Sunrise Restaurant

Best Vietnamese food in Davis. It is also relatively cheap. Food comes out fast and tastes way better than Phở King.

This little hole-​in-​the-​wall place is nothing fancy and nothing to write home about, but if you’re looking for Asian soup or dishes and don’t want to make the drive to Sac or go to Phở King 4, then this place fits the bill.
My friend and I came on a Tuesday afternoon during the first week that students were back at school this winter quarter. It wasn’t crowded at all. When you first walk in, there’s a little front room with a cash register. Apparently you can order food to go. But if you’re dining in, you’re led down the hallway to the dining area, which is a dimly lit room with a low-​ceiling and no outside windows. There are mirrors all along the wall that I imagine are to give the place a more spacious appearance.
We were seated by an elderly man and the only other employee was a middle-​aged lady. She took our orders, didn’t even have to write them down, and the man brought out our dishes. There were only about 4 other occupied tables while we were there.
Anyways, the menu isn’t too impressive. There are some rice noodle soups, wonton soup, vermicelli dishes, and a plethora of vegetarian dishes. We actually saw two other customers who had been seated after us just walk out and leave. Yes, the menu isn’t impressive. There are a few pictures on the menu that show some of the dishes, but most of them aren’t too clear.
I ended up getting wonton soup with noodles and no bean sprouts, and my friend got a tofu vegetarian dish over rice noodles. As it was a very rainy day, the soup was comforting. The broth was clear and slightly salty, with several meat wontons floating around in it, along with a large portion of your average rice noodle. There weren’t many veggies at all. Overall, there wasn’t anything amazing about it, but it wasn’t terrible either. My friend ate all of hers and I liked mine well enough.
All in all, we both got fed for $ 13.50, before tip. You can’t complain about that. They also gave us little hard fruit candies with our check. Will I come here again? Probably not. I’d make the drive to Sac for some tasty noodle soups instead!

My daughter and I stopped in here for dinner. The place has a very old and funky smell to it. There was a big screen tv on and it was very loud and caused serious sensory overload as we tried to have a conversation. There are also mirrors all around the dining area — very odd. The place must have been built in the 70’s and never updated.
I ordered a chicken, pork, and shrimp vermicelli bowl. When it came it had no chicken and 4 small pieces of shrimp and a small portion of pork. I would have asked to have it corrected but after the guy dropped our food off, we never saw him again.
Daughter said spring rolls were good as was her phở.
Reasonable prices.

My boyfriend and I enjoy this place. The customer service is great, so is the food. Our favorite is #6, along with the coconut and mango smoothies with boba.

Small family owned restaurant. I love this location! Probably my favorite restaurant in Davis. I personally believe their food is better than phở king. It’s not the best vietnamese food I have ever tasted but it’s good in davis. I love their com Tam plates, filled with rice and a pork chop that’s nicely seasoned and grilled. I also love their phở and noodle soups here because it comes out hot and flavorful!
Whenever I’m in a rush or looking for something fast and easy to eat, i always come and buy their banh mi sandwich! It’s cheap fast and easy. Overall service is on point and very friendly. Atmosphere is a bit quiet and dark but I don’t have a problem with that. I think it’s rather peaceful in their restaurant. I love the food here and I love the service and prices. I would highly recommend for someone who is looking for a new place to eat in davis!

I’ve never actually been to or ordered from the restaurant myself. The first time I tried their food was when my organization made a large order of banh mi sandwiches, so this review is strictly for that.
I got a vegetarian banh mi (banh mi chay), which had the usual basics: tofu, shredded pickled carrots & daikon, mayonnaise, soy sauce, cilantro, jalapeños, and cucumber slices.
I wish the jalapeños were more thinly cut because each bite was a total burn in the mouth. There was also a lot of mayonnaise in my sandwich (to the point where some was dripping down as I’m eating), which isn’t very appetizing.
Overall, I didn’t love it, but still enjoyed eating the vegetarian banh mi. I might give their other options a try, but I much rather get my sandwiches from Sac.

The veggie chow-​mein is pretty good, and the prices are affordable!
Minus a star because the service is so-​so.

Some of the most delicious banh mi sandwiches I’ve ever had! They are cheap and full of fillings to make it into two full meals. I tried the Chinese-​style grilled pork and was very happy! Tried another one (can’t remember which) and it was just as delicious. Try them out!

