Sunflower Garden Authentic Vietnamese Food

Got to try the Vegetarian imperial roles with vermicelli noodles (asked to be made vegan) and let me say… this was so satisfying! The fish sauce also tasted vegan too which is a HUGE win. I would highly recommend this to any other vegans who miss Vietnamese food!

5 stars for the Vietnamese Crepe (Banh Xeo) and Papaya Salad. Every element of these are so fresh and crisp. Did not love the Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef soup) smells very meaty. Could work for others but I like it with more lemongrass and herbs.

As of 03/05/2024: Was greeted and seated immediately upon entering. I ordered the BBQ Beef spring rolls ($12). Let me tell you- this is the best variant of spring roll I have ever had. The beef in the rolls was juicy, tender, and very flavorful. As a main dish, I went with the #1 Beef Combo pho ($16). It was pretty good. Very good serving of different cuts of beef. I was pleasantly surprised by the thick cuts of brisket that were included. The broth was definitely cardamom and coriander- biased. It was a struggle to finish the bowl of pho, as they are very generous with the portion size. 4.25 ⭐️for pho, 5 ⭐️for the BBQ Beef rolls, 5⭐️ for service.

I always went to Perilla for Pho in this neighborhood. They were not open today so I decided to try Sunflower. I did the right thing. Their food is impressive to me. Although the price for a pho is more expensive than Perilla, the quantities are much higher. The #1 (beef combination pho) is about $2 more, but you get lots of beefs (all kinds of beefs). I can barely finish it. Service is great. Bathroom is also much bigger and cleaner than Perilla.

Not my greatest photography, but 5 spice chicken with beef broth pho at Sunflower Garden Authentic Vietnamese! Food was decent, the broth did have a solid almost holiday spiced flavor, and the rice noodles were cooked to perfection! The chicken tasted great, though was a tiny bit dry for chicken thigh meat. Adding the bone from the chicken into the broth is highly recommended! Service was fine, if a bit slow and understaffed. Overall I’d rate it a 6.5/10. The food was great and I certainly wasn’t disappointed, however the flavor didn’t hit as hard as other Vietnamese restaurants nearby do.

Pretty cool little spot with a solid menu and a few great options. The pho is decent by SF standards, but nothing exceptional. The vegetarian basil chicken and the tofu vermicelli bowl was really good, but the fried spring rolls were absolutely incredible. Our food was ready fast and the people working there were really nice, especially for me picking it up 10 minutes before closing (oops).

Sunflower Garden Restaurant is an excellent place for authentic and delicious Vietnamese cuisine. The beef soup pho has a rich and flavorful broth, perfectly cooked noodles, and tender and juicy beef. The fried banana and ice cream are a delicious and refreshing dessert. I also recommend the imperial rolls and the seafood noodle soup. The staff is friendly and attentive. The restaurant is clean and airy. I highly recommend it.

Loved my spicy veggie pho. Service is quick with a great selection of veggie options.

Our favorite pho place in San Francisco. The broth is refreshing and not very oily, just the way we like it. The service is top notch. It's a good place to take your friends to go eat if you want a good meal.

Sunflower Garden SF Review Sunflower Garden is a hidden gem in SF! The food is fresh, flavorful, and served in generous portions. Their Vietnamese dishes, especially the pho and garlic noodles, are delicious and well-seasoned. The atmosphere is cozy, and the staff is friendly and welcoming. Service is quick, making it a great spot for a casual meal. Prices are reasonable for the quality, and it's a solid choice for anyone craving authentic Vietnamese food. Definitely worth a visit!

7/9/24 Ordered the #15 sunflower vermicelli bowl with pork. Pork was pretty dry but the imperial rolls were delicious Fish sauce was good but not amazing. Portion size was okay. Good for one person for one meal. Pretty standard run of the mill pho. Easy to get a table and quick service. I think the total was like $20?

