Rice and Bones

Thrilled to see this place back to business. They have amazing modern Vietnamese food on the menu. Pro tip: use their online ordering system if you are visiting them during the rush hour(11:30 - 13:00). It will save you a lot of time!

Amazing $4 steam buns. Tons of other options. A little more expensive than nearby places but you get what you pay for here!

Pricey for the amount of food you get; they give a lot of carb but not much else. The bun is good.

A decent dining option on-campus but definitely overpriced and maybe out of budget range for most university students. The menu has a relatively wide range of options. I recommend the vegetarian steamed buns and the leek croissant. The Vietnamese beef stew is good but sometimes the rice is undercooked. Have nice busy atmosphere

The Beef Pho was $18+4(some random fee attached to it)... The pho was not clear at all and the broth was really greasy (oily?). The noodles were soggy and broke apart from my chopsticks. The size was smaller than usual as well. Probably the worst pho I've had. Any pho place in LA is much better than this place. The fact that they charge $22 for a single bowl is just shameless.

Buns are delicious. Portions a bit small. The reason this is my first ever <5 star Google review is that they apply a ~15% surcharge without mentioning it. This should not be legal. They do this even for takeout, AND their POS asks for a tip on top of the surcharge. Again, this would be bad enough if they told you about the surcharge, but without any mention (that I noticed) of it except a line item on the POS display, it should not be legal. Just increase the prices!

Delicious restaurant. Definitely the best food that is actually on campus. It is also, unfortunately, the priciest place to eat on campus. A full plate of food will run you $15-$18, which is very much on the pricy end. However, you're guarrnteed that it'll be good. The grass fed beef pho here is very good. The raw meat that they put in is of the highest quality and is very soft. Good place to come to celebrate!

I want to like this place so bad, but there are a couple of key problems #1 the counter food is very often cold, they really need some heating elements or something. The food is usually tasty if not the most original, but when you pay $14 you really expect it to be hot or at least warm. #2 the price is just a little out of the range of a student salary, the rice plates are a good amount of food and the buns are a tasty snack though. The rice porridge is the most filling item on the menu and reasonably priced, it’s great for a rainy day, but I do wish it had a little more seasoning (maybe some nuts or even just a touch more salt). I will probably keep coming now and then for a bun or rice porridge, and if they ever add heating elements to the counter I would get the counter items again. Maybe the best move is to get the food to go and microwave back in the office. So close to being a great spot, but some really big hang ups for me.

Gotta say I love Rice and Bones! I didn't think I'd like this place because I'm not a huge fan of their sister restaurant, Slanted Door, in SF but this place is so much better! Their viet food is legit. Currently theyre doing rice and claypot dishes. Really well made. Very flavorful and rich, well balanced with some pickled veggies. Each entree is quite filling. Plenty of seating indoor and outdoors, right in the heart of campus Prior to their claypot menu, they had some cool dishes as well. Chicken with pickled cabbage salad, sticky rice, spring rolls...all really good! A bit pricier than I would like, but I can say that about any restaurant ;)

On campus location in Wurster Hall. The vibes are really chill and modern and minimalist. Fun and welcoming staff. Rice dishes are $17 but pretty worth! They have a wide variety of food items such as Pho, rice, bakery items, buns, spring rolls... The pork belly is a new dish and I would definitely recommend! The pork chops were a bit dry but the quiche is super tasty. Will try chicken plates next time.

The food here is actually quite good, but the prices are pretty insane especially since it's aimed towards students. I ordered a bbq pork bun and the xoi man (sticky rice in bamboo leaf), which came out to $13 before tax/tip and somehow came out to ~$16.50 after tax? It turns out it was because they also charge a $2 service fee, which I'm not sure where it really came from. The bbq pork bun was pretty good! More pork filling than I expected, and it tasted fresh as well. The xoi man was also quite filled with a variety of things -- salted egg yolk, chinese sausage, veggies. I actually really enjoyed this especially since there aren't many other places around here that sell these. Overall, I'd maybe come back once in a while since it's also a nice spot to study. However, for the price point it'd have to be a pretty infrequent treat.