After thinking phở king 4 was the worst phở place in Davis, I came here and was proven wrong. Their 3.5 stars, compared to Phở King’s 3 stars, lead me to think this place would be aight and I’m glad I had low expectations walking in.
First off, this place smells really old/​musky. I should have known better than to stay after smelling the place. The woman was really rude, she didn’t welcome me or even acknowledged me at all. I had to ask «are you open?» before she said anything to me. I said I was a party of 1 and she lead me to the back where she threw the menu on the table and walked away. No drink order or anything. After what felt like 5 ish minutes I already knew what I wanted to order and finally a guy came – I’m assuming the pop to the mom – and took my order. He came off as really sweet.
I ordered their chicken phở and a banh mi bbq pork sandwhich. The banh mi came first and to my surprise felt warm and the bread was crisp and crunchy. Everything else sucked. I know a reviewer was complaining about soy sauce and mayo but I had close to no sauce at all. The sandwich was so dry and the carrots weren’t even pickled.
Their phở was SO disappointing. The noodles I got were stuck together as if they microwaved pre-​cooked/​instant noodles and threw it in a bowl. The woman didn’t give me a plate with bean sprouts, jalapenos, limes, and basil like I’m used to. I had to find her and ask her for side dishes, her reply you ask? «I already put bean sprouts in your soup» there was like 5 bean sprouts in the whole bowl. Finally, after ROLLING HER EYES at me, I was brought a small plate of bean sprouts, one lime, and 2 jalapeño slices.
I also would like to mention I wasn’t given chop sticks, or any silverware for the matter, and no little plate for my siracha and sauce. The broth, I would like to mention, is better than phở king’s broth.
To make matters worse is that a gentleman came in after me, and due to the lack of ventilation in this place, stunk up the place. Ugh, I thought people in Davis wore deodorant ?
I’d give them 1 star but the guy felt so nice to his core they get two.

I really wanted to support this business, but as soon as I walked in, there was this awkward old stench.
I heard the microwave going in the kitchen constantly. Everything either lacked flavor or was oily.
The beef i asked for on the side (served completely raw) has parts that were cooked. Meaning they microwaved that also .
We wiped down the tables and it was literally sooo dusty… I guess they do not have air conditioning because there were fans blowing everywhere.
Service was really inattentive.
Lastly, the sriracha was either old, or they were filling their sriracha bottles with cheaper products… It was so watery, and tasted really bad… It sucked that I could not even put it into my flavor lacking phở.

Nice and friendly service! I recommend the avocado smoothie and iced coffee. They use real avocado and use the traditional drip method for their coffee. They will also adjust the strength of coffee to your liking. Legit. Bún tht nng is also great.

Most people don’t come to Sunrise because of how it looks from the exterior but honestly, the phở here is waaay better than Phở King 4.
Whenever I’m too lazy to drive to Sac and I’m craving phở during the winter or whenever I’m sick, I always come here because Phở King just doesn’t satisfy that craving. The phở here is more flavorful, tastes more homemade, and doesn’t have as much of an MSG taste like Phở King does. Another thing I like about their phở is that they cook the bean sprouts in the soup broth first so you don’t have to put it in yourself and wait for it to cook at your table.
*Just a heads up though that the phở isn’t on the actual menu — it’s on the chalkboard outside. There’s two kinds: either chicken phở or steak phở (they’ll add beef balls in the steak phở if you ask).
Besides their phở, I’ve also had their sandwiches (banh mi) since they are sooo cheap! Make sure to always ask for an egg in your sandwich. It’ll make it ten times better, trust.

Wow, someone gave them 4 – 5 stars? This is Northern California and Davis is a college town. I expect better Vietnamese food. There are dozens of better restaurants in South Sacramento, how hard it to lure away someone to come work in Davis?
To be fair, it’s not the worse vietnamese restaurant I’ve been to, that was a restaurant in Philadelphia in the 90’s that put iceberg lettuce in the phở! ICEBERG LETTUCE! The horror.

Banh mi SHOULD NOT be made with soy sauce or off the shelf, aisle 13B, Safeway mayonnaise. (Traditionally, the «mayo» used in banh mi is actually cut with butter to add that melty feel and nutty flavor.) In all fairness, the mayo wasn’t as big of an issue for me as the shoyu. (Hawaiian slang: Soy sauce) All that salt, gave me one helluva a headache afterward.
Store front —
Great café sua da, (Vietnamese Ice Coffee), a big thumbs up… However, my banh mi combo, (combination sandwich), was interesting to say the least.
Photo —
First bite: «Why so salty… What the hell? Is that Ajinomoto?!»
*Ajinomoto is the Asian equivalent to Lawry’s Seasoning Salt. (i.e. — MSG)
After speaking to the owner, I found out it was soy sauce… WHAT?! Banh mi has a symphony of great flavors on its own, why bury it under a sh*t load of sodium? (Sigh)
Banh mi —
The customer service was very good, the husband and wife team were both friendly, personable and helpful. Banh mi pricing, $ 3.25 is relatively standard for sandwiches in areas outside of places like San Jose, Garden Grove or Westminster. ($ 2.75)
Sunrise Restaurant also offers bún, (rice vermicelli), on the menu but unfortunately, no bún bò hu,
Had an opportunity to pay Sunrise another visit, passed on the banh mi, ordered «Appetizer #18,» out of curiosity… «Wow! That’s good!!»
Photo —
Great flavor, tasty, a definite reorder in the future. ($ 4.25) Grilled pork spring rolls for the win! The meat portions started out strong but as I made my way through to the other pieces, the grilled pork seemed to diminish… ‘Not consistent throughout.
«Where’d the meat go?!» —
Thai Ice Tea ($ 2) — «M’eh»; powdered mix; gritty; very passable (*Stick with the café sua da, mucho better.)
Oh… ‘And then there was this hot mess.
«Uhm, ewww!» —
The husband and wife team are very friendly and accommodating. If you want more condensed milk, a tad sweeter, or stronger coffee flavor, don’t hesitate to ask… ‘And that goes for ordering banh mi sans shoyu.
I stopped by one day but they were closed… I’d say more about their «dead bolt» but the picture speaks for itself. Awesomeness!
Photo —
— Big Aloha!
Food: 3+
Ambiance: 2 (A bit on the dirty side; see «hot mess» photo)
Service: 4
Value: 3