For all of the great restaurants that have called 9th Ave home over the years, it has always been weird to me how the neighborhood has never really had a great pho joint around. There have certainly been a few spots that have come along, but none of them lasted very long nor were they all that good. However, between how long Sunflower Garden has been around, the positive Yelp reviews, and, most significantly, the good things I'd heard from friends, I was both curious and hopeful that they might be able to buck the trend! Taking over the space that used to belong to a Chinese deli/market (which I didn't even realize was gone), Sunflower Garden looks nothing like its predecessor. In fact, the interior or this place still looks relatively new (though, I wouldn't necessarily say that it's modern) and it's fairly large with more than enough space to accommodate larger groups. As for the menu, it covers a fairly wide swath of Vietnamese cuisine, including a number of noodle soups, but it's actually not as pho-centric as I thought it was. While most of their selection is pretty typical (charbroiled meat rice plates, vermicelli bowls, spring rolls, etc.), there are some unexpected offerings too, such as their Banh Xeo, Lotus Root Salad, Salmon Curry, and an assortment of Chinese specialties, like Mongolian Beef. Plus, they have over a dozen vegetarian options to choose from as well. -- (#1) BEEF COMBINATION NOODLE SOUP - Rice Noodles, Thin Rare Steak, Flank, Tendon, Beef Meat Balls, and Tripe in Beef Broth...$16 All in all, this was pretty standard. The noodles were good and I liked how there was a balanced amount of all of the different meats. That said, I wish this had more meat in general and the broth was very generic - not super flavorful but not oily or fatty either. -- (#21) PORK CHOP COMBINATION RICE PLATE - BBQ Pork Chop, Egg Loaf, Shredded Pork, and Pork Rind with Steamed Rice...$18 Super disappointing. Yes, technically, there was a pork chop, but boy was it small. Not only that, but it was such a thin slice! Similarly, there wasn't much shredded pork either, but at least both tasted okay. Also, this came with a fried egg rather than an egg loaf, but I actually preferred that. -- (#E13) GARLIC NOODLES with Tenderloin Beef Cubes (+$7)...$18 The garlic noodles were mostly fine - decently garlicky (though it could've been stronger) and they had a nice bite to them. As for the beef, it wasn't worth the upcharge. I liked that the beef was tender, and the portion size was fair, but it was drenched in sauce, which was really, really salty. -- (#A1) IMPERIAL ROLLS - Deep Fried Rolls Filled with Minced Pork, Carrots, Black Fungus, Mung Beans, Garlic, Taro, and Onions with Lemon Fish Sauce...$11 Not great, but not too shabby either. The rolls were fried to a nice crispiness and I liked that they also came with some vermicelli noodles. However, the rolls aren't all that big and the filling felt light on meat and heavy on taro. -- (#11) CURRY CHICKEN RICE VERMICELLI SOUP...$16 Not the best I've had, but not too shabby either. The noodles were okay, but the chunks of chicken were moist - I just wish there was more of it. As for the curry broth, that was the star - it could've packed more of a punch, but I liked how creamy it was. As far as service goes, it was probably the highlight of all of my experiences here. Similar to what several of my fellow Yelpers have noted, I thought the workers were all really friendly and the food came out rather quickly. Which, in an ironic twist, makes what we had that much more unfortunate. Had the dishes we tried been equally as good, this would've easily been a four star review. However, based on how uneven everything was, it's hard for me to give anything but a three given how you could find the same (or better) not too far away.

Get the imperial rolls!! So yummy and will be returning just for them haha The sea soup hit the spot and had a clean flavor with tofu, shrimp, egg & tomato Service was 10/10! Very attentive. No wait on friday night

Reliable Vietnamese spot in the inner sunset! We enjoyed a quick meal and were in and out in less than 45 mins. Expected service for this kind of restaurant and the food was tasty!,

Great spring rolls with generous portions and reasonable prices. Attentive and friendly service.

Decided to give Sunflower Garden after a disaster dinner at Kura Revolving Sushi in Stonestown. A friend recommended it saying it's his new favorite pho spot. This place did not disappoint. I like that it wasn't too busy on a Friday night so it was calm and peaceful. We got seated right away with water and menus. Not sure if it's normal of them but the noodles took a while to come out compared to most pho places. I didn't mind at all because when they did come out, it was piping hot and everything looked SO fresh! I personally got the Beef Stew and it had a slight kick. Generous portion of meat and noodles. Each pho came with their own portion of bean sprout, lemon and mint leaves. For my bowl, I think the soup was too hot that overtime, it made my noodle lose its chewy texture and it was getting soft and mushy but the other 2 bowls said their noodles were fine. The prices are pretty standard nowadays. $16-17 each pho dish and the bahn xeo. Service was on point. Every staff member that came to our table said "you're welcome" to each of our "thank you." Small things like that go a long way. They came to refill our water each time without us having to ask and the cleared empty bowls/plates to keep our table spacious. Would come again if we're in the area and craving some pho.