Bit overpriced but is a good treat for studying on campus Caramelized Pork Belly Rice Plate: the pork was surprisingly good quality with juicy parts of meat and fat. The marinate was on the sweeter side but still delicious and authentic. Underneath the pork were some noodles which was a great bonus. Zongzi: comes out lukewarm and the rice is pretty dry. Honestly, it's hard to find Zongzi in this area so I'll take what I can get. The mushrooms and vegetables inside are good but I wish there were more. Bao Bun: nothing life changing but it will satisfy your craving, the bun is fluffy and cooked well

Have only gotten small items and pastries from this place while taking study breaks or going to classes. This review is going to be as honest as possible, so bear with me. I am writing this 20 min after eating the pork belly dish, and I feel so nauseous. It looked amazing in the menu so I wanted to try it out; I wanted so bad for it to be good. While my order came out quickly and the staff was friendly enough, the food itself was, "interesting". I understand that it's meant to be a fusion take on Vietnamese and Chinese-inspired dishes, but my order tasted somewhat off and the flavors just didn't go together. Furthermore, the pork belly itself was dripping with a weird oily goo when I picked it up, which is definitely not appetizing, especially to the eye. The sauce was overly strong and the saltiness overwhelmed the true flavor of the pork (I will say though, that the texture of the pork was not too bad). Something weird that I noticed was that the tray and bowls had a distinct, "industrial" smell to them that was unpleasant during dining. In addition, the rice was slightly overdone and was not of the greatest quality. Shortly after I was done eating, I felt nauseous and had to drink tons of water and walk around campus to calm my stomach a bit. While the inside looks super cool and trendy, the food is expensive (almost $25-30), and for a dish like that is ridiculous. Lastly, you also have to bus your own plate after finishing, which also doesn't justify the price point. Wanted to try it once, and glad I did, but I am never coming here again.

Great place for lunch on campus! We ordered the Vietnamese Beef Stew, Carrots, Potatoes; Caramelized Pork Belly, Young Coconut, Egg; Steamed Bun (BBQ Pork and Chicken). Our favorite was the Caramelized Pork Belly, Young Coconut, Egg. We may or may not have thought the coconut was onion at first... The Steamed Buns were also really good. We all enjoyed the BBQ Pork one more than the Chicken. The Vietnamese Beef Stew, Carrots, Potatoes was also pretty good but the beef itself was a bit rougher than other Vietnamese Beef Stews we've had. I can't wait to try the entire menu!

The food was pretty tasty and I like the space but it's probably too pricey for campus food + the forced tip for counter service is annoying. Just charge more if you want to guarantee a higher wage for your staff! Also the wooden fork they give you is really annoying.

I got a chicken and mushroom steamed bun. The flavor and texture were great: fluffy bun, moist, and veggie and chicken filling w a nice hint of ginger. However, the bun itself was not very big and had minimal filling for 4$. I would come here again if I was hungry and very short on time.

I have come here multiple times because it is on campus and nearby. Each time I've been pretty dissatisfied to the point now where I will stop suggesting it for lunch to folks I'm meeting with. I think this place is fortunate that it is in a good location among students who enjoy healthy Vietnamese food. However, I don't think it would otherwise fair well in many other locations because of the high price point, small portions, and mediocre taste. I have had the chicken steamed bun, papaya salad, chicken pho, and the crispy imperial rolls. I am remember having the steamed bun and wondering why it was so gingery, which is not typical for that dish and so I couldn't even finish the steamed bun. The papaya salad is hard to finish in one setting because the dressing is not appetizing and it gets really hard to chew a big portion of the papaya. The tofu in it was just there and flavorless. The chicken pho is pretty basic - one you can get at any pho shop but the portion is TINY and so the price you pay for it (way too much) is not worth it. Even smaller of a portion is the crispy imperial rolls - I never thought I'd see the day where someone would sell me 2 eggs rolls and a TEENY side of vermicelli noodles for $12. Worst part is, the egg rolls were lacking in flavor and I was hungry within the next hour of the "lunch" I had there. They really should not list that plate as an entree. It's not. The you-pick combo plates are also way too expensive, starting at $12 for vegetarian combo dishes. I have come here enough times to determine that I am not a fan of this place and it doesn't really offer much at all in terms of price, portions and taste of food.

