Sunflower Authentic Vietnamese Restaurant
Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission3111 16th St
& 506 Valencia
(at Valencia St)
San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 626-5022
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun 12:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
61 reviews
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
"This is my favorite pho place in the city. I like that it's close to my house, but don't worry, I'm not giving it extra stars based on that…" read more »
315 Reviews for Sunflower Authentic Vietnamese Restaurant
I'm all for hole in the wall dining, sticky menus, and questionable service. But honestly? Sunflower's not that worth it. It feels just a bit too dirty, and not in that decrepit-yet-you-know-it's-gonna-be-amazing way.
The 16th St. location, however, does serve alcohol ($3.25 for an Anchor Steam), and has a boombox still in its original cardboard box that's somehow plugged into the wall.
While the chicken salad and Vietnamese crepe were alright, the lemongrass chicken was surprisingly good... but not good enough to make up for the hipsters giving us the evil eye through the window to try to make us finish dinner quicker.
Another fantastic Mission restaurant that is friendly to it's neighbor non-profit (being where I work). I went here this afternoon to place a large order for a meeting we were having and Victor, the owner, blew me away with his kindness. He spent a good 20 minutes talking with me and took the time to go over all the items we wanted to order and make sure nothing was missed and the right amount was noted. He also cut us a break since we are 501 C(3) and poor, so we did not have to spend too much on our dinner. I also was given a free appetizer for no apparent reason, I'd already been discounted on the food, it was not necessary but really sweet. Not only that, I specified that I would pick up the order at 5:00 and they promised the food would be ready by then. Well, they kept their word and were ready for me when I showed up right on the dot. And one of the staff insisted on double bagging one of my bags so it didn't break on me even though I was just walking across the street! Oh, and did I mention the food was a hit??!! Especially the veggie spring rolls, dynamite!
I'm happy to report on ANOTHER really good restaurant in the Mission with fantastic food and even better service!
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Decent Vietnamese food in a mostly hole-in-the-wall setting with somewhat grumpy service. Really generous portions, though, and it was certainly tasty enough.
If you're walking around for a quick lunch or dinner, you're hungry, and you like Vietnamese fare, it's an easy choice, for sure. There will be something on the menu for anyone. And you probably won't have to wait for a seat.
Recommended especially if you wanna be treated like a begger! The foods are okay but the service is extremely rude. I gave them too many chances but it seems to be a permanent problem, not from one moody server, but all of them. They even charge every customer 18% tip right up front! 18% tip for lousy service - NO WAY!!!
This is one of my all-time favorite restaurants in San Francisco. Molly and I stopped in for a quick lunch on Monday around 1:30pm. They have the best lunch special in town, in my opinion. For $7.95 you get a cup of hot & sour soup, asian cabbage slaw, fresh spring rolls (usually comes with an imperial roll, but I substitute the fress roll for 50 cents), rice and entree. I got the lemongrass prawns, a heaping portion of sauteed green beans, onions, prawns, garlic, lemongrass and chilies. I absolutely love the soup, a tangy and slightly spicy broth with chunks of pineapple, tomatoes, tofu, mushrooms and bean sprouts. The fresh spring rolls, filled with vermicelli noodles, lettuce, mint, basil and shrimps, are one of my favorite food items ever. They serve it with a clear sauce, today a little heavy on the fish sauce, so I also asked for a side of peanut sauce for dipping. I can never eat the entire plate of 5 different items, so it usually makes a great second meal or afternoon snack. Molly ordered the vegetarian noodle soup, a giant bowl filled to the brim, overflowing with rice noodles, cabbage, mushrooms, tofu and a meriad of other vegetables. The portion is definitely enough for 2-3 people, so for $6, this is definitely a great bargain. I never get sick of Sunflower and especially reccommend the lunch special (though any meal there is usually great). I also like the full portion of the hot & sour soup and could probably eat that everyday.
This is a good standby. Somehow - though there are zillions of places to eat in this neighborhood - we end up going here quite often. We are fairly indecisive, and don't know what we want for dinner. Someone says veggies, someone says noodles, and we end up at Sunflower.
The food is good - not insanely delicious, but quite decent. The portions are large and the prices are low. There are plenty of options, especially vegetarian.
Service is friendly. We've never had to wait more than a minute for a table and in most cases can usually walk right in and sit down, though the place is always basically full. Ambiance and decor is pleasant and comfortable.
