San Vuon Cafe

I came here on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, I have honestly never heard about this place before! I only seen the pictures of the outside area they have and immediately took me and my mom to go have dinner. Get ready for this long review, this place deserves it. The stars are low for me to even consider this place but it’s safe to say that I fell in love with this restaurant. We were immediately greeted and seated down to an area next to the kitchen where my mom and I were able to smell the delicious smokey food coming from the kitchen. It smelt so delicious and I became so excited! My mission has been finding the best pho broth in Houston, Texas. So far I have been to countless restaurants already but there is no place like the aesthetic this specific spot has. The place on the outside is old and has been well kept and preserved. The entrance is cutesy, being right next to the highway and the parking lot across the street, you are in for a treat. The place is big, featuring lots of tables and bar tables, adorable remodeled interior. Overall it gives you “Oh I want to return during nighttime” I ordered •The combination pho •Grilled pork banh mi •Fish Sauce Wings The wings came out first, they ask you if you want steamed rice or fried rice. I went with fried rice, the wings came in this BIG plate, with onions and bell peppers and even the vietnamese styled pickled carrots with daikon, and a bunch of beautiful lettuce leaves. I have ordered this exact dish before at other restaurants, but they only give you the wings in a bowl, not all the extra things I just listed… ESPECIALLY a plate of fried rice, the rice was broken style and it was so delicious. The wings though, freshly fried and crispy the outer layer had this magnificent crunch and the flavor was so perfect!! The chicken itself was marinated to the point that even the inside had a yellow pigment color from being marinated. 10/10 The pho came soon after, big bowls with hot broth and lots of meat. The broth itself is very great compared to a lot of places! It was a great flavor and this place even has mini small side condiment dishes with CHILI OIL and sriracha and hoisin sauce. I will applaud and appreciate places with this feature since I savor pho broth, I never try to add anything condiment like to change the profile whatsoever, and thats what those mini dishes are for!! The chili oil was not spicy, I dip parts of the meat and especially tenderloin in the dish, its great and you wont change your broth! I am very content!! Next the banh mi! Personally I remove the spicy jalapeños since I am a wuss, but the bread was so soft. I have had banh mi with very tough crunchy bread to the point where your mouth feels so sore after eating but the bread here is SOFT!!! The pate tasted fresh, something screaming they either made it here or they buy pate thats very good. So delicious!! I even ordered a strawberry banana smoothie and I was surprised to have finished it.. Especially with all this food I ordered. I noticed this place has a stage likely for karaoke. Then I remembered I saw the outside garden pictures! Me and my mom went outside to take a look and oh my goodness… It was screaming welcome home!! There were small little features EVERYWHERE!! From the ash trays, lots of seats and some raised up chairs and even a deck!! You turn right and see a small koi fish pond. They have a machine you insert .50 cents in to get fish food to feed them!! We did this after eating and the food lasted forever since we were giving it to the smaller fishes in the back. It was so beautiful being so close to these fishes. It was a great day outside and the outdoor patio was pretty much covered up. Playing nice fun summer music. I fell in love with this place, I was so thrilled knowing the food was very delicious but it wasn’t only about the food. It was about the welcoming environment you feel whenever stepping into this restaurant that I have never felt before. You will leave this place feeling warm This restaurant DESERVES more stars. Please come and try!

The hot pot is incredible. The broth is flavorful & the veggies they include soak up that flavor as they cook in the soup. Everything we had was perfectly cooked & flavorful, hot, fresh and enjoyable. The atmosphere is beautiful, if it’s a nice day, eating outside is a must.

I liked this place! For years I’ve seen it but never went inside (even when it was Dante’s Italian) but I’m glad that we tried it finally. The chicken fried rice was delicious! I liked the bahn mi also- the chargrilled pork wasn’t tough or fatty and the bread was nice and toasty as well. I rarely give five stars but the service was really good and I loved the outdoor patio. I recommend this place!