This place is a campus novelty. Sure the food and drink items are pretty pricey for a student budget, I came here as a student too. Rice & Bones is certainly not Asian-Ghetto-cheap price level, but hey, the quality is pretty good! The rice plates are pretty generous in servings. The dumplings are pretty good. My favorite things to get here are the Thai Coffee, as well as the Blood Orange bottled Juice. They handcraft their drinks and bottle it themselves too. It can get crowded here during lunchtime, but if you time it just right, you can do away with the lines. The indoor seating is nice for studying while eating, which was what I used to do a lot. The outdoor patio is very nice as well, perfect when enjoying the nice weather with friends or with books. But yeah, go bears!

Spring roll was fresh and good, and the dipping sauce was good! Lamb was great!! This is right in the UCB campus. Very close to the business school and law school. Pricing is about 15 per person. Would recommend for student lunch!!

This review is only for the Hanoi style meatball, but I thought it was such a wonderfully flavored yet filling meal that UC Berkeley has to offer. I came here for the first time this week after walking past it for my past few years at Cal. The prices are a bit steep for college students -- especially for Pho being $15. This dish (the Hanoi style meatball) ended up being a little more than $17 after tax, but I do think my meal was extremely delicious. There was so much umami and depth to the tomato based sauce, which had herbaceous flavors of green onion and scallion. While I did find it a bit salty at times, the tender meatball and fragrant sauce paired really well with the broken rice, which had scallion oil on top. There's also a lot of room inside the restaurant if you want to casually catch up with friends and enjoy a delicious meal. My friends thought the pho and steamed buns were okay -- but for the price definitely a bit underwhelming since it was a bit less inventive and unique than my dish. I do want to try the sticky rice when I come back!

I always walked by Rice and Bones on my way to class in Wurster, and it always smelled sooo good inside. Not gonna lie, was doubtful of how authentic their Vietnamese food was going to be, but decided to give it a try anyways. Got their chicken pho and I was so impressed!! Portions were slightly smaller, but still way better than Pho K&K on Telegraph. Given the quality, the prices seemed fair but I wouldn't categorize it under "cheap college eats." My only complaint is that it took SO LONG for my food to come out. They were definitely running behind on the pho. I waited 45 minutes for my food to come out, which worked out for me because I had time to kill before class, but in any other scenario I wouldn't be too happy about that. Overall, would recommend if you're on campus and looking for some better quality food. Just be aware that they may be running behind on orders during rush hour, so keep that in mind before you decide to go.

A 20% service charge, without a warning, for a takeout order with 10s of interaction, on a uni campus, is practically theft. I found later that website says 15% service charge in a corner, which needs to be updated.

When I walked into Rice & Bones, I was expecting something along the lines of Out the Door at the Ferry Building. Looking back at my review of OtD, I see that I ordered the chicken-based porridge and a bun when I visited Out the Door. I gave the place three stars. At R&B, my rating is again three stars, but I think that OtD is better, so maybe OtD is a 3+ and R&B is a 3-. At R&B, I decided to go with the flow and got a plate with one protein, two vegetables and a scoop of white rice. As you can see from the accompanying photos, my (relatively modest) lunch set me back over $16. The fish, mushrooms, cooked tomatoes and rice on my plate were all A-OK. They didn't strike me as especially Asian in conception or flavor; in fact they reminded me of some of the Cal dining commons meals that I had the honor of sampling this semester. You can get a similar sort of meal at the Berkeley Faculty Club -- you'll pay a bit less and get something that I consider to be better. But that's just one Yelper's opinion. If you're in the area, I recommend that you try R&B and decide for yourself.

I can only speak for the beef pho, but for something that comes out to $20 it was unfortunately quite disappointing. The broth was so bland :( Made me realize that I had taken every bowl of pho I've ever had before this one for granted. I almost wanted to ask for a salt shaker or something. It was a shame, because the beef pieces were actually really good. Maybe this was a one-off thing? Forgot to salt my bowl? Not sure, but I don't think I'll risk trying it again. As of last Friday, they require proof of vaccination (picture is fine) to dine indoors.