This place is absolutely amazing!!!! Totally authentic!!! I'm Vietnamese and was wowed at their selection of entrees and appetizers. My boyfriend and I ordered the crab meat asparagus soup and the Bun Mi Cha Gio Tom Nuong (Vermicelli, Imperial Rolls and Shrimp) dish. Both came out in heaping bowls of food and everything was made very well!! The imperial rolls were super yummy and not greasy. I only wished for more asparagus in the soup, but it was delicious nonetheless. YUM! It is always the seedy looking places (from the outside) that turn out to be the best places.
Another night, another Mission eatery. Pretty decent Vietnamese food. We ordered Vermicelli Noodles and Curry Eggplant, and both of them were prepared well - spicy as we requested.
If you go there, give their Vietnamese iced coffee a try. My brother really liked it. They serve it in a very unique style - you get a small glass containing condensed milk, with hot coffee dripping from a filter placed on top of the glass. After the coffee is done dripping, you are supposed to stir it, and pour it into another glass over ice.
WHAT NO ALCOHOL?!
Well I'm assuming this was a glitch in the system....they had signs posted last night indicating that no beer or wine was to be served "for temporary." Sooo we didn't get a buzz on at dinner, we were surprisingly well rested this morning!
We intended to go to Tu Lan but the line was just to damn long. We ended up at Sunflower in the Mission and were pleasantly surprised. The wait staff is amazingly nice, we were really impressed with that. They offered suggestions which we followed. We got the spicy beef and prawns which was pretty delish, it comes with lettuce and rice paper to wrap up your own concoction. We also got the BBQ Pork vermicelli bowl. The pork was amazing.
I will admit that when everyone else's veggie heavy dishes wandered by we were a little envious, I wanted a big pile of veggies on my plate. So next time we've vowed to do only one meat dish and another veggie.
All in all this was a great find after being depressed and sad at seeing the line at Tu Lan. We will def be back, hopefully their liquor license will kick back in asap!
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Was totally impressed by this place. Went on a whim after walking by and it was a very affordable and enjoyable meal (actually 2 since they give you so much food!). The service was exceptionally friendly-- especially for a vietnamese restaurant. Will definitely be back!
My non-date for the evening and I decided to go the Mission for a cheap but good NON-date, someplace that would have at least enough atmosphere to support our non-date purposes. It also had to have food for me (VEGAN) to eat.
So we happened upon Sunflower, and while it's itsybitsyteensyweensy, it feels warm and inviting, with fun tropical-esque colors and fish painted on the walls and just enough grime to make it feel authentic without actually needing a bath immediately afterward eating. We sat at the counter, right up against the open kitchen and there's something authentic, Anthony Bourdain Cook's Tour-y about it. I was pleased to see that there are plenty of veggie/vegan things on the menu. I got the tofu vermicelli noodles and it was delectable - yummy, tangy vinaigrette, good bits of tofu. A LITTLE too much celery (I feel like celery is filler and not particularly delicious filler at that) but no biggie, and if you're aware of it, you can probably say "no celery" or something. ALSO it's fantastic value - I'm generally founding member, president and chairwoman of the Clean Plate Club, but this ended up being two meals worth for less than 8 dollars. And they have beer and wine.
But the best part was the boombox on the counter, right next to where we were sitting. Seriously, our experience at Sunflower was basically perfect and here's the main reason why:
"True" - Spandaue Ballet
"Wicked Game" - Chris Isaak
"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner
"Kiss From a Rose" - Seal
"Fooled Around and Fell in Love" - Rod Stewart
"Boys of Summer" - Don Henley
"I'll Make Love to You" - Boyz II Men
"Dreams" - Fleetwood Mac
IN THAT ORDER AND ALL IN A ROW.
Okay, so maybe these four stars should go to 96.5 KOIT's Thursday night DJ, but I also gotta give props to the counter and the loud boombox blasting said songs into my ear right next to my delicious, huge bowl of noodles and my frosty glass of beer. Perfect perfect perfect. This will be added to my regular rotation of restaurants. On Thursday nights between 8:30 and 9:30. Love Songs After Dark. And noodles. Who knew?
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Sunflower is delicious. If you're looking for a good Pho place, this may not be where you want to go, but many of their other menu items are amazing.