I have seen this place a million times off of the freeway, My thoughts were "No Way" What a mistake I made judging the building. We decided to have dinner and I will definitely be back and recommend this spot to my family and friends. The inside was very clean and inviting the atmosphere was so relaxing. We sat down and the waitress came over quickly and took our drink order, She returned and took our food order and it wasn't long before our food was brought out. Let's talk about the pork pot stickers, OMG they were Amazing cooked to perfection they had a slight crunch on the outside and delicious flavor on the inside, steaming hot. I also had a Banh Mi Grilled pork sandwich, the bread was so good and the grilled pork was delicious and tasty. My friend had a beef and broccoli dish with fried rice, I like that they give you the option of fried or steamed rice, he said he enjoyed it, he also had the egg rolls but after having some of my pot stickers he said he would definitely order them next time. I cannot wait until next week, I will be having dinner at this restaurant again. They were extremely friendly and the service was great.

Ordered Bahn Mi, and a beef dish. They were delicious and perfectly portioned. Atmosphere is adorable, we ate outside and it was lovely. Staff were friendly. We would come again!

I gave this place 4 stars because their eggrolls were just ok. I've had better! I ordered the grilled goat meat served with rice and vegetables. It was delicious! For my drink, I ordered Vietnamese ice coffee. This was also delicious! The inside of the restaurant is very cozy, I felt comfortable. I will be back!

Keeping with the trend of my friend making back into town. Saved a few new #Pho spots to try. Found San Vuon #Cafe via google reviews. We had a number of issues here on our visit. While I’m not sure if it was my friend or the staff who dropped the ball or just plain miscommunication on the order. (Order was given in another language that I don’t understand) It was handled VERY #poorly. Would you pay, for a meal (They charged 50% off for the mix up) and not offer to box it up to go and still pay? This rubbed me the wrong way. (It was an extra order of wings, we only ordered 1 fyi) I wasn’t able to get a refill on my drink, even asking 3 times to 2 different servers. Even with these issues, the food was ok. The #pho had very little meat. 3-4 pieces of eye round and another 3-4 pieces of meatball. The rice was hard, it’s why we didn’t touch any of it. Took a bite and was no good. The wings and the spring rolls were the best part for me. Loved the flavor of the wings, and the charred grilled pork on the spring rolls. It’s a quiet and quaint spot, and hard to spot from the highway. Easily missed as there wasn’t any signs to know where we were going. If you stop by and give it a visit, hope you’ll have a better experience. But don’t think I’ll return. Until next time. Edit: In response to the owners reply. They stated they were extremely busy and new employees. While I don’t know if they are new. The restaurant was practically empty when we were there. One party in the picture I’ve uploaded. 1 male across from us. And 2 other males who were smoking outside. If this is too Busy, and still mess up. I would want no part of what busy would bring. I didn’t mention that an employee brought out and turned on a leaf blower inside the restaurant while walking out.

9/7/24: This place is hidden, but if your looking for a hidden gem, this would be one of those spots. The portion and price were decent for what we ordered. Me and my wife order some pho: round eye and meatball, spring roll (grill pork), egg roll, and it was delicious. It's not too impressive from outside, but once you walk in, it's a different scenery. I will definitely come here again to try other food dishes they offer. I would recommend this to family and friends. Please Like Share and Follow for more #JaysTrueRatings.😎

The grilled pork spring roll and was fresh and delicious. An absolute hidden gem! The outdoor sitting area is also very well decorated.

Great hole in the wall restaurant - especially if you're headed to Hobby and have your flight delayed like me ;) I got the Banh mi to go and it was exactly what I was expecting. They ask if you want jalapeños (necessary) and/or sriracha/soy sauce (not necessary).

This a great spot if you are ever interested in having a weekend or after work rest spot! The service was amazing they were really friendly , the environment was really chill and if they had live music performances this place could have great potential! But I sorry to say this and I love pho, but to save you time and money if you only come to eat pho this is not your place to go it's flavorless and even thou they put every single meat that a pho contains it was really disappointing! But don't get me wrong we tried other meals and they were delicious ! But if the pho was improved this could be my weekend spot !