*This business IS OPEN but has limited hours for now, so check the hours before you go. They are not open on the weekends yet. Haven't actually eaten here yet since it's still in its soft open phase and was closed when I came by, so I will update stars if I need to after I try this place. I just wanted to let people know that it still has limited hours and is only M-F right now so you don't show up on a Saturday like I did! Lol Also, Wurster Hall can be tricky to find if you are not familiar with the campus. Probably easiest to enter campus from Bowditch and Bancroft -- then you are quite close to it. Nobody I asked knew anything about it so I stumbled around for quite some time -- easy once you know where to find it, though! Looking forward to trying it. I went to KoJa Kitchen instead, which is always good, too, so it worked out.

If it was just up to the food, this would be a five star review. Unfortunately, the service and pricing is what keeps it away from that. When I ordered the other day, the cashier got mad at me and degustes I don't know how to read because I tried to order something that is not sold until after 11. She also rolled her eyes at me when I ordered a Vietnamese coffee and didn't specify whether it was hot or cold. Other than that, I did like the food here and the interior of the establishment was an very cool shade of yellow. It's probably a go-to place for architecture students, if they can afford the very steep price.

The food here is delicious. Flavorful, full portions. My favorites are the veg zongzi and pork belly. The pork belly is two meals for me, in part because it is so rich. Granted, the zongzi has on occasion been dry, but I honestly don't even care I like it that much. I will continue to come to campus to eat here even with all the other options in the area.

This is now some of the best food on campus, and priced that way. I love the pork steam buns. The grapefruit-jicama salad is as good as at Slanted Door. I've also tried the lunch plates (choose one protein and two sides), which are consistently good, and true to the name, have a side of rice and meat on the bone. Now that seating is available outside, this is a very popular spot on campus, and waiting at line at lunch can take 10-15 minutes (but you'll wait that long at Chipotle too). The only misstep is the continental breakfast - I had a croissant that was small and overcooked. The espresso drinks are okay, but made a bit too hot. I noticed that they now have a full breakfast, with egg in a hole and marmalade toast. I hope they aren't overreaching, but looks promising.

TL;DR overpriced food, but close to north south side of campus Rice & Bones recently opened after Ramona's closed down for about two years. Everyone has been expecting a great new place to grab food, but I was pretty let down. Everything on the menu was expensive. I got some spring rolls, which were ok. Not fresh, not good. The only thing that saved it was the sauce. Worst of all, they don't accept meal points.

I saw a kitchen employee not washing hands after using the restroom and just walk right back to work as if nothing happened. Yuck! I saw a kitchen employee not washing hands after using the restroom and just walk right back to work as if nothing happened. Yuck!

This place just opened at Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley. Unfortunately, everything is WAY overpriced, not good for an on campus restaurant. The pho was good, however is was $10 for a tiny bowl. The pork buns are incredibly salty and the vegetable bun was bland and dry. They kitchen is frantic and poorly managed, and the managers were yelling disrespectfully to the employees. This place seems to have rude managers, overpriced food that is poorly made. Sorry rice & bones, your not a good fit for UC Berkeley.

Beyond how incredibly pricey everything is, and the poor / non-existent service, I find the fact that it charges 20% "fees" on ALL orders without informing you basically makes it a scam

20% service charge on take out order is highway robbery. The food is not that great either.

Good food, good drinks, horrible service. One of the servers is rude and aggressive for no reason, and even if they text you and call you telling you that your order is ready, it'll probably be ready 20 minutes later. I legitimately spent 40 minutes trying to get a cup of coffee.

This place has one of the best Vietnamese or Asian food. Their turnip cake that they make in the afternoon is absolutely delicious and it took me a long time to eat it because I wanted to savor every last bit of it. The rice buns also are a staple with how delicious they are. It holds in the sauce within the bun and made me reminiscent about eating good dim sum and the same can be said about the turnip cake. During lunch time they make different platters of food that will surely melt your mouth from beef sirloin to brussel sprouts. They have a huge variety and if you aren't feeling any of their platters they also have pho, veggie spring or crispy rolls. The workers also are very nice and the environment fits the Artsy environment it is placed in. This place is one of my favorite go to's. The only con I would have to say are the prices. The prices are very expensive as they also sell really good banh mi sandwiches in the afternoon and they were $12 each. this is extremely expensive compared to others you could maybe even get it for $3. Their prices are very high but their food tastes very delicious so it is up to you to decide if they are worth the price. My opinion is that it is worth it if you go once in a while to treat yourself.

