Mong Thu Cafe

Came to SF for a conference. Wanted to try Mng Thu out. Like what others had mentioned. The restaurant was small, but clean and bright, not overly decorated. I had a bowl of bún riêu. It was good home style that included 3 cubes of pork blood. Pretty authentic, just like the way grandma used to make it.

Legit. I mean, 2 legit 2 quit!
In my never ending quest to find the perfect bowl of Phở, I might have found one of the best, if not the best in San Francisco. It’s easily moved into the top two Phở Ga in town. Actually, you know what? I’m going to say it’s #1! :)
I frequently search out new Vietnamese restaurants on the Unilocal app as I’m addicted to Phở and Mong Thu Café popped up as one I haven’t visited before, so I gave it a shot. It’s a small, tidy, clean spot in the Tenderloin run by two older women… perfect.
I ordered the Phở Ga which showed up piping hot. The first thing I noticed was how clean the broth looked and how fresh every piece of chicken, noodle, etc were. It’s important to taste the broth before you add any siracha, etc. and this one was heavenly. The bowl of soup arrived with the biggest plate of sprouts, fresh thai basil and lemon. So fresh, so clean!
Mong Thu Café, you have a huge fan here and I’ll be back soon!

I hate to fall back on the cliché about revealing a secret favorite with the world, but Mong Thu Café needs to be advertised as one of the best phở spots in SF.
My buddy Ben and I stopped in on a whim. We fully expected it to reflect it’s location in the heart of the ‘loin, but it was actually a really nice, well-​kept restaurant. Tiny, homey, and seductive with the smells of various fresh broths cooking up in the back kitchen. I went with the Phở Ga (chicken soup). It came with a ton of fresh ingredients to add, perfectly cooked noodles and a ton of tender, tasty chicken. However, the best part was the broth. This stuff was the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Every succulent sip was packed full of flavor. No soy sauce or hot sauce needs to be added, although I did anyway because I like some spice.
Now that the secret is out (not really), I encourage you to try this out. If you’ve never experienced phở before, this is the perfect initiation. If you have, prepare to up your game.

As big fans of bun mam, we were so excited to try these guys as our staple place is now out of business. However, the food here seriously fell flat.
The bun mam here was oddly sweet, muddy and seriously lacking in flavor. The portion of veggie add-​ins for our soups was seriously skimpy too. So very disappointed.
Bun Mam Soc Trang — please come back soon!
Update — just hours later, both my lady and I have horrible stomach cramps after eating here. Ugh. Avoid.

As might be testified by the number of updates to particular joints, Ima creature of habit. Another lunch @ Mong Thu, left me thinking this is my favorite Viet joint in EssF.
Had the Siu Mai which as VN tradition holds, came w/​a fresh Banh Mi (mini French Bread loaf) and a bowl of savory broth w/​3 siu mi (pork) meat balls, with cilantro on the side. Now, my favorite dish @ Mong Thu. For me it has raised my (not so critical last review), to 5 STARS, which they deserve. My Honey had Bun Mam (so predictable), and it was perfect.
It warms my heart to read other reviews that report this joint as not being visually typical of a Vietnamese Restaurant in the Tenderloin in EssF, because it is true. Mong Thu is not focused on fulfilling visual stereo types of a Viet restaurant. Mong Thu is focused on planting tasty & relatively «authentic» Vietnamese home style dishes on your table for you to enjoy. They don’t display Vietnam’s inlaid lacquerware screens, or a Tam Thap Luc (Viet version of the Japanese Koto) or have stylized Vietnamese script on the walls. Nope, visually itsa plain joint, which could be transported to Indiana with nary a narrow mind objecting.

it was different from the phở i’m used to but it was still decent. I wouldn’t go here again, though.

Simple and tasty! Mong Thu is a mom and pop shop that has a very homey feel.
Banh Mi Xiu Mai — Vietnamese meatballs w/​a toasty baguette. Dip your baguette in the sweet broth and put some meatballs on top. Delicious!
Bun Rieu — Crab and tomato based noodle soup. Perfect for a cold weather if youre not in the mood for phở.
I split everything with a friend and we were both surprising full by the end.
I’ll be back for more fast and comforting Viet food!

came here based on other reviews… it sure looks cute and clean, but i was disappointed by the food… I ordered bun bo hue with viet coffee… I actually have been craving bun bo hue and was looking forward to this meal! I’ve had my share of authentic Vietnamese food, and I want to point out that not all Vietnamese operated Vietnamese restaurants are good food… I believe this is the case… the dish lacked flavor overall, and the ingredients in the dish were not well made individually… for example, the beef pieces were tough and the noodles felt soggy… the servings, including the coffee, were small, but it didn’t matter in the end, since I didn’t feel inclined to finish my food… i had to force each bite down, which I suspect was in part due to the strange taste of the bean sprouts… anyway, I might return to try the other dishes, but definitely not the bun bo hue!

The food there is wonderful, very possibly one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the city. Don’t be intimidated by the restaurant’s friends and family who hang out there and often talk loudly, because more often than not when the waitress is too busy, one of them might volunteer to help out by taking your order and bringing you water (and they don’t even work there).