To start off we order the fish sauce wings. Ate two wings and the sauce was very good. The third wing my sister ate and noticed there was blood coming from the chicken. Told the waiter, he was very apologetic which I appreciate. He took it off of our tab and I then ordered a pho tai for my replacement. Got the pho, the broth was okay little to no flavor. I took three bites from it, looked down, and saw a nat inside of my broth. Told the waiter again and he had his other coworker come grab it and take it off of our tab. Overall, The service was okay and the food wasn't great. Don't think we'll be coming back.

This was by far a great hidden gem and well worth the price excellent service and even better food I will be back

Food was alright but not great. We tried the pork spring rolls, grilled pork rice plate, bahn mi, pho, combination lo mien, and egg rolls. Trust me we tried it all lol. Place is super dark inside. I'd rather drive to midtown and eat way better food.

The food was very very very mediocre. There wasn't much flavor in everything, especially the pho and fried rice. The outside ambiance sounds like we're eating under a highway underpass. The inside ambience is dark and sad. They never checked up on our table and completely forgot about our dishes. There are so many other places better than this one.

The piña colada was the highlight of our dining experience. Congratulations to the chef and the bar tender. I will definitely come here again, especially for a karaoke night.

This had killer ratings and I happened to be on the other side of town, so when hunger struck I had to check it out. The food was excellent. Forgot to take photos of the vermicelli bowl and the Bahn Mi photos, but remembered for the shrimp. Everything was delicious. We did go at an off hour (4:45 pm), but the service was definitely lacking. Would I go again? Without a doubt if I'm on that side of town. Would not drive the 20-25 minutes (without traffic) though.

I love this place. I frequently visit and absolutely love the pho here. It's surprisingly big and unique.

We were here on a Saturday afternoon early fall and the weather was perfect for this spot, it is nice and friendly . I only wish it was 3-4 blocks in from the freeway to avoid the I-45 noise. We ordered 3 dishes : Cánh Gà chiên nước mắm ( fried chicken ) , Mực Nướng ( grilled octopus) , Bò Nướng Lá Lốt ( Minced Beef wrap in Perilla Leaf) over all the dishes was fairly good . If I can make 2 recommendation : 1) add Cá Nướng Da Dòn 2) add a few spot heater and you can bring in more crowd for family dinner (out door) these heaters are not that expensive you only need 4, 1 for the upper deck , and 3 for the area down stairs . It will be perfect get together for family dinner .

Great place to sit eat and relax. The entire staff is really nice, the food is delicious, and the restaurant is very chill and clean. I recommend this place!

What a hidden gem. We chose to sit outside, since the weather was nice. I loved the patio a little loud due to traffic but the ponds and waterfall was nice. The food was delicious. We ordered beef pho 8/10, chicken fried rice 10/10, garlic butter wings 10/10, grilled chicken banh mi 10/10. We definitely will come back. The owner is nice and the service from staff was great. Sorry I forgot to take pictures, I was in a rush to try the food.

Heard about this place on TikTok and so glad we went! We had egg rolls, dumplings, banh mi, and bun - all so good. The wintermelon tea was a tad too sweet for me but that's on me for not asking if it was a sweet tea when I ordered. The whole place is great and the outside is really impressive with all the shady spots, koi pond, bridge, little tree house deck, and more. Would definitely be a good place to throw a party and/or go to a watch a sports game.

Doesn't look like much when you drive by and the parking is across the street and behind a used car lot. But the food is authentic and the interior is traditional and a little bit funky. We enjoyed their take on a bun and also some crispy egg noodles. Both were delightful. Their menu includes favorites better suited for someone more adventurous with sea snails and other unique proteins. Prices were good and in an empty dining room service was what you would expect.