Decided to try the place out with my colleagues the week prior to the students coming back to campus. Two of us have had Slanted Door previously and were really hoping for the best. They have some set menu items (pho, spring rolls and steamed buns) and their line menu changes every two weeks. We were all set on trying the Pho but when we arrived, we all tried something different from the line. The items are labeled and you have the option to choose one protein and two veggies (comes with rice; you can also opt for one veg). Unfortunately, all items are displayed in I believe clay pots with no heating component keeping them warm (heat lamp, warming tray, etc.) so all of our food was barely warm except for the steamed rice. Chicken (dark meat) was dry, greens were good, and the squash was okay. The three of us seemed unimpressed with our choices, m but have decided to come back to try the Pho (how can you mess up pho), steamed buns, and the spring rolls. Hoping things will get better with a second chance.

Rice and Bones. UC Berkeley just got ranked #1overall university by Forbes so it seemed fitting to rank the #1restaurant at UC Berkeley by me, Moose Star Reviews. So what's the best spot to eat at the #1 university (not surrounding restaurants but actually on campus)? Somewhere near the Berkeley School of Law is a small cafe tucked inside a concrete building. Rice and Bones. It's a Vietnamese/Asian fusion spot that offers consistently fresh, modern takes on Vietnamese classics like pho, spring rolls, and vermicelli bowls. They also have various Chinese dumplings and even pastries. The flavors aren't outrageous but fresh and are subtle nods to traditional cuisines without the sometimes offensive smells and loud sounds. I recently tried the chicken rice porridge that came with Chinese donuts which I promptly threw away. A thin layer of beautiful chicken fat pooling in the surface interrupted by julienned lemon grass and bits of caramelized garlic and onions gently reminds me to slow down and appreciate when food is art. The balance of this dish was just perfect. Not too salty, not too bland, flavorful but nothing crazy. Clean. Their pastries are always freshly baked and the blueberry scones are probably the best I've ever had. 1 moose star. ig: @moosestarreviews

I really wanted to try this place out but now I wish I hadn't because it wasn't even worth the $9 I spent :) I got the vegetarian steamed bun and the Viet iced coffee. I'll start with the positive; the cashier was super nice and I like the decor of the place, so I was willing to dish out $4 for a single bun (even thought I could get 3x more at my local Viet take out place for the same price, but it's fine, this is an on-campus eatery.) The iced coffee for $4.25, and there was only one price option, so I assumed there was only one size and it'd be 12oz or something. The filling on the bun was actually good, and going off of that alone I'd give the place 4 stars (not taking into account the overpriced menu). But even though the bun was a little warm, the whole outside part of it was dried out and a bit hard. Like, come on, I'm paying $4 for a small steamed bun ... the least they could do was make sure it wasn't sitting out and getting stale. Then I get the coffee, and it's TINY. I literally saw it and laughed. It was like a regular plastic disposable 12 oz coffee cup, but cut in half. Also, the ice cubes took up like half the container. I probably got 4 oz of coffee, and for $4.25. Honestly I was scandalized, but I decided hey, if the coffee's good, it's fine to have paid for it this once. But one sip and I was like... no. It was sour, but not in a fancy, special kind of tropical coffee blend kind of way. It was sour in a hey, I think the condensed milk they used was expired, or how else would it get this funky flavor? So yeah. I don't plan on returning to try anything else on the menu if this is the quality they're bringing for the price.

Decent Vietnamese inspired cuisine on the Berkeley campus. I recommend the xio man over the zongzi.

I used to be in the building a lot so I frequent at R&B. I LOVE their chicken rice porridge: paired with some delicious Chinese donuts (youtiao), the chicken rice porridge is hearty, delicious, and tastes like home. Chicken rice porridge is my comfort food. I also love their chicken salad; and tried other salads/dishes as well. The lunch combo isn't my favorite because it is a little pricey ($16) and sometimes too oily for my likings. I like the pork buns, however, they are more of a cha siu bao rather than a Chinese baozi, if you know the difference. The Pho is also pretty good. The cashiers and the manager, Michael, are always friendly. They go above and beyond to make sure you have a pleasant ordering experience. The wait time isn't bad either. The only thing that prevented me from going here every day is the price point. It is pretty steep, and probably not affordable to most students. Regardless, I still enjoy going here!

