Freshroll Vietnamese Rolls and Bowls

I love getting their lemongrass pork rolls. So flavorful! I’ll admit I haven’t really tried any of the other proteins or ways to hold said proteins, but that’s just because I don’t want to mess with a good thing. LOL. I also like getting their Vietnamese iced coffee and taro chips. Their limeade was a little too sour for me, but then again, I’m not much of a sour person anyways so it’s to be expected. Hahahaha.
The only downside is that the rolls tend to fall apart once you get halfway through one. I can’t say for sure if that’s a normal thing or not or if it may be due to my own messiness, so it doesn’t faze me much.

Peppers, bean sprouts are supposed to be placed in another bowel rather than dumping in the noodle bowel. So, the phở was not even close to the average.
The roll may be good but I do not know.

Food is fresh and service is quick…

ROLLS ROLLS ROLLS. Fast and easy if you want to get your Vietnamese fresh rolls.
My co workers & I love coming here, it is literally a 3 min walk from our office. We always get the fresh rolls and then you can choose a choice of pork, chicken and shrimp. I usually get the chicken, they marinate it really well. Then I get it with lettuce, crispy shallots (a must), bean sprouts and pickled vegetables. They sometimes add TOO much lettuce and make your spring roll look fat, you can ask for less. You get to pick your choice of sauce, highly recommend the ginger sauce, it compliments very well!
There is another location that serves phở. Kind of wish they served phở in this location also since they already have the ingredients there.

Don’t know how some people put up with the crappy phở. Pay extra 5 bucks just to get some broth that fills up halfway and super cold. Extremely disappointed.

I’ve always been a Freshroll fan, but recently I started a ketogenic diet thing and have to rediscover all my old favourites. Luckily, Freshroll holds up well. For low/​no carb options, go for the bowl with salad instead of noodles or rice. The rest of the veggies and meat options are easy from there out, though you’ll want to avoid pineapple (how I miss thee).
When ordering the salad bowl it would be great if they compensated by adding more of the rest of the veggies IMO.
Today’s line up was super minimal at 1:30pm, only 3 people in front of me when I rolled in.

I went there with my co worker for the first for lunch and I got the chicken and lemon grass pork. It was quick, delicious and worth it.

Freshroll has built up quiet a devout following among my coworkers, myself included. Is it authentic? Probably not. Is it the best freshroll in SF? I don’t care. It’s delicious, filling and a healthy alternative to a sandwich or other quick lunch options in the FiDi area. You can’t go wrong with their rolls — I recommend the tofu + pork paired with «the standard» and either the vinaigrette or nam nam sauce (not advertised, but just ask for it). If you’re a little crunched for time, order online and pick it up 20(ish) minutes later.

I am upping the score. The quality is really good and this time, i got more meat! so maybe it was a one-​off last time. :)

I LOVE the Fresh Rolls here, although it’s the only thing I ever get I am tempted to try something else but I always give in to the rolls. Typically I get chicken, everything on it and a side of Grandma’s Peanut sauce and a small bag of Taro chips.

The line at Freshroll is intimidating and bear in mind that it does take about as long as it looks like it will. When I came in, I had to stand outside of the door for a minute because the line had reached the wall inside the restaurant, so for a line that size, it took 15 minutes from start to finish. Most of the rollers work quickly, there was one who was slower, but there really isn’t a super quick way to do this process.
Pro tip: you can order two different dipping sauces. I got the peanut sauce (because I didn’t realize you could get two until I saw the next person in line do it) and it was OK, but definitely on the low end of the peanut sauce spectrum. You can tell that they thin the sauce with water so it makes it pretty bland. It would be better if they used rice wine vinegar instead.
I got the standard fillings but they were out of jalapeño so the guy offered to sub Sriracha which was nice of him and it hit the spot, not too spicy, but still had a kick.
My biggest curiosity was about whether three fresh rolls would be substantial enough to fill you up and the answer is yes, and then some. They are heftier than the ones you get as an app. at a restaurant and they have more protein in them (restaurants usually use a thin sliver of shrimp and these ones contain a spoonful of shrimp per roll). I would say you could go with the bowl, the rolls or the bahn mi and be totally satisfied, if not unable to finish.
My rolls, even though the guy who helped me was super friendly and seemed to be really good at his job, were rolled a little too loosely, so they kind of fell apart. There was one guy who was rolling even more loosely so I would imagine those would be really hard to eat.
I saw as I was leaving that a girl in line presented a stamp card and I was sad I hadn’t been offered one since I was buying two orders of rolls (one for my co-​worker). Those stamp cards can really entice people to come back so I would recommend management encourage their cashier to offer them to patrons who do not present one.
It’s very reminiscent of Sushirito in the line and the price department. So that’s a bummer. My standard rolls with shrimp were almost $ 12 after tax and as I said before, it was a pretty long wait.

