I always go to Anh Hong for 7 course beef but my friend and I decided to try here too, to see what it was about..
UH so it's like 4-5 blocks away from Anh Hong, but what a world of difference. I was hella tense waiting for my friend.. the neighborhood is unsafe. Usually nothing will happen, but you never know. Better safe than sorry.
Was seated immediately (I got here at 7 on a weekday) and the interior is weird because there are no mirrors and it looks like a warehouse if you don't look at the front. lol.
Service was okay, nothing special.
7 course beef was GOOD but not GREAT. Anh Hong is better. And safer. So I will not be back.. sorry.
Well okay, one thing this place has over Anh Hong is cleanliness I guess.. but Anh Hong ain't even dirty at all. -
Review from Annie N.
Fremont, CA
12/1/2011
I was searching for a good place to celebrate my son's birthday. I searched on Yelp and found Pagolac. It was rated for 4.5 stars. I guessed I could not rely on the rating no more. It was a big dissapointment to be at the dim lit place with a unprofessional service and and poor quality of dishes. The result: our dinner was ruined. May be more truthful rating could save our night. I wish we could go to ANh HOng instead and I did not regret for making the wrong choice based on the star rating. :((
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Review from Fran H.
Fremont, CA
5/24/2011
IF YOU'RE IN A HURRY, DO NOT EAT HERE!
2 stars because the food is decent but the service sucks!!!!!! It should not take 1.5 hours to order and eat Vietnamese food!!!
My friends and I waited 45 minutes to get the first dish and the next dish, which was Pho took another 15 minutes. My friend finished her Pho (did not taste all that great - lacks flavor) before I got my Bun Bo Xao (vermicelli noodles with stir fried beef) and the last dish Bun Cha Gio Ga Nuong (vermicelli noodles with eggrolls and grilled chicken) took another 5 minutes! Honestly, this type of Vietnamese food should not take more than 10 minutes to bring out. It wasn't until we asked when our food was coming that they apologized for the wait and we asked if there was only 1 cook and they said yes. Well heck! If you know you're short staffed, then maybe you should better prep or compensate your starving customers!!!!
From a Vietnamese person's perspective, the food is decent ( I'd give it 3.5 stars) because there's not a really good Vietnamese restaurant in SF that I know of. If you want really good in the Bay Area, you'll have to travel to the South Bay. -
Review from Mona W.
Finally! I have tried the legendary 7 courses of beef that is featured in 7x7! To be honest, I am not even a fan of the 7x7 guide. I think most of their ethnic food selection are just some watered down fusion version that are more appealing to the less adventurous general demographic.
I am glad the guide brought me to Pagolac. While my opinion of 7x7 stood still, my late dinner was a very enjoyable experience. Pagolac does serve a watered down version of the 7 course of beef meal, but it was watered down in quantity and not quality.
Pagolac is a fairly small restaurant in Little Saigon area not too far SF Civic Center. It is a great place to get some food before or after a concert/show if you can manage that half a mile walk. The ambiance is modern but ...er... dark. I wouldn't say it is romantic. It just look like they could use some brighter lights. Reading your menu could be challenging for those without good eyesight.
If you have been to other authentic Vietnamese restaurants you will know the quality of service is really not a top priority. In Pagolac though, it is a different story. Service was friendly and attentive. My cup of tea was filled frequently and our server checked up on us several times even though it was a fairly busy night. The chef even came out to greet everybody and made sure we have a pleasant experience.
Now onto the food. The 7 courses of beef is a much smaller portion than what I had at places like Anh Hong. At $16/person though, I really can't complain. I think the portion is perfect. I was full but not overwhelmed at the end of my meal. The meat is of decent quality. For most parts you have to do it yourself so the quality of your meal kinda depends on your skills in grilling, boiling and wrapping your rolls. I think mine tasted excellent. My favorite is the 1st course. It was a carpaccio like raw beef dish. Very refreshing. Courses 4-6 are actually just skewers all served on one plate. A bit gimmicky I know, but hey, at least they were tasty.
Would love to come here and try out their other stuff.Listed in: Places I will take my out of…, Vietnamese Restaurants
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Review from Catherine C.
San Francisco, CA
8/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
The boyfriend and I came to this area on a Wednesday night, ready for some pho at Turtle Tower. Does anyone else think closing down at 7:30pm everyday is a little unreasonable...? My dinners always start at 8.