Rude cashier. Said she didn't understand what I was saying when I asked her if she will gives me a number or she just calls my name. Is that too confusing? She'd better get some education yo

Ordered a tiny bowl of beef pho for 18 dollars, and they automatically included a 20% tip along with tax, with my final order coming out to well over 22 dollars (for one tiny bowl of pho). The broth was incredibly bland and oily, and tasted like a carton of beef broth you might get from Safeway. The noodles were incredibly soggy as well. Avoid at all cost

Great addition to UCB campus. They have a few soft opening processes to work through but very promising. Very confident that they work out the portion sizes and team chemistry so i'll cut them some slack during the soft opening. Charles was on the line serving us so he def cares about the customer experience. We got almost everything in the menu. Mains: ala carte: $7ea Lamb protein -the best value for the portion size Beef Stew: -clean broth and not overly fatty on the meat pcs Spicy Chicken stir fry: -nice kick of Sides veggies: Mixed mushrooms $4 -good size portion and peppery Eggplant $4 -flavor was good but some pieces where under cooked Pork and chicken buns: $4ea Pork bun was spot on but chicken bun has too much ginger. Spring Roll: $11 Fresh and clean taste but the rolls had mayo which was different. The dipping sauce was like crack. Fried chicken: $7 2pcs Breast piece was a bit dry but the thighs were juicy. Batter was light and flavorful. Crispy imperial rolls: $12 2rolls Tradition preparation with lettuce and noodles to wrap. Chicken pho:$12 Super clean broth but portion size is small Beef pho: $14ea Beefy broth but again portion size is small Overall i would def be back. Charles and Co are professionals so everything will be on point in due time.

I was charged over $6 for a small milk tea BEFORE tips. Definitely not worth it and the boba was undercooked.

Have had lunch here 4-5 times. The food definitely has a chef-crafted, high-quality aspect to it that you won't get elsewhere on campus, but there's also always something a bit off and that, combined with the service, isn't consistent with the price level. E.g. yesterday I had a rice plate, which came with a side of about 6 very small pieces of asparagus that was I think quick-pickled or something like that, and about half my asparagus was so tough and fibrous that I couldn't even chew it up. You pay a 15% service charge, on top of the $17 rice plate price (total is $21.55), so that you can wait in a long line, have them yell your name out when your food is ready (which you can't hear because the place is so noisy), and then bus your own table when you're done. This means you're sitting at a dirty table that no one wiped down, but you can't even do it yourself because they run out of napkins and give you a surly "I'll get to that when I have time" when you ask for a napkin. So for a $22 rice plate with no beverage and an almost inedible 6 chunks of vegetable in that environment, feels a bit of a ripoff.

The food is not bad, but honestly the prices are PREPOSTEROUS. Having grown up eating baozi, banh mi, rice porridge, pho, and many of the other items served here, I have never ever seen them sold at the price point that they are sold at here (save for a really fancy Kobe pho I had once, which was still less). For on campus food, it really doesn't make sense - they're excluding a large number of students here with their high prices. You come in here hella hungry and then you're like oh shit I'd have to spend like $30 to be decently satisfied . Perhaps they are catering to professors, graduate law students, etc with their bougie-ified asian food style. It's a little disappointing because while I love that they have all these foods I'm accustomed to having back home (in San Jose), they've made 'em way overpriced despite the quality/taste being quite average. In my experience, banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) range $3 - 5, even for quality and generously portioned banh mi. They sell banh mi for $11-12 here. Continuing: bao zi, $1 vs. $4 here (that 4x inflation tho). Spring rolls $5-6 vs. $12 here. Pho, $7-9 vs. $14 here (before tax). I've tried the food, and while it is tasty, it is not worth the price hike (I've had amazing pho, banhmi, etc for a fraction of the price and usually do). What's more, one can get pho and baozi elsewhere in Berkeley for reasonable prices. Still, given the convenient on campus location, people will prob grab a bite to eat here when they gotta get something fast, and at least the coffee is normally priced (looking at the food prices one would expect the coffee to be like $10 a cup LOL but it's still around $3-4).