Everything is so delicious and fresh. Lovely atmosphere and great service. There are so many things I want to try. I ordered the chicken curry pho. Yummy!! The imperial rolls are the best

Great service, huge portions, and delicious food! My family and I stopped by for a quick lunch while walking around Irving, and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of food here. The waiter was very friendly and gave us hot tea as we were seated. We started out with the BBQ spring rolls which were perfect to share among a party of 4. The beef was flavorful and it had the perfect proportion of noodles to veggies, and the best part was that it didn't fall apart after being dipped in fish sauce :) We each got a main dish but honestly could have shared 3 and been satisfied. The vermicelli bowls were huge, and came with a delicious, slightly spicy lemon fish sauce. The imperial rolls were extremely crispy and had a nice pork and taro filling. Between the BBQ pork and chicken, the pork was more charred and flavorful but both were good. The garlic noodles also had great flavor, and you could definitely see and taste the garlic on them without feeling too buttery or heavy. Overall a great choice for a casual meal and authentic Vietnamese food!

I always went to Perilla for Pho in this neighborhood. They were not open today so I decided to try Sunflower. I did the right thing. Their food is impressive to me. Although the price for a pho is more expensive than Perilla, the quantities are much higher. The #1 (beef combination pho) is about $2 more, but you get lots of beefs (all kinds of beefs). I can barely finish it. Bathroom is also much bigger and cleaner than Perilla.

Delicious soups and decent veggie options! I loved the spring rolls, veggie imperial rolls. I had the Spicy Hue soup and I appreciated the large amount of tofu that it came with. The service was very kind and checked in frequently. I'll be back to try to veggie pho!

Decent meat and noodles but the broth was terrible. Pretty sure it was store bought chicken stock. There are several places that do Pho much better nearby. I won't return.

This is one of my favorite takeout spots for Vietnamese food in the city. I usually love the Vietnamese food from San Jose, but Sunflower Garden is almost as good. I usually order their bun cha gio thit nuong. I also tried their beef combination pho which was so delicious. Their food is fresh and tasty. I highly recommend checking out Sunflower Garden to satisfy your Vietnamese food fix!

After a late afternoon clinic visit and waiting out the commute traffic, time to have dinner. Browsing list of restaurants in the area and their menus, I found something lately I have been craving. Claypot rice with Chinese sausage, chicken and shrimp. It came sizzling hot as the food was delivered to my table and the lid lifted. It had everything as described. The initial bite was wonderful and wish more seasoning as the few drops of soy sauce was barely enough. Nonetheless, the crunchy rice at the bottom was satisfying but never enough as was the sausage. I would have it again. But I would like other dishes as well. The Vietnamese coffee was served the old fashioned way too - coffee dripped onto a glass with the condensed milk and a separate glass with ice for the final step. It was refreshing to see and have. Service will get you what you want with an occasional water refill. Good for a pleasant evening ding solo for the traffic to clear up.

Consistent, reliable, kind staff. Have ordered takeout and eaten in the restaurant, excellent both times. Appreciate their vegetarian options as well, including vegetarian bbh and bun rieu. Their pho dac biet hits the spot as well. No frills, nothing fancy, just a mom and pop shop with consistent vegetarian and traditional options to choose from

I'd say this is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in San Francisco. It's incomparable to restaurants in San Jose but definitely satisfies the pho craving! It's located in the Inner Sunset between Irving and Judah, so parking is hard to find. The staff is kind and attentive, and the food comes out pretty quick after ordering. Food: Appetizer Combo (9/10): The combo comes with imperial rolls, spring rolls, golden shrimp, and papaya salad. The imperial rolls and golden shrimp were both fresh and crispy without being greasy. The papaya salad was refreshing and a good blend of sour, sweet, and salty! The spring rolls were delicious, especially with the dipping sauce, but I do wish there were more noodles instead of mostly lettuce. Beef Combination Noodle Soup (8/10): The portion of this is huge! You get a lot of fresh, high-quality meat with noodles. The broth was light but flavorful. Perfect for a cold San Francisco day!