Really great Vietnamese food here! Probably one of the best authentic Viet restaurants in South Houston if you don't want to drive all the way to Chinatown. - Exterior looks super run down & honestly kind of sus lol. Don't be fooled; the interior is cozy and nicely decorated. It's right off the highway & at a very convenient location. There's an adjacent parking lot so plenty of room for parking. - Highlights would probably be the chicken hu tieu (noodle soup), bo tai chanh (beef with lime), bo la lot, and combination pan fried noodles. I would order all of this again. We also ordered the seafood combo hot pot which was also good but a steep price tag. It does comfortably serve 2-3 people though if you're craving hot pot. - I ordered Ca phe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee) which was very, very sweet and almost tasted like it had a lot of vanilla creamer/sweetener in it which I wasn't a fan of. I wish they kept more of a rich, bold coffee flavor true to what an actual ca phe sua da would be. Prices are a bit higher but I'm willing to pay this for good enough Vietnamese food without driving another hour to get to Bellaire. $125 for a lunch for 4 people with hot pot leftovers to take home. We will be back!

Second time coming and can't wait to come back. Ate the vermicelli and then pho the second time so amazing. Found out about to through tik tok and the service is so amazing . And the ambiance is so quiet and so many tvs and all the sports you can think of.

Food is very good. Vermicelli bowls have great flavor. The pork rice plate with the fried egg 10/10

I should have known better but waited in high expectation to eat here after reading what's been posted online.....did I simply picked the wrong thing off the menu? perhaps it's the night ambience that drive people to gather here for food. You are thinking, how can u go wrong with a Vermicelli bowl, right? Well..... Presentation--wasn't visually pleased at first encounter Veggies---I never had a vermicelli bowl without cilantro or basil Portion--eyes bigger than stomach?? My stomach IS bigger, so little meat, is it the inflation?? Flavor--Bland, Nothing memorable. Pickled carrots were not pickled I probably came to eat at the wrong hour or wrong day of the week....still, a second date is highly unlikely...

The shrimp springs rolls, vermicelli bowl and pork dumplings had great flavor. The restaurant was clean and cozy inside. I will definitely be coming back.

Was not a big fan of this restaurant. It's not incredibly clean and I didn't feel super welcomed. Our entrees were missed and super missed. Interesting ambiance but this is not one that I'll be back to.

10-29-21 I am extremely sad to give this review. I really wanted to like this place. Quality/Quantity - #4 Goi Cuon Tom Thit (4) - Vietnamese Spring Roll with Shrimp and Pork #15 Mi Thap Cam - Combination Egg Noodle Soup #21 Hu Tieu Do Bien - Rice Noodle Soup With Seafood H. Thanh 3D - Extra Noodle Food was okay... Atmosphere - Sorry, but the place was dirty. Everything in the mens bathroom was also broken. Parking across the street was on a dirt gravel lot. Service - Almost none. Waitress never came back after giving us our food. Had to find her to pay to leave. Price - $32.44 + Tip. Yes, we still tipped... Owner Suggestion - Congrats on your success, 5+ years in business. I am confused why you have so few yelp reviews when you were in business for so long? Sorry, but we will probably not be back. Wishing you the best.

Place has officially shut down. I waited in their parking lot over an hr and place never opened . Owner needs to update all social media. I just drove 45 minutes to eat here .

Food was good as well as the atmosphere. The only problem I had was the kid who took our order because he kept scratching his face and then scratched his back side. I didn't want him touching anything I ordered. It just didn't seem too sanitary.

Don't even waste your time with this place. I placed a delivery order and an hour later the poor driver was still waiting for the food. The driver told me there were many people there waiting on food and the employees would not communicate with them. I finally called and they couldn't give me an explanation and hung up on me. I tried calling them back, but they left the phone off the hook so it was busy. They have absolutely no customer service what do ever.

I always want to try this place for very long time , finally I can ask my friends to stop by after our paddling at the river near by. Surprisingly very cool place , the foods are good. It makes me miss those restaurants in vietnam.

So hole in the wall restaurant. No high expectations but once the food came out, game changer. Ordered two types of snail, one grilled and other coconut. Both devoured by my picky daughter. Then caramelized simmer clay catfish. Damn that was on point. Stir fry noodle was good but not enough noodle. Then last is beef wrap in betel leaf. Plump, juicy and delicious. Customer server was attentive. Come give them a try!! You will like or even love to have them as your regular.