Most recently I had shrimp spring rolls, shaken beef, and spicy lemongrass chicken along with some brown rice... SOOO good! The shaken beef was very tender and had a good flavor (it smelled so good that the table next to us had to order it as well). The spicy lemongrass chicken wasn't really spicy at all, but it had a really good lemongrass flavor, and the green beans in it were crisp and delicious. The brown rice was great - it was actually sticky purple rice, not what I expected, but it was fantastic. A very rich nutty flavor to it, a little sweet too - I had never had this before, but will definitely have it again! Ah and let's not forget the spring rolls, granted I feel like it's hard to get these wrong, but they were right on par with everything else.
The inside is OK - nothing too spectacular, a little crowded, but it's worth it for the food. The service was pretty decent, nothing to write home about, but certainly not bad by any means - very friendly, and the food came out very fast (despite a full house).
Check this place out! Again, if you're looking for Pho I would probably go somewhere where it's more their specialty (although I haven't tried it here, it could be good). If you're just looking for tasty and inexpensive Vietnamese cuisine, Sunflower is great!
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One of my favorite vietnamese restaurants. Lunch special is pretty good and reasonably priced. Parking at night is a real pain, so you might want to take Bart (it's about 1 block away). I like their garlic noodles and bbq pork.
Tons of people like this restaurant a lot.
But honestly, I don't think this restaurant is very "Authentic Vietnamese"... in anyway possible.
I say it's nice to go to if you don't eat Vietnamese very often or have never eaten Vietnamese before. But if you have then chances are you won't like it.
I've never had a bad meal at Sunflower. Admittedly I think I always get the chicken pho and the spring rolls to start (w/peanut sauce), I put lots of hot sauce in my soup. It is yummy and the price is right. There is nothing very fancy about this restaurant but the food always hits the spot when I'm in the mood for Vietnamese. You never have to wait for a table, the service is quick and you can eat in or take out.
Sunflower is one of my favorite spots to grab "authentic" Vietnamese food in the city. Located in the middle of hipster town- VALENCIA - I guess Sunflower's use of the word authentic invites patrons to see how good Vietnamese food is not always found in the tenderloin or inside a San Jose strip mall. And if that is their strategy, then it works!
I love Sunflower! What do I usually get? For starters, their fresh spring rolls with shrimp. AWESOME. The peanut sauce is off the hook. Yum! Next thing on the menu, the Vermicelli bowl with imperial rolls and BBQ pork. AWESOME. If you're still hungry, GARLIC NOODLES. Even more tasty. And if you still aren't full, top it off with the fried ice cream. Damn, you are set!
The only thing that doesn't make Sunflower authentic is...that their place is actually clean! I am not afraid to drink the tap water! I don't have to reclean my utensils with the tea! And that's why I love Sunflower! =)
Recommendations:
Beef Pho
Vermicelli bowl with BBQ pork & Imperial Rolls
Fresh Spring Rolls w/ Shrimp
Garlic Noodles
Fried Ice Cream
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Really cheap, really fast, lots of vegetarian choices. The vegetarian spring rolls are really good and massive! Decor is a little ratty but oh well. Adds character.
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You take this place for what it is, a Vietnamese greasy spoon, that is all and honestly it is pretty good. I have never been there when there was more than one waiter (the same waiter now for more than four years). Service and food have never disappointed.
Truly a diamond in the rough!
Came here tonight with a friend... I'm still recovering from the flu and thought soup would hit the spot! It certainly did here...
I ordered a Vegetarian-noodle soup... 5 minutes later, this ENORMOUS bowl with veggies shows up. Only $7! My friend had a beef stew and after I sampled it, which I was in the mood for beef ;-) Their hot sauce was also amazing.. None of this gringo-caliber stuff you get all the time... But sauce that will wake up taste buds that have been dormant for years. Hot, but great. Heck, they even had hotter sauces available 8-|
It's a really cute place where you can chat up with whoever you're there with and the surrounding neighborhood isn't too bad either. It starts to get really busy after 6:30pm. Service was 'okay', but hey, if you're outwardly friendly to them, they return the kindness. Good peeps!
$20 for two big-ass soup bowls, a chai-tea?
I'll definitely be back...
I love their Crepes, their Phos and their veggie dishes. I love their coffee, for me this is really the best vietnamese food I have had in SF. The only thing I really don't like is the attitude of the waiter in the big store on Valencia - I recommend going around the corner to the more-to-go-like-looking place - it's the same great food...!