food: this is my second time to sunflower garden. the first time I tried the sea soup ($16) and this time I got the hue vermicelli noodle beef soup. The broth was delicious both times and not *too* overpowering like some ramen broths can be. Portions were good, I got left overs to go both times. **It comes with pork blood, which I wasn't a fan of. but that is clearly stated on the menu, and I believe you can ask to remove it when you order if you prefer** ambiance: ok this elevated the restaurant from a 4 to a 5 for me. you'll like it if you like a low hum of music and chatter. for some reason, on a friday evening the other tables were not super loud. the staff and music kept volume to a 4/10 and I was actually able to hold conversations with my group of 6.

Ordered the chicken curry soup... had lots of chicken and good taste. 4 Also ordered the string bean rice plate with beef. Not a great dish, but lots of meat. I would have preferred a plate of string beans. 3 This was through yelp/ grub hub... have problems with delivery every time. This was no exception Delivered to wrong address and no notification... waited over an hour. (Obviously, not restaurants fault)... would be great if restaurants just hired a delivery person for local deliveries. Paid extra $13 without tip to go searching for the delivery.

Sunflower Garden was a great spot to grab lunch during a rainy weekday. My coworker and I came around 12:30 and it was decently full inside when we got there. We ordered the combo beef pho and the imperial rolls to start. The imperial rolls were crispy on the outside and stuffed full with a flavorful filling. The rice noodles, pickled carrots, lettuce and fish sauce went well with the crunchy rolls. The pho came out with bean sprouts, jalapeno, basil, and a wedge of lemon. The broth was quite light and not as deeply flavored as I am used to, but it still hit the soup craving. It came with a lot of meat in the bowl, and I liked the quality of the brisket, meatballs, and tendon. The service was fast and friendly, and we were out of there in under an hour. I'll definitely be back to try other offerings, they also have an extensive vegetarian menu!

There is so much love put into the food here... it takes about 5 days to get the vegetarian broth to be so flavorful. I really appreciate the love and care that goes into the food. I highly recommend

Customer service and prices were very good. A lot of seafood in the pho. Place is clean too.

Fresh ingredients, wonderful staff and clean! 4.5 stars! Go to dishes: Shrimp Crepe, Clay Pot Rice, Bun Rieu, Five Spice Chicken Pho...

Sun Flower Garden is a must-visit for anyone looking to enjoy authentic Vietnamese cuisine in a comfortable and welcoming setting. I ordered spring rolls as the appetizer. For the main course, I had Bun Bo Hue and grilled pork rice. Both were so delicious.! We had mango sticky rice and iced coffee for dessert. The flavors were so well-balanced that I couldn't resist. Even looking at the pictures still makes me crave it. The service is truly excellent and attentive! My friend, who was trying Vietnamese food for the first time, praised Sun Flower Garden highly.

Everything I've eaten here has been delicious. We order takeout frequently and it's always ready for convenient pick-up. It is an also a nice space to enjoy meal and the service is friendly.

Update: came back to try their BBH and unfortunately, it wasn't anything to write home about. The main thing for me was the lack of spiciness and the fact that my noodles were all broken... for the majority of the bowl each strand was only ~an inch long ?? :/ Besides that, the flavor was decent (although nothing compared to bbh from sj) and the meats were good, but wish there was a bit more flavor/spice and definitely wish my noodles were full length.

The food here is good. Usually get the vermicelli noodle bowl with egg roll and pork. Very tasty wish they would give more noodles though. The banh xeo (vietnamese crepe) here is also yummy as well. Note that it only comes with shrimp would be better if they had both pork and shrimp in the crepe.

Sunflower Garden Restaurant is an excellent place for authentic and delicious Vietnamese cuisine. The beef soup pho has a rich and flavorful broth, perfectly cooked noodles, and tender and juicy beef. The fried banana and ice cream are a delicious and refreshing dessert. I also recommend the imperial rolls and the seafood noodle soup. The staff is friendly and attentive. The restaurant is clean and airy. I highly recommend it.