Smelled a little smokey. With their hours, I am assuming they are a nightclub at night. The grilled beef entree is like kafta, except bite sized. Really enjoyed the dish. I had it a la carte and fresh veggies came on the side. I am rarely on this side of town, but definitely will return for this dish.

Authentic Vietnamese food. I would definitely recommend to others. Our waitress was courteous and attentive.

Okay, okay!!! Guys, I literally ran to my car for this review. Today...was self date day!! It all started with the nail shop, then I was hungry..... as a result, I came here. There is the most beautiful serine patio with two levels. There are fountains and flowers and even a cage with little baby bunnies! I sat outside, duh. Pork egg rolls that I ate so fast I didn't get a picture. Ordered goat with chili and coconut sauce. It comes with this beautiful soft golden bread for dipping. Topped it off with a Thai Tea, jellies added. If you ever are in this area, give it a try. The staff was amazing....I'm done gushing

By far the best Vietnamese Food in Houston !!! This place is a hidden Gem !!! It's amazing. The out door patio is huge.

We had high hopes for this place looking for some late night pho only to be disappointed at the service and quality of some of our items. We ordered spring rolls and and pho, we received our pho which was very delicious, we were given old jalapeños which was fine but it was obvious they were old bc they were shriveled and looked like they have been sitting in the fridge. My partner had unsweet tea and asked for sweet and low only to be told "they just ran out". We never received our spring rolls, it wasn't until we were almost finished with our food when I asked the gentleman about them, he told us if we still wanted them because they didn't have any shrimp to make them but he never communicated that with us until the very end when we were nearly finished with our main course. Would i recommend this place? probably not.

How this place has a positive rating, that I will never know. Stepping in, I had good expectations because you are hit with that Asian household scent that is nostalgic for any Asian American. Unfortunately, the service and food fell very short. The star were the egg rolls. Unfortunately the dip was balancing half on the tiny plate that it spilled onto the table before we were able to eat. He came by to deliver our snails (which were mediocre) and didn't bother to give us anymore than one napkin (one-ply by the way!) to clean. At the very least the plate could be bigger than my fist to fit egg rolls, vegetables, and the dip! We had to flag him down for more since the napkin container for public use is empty. Odd that I had to flag him down after he set the snails onto some of the mess on the table, little common sense there. The pho was very bland and they got my order wrong. This could have been easily remedied if the waiter had written down our order instead of trying to memorize it. I had to add a ton of condiments for an inkling of flavor, condiments that I had to get at another table because somehow there is only one condiment tray in the whole restaurant out today. The vegetables for the pho are also not the best. Old lettuce and hard limes. This place also doesn't have a lot of the usual nice drinks other Vietnamese restaurants have. Just skip this place entirely! I would give leniency if it was busy, but there was only one other party. EDIT: I almost forgot to say they never refilled water and we had to flag down for our check. A waitress came by this time! Our waiter really did seem so shy that he didn't want to come by at all for any reason. Unsure how this place was before a change of ownership, but definitely not a place I would give a second chance since Houston's Vietnamese scene has a ton of better options.

Ever since they changed owner, the service and the food has gone down significantly..1 star I will never come back Vietnamese: Từ ngay quán đã đổi chủ, đồ ăn tệ hơn rất nhieu, service dở đồ ăn mắc. Sẽ ko quay lại

Went on Thursday referral from a friend. Food was good.We ordered 2nd round food.Yes it was that good. Authentic vietnamese food.I will be back with family and friends again.

We were looking for a Vietnamese style coffee shop and found this place on yelp. The decorations and layouts are exactly like those in Vietnam which is very homy. The owners (Mr. Duy and Ms. Dung) are very nice and friendly. We had bbq pork rice plate and combination crispy noodle, vietnamese ice milk coffee and herbal tea and they were tasty. Highly recommend it!