I must say although I don't *neeeed* alcohol, I find it sad that they do not sell vietnamese beer anymore..
It was decent.
I mean, it was tasty...for the most part, but that's about it.
It was crowded. Really crowded. And they seated us in a shit spot, even though there were a few others (please tell me why you gave us the dirty table people JUST left when there were READY tables in more-desirable locations than right by the door?).
The service was horrible. Seriously, really bad.
They didn't have wine or beer, even though the menu said they did.
It got super-crowded by the door and we couldn't even hear ourselves talk while people waited for tables. We had to walk UP to the server to get attention and pay our check.
We were going to take our leftovers home. He took away our plate and piled stuff ON TOP of the food before we could even utter that we wanted a box.
Save yourself the trouble and just forget it. This place sucks. The food wasn't good enough to warrant how shitty everything else is. I can't fathom why there were even people here.
Places like this remind me of why I prefer to cook at home.
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The best Vietnamese I've had in SF. I enjoyed it more than Slanted Door. Food is always fresh. Lots of veggies. The flavor of the Vegetarian Pho, sometimes chicken stock, sometimes veg, seems to change each time I order it, but thats ok I'm not vegetarian.
Super value for money too. Huge portions for very little money. A great place for lunch. Coffee very authentic too.
The vegan options rock! Love the food here - it may not be authentic, but yummy - love the veggie imperial rolls over bun....
Have not had the service issues, but usually go during off hours....
The food here is ok, service is ok too...It's more for the American/Viet taste but if you've had tons of authentic Viet food you'd be offended by this place. Portions are good sized and that's about all I could remember...
One my favourites. I always order the BBQ Chicken w/vermicelli noodles and imperial roll. Its so good. I also like the lemongrass beef. The staff is nice too. I highly recommend.
had the bun with imperial roll and 5 spice chicken last night. it was all very good and a huge portion at that. it is a small space so not very good for large parties but the service was fast and good and the food yummy. plus there are lots of places to go get a drink at afterwards:)
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REALLY good White Fish Clay Pot. The fish was perfectly cooked, nice and tender. The Bun or Vermicelli as they call it (with pork and imperial rolls) was decent, not the best I've ever had, but still pretty good. The lack of alcohol was kind of a downer but the hot pot definitely made up for it...
I went here with a fairly large group on a Friday night, and we definitely had to wait. But as our group grew to a certifiably large group, we were accommodated and moved to a long table in the back. The food was excellent and cheap. I was absolutely shocked by how low the bill came to for a full table of delicious food. You'll have to wait, but I definitely recommend coming with a group of friends so you can order multiple dishes and share. The atmosphere isn't the nicest, but it works.
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Sunflower restaurant is one of those very good quality hole in the wall restaurants. First thing is first, the food! The food is classic, authentic and delicious Vietnamese food. Everything is good, so take your pick! Its readily apparent that the restaurant genuinely cares about the food first. It's delicious and inexpensive and they serve large portions that can provide several meals over the next few days. The ambience is simple and no frills.
And to top that off, the service is great whenever I go. Sometimes it gets really crowded at this restaurant, but I avoid those times. So, every time I eat there, the wait staff is extremely friendly, kind, and attentive. If you need water, sauces, special packaging, or whatever, they find away to accommodate with a smile and provide creative suggestions to help you resolve any issue. This is quite shocking for a hole in the wall restaurant where people would be willing to put up with marginal service in exchange for cheap, great food. However, I haven't experienced this restaurant during the crowded times, so keep in mind the limitations of my review. Please enjoy and share!
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Had the beef pho for lunch. Great portion and very tasty! Also ordered spring rolls for an appetizer, and they seemed really large & fresh. Everything was very reasonably priced. The staff was very attentive, and came around to refill the water glasses often, which was great since they were slightly smaller glasses. Nice, relaxed atmosphere. Great for smaller groups.
have you had lunch here?
have you had the best waiter in san francisco?
are you hungry?
okay, i will meet you there.
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I love this place. Even though it is crowded all the time the food is excellent. Their Pho soups are delicious and contains alot of meat and noodles unlike other places. This is a good place to go for breakfast or lunch.
The food is okay and they have a lot of items on the menu. For the prices I would expect a little better lighting though.
I don't like the cramped seating and how you reek of the oil/grease smell afterwards.