Came here based on someone's recommendation. We were not disappointed! The place was clean. Ordered 7+ vegetarian dishes. Everything was well made with fine mix of spices and flavors. They accomodated all our special requests. Friendly and courteous staff. Fast service

Parking is limited to meters, a maximum of 2 hours. We ate on a weekday, so parking slightly more plentiful. The appetizer was imperial roll very good, which was crispy, freshly cooked. I did not like stuffing inside, tasted like Taro root. The Vietnamese crepe was excellent, with crisp egg flour crepe, stuffing of shrimp, sprouts, and other veg. I don't think this would be good for takeout because crepe would wilt. Combo beef noodle pho was very good. Lots of meat items with rice noodles. Soup base was average, not bone broth. Overall, the food ordered was very good. The service was very good. Ambiance typical of cafe. 4 stars out of 5.

5 stars for food. Decent portion of the pho, got food coma after finishing this bowl of sea soup. It's a different type of rice noodles they use which happens to be my favorite type. Broth flavor is rich but not oily. Imperial rolls r crunchy outside and soft inside stuffed with yummy ground pork and veggies. Beef stew noodle soup is a wow, the giant chunk of beef shank on top of it, could barely finish it. Fried banana with ice cream as dessert for a happy ending. Staff is nice. Place itself is neat and clean.

Great pho. I got the combo. The broth was flavorful. Everything that was supposed to be tender was tender. Everything that was supposed to be crunchy or chewy was crunchy or chewy. So why not 5 stars? The service was just plain rude. Worse than the expected devil-may-care service of a pho shop.

Awesome vegan food! We love the veggie imperial rolls and veggie bean curd curry, and they have a ton of other options we haven't tried. Always friendly service too!

Solid Vietnamese food in the Inner Sunset. Inside is clean and modern with hanging plants and cool decor. Fast service. Came for lunch, and we were seated right away. Portions here are humongous, and one entree could be split between two people. Ordered the sea soup and fried egg rolls. Sea soup: 7/10 Sea soup came in a giant family-sized bowl. It has a tangy sour broth that goes well with the sea food and other veggie toppings. Can be a lot on its own, and it would have been nice to have some rice next time on the side to balance out the flavor. Egg rolls: 9/10 The egg rolls were delicious, with a crispy peel and flavorful filling. The dipping sauce had a refreshing zest.

Very solid place for vietnamese food! I wanted to branch out from my go-to vietnamese places and wanted to try another place out. So Sunflower was the place to be. Located in the Sunset, this is a decently sized place. Its actually very nice inside actually. Greeted by our friendly waitress, we ended up ordering the classic Banh Xeo, and I got the Bun Rieu. I thought the Bun Rieu had a lot of good flavor to it. Not my favorite in particular, but it definitely gets the job done. It was hot, comforting, had a good flavor profile, and it had all the ingredients I was looking for to satisfy me. I'd definitely come back again! I think it's a great place for something comforting and they actually have a lot of things on their menu. The amount of stuff on it is kinda similar to Ben Tre if you've ever been there. I would definitely try something else on their list of dishes.

Fresh and good family restaurant. Wonderful customer service. Looking forward to visiting again!

Just happened upon this spot for lunch on a tuesday and it was definitely poppin! The interior is clean and there is a good amount of seating. Since it's on 9th avenue everything is street parking! Its very accessible by MUNI, so I'd recommend doing that if you can. At the end of the meal, simply go up to the stand with the register in the back to pay! Since it was my first time, I decided to try the beef combination pho ($16) Simple and delicious. I loved that there were so many types of meat included in the pho. You get thin rare steak, flank, tendon, beef meatball and tripe. If there is anything that you don't want, you can ask to sub it out for a different type of meat! The broth was much more clean and light compared to some other pho I've had. The size was also quite large and very filling. Usually I don't even like tripe, but I actually really enjoyed it this time! It was also my first time having tendon in my pho, which also pleasantly surprised me. I would highly recommend you try the combination and get all the meats if you have never had these types of meats! Overall, I'd definitely come back to try their Bun Bo Hue and other dishes :)

I really appreciated the server's attention to detail when taking the order, serving, and follow up. The food looked and tasted great. Nice ambiance and resonance prices. I got the veggie pho and a veggie pancake appetizer.

