This vibrant Vietnamese spot tantalizes with its standout roasted crab and fragrant garlic noodles, ensuring a flavorful feast that'll keep you coming back.
"The Vietnamese spice blend, difficult to pin down and definitely a secret (other than the garlic), makes the crab served at this restaurant totally unlike any other served along the water in San Francisco. The crispy rice paper rolls, a $7.50 starter of button mushrooms, and a blend of chicken and pork, will get you started in the right direction." - Paolo Bicchieri
"This Vietnamese institution in the Sunset is packed nightly with groups of friends and families in plastic bibs raising a toast with lychee martinis and waving around crab leg crackers like sparklers. Safe to say, Thanh Long is a seafood party. Pepper-coated whole roasted crabs are the centerpiece on every table, as are bowls of buttery garlic noodles that we would gladly accept in place of presents any day. Spending an evening at this spot with butter-covered fingers is a rite of passage for anyone in the city, and one you should absolutely experience for your special day." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez
"Thanh Long is one of the only restaurants we know of that guards its recipes with the same level of secrecy reserved for the CIA. The garlic noodles and roast crab at the Vietnamese seafood spot in the Sunset are still made in a separate area enclosed within the main kitchen—and the commitment to confidentiality pays off. The noodles are butter-drenched, the whole crabs are peppery (and also doused in butter), and both still draw crowds from all over the Bay for first or 75th birthdays, graduation parties, and work promotions with multiple rounds of lychee martinis." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, lani conway
"This understated Vietnamese restaurant out by the beach lays claim to having invented the garlic noodle and crab combination that’s since become a Bay Area staple. Obviously, then, a whole roasted crab seated over a pool of garlicky, peppery butter sauce is a must, along with a bowl of bouncy egg noodles absolutely smothered in more garlic." - Dianne de Guzman, Justine Jones
"The expectation may be that the finest Dungeness crab dishes can only be found along the wharf, and while indeed that’s the place to go for buying freshly caught dungies to cook at home, crab aficionados usually make the trek to Thanh Long in the Sunset. There, Dungeness crab stars alongside luscious garlic noodles, a classic San Francisco food in its own right pioneered by Thanh Long itself. One can’t go wrong with these two dishes at the table." - Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff
