Blue Monkey Cafe & Restaurant

Blue Monkey Cafe is a unique restaurant, first time visited this restaurant was a very pleasant experience and food was delicious. Our recent experience was ordering food for pick up and it was the same quality if you were to eat in. Ordered a large Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm and large Bún Chả Hà Nội, my wife and I both tasted this dish when we visited VN and Blue Monkey did and excellent job in transporting us back to our VN trip. The type of ingredients and the freshness of the dishes were on point. The portion they do no skimp out which we appreciated. You can tell this place does take pride in the dishes they make by the presentation and quality they select and it shows. If you are seeking that unique dish you had in Vietnam, Blue Monkey Cafe is worth trying, what stands out about this restaurant is that they have manage to capture the main regions of Vietnam with the dishes they offer very well, representing Northern, Central and Southern cuisine which is a fresh take on the many “standardized” Viet restaurants in SJ. Take a peek at their menu, you will see dishes not commonly offered at other restaurants. For sure we will be back for the Bún Chả Hà Nội and the friendly service. Keep up the great work Blue Monkey!

A HIDDEN GEM IN SAN JOSE You want bánh mì? They have bánh mì chảo (a creative version of bánh mì that's super popular in VN). You want hot pot? They have lẩu thái (hot pot broth with flavors from Thailand and the Mekong Delta). Blue Monkey is the most underrated Vietnamese restaurant in San Jose. Their menu is massive and delicious. What really sets them apart are the dishes that I haven't seen anywhere else outside of Vietnam. You can tell the chefs aren't cutting corners for the 'standard' palate; they are cooking with soul and heritage. If you're looking for creative and locally loved Vietnamese dishes that are beyond your typical Americanized Vietnamese menu, come here!

MOST AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE SPOT IN THE BAY AREA Don't let the rating fool you! There's a huge amount of sketchy reviews that are posted to target vietnamese restaurants in this area and Blue Monkey seems to be the victim of it. The price here is cheaper than most restaurants in the Bay Area! Most Vietnamese places specialize in one style, but Blue Monkey manages to represent the North, Central, and South with incredible precision. They even have specialty dishes that I thought I’d have to fly to Vietnam to taste again. If you care about the quality of the food and the authenticity of the recipes, do yourself a favor and skip the 'trendy' spots for Blue Monkey. The staff consist of both vietnamese and asian americans but the majority is these sweet Vietnamese aunts and uncles. They're often shy and speak little English so there might be minor miscommunication sometimes but don't worry. If you can look past that you'll find them very sweet and they just want to serve you hot food as fast as possible :)

Casual Vietnamese food with a lot of seafood specialties and very efficient service. One of the best and most popular restaurants in this competitive Viet plaza! I’ve been here a few times and tried a lot of their menu and everything is consistently good. However, the popular item is definitely A1 which is a huge platter with vermicelli, pork belly, fish cake, shrimp paste, fresh veggies to assemble yourself in a rice paper wrapper. The small portion is good for one person, and the larger ones are great to share with a table. The seafood is another popular option. Super fresh and cooked perfectly. My favorites are the razer clams or the scallop. They come with a spicy green sauce and seasoning on top that really highlight the fresh flavor of the seafood. Some of my personal favorites are the turmeric fish (A3) which is a fragrant and lightly fried fish which you wrap in rice paper and the crispy chicken that comes with purple rice. Honestly you can’t go wrong with ordering anything, the whole menu is good. English communications are limited but the menus are in English with a lot of nice photos for me to point at :)

Genius food! You have to visit here multiple times to try all dishes! Giving 5 stars for the food. The fish soup was so delicious!