Anyways, got to Turtle Tower 20 minutes too late, so we decided to eat at Pagolac. The smell inside was the main attraction, so we put a name down on the short wait list. Half an hour later, we were still standing outside waiting. But we couldn't leave... it was either this, or the janky liquor store across the street. So we waited another 5 minutes and decided to share a table with another couple to speed things up (they ended up being really nice).
The food was good, not great. We had rice paper wrapped beef sausages and shrimp. The shrimp was overcooked, and actually thinking about it now, so were the beef sausages. But the overcooked shrimp was worse. The process of eating everything was really interesting though -- dipping the rice paper into a bowl of hot water and wrapping everything together. Next time, definitely going to try the house combo.
Overall, loved the decor, although two person tables would probably be a good investment for them -- it would speed things up. The food had great potential, and we had fantastic company from another couple who also expected Turtle Tower for dinner. Four stars, because overall it was different. And I liked it. -
Review from Tom M.
San Francisco, CA
5/25/2011
I don't understand the great reviews for this place when there is so many (better) options in the TL for Vietnamese food. The food is good here, and the servers are nice and friendly, but service is very sloooooooooowwww.
Also, the ambience is slightly off; very dark lighting, so you can't see your dining companions, but the sound dynamics are so bad that its very hard to actually hear yourselves also. I am not kidding. Mr Loudest-Laugh-In-SF seated at the table next to us ruined this 2 hour dining experience with his constant roars of delight at whatever witty aside he had just had the pleasure of hearing. I was tempted to throw him a beach ball to see if he could balance it on his head too. I know loud diners are not the restaurant's fault, but there are ways to work with the interior design to minimize 'background' conversation. -
Review from Ray J.
San Francisco, CA
8/4/2011
Had the seven course beef. It sounded a lot better and the portions were a little on the skimp side. I had to eat a lot of veg to make-up for the volume. But the price wasn't too bad.
My vietnamese friend liked it a lot more than I did so for that reason no 3-star rating.
Probably wouldn't return, but still a decent restaurant. Pretty authentic. -
Review from Brian G.
Walnut Creek, CA
11/14/2011
I had dinner with a group of 6 here the other night. Had a really good experience and enjoyed the meal. A few of us had the seven courses of beef and no one regretted it. The prices were very good. The 7 course meal was $16 and most other plates were $7. The area was pretty darn sketch though and they seemed to bring things out with very large time gaps between the courses. I think I had been to this spot a number of years back. It's very small and a great find in the otherwise sketch area.
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Review from Hong K.
San Francisco, CA
4/25/2011
Cash only. My current go-to Vietnamese spot. Interior is cute, and the servers aren't like your typical Chinese Vietnamese grandmothers. Every table has its own unique teapot design. I've ordered a bunch of stuff from their menu:
- goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) - fresh, tasty, impeccably wrapped.
- goi sua tom thit (jellyfish and shrimp salad) - DELICIOUS. a must order. cool, refreshing and awesome texture.
- bun thit nuong (cold vermicelli with grilled pork) - awesome grilled pork.
- bo tom muc nhung dam (beef/shrimp/squid shabushabu which you roll in your own spring roll wrapper) - delicious and fun to wrap for yourself.
- bo 7 mon (7 courses of beef) - beefy goodness. recommended for those days you just want beef.
My only quibbles are their imperial rolls aren't the best I've had - I'd rather eat the monstrous Tu Lan imperial rolls. And their pho isn't amazing - but then again, this isn't a a pho joint. -
Review from Diane A.
Manhattan, NY
6/24/2011
Like everyone else, we waited a long time for our food. I'm used to this since I live in Vietnam right now and food is just slower there. If you know this going in, just don't be too hungry and take the time to talk to your lunch or dinner mates. Make sure you go with interesting people.
As for the food, the gui cuon had too many rice noodles for my liking and the herbs plate that comes with the "cook-your-own" dish was much too small. I was happy to see the herbs included rau ram (a.k.a. Vietnamese coriander or ploygonum odoratum). All in all, the flavors were reminiscent of my current home, but not completely there. That said, still a delicious meal and as close to authentic (flavor, atmosphere, pricing) as I could expect in San Francisco. I had hoped to show my parents a glimpse of what my meals are like in Saigon and I think we got there.
If I have time on this trip, I'm curious to head down to San Jose... -
Review from Diane C.