I used to frequent one of their other locations, but I’ve stopped at this location now a few times. If you thought having more locations would mean a reduction in the lines, you thought wrong! Good thing the line moves quickly.
I typically order the pork or chicken rolls with «The Standard» and I have never had a bad experience. Also make sure to load up on sauces before you leave if you’re taking it to go!

I used to like this place and I used to visit the location at the metreon pretty frequently. I haven’t been in a while and this is my first time at this location.
I’ve been to the other one since they changed the format and limited the veggie choice and got rid of some of the veggies, so I’ll gripe a bit on here about that since I just had it again today.
I start with the negatives, the price has gone way up from where it used to be. They also limited the veggies and got rid of one of my favorites (red bell pepper). They limited the sauces to two small sauces. At the other location, they used to have the sauce on the outside and you could put whatever you want on it. I also had a few pieces of meat that were all gristly and un-​edible. I know that can happen from time to time, but it definitely didn’t help with my experience. The line moves pretty slowly as well, but that isn’t their fault.
The positives, the veggies are fresh, the food is pretty tasty, the service is nice.
I wish they went back to how they used to be.

Let me just start by saying that I am Vietnamese, and I have lived in the most populated area of Vietnamese in the Bay Area (South Bay). I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes while eating this and getting super angry bc I just spent $ 9 bucks for some noodles, veggies and a bit of rubbery protein? NO. What thievery is this? But then I got to thinking… I’m not paying $ 9 for the food, I’m paying for rent costs! And we all know how ridiculous rent is in SF!
I do have some positives to this place though! The to-​go containers and the peanut sauce were very nice touches to my 3 fat rolls.

Another Chipotle-​esqe fast casual restaurant, this one focusing on Vietnamese food with summer roll, sandwich and bowl options. I like summer rolls and I really appreciate the freshness of them being made to order. Overall, a good experience except for the protein seeming a bit too skimpy and too room temperature.
Fresh Roll with «The Standard» & Crispy Goodness: The Standard is pretty standard, essentially the same mix of veggies and noodles you’d expect from a traditional Vietnamese joint. The Crispy Goodness is a pastry wrapped scallion that runs the whole length of the roll and adds a scattering crunchy texture to each bite. It’s kinda like having a mini spring roll hidden instead of a summer roll. I’m a fan of texture mixing, so I liked it.
Lemongrass Pork: Liked the marinade. Probably would have been better if warmer.
Grilled Chicken: Didn’t really stand out, was kind of boring protein.
Crispy Tofu: Had a smoky marinade. Though it was fried, it wasn’t really that crispy… at least not compared to the Crispy Goodness.
Grandma’s Peanut Sauce: Like the typical peanut sauce, but less thick and peanut buttery. I’ve had better.
Citrus Ginger: Appears like a salad dressing, but also like a really tangy dipping sauce.
Chicken Phở Broth: Refreshing, kinda like bone broth before bone broth was a fad. Might have had a bit too strong a cinnamon taste though.