Being in the TL, I was kind of expecting Mong Thu to be a little run down Vietnamese restaurant. However, upon entering, the café was quite cute and colorful. Everything was really clean and tidy.
I ordered a bun bo hue, and the boyfriend ordered a phở ga. The phở ga was pretty light, but still savory. I thought the bun bo hue hit just the right spot. It wasn’t really spicy up front, like many other bbh I have are like. The spicy kind of sneaks up on you, at the back of your throat, but not in an overpowering way. Keep in mind though, I’m a total wimp when it comes to spicy tolerance, so this bbh might be too mild for you. In addition, the bun bo hue had a decent amount of meant, and it was all very tender. And of course it’s not bbh without the coagulated blood. Yum!
The menu here at Mong Thu isn’t the biggest, but it looks like the owners are going for quality of dishes, rather than quantity. Fine by me! There are noodle dishes on this menu you wouldn’t usually see at your typical phở places, so this is a good place to come if you want a little variety.
The prices here seemed pretty average for your typical Viet restaurant; the bill for my boyfriend and me was under $ 20. Service was prompt, but rather impersonal. However, all the workers seemed to be on a break (considering we got there at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon), so I wasn’t too concerned.
Overall, it was a decent and tasty experience. If I ever find myself in the TL again, I know I can come back :)

Very delicious food, cute and bright, clean, airy restaurant. We sampled two warm noodle dishes and both were delightful (#1 and #2). The portions were large enough to walk away with half to go and fairly priced. Service was friendly and polite. The neighborhood is unfortunately a little bit grubby but this business is a lovely oasis!

They are open at 630am in the morning. I love my soup noodles and having a place open this early for bun bo hue to go was great. Perfect before work. The portion size was very good and the huge bag of veggies they gave was so fresh. Nice hole in the wall find for bun bo hue. Fair warning… the neighborhood might not be the nicest for those not used to the area.

Love their fresh banh mi. I usually get the combination. Can’t go wrong with any choice actually.

Went there this morning after I got a scratchy throat. The phở not only helped sooth my throat but also really hit the spot. Loved the free tea as well. Hope they keep it up since I’ll be stopping by more often!

Although its venue is small, its quality exceeds that which I had expected before arrival. The menu is not very extensive, which for the indecisive makes life a bit easier, but contains all one could ask for between the phở, sandwiches, and select desserts.
I had the phở with shrimp, pork, and egg/​rice noodles. The egg noodles were especially delightful. Everything else superb.
The service was adequate. Not your 5-​star restaurant in this regard, but who needs that kinda treatment in a mellow tenderloin lunch?
To conclude, the complimentary tea was great!

I don’t know you and you don’t know me. But I do know that the phở at Mông Thu is the truth. Authentic? I don’t know and IDGAF. But I was the only cracker ass cracker there today at lunch. Crappy neighborhood? Yeah, but the inspection card says 92 so it’s cool. Friendly smiling service? Totes!
And the phở ga is THE REAL. Come here, eat phở, be happy.

The restaurant is a little gem in the TL. Id imagine a café shop in Vietnam would look exactly like this. There’s only six tables inside and it’s a very clean shop. The menu is has a handful of choices but they focus on what they do best. My favorite is the bun mam which is never on the menu unless you’re in Orange County and there’s a higher chance of finding this dish. Its pretty authentic in flavor since it’s such a pungent dish.
Good vietnamese food is pretty hard to find here in the city and this is definitely a top choice of mine.
As always, cash only.

A Hidden Gem. If your in the TL area and want to try some authentic Vietnamese good, Mong Thu is the place. Thumbs up for the cleanliness. We had the:
Bun mang vit — duck noodle soup with bamboo shoot
Meatballs and bread
Bun Rieu
Bun Bo hue.

From the few reviews I read, it seemed Mong Thu was some gross hole in the wall — I imagined Tu Lan pre-​reno (*shudders*). It turns out, Mong Thu is quite clean and tidy, with about 6 small tables and TV playing random Vietnamese things like flowing waterfalls and local ads.
I couldn’t help but also order the delicious looking Xiu Mai ($ 5) — 4 STARS: 3 Large Vietnamese meatballs in a bowl of sweet but savory clear broth and topped with diced carrots, cilantro and pepper. It tasted really fresh. The broth was sweeter and thicker than I imagined/​hoped. Served on the side for dipping, a large fresh baguette.
Phở Ga ($ 8) — 3.5 STARS:
Not comparable to Turtle Tower (and they use thin phở rice noodles here). But it was simple and tasty and hits the spot. Comes with a generous portion of fresh bean sprouts jalapeños and herbs.
Café Sua Da ($ 3) — 3.5 STARS:
Cheaper in the morning! Good and strong but a bit too sour and not enough espresso.
While the meatballs were tasty, they were a bit too sweet for me. I would still recommend it for a nice, cheap lunch. Can’t wait to come back to try the rest of their menu!
CASH ONLY.

What an odd place. Not bad, just odd. It looks like no other Vietnamese restaurant in Little Saigon. In fact, I would scarcely call it a restaurant. It’s a small café painted in light pastels as if the owner had a Laura Ashley decorating obsession… where are the paisley-​print throw pillows? (photo:
). It appears to come with its own set of regulars like an episode of «Cheers» set in Hanoi. Two formica tables were fully occupied by a boisterous crew of Vietnamese yelling and laughing at each other in the most gregarious way (photo:
). That just left the front table for me, so I sat down and perused the glossy menu — pictures of eight soup and noodle bowls and combos on one side and eight banh mis listed on the other (photo:
).
It was early Sunday morning, so I just ordered the $ 8 Hu Tieu Mi, which was a large bowl of shrimp, pork and cilantro swimming with a combination of rice and egg noodles (photo:
). I didn’t personally find it as satisfying as a bowl of phở at Turtle Tower, but it worked in a pinch if you’re hungry for something that wasn’t too heavy. It came with a complimentary glass of hot tea and another one of ice water with lime (photo:
). The rest of the customers either didn’t acknowledge my existence or just presumed I was part of the «family» since one guy was picking his teeth and another was making kvetching noises as if he had a