Decent food that is a but really overpriced! They changed up their menu recently and really limited it (they used to have rice bowls, but made it pretty standardized now which I didn't like). It is one of the few good places to eat on UC Berkeley campus so there are always students lining up at mealtimes. With their new menu, I would say there are average. I will say though, the staff is really friendly and nice and I always enjoyed talking to them.

Yeah a bit pricey but definitely very good quality! The springs rolls are good portion and very tasty

I've been really excited for this place to open, so when it did, I went with my family! We ordered 3 beef pho, spring rolls, emperor rolls, and 2 steamed beef buns. It came out to around $75. I know we ordered a lot, but all their menu items are WAY TOO OVERPRICED, especially for being on a college campus. I'd only ever go here for special occasions, never just to "grab a snack". Very disappointed that it isn't more student-friendly. That being said, all the food was pretty good. I thought the pho was too salty, but my family liked it. The buns were delicious, spring rolls were big and fresh, and the emperor rolls were my personal favorite! Also, the decor and overall design of the restaurant is so pretty and minimalist! tldr; good food, pretty restaurant, overpriced food

I ordered the Grass Fed Beef Pho. I waited 15 minutes because the cook was on his phone. The pho was good with a generous helping of noodles. But the broth was watery and tasteless.

I tried the chicken sandwich which was a special displayed. I asked if it was spicy, she said yes because it has jalapeños, so I asked for no jalapeños. It came with jalapeños and my mouth is still burning (I really don't like them). They remade the sandwich, but still, I bit into a jalapeño. The sandwich was good, but there is so much bread and hardly any chicken that after a $11 sandwich, I'm still hungry. Everyone was perfectly nice and the space is lovely.

I've only tried the beef pho and it tastes pretty good, but the portions are really small for the price. I don't think place would survive in downtown Berkeley, but it happens to be located in an area of campus that desperately needs good food options. If you're nearby and need to eat, go for it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to seek it out.

I opted for the plate with one protein and two vegetables. The chicken clay pot was very flavorful and had a kick to it. The gailan and mixed mushrooms didn't really have any flavor and was cold. While this place does seem a little more pricey than other places on campus, getting the plate definitely does fill you up.

TLDR: The blue bottle of pho: expensive but very high quality. 3 stars sorely underrates this place. I was working here from 11:00AM-1:30PM and saw about a 15 person line the entire time I was here. Line moves decently quick, too. At $15 with tax, the pho is definitely not cheap. And the portion is rather small. But I don't think it's outrageous as other reviews say - an average bowl of pho goes for around $10 w/ tax in Berkeley. This place offers a pho that is 50% more expensive but only 2/3 the size. Blue Bottle does something similar with coffee, and people love it anyway, so it's not disqualifying. And the quality of the pho is worth the price. The broth is perfect in my eyes - sweet, salty, a little sour, a lot of beefy umami. It's the sort of broth that you can taste when you take a bite of just noodles. The noodles are soft and the beef is tender and delicious. They also give you a lot of beef despite the small bowl. As for ambiance, the interior is quite aesthetic and a nice place to sit and work a while, with good lighting. Only downside is the lack of power outlets. Overall a great addition to the berkeley food scene.

Super expensive for a college student's wallet, and I get this barely-functioning straws! It's 21st century California, and this place doesn't even have paper straws!! #savetheturtles

Best food on the UC Berkeley campus (and in Berkeley for a quick lunch). Quick, fresh, delicious!

I tend to agree with most of the previous reviews: The food is good, but: 1/ it is usually warm, at most. Never hot. 2/ there is always so much black pepper, what's going on with that?? 3/ the buns are probably the best value on the menu, but the vegetarian ones also feel so "dry", some sort of sauce to dip in would be welcome. 4/ and more importantly, it's REALLY pricy, which doesn't fit a typical student budget. I only allow myself to go there for proximity reasons, when I am tired of the other nearby options, which are pretty limited when I don't have time to walk down the street.