San Francisco, CA
4/29/2011
Love their 7-course beef. Only $16/person, delicious, and a fun + interactive experience. You get to cook some of the meat and put together your own fresh spring rolls, with lettuce, basil, mint, carrots, and bean sprouts.
Great service too - super friendly, promptly refilled our teapot, answered our random questions (ex. what powers the flame?). -
Review from Kimberley D.
Seattle, WA
6/9/2011
If I ate meat, perhaps I would've been more into this place.
I ordered what's normally beef over thin vermicelli noodles but with deep fried tofu. It was decent and certainly reasonably priced, but nothing spectacular.
There were 2 people there, so the people in the previous reviews who are discussing having to wait in line, parking difficulty, etc. should apparently try Wednesday night around 9pm. -
Review from Fei L.
3/27/2011
Came here on a Friday night to have the famous 7 courses of beef for $16.00. They will seat you pretty quickly (even on a Friday night) because the turnover for meals is so quick here (foreshadowing!). Be warned: the name definitely makes for great marketing - much better than the actual meal itself.
Course 1: Absolutely tantalizing! The minced beef salad with mint and fish sauce was a great balance of exotic flavors, unlike anything I've ever had.
Course 2: The presentation of Course 2 was beautiful. The server brought over materials to make Vietnamese spring rolls. There was a lush vegetable plate composed of lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, carrots, cucumbers, and radishes, and a hot pot to cook six thin slices of beef (three slices per person). At this point we were really impressed both with the visual appeal of the meal and the quality of the ingredients.
Course 3: However, things started going downhill after Course 2. Course 3 was essentially the same as Course 2 - except you satay the six slices of beef on a hot plate. Nothing else was different. (Note: they do not restock your vegetable plate.)
Course 4, 5, 6, and 7: Our waitress brought a small oval 10" by 5" plate with two thin beef skewers, and other small pieces of beef. She hurriedly said: "here are courses 4, 5, 6." Wow really? To me that amount of food was equivalent to one course for ONE PERSON. The beef was overcooked, dry, and in general unappetizing. Course 7 is a bowl of minced beef soup, which was nothing to write home about.
I was initially worried that I would not be able to finish the 7 courses since I had eaten 5 candy bars before dinner. This was not a problem. In fact, I would encourage you to bring some candy bars. I was actually hungry at the end of the meal and had sure wished I did! -
Review from Brian C.
San Francisco, CA
8/14/2011
I might have listened to our waitress about getting a bowl instead of a do-it-yourself wrap; or to my beautiful girlfriend since she told me: "just get the regular BBQ plate". Either way, I thought the BBQ-skwer I did order was almost inedible an over priced.
So, I will definitely not be recommending this place and/or going back any time soon. -
Review from Kay W.
Milpitas, CA
10/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
My husband really like to try different type of 7 course beef so it happened that we were in SF that day and decided to give a try. (It was my second time visitng this place) .. I like their food because it was not too sweet. I've tried few of the 7 course beef and a lot of places make their food or sauce very sweet. However, we were not very impressed because after we had our dinner at Pagolac, my husband and I had upset stomach ... not to be disgusting but we were fighting for restroom at night. .. not a pleasant time for us.
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Review from F. P.
San Francisco, CA
7/15/2011
The seven courses of beef measures up to the hype! Beef carpaccio, boiled and grilled beef in DIY spring rolls, skewers, pporridge, etc. were so interesting and a great dinner experience.
Plus only $16/pp. Restaurant is sparcely decorated but service and food quality are great (although I did wish they would describe each course rather than just serving it).
Cash only. -
Review from Katherine K.
San Francisco, CA
7/14/2011
Why is it that the best food is always found at little hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the worst parts of town? I experienced this phenomenon the other night at Pagolac, a small Vietnamese restaurant smack in the middle of the Tenderloin.
I work in sales, and one of the perks of the job is going out to dinner with clients. Normally, we'd look for a nice, established restaurant, most likely in the Financial District, but in this case our client recommended that we go to Pagolac, declaring it the best hidden gem in all of San Francisco.
After making our way past some of the typical characters you might find in the vicinity of Larkin and Ellis, we located Pagolac, which is small and unassuming, with just about eight tables and minimal decor. We were a group of seven people, so we started off with the crispy tofu with sweet soy sauce and a banh hoi special wrap. The special wraps come with a variety of components so that you can make your own rolls, first by dipping a circle of rice paper in hot water, then filling it with steamed rice noodles, delicious pickled vegetables (carrots, jicama and cucumber), bean sprouts, basil and mint leaves, hot sauce, and pieces of their crispy imperial rolls (pork or vegetarian). The combination of flavors was amazing, and the interactive element was a lot of fun.