My wife, parents, and I had Freshroll for lunch during a recent trip to San Francisco. We all agreed that it was delicious! I had three rolls (shrimp, chicken, and pork) and they were outstanding. My favorite was the lemongrass pork! My wife decided to have the chicken in a bowl, which was also another very good choice. The Vietnamese vinaigrette and citrus ginger sauces both tasted delicious as dressings for the salad. Finally, my parents had the lemongrass pork as a sandwich. This too was outstanding. The bread was nice (not too heavy with the right amount of crispness) and the sandwich tasted fresh: a nice balance of tastes between the pork, NamNam sauce, vegis, and cilantro. My only regret is that they do not have a location in Arizona where we live. We will definitely return the next time we visit San Francisco.
PS: Don’t let the line during lunch fool you. The service is quick and they are very good at keeping the line moving!

Typical SF downtown prices… $ 9+ for three small Vietnanese fresh rolls. I chose three different proteins (pork, chicken, and tofu) today. Honestly, the proteins weren’t very appealing to me; the meat looked and tasted «boiled» instead of «grilled» and the tofu was dry/​hard. Wish they could throw in more of the basic ingredients (lettuce, sprouts, carrot, cucumber, and vermicelli)!
Not sure if I’d come back and definitely not on a weekly basis. Love the crispy shallots and jalapeños though.

Great slightly cheaper lunch option in FiDi area. It’s a chipotle style vietnamese place that offers sandwhiches, bowls, and rolls. The sandwhiches have nicely toasted bread and give a lot of meat/​pickled veggies for $ 7.99 plus tax. The standard toppings include sauce, picked carrots and radishes, cilantro, and optional jalapeño. Service is friendly and fast since they have multiple people at the ordering station as well as two cash registers.

Returned (twice now) and was impressed. They got it together now and the place is packed. Fish sauce was zingier. Good concept!

Just in time for the much anticipated opening of the spanking new Target Express, Freshroll decided to open a second outlet right across the street. I do ask myself what my life has become when I get excited about the imminent opening of a mini-​Target, but then I see Jamie W.‘s palpable excitement and realize I am not alone in my cloistered suburban sensibilities. After all, the big breakthrough was when Target opened at the Metreon revitalizing a retail space that previously looked like a prime candidate for the wrecking ball. Perhaps following the same path, Freshroll looks like it’s trying to duplicate its own success at the Metreon by arriving on Bush where ironically another like-​minded chain, Freshii, previously failed.
Judging from the opening week queues, the reality is that there is a built-​in appetite among FiDi workers for their Chipotle-​style operation. One marginal disappointment with this specific location is that they weren’t able to secure a permit to allow them to make the phở bowls. They can sell you the chicken phở broth for what it’s worth at $ 1.99 but not the whole shebang. So I had time to ponder my alternate strategy while in line with the overhead menu front and center (photo:
). I decided to go for the $ 8.49 Specialty Rolls, a trio where I could sample the Lemongrass Pork, Roasted Chicken and Baked Tofu at the same time (photo:
). The «standard» packaging would suit me fine — lettuce, bean sprouts, cilantro, cucumber, crispy shallots, pickled veggies and jalapeños.
I threw caution to the wind and paid the $ 0.99 surcharge for avocado, and to top it off, among the four sauces they offered, I went with the richest one, Grandma’s Peanut Sauce (photo:
). Wait, there’s more. I also ordered a $ 1.99 bag of their Homemade Taro Chips to add a little sweet crunch to my lunch (photo:
). When I got back to my office to gorge on it, I have to admit I was surprised I enjoyed it, especially the roast chicken selection, since my memories of their Metreon operation are less than charitable when I tried the salad bowl on a couple of occasions there. I have yet to try those here or the sandwiches, but I probably will and hopefully won’t be disappointed. Meanwhile, the three roasted chicken rolls will do me just fine.
FOOD — 4 stars… the rolls rock for a lunchtime option amid the salads and sammies in the immediate vicinity
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… tight quarters for dining in but just fine for a take-​out spot
SERVICE — 3 stars… new, enthusiastic and predictably programmed
TOTAL — 4 stars… a chain that appears to be improving over time by following Chipotle’s success formula