Bodega SF

Bodega SF had been on our list for a while, especially after seeing it ranked in The Infatuation’s top 20 restaurants in San Francisco, so we were excited to finally try it. We made a reservation for a Wednesday night and were seated quickly upon arrival, while there was a noticeable line for walk ins. The space has a trendy, lively atmosphere that sets the tone for a fun dining experience. We ordered a variety of dishes: steamed rice rolls, tiger prawns, stir fried pho noodles, mushrooms with quail eggs, and crab fat fried rice. There were definitely some highlights. The tiger prawns and mushrooms with quail eggs were standouts, and I especially loved the stir fried pho noodles since they felt unique and creative compared to typical noodle dishes. However, not everything landed. My sister and mom found the filling in the steamed rice rolls to be a bit dry, and the crab fat fried rice did not quite work for us as a combination of flavors. Service was the main downside of the evening. Although the restaurant was busy, our waiter passed by our table multiple times without stopping to take our order, and our food took over 20 minutes to arrive. Overall, Bodega SF offers a stylish setting and some memorable dishes, but the experience was mixed due to inconsistent execution and service.

Dined here for lunch with my colleagues recently since I’ve been wanting to try this place and it was great! Our reservation was at 11:30a and by then, they had a couple of customers. Since it was earlier in the day, service was slower, but that’s to be expected as they start their day. We decided to order two appetizers: banh cuon & grilled lemongrass wings. My colleagues ordered the dry noodles, pho and I had the lemongrass pork chops and sub garlic noodles for rice (which was the move). We were all happy with our orders & would definitely return!

Server took a while to take our order after we sat down so the service wasn’t as attentive. The bun cha and nem cua were delicious! Although the serving portion were small(especially the rice vermicelle) for these. Bo tai chanh was delicious and authentic! Bo luc lac was pretty dry. The bo luc lac and vegetarian thit kho mushroom didn’t come with rice or any sides which I find is a bit odd for Vietnamese food. The pandan coffee tonic was not a highlight of the meal, the pandan and coffee flavor did not go well together in my personal preference. A recommendation I would add for the restaurant is to serve some of the dishes with side of chilies, siracha, soy sauce, fish sauce, etc. Maybe a spice rack would be nice. I think this would elevate the flavors of Vietnamese food to the another level.

This restaurant has a different interpretation on Vietnamese food. Some people raves about it and others complain. There’s different menus for lunch and dinner. Lunch has Pho, chicken wings, spring rolls etc. Dinner menu omits all that’s offered at lunch, and offers more sophisticated dishes. Tried the special of the day and it was not great. Angel hair pasta fried with seafood and topped with crab meat. It was too dry to eat!! Service was ok. Atmosphere is ok… nothing outstanding. Food was lukewarm.

Came here after a long day of work and it was really solid food! Good: - This place is beautiful! It's so nicely lit - Great for a date or 1-1 catchup - The crab fat fried rice was amazing! - I also really liked the vermicelli dish but it was so small - the sauce was so good! Bad: - Pretty expensive food, ended up paying $88 for 2 people - Took a while to get our food - The portions are really small for how much you pay Overall wouldn't come again unless I had a gift certificate - it's so expensive.