After our appetizers (warning: we ordered a ridiculous amount of food) we ordered the "Bo 7 Mon," or "7 Courses of Beef." This traditional Vietnamese dish is $16/person, for a minimum of two people. The courses consist of such delicacies as thin slices of marinated raw beef that you cook on a grill at your own table, beef sausages wrapped in wild pepper leaves, grilled beef wrapped around scallions, and marinated BBQ beef skewers. I can't imagine actually ordering this dish for just two people, but it worked really well for a large group, as everyone got just a small taste of each dish.
Finally, we got our entrees, which admittedly felt a bit gratuitous at this point, but were equally delicious. Along with a number of my fellow diners, I ordered a noodle bowl with BBQ pork, which included a lot of the same ingredients from the special wrap. Luckily for my stomach's sake, I had to leave dinner a bit early to catch a flight at SFO, meaning that I didn't get to partake in the order of fried bananas and green tea ice cream for dessert. However, if those dishes were anything like the rest of the meal, I'm sure I missed out.
If you're more concerned with the quality of your food than the atmosphere of a fancy dining room (or the atmosphere on the street outside), Pagolac definitely deserves a visit, despite its somewhat dicey location. It's not too far from the Opera and Symphony Houses, so it would be a great pre-show dinner location if you don't feel like dropping major cash at Jardiniere or Absinthe. And if you're acquainted with any beef enthusiasts, I'd recommend that you invite them along. -
Review from Chanel L.
5/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had 7 courses beef a couple years back at Anh Hong and it didn't leave an "OMG i need to eat you again" feeling. Thus, never went back.
My coworker/yelp friend Mia N. wanted to try pagolac because of its reviews on yelp and how people rave about the quality of the food; compared to other places.
It's $16 a person for the 7 course beef, minimum 2 people. It was def more fun than most dinners, since you get to roll up your own spring roll.
Everything felt clean, organized and fresh. Def a great introductory place to new eaters. We love vegetables so much, they even refilled it for us,. FOR FREE!
The portions were perfect to get me full and by the end of the meal, i perfected my spring roll ROLLING skills!
I will be back. -
Review from Monica N.
5/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Do not go here if you ate rushing to go ti any show!!!! Their service is of f-
Ordered, took 15 mins for some raw beef to show.. Took another 10 for our meal to begin appearing. Asked for the check 3 times... And i am still waiting for the check 10 mins later. superb costly. I would've had a bowl of pho around the corner.. if I never.. this is not so good. -
Review from Richard C.
San Francisco, CA
3/29/2011
I've actually been meaning to review this, but never had the chance to. Anyway, I've heard about the S.C.B. (Seven Courses of Beef), and it seemed perfect to enjoy this during the winter. The place wasn't difficult to find, but it is a small place, so make sure you come here early or you'll have to wait.
I actually came here with a couple of friends and ordered two orders of S.C.B. hoping it'd be enough to fill all four of us up. I was completely disappointed, and fell far below my expectations of what I had imagined.
Apparently, we were served two orders of S.C.B. at once. At first I thought the first couple of servings would be small and build up your appetite which then leads to a bigger meal. However, one after another.. The servings were meager, and I know they didn't fill any of us up. It was fun, some of it you had to do it yourself and make it but that was the only thing interesting.
The servers were nice, but they brought the meals out at a extremely slow pace considering the size of each plate! Now some of the plates were fantastic in flavor, but it doesn't quite satisfy. Expect to pay a lot of if actually want to fill yourself up, otherwise you should find another place to eat.
I MIGHT consider coming back here to give this place a second chance, but that's if I have no other place to go to. I've definitely had better for price, flavor, and satisfying my stomach. -
Review from SeanEs H.
San Mateo, CA
4/11/2011
We tried the 7 courses of beef for $16/person, which ended up being a fun and interactive dining experience. Once the meal got started - there was never a lag in between courses, since they were brought out at appropriate times. Small portions, but surprisingly satisfying.
The only downside was the initial wait for the table. The restaurant is so small, there's really no place to wait inside. You inevitably have to crowd the other tables - all the while staring at them menacingly and hungrily, in hopes this tactic will somehow make them finish their meals faster.
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