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I've been here quite a few times. The first time was great. The few in between were ok with the last time being straight up bad. No liquor license? Ok. Probably needed a break from drinking anyway. But we waited forever to get a waiter to the table and then waited forever to get our food and then waited even longer for him to come back with the bill. I need a drink thinking about it. Also the more times I go- the more uncomfortable I get with the "Young MAN!" dude.
Starting to creep me out.
I had a "just OK" meal here. I probably won't be back unless someone I am out with really has a desire to try the place or if I'm just really that tired of the other great options in the neighborhood.
They (temporarily) aren't serving any wine or beer. I'd probably give it a solid 3 stars if I could have enjoyed a beer with dinner.
An out-of-towner (who, sweetly, thought this was the best vietnamese food he's ever had!) and I split an order of imperial rolls (not quite crispy or hot enough, but OK), lemongrass chicken (tender chicken, green beans were a tad undercooked, overall not very spicy but I doctored mine up with some Sricacha), and the best part of our meal: sunflower prawns. There were 4 giant prawns and an enormous serving of buckwheat vermicelli noodles in this dish. This plate stood out from the others- the prawns were (did I mention just how giant? I was thinking "How did the creature from Cloverfield end up on my plate?" and: "Yay!") cooked perfectly and had a sweet/tangy/spicy sauce that I loved, but then the "prawn-to-noodle ratio" was kind of wack. I had enough noodles leftover to feed a couple of hungry people later.
And I did.
I find myself craving Sunflower often. Memories of shaken beef and their curry vegetables have been engraved in my brain since the first time I stepped foot inside this tiny restaurant. When someone asks "where do you want to eat?" I mumble "shakkkeeen beeef".
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Disclaimer: I have not eaten at too many Vietnamese restaurants in the city. P.P.Q. and Cordon Bleu are among the few.
But... I really like Sunflower. I am not the authority on Vietnemese food since I am pescatarian but I do know that the best Vietnamese I've ever eaten was in Little Saigon (in S.J.)
Sunflower is delicious and very vegetarian friendly. My friend and I went there several weeks ago and got the lunch special which consisted of a pineapple-flavored soup, an imperial roll and an entree. Mine was lemongrass shrimp and rice. The portions were huge and the price was not too steep ($7.50) for the amount of food we got.
I've been craving Sunflower ever since. I think I might just go there tonight!
The Pho was delicious (I had seafood, my friend had beef).
The service was fast and friendly.
The lemonade was exceptional.
I just have to take a few stars off for the roaches I saw running around on the floor. I know this is San Francisco, but, yuck.
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I had the best Vietnamese meal here at Sunflower...because I'm a vegequarian, it's difficult to choose good food from a menu (yes, I can hear you carnivores now screaming - just eat meat!). I had their vermicelli and they graciously substituted the pork imperial roll for the veggie version. In fact, the first place I've been to with a veggie imperial roll!
Their service is a little lacking in that there is literally 2 people running food out and taking orders - so from that standpoint they can do better. Does anyone know if the one around the corner - the smaller one - have better service?
Anyway, I thought it was great and really glad we tried it!
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John Denver comes back from the dead to sing about Sunflower...
http://www.youtube.com...
"Sunflower in the Mission makes me nappy
Sunflower on my plate can make me cry
Sunflower in my tummy feels so gassy
Sunflower almost never makes me high..."
I have to say I was underwhelmed with Sunflower when I came to eat here last week. I just wasn't feeling a Rocky Mountain High. I ordered one of their $7.95 Lunch Specials where you get the soup in the middle and the barbecue pork, imperial roll and side salad around it.
The pork was fine and a hefty portion to boot, but the soup was plain awful, an odd concoction with canned pineapple chunks in a soapy-tasting broth. The imperial roll was a greasy clump and dense to chew. Service was on the lackluster side, especially considering I was the only one in the place at 2:30PM.
"If I had a pho that I could give you
I'd give to you a pho just like Pagolac's
If I had a beef that I could shake for you
I'd shake some beef to make you feel this way..."
FOOD - 3 stars...just meh to my palate
AMBIANCE - 3 stars..."homey" would be a compliment for this place
SERVICE - 3 stars...rather bored, isn't she?
TOTAL - 3 stars..."FAR OUT!...Thank God, I'm a Banh Mi Boy!"...I'll need to try them again on a good night, I guess
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