Food is great, service is wonderful, decor is vibrant. I had driven by this place and it caught my eye for quite some time finally decided to stop in and give it a go. This is now my go to Vietnamese place. Definitely worth a try. I have read some bad reviews and the only bad thing they all said was that they did not pay their employees enough. Let me say to them, I don't know anything about that, frankly I don't know and I don't care, this place is awesome. Considering having my wedding dinner party here.

Best place locally around me Fr man vibes all there if u don't like it then ur just too drunk to enjoy it

This place is very much a vibe, and reminds me of when you go over to a Vietnamese family members home and they about to serve you some bomb ass food! Very Vietnam styled restaurant that feels like home. The fish sauce chicken wings here are very nice and flavorful! Only thing I wish is they gave you more wings for the price you pay but the wings were DELICIOUS! We then ordered the chargrilled pork special rice plate and the braised fish in clay pot or cả kho tộ. Get the cucumbers and dip them into the sauce with a spoonful of fish and and rice. Immaculate. Takes me back to when my grandmother used to cook this dish when I was younger. The owner was very kind and attentive to make sure everything was okay. Will come back to try out their crawfish and other dishes next time!!!

Had a late lunch here today and it was a great experience. We were going to sit inside, but decided to sit outside because the outdoor area looked really cozy, and it was! The entire experience felt very welcoming and home-y, which we really loved. The staff definitely helped that feeling as well. They were all super polite and very generous. The food was also really, really good. I hadn't had a good bowl of phở in awhile, so I went with that, and it was definitely one of the best ones I've had in awhile. I can't wait to have it again when it's much cooler outside. We'll definitely be going back! I'm glad we gave it a shot as it's much closer to home than we originally thought!

My buddy invited me out for a drink and introduced me to this surprisingly good and authentic Vietnamese restaurant. We ordered traditional "drinking-food" (bò tái chanh [thinly-sliced beef with lime], calamari, and a lotus salad) and had an awesome time chillin-drinking in the garden. This place is also dog friendly too! Will definitely come back.

Stop by here after a wake nearby. Wow I was impress how good food is. Wasn't expecting anything but a quick bite. We got raw beef salad, basil clams 2x!, butter fry chicken wings( so good), calamari(is my favorite dish) and beef leaf roll. I'll add pictures next time I come back. Definitely will be back soon!

Ordered the rare beef in lime juice but got this instead. Pho with out soup!! Called them for a refund and they refund me $17 ( supposed to be 18.39 with taxes). Never come back here again!!

The food was okay, I liked the bò lá lốt. The soft shell crab was bad though, the flour was too thick. However, the waiting time for my 3 togo dishes was 30+ minutes during a very not crowded time. Also, they didn't pack the side dishes (rice paper and vermicelli for me. It's only $3 but it was annoying because I ordered it to eat with the beef. Still debating if I should come back.

I love that when I walked in, I felt as if I was teleported back to Vietnam! The television was playing Vietnam TV. The lounge area had been a mess music I grew up too! The backyard had hemlocks and the tree terrace view is refreshing. I felt like I was at my family's home in Vietnam. What made this place even better outside of the ambience and decorations, are the Staff members! They are extremely polite, welcoming and hospitable.

My entire life we have drove by this place and never did I know that a Viet restaurant like this existed. The food was very authentic with dishes that are true to culture. I am really happy to have tried this restaurant tonight and we will definitely be back! The escargots with garlic and butter satiated my cravings. The grape leaves beef brought back a lot of my childhood memories! I can't wait until it gets warm so we can enjoy the patio.

Great atmosphere and food! Only thing lacking was the service. It wasn't too busy either but I would go back!

From flies at our table to substandard food, we quickly figured out why we were one of only a few guests at this eclectic restaurant. The condiment containers on the table were covered in dirt and grime. Unfinished meals sat at neighboring tables (with staff hanging out rather than bussing them) as flies feasted. They got part of our order wrong. All the while they played music at night-club levels--in the middle of the day. It was an incredibly disappointing experience.

Food is authentic and fragrant. I'm so glad that I found a place with relaxing outdoor view and amazing Vietnamese food. Their servers were committed to great service and very friendly. We cannot wait to come here again!