This place is the taste of home for me. My relatives own a Vietnamese noodle restaurant back in the Bay and I can always expect a good bowl of phở when I miss home. I personally like this place much more than Phở King 4 because the flavors taste more developed here.
The owner is very nice here and she always asks if the meal was to our liking. I’m a bit sad that there isn’t bue bo hue here but she explained that when she did, the cooking smell was a bit overwhelming for their small kitchen and some customers complained in the past. She’s so sweet for always considering the customers first.
Aside from that, this place is a bit run down and not the cleanest but it feels like home in Chinatown for me. I can always get a Banh Mi (sandwich) for $ 3.25, which is a quick, cheap and filling lunch. My go-​to meal will always be a bowl of phở but occasionally I’d go for a vermicelli bowl or a rice plate. I can always expect something yummy from the kitchen. I love their smoothies but the three color drink is always my favorite. They do make it a bit different here with the mung beans blended and fruit jelly in it. There are also great vegetarian options available here too.
Final Thoughts: I can get a whole meal with a drink for under $ 10 dollars here, perfect for a college student’s budget. My Vietnamese food cravings can always be satisfied here.

I’m a bit of a food junky, with some picky eaters for friends. After being in Davis for almost two years I have no idea how I missed this! Amazing food and drinks, and a feeling of home. They also do good to go if you are in a hurry. The kicker, not only is it our new favorite place, IT’S HELLA NOT EXPENSIVE! I’ll be here all the time. These two sweet people make everything fresh.

Cheap Vietnamese food that is good for a quick meal in Downtown Davis. They are known for their banh mi, but also have a variety of noodle and rice dishes. You get a lot of food for less than $ 10, but its just average quality and not the best service so you get what you pay for.
A large bowl of phở tai here is 6.75 so its cheaper than phở king, but they don’t provide the garnish on the side and its overall lower quality. The meat came pretty raw which is unsightly, and it doesn’t seem as fresh as phở king’s. However Sunrise is superior in quantity, their bowl is much more filling. I wouldn’t recommend the spring rolls, they were skimpy on shrimp and again seemed to be lacking in freshness.
I have heard good things about the banh mi sandwiches and pork dishes. This place is good if you only have half an hour and are craving phở/​Viet pork, but you get what you pay for.

Amazing customer service and the food is delicious. Great hole in the wall!

We had lunch here at Sunrise Restaurant in Davis today and probably won’t return which is sad since we were craving Vietnamese food and were excited to give it a try.
We ordered their Combination Chow Fun (the noodles were really hard, dry, and just lumped together), Vegetarian Tofu with Snap Peas & Water Chestnuts (the snap peas and water chestnuts were way too soft and soggy), Grilled Pork Chop with Shredded Pork over Steam Rice (the pork chop was pre cut up which I don’t like, I feel like they are giving you pieces they may have cut up around from other customers’ orders that they didn’t finish, the meat was so dry it really felt and tasted like it was warmed up from a meal they made the day before), fried egg rolls (a bit dry, no flavor), and their springs rolls (the only thing that tasted good, fresh). It’s really a disappointment when the highlight of your whole meal is your drink (our taro milk pearl tea) and even that wasn’t all that great.
Customer service was good though but unfortunately I can’t say the same for food. Too bad since I think they can make this establishment so much better in terms of food quality. Definitely not coming back to eat.

FOOD: There are variety choices of Vietnamese food! Besides different kinds of vietnamese sandwiches, they also have: phở, spring rolls, egg rolls and vietnamese chicken salad! It tastes better than any vietnamese restaurant around Davis. The spring rolls sauce is special homemade. A plus star for the homemade orange juice instead of orange juice from concentration! Yay!
PARKING: Street parking or the parking lot accross the street
SERVICE: The owner is nice and friendly!
The only thing that doesn’t get this one so popular is because this restaurant looks so dark from outside to inside. I dont even notice it for the first time that I walk by, I thought that it closed. But when I tried the food, I come here more often!