Very yummy veggie pho and good portions! i have not tried that many items on the menu but its consistently good every time I go here since they opened.on I love this place it tastes fresh and it really flavorful.Good service nd people running this place!

So as soon as we got this food, we were all quietly eating so that means the food is really good & we were hungry. It was a cloudy cold day so the noodle soup kept us warm. Parking could be a challenge but we were lucky to find one across the street. Service was awesome & nice enough to accommodate all our requests. They had a jellyfish in the fish tank when you enter but come to find out it was a fake but still cute to look at. The setting is bright & traditional. They had some cool decorations. It was a good experience.

I hope the people that work here don't laugh when they see my review because they recognize me from my hundreds of Uber Eats orders, which technically should be for 4, but they figured out pretty quickly it was for me, myself and I. There aren't not a lot of places in SF that I think do Bun Thit Nuong (pork vermicelli bowl) well, but I love Sunflower Gardens. They always get my special requests right, and they have really good Banh Bot Chien (pan fried taro/daikon cakes) which I haven't been able to find anywhere in SF!!! Anyway, thank you sunflower garden for consistently feeding me when I'm too lazy to open my fridge and sustaining my Uber Eats (negative) cash flow

Customer service - 3.5/5 Friendliness of staff 3/5 Speed of service: 3/5 Food quality 3/5 Value of Money 3/5 Cleanliness of restaurant: 3.5/5 Restaurant decor: 3.5/5 The appetizer combo rocks but everything else rolled downhill! First impression was that it's a small restaurant with many delicious Vietnamese dishes, but also other Korean and Chinese dishes as well which was different than the average Vietnamese restaurant. Our expectation was high prior to going there, especially we were in the mood for a good bowl of Bun Bo Hue spicy beef noodle soup but left disappointed, high and dry with a heavy price tag. Overall, the three soup noodles were underwhelming, below average at best, garlic noodle was soggy...need I say more. I have many Vietnamese dishes and soups but this no way close to being average. I will drive myself to San Jose tomorrow for some really great and reasonable authentic Vietnamese food! Don't walk, run away! BTW, added 1 star for the appetizer combo plate and grilled beef only. Otherwise, 2-star restaurant at best.

Great ambiance and clean inside compared to other Viet restaurants around the area. As for the food, we got the imperial rolls which were surprisingly filling given there are 5 medium size pieces. Also got the garlic noodles with rice spice chicken. Portion was big and filling.

This has been my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in SF for years. It's a casual and cozy restaurant with quick and friendly service. I came in with my 2yr old son and they were very accommodating. The food is always tasty and never disappoints. I also love that they have vegetarian options. I recommend the veggie noodle soup, and the veggie rice plate.

Had a pretty weird bowl of BBH here. It didn't taste bad but didn't really taste like BBH at all. Just sort of a fishy soup with some beef in it. Not a lot of beef or lemongrass flavor. I like my BBH pretty fishy but it should also tasty beefy and herby.

Ever since I tried the bun bo hue I been back nearly every week to have. It doesn't have all the fixings as a traditional bowl but the flavors are really good for a restaurant version. Their menu is wide range and one day I'll try some of the other stuff but so far the BBH hits the spot for my cravings. People with awkward commentary about this soup really must not have had it before. Same with the reviews for bun rieu- it's meant to be eaten the way it is not with a side of rice. Also these soups are NOT pho or any version of PHO. It is a completely different dish entirely. Anyways decent for SF.

Food suits my taste and they very aminable to adjusting spiciness level. Service is good, very friendly and place is clean, confortable.

I had a doctors appointment at UCSF and this restaurant wasn't too far away from the hospital. I decided to come by and try their Vietnamese food & soon as I saw BUN RIEU on the menu I knew this was the place to go! Parking was a bit hard to find but luckily I went in the mid afternoon when the parking lot (meter) had a few slots open. Their appetizer combo is seriously delicious, the bun rieu had so much flavor, portion was huge & I even happier that I didn't have any pork blood or pork meat in my soup. I am not a fond of those two ingredients. My husband ordered the bun bo hue which was fairly good except it needed a little more spice to it. The fresh coconut was ALSO amazing! Highly recommend: Appetizer combo Bun rieu Bun Bo hue Fresh coconut

Couple of days ago ordered seafood sauce to go , And it wasn't bad, I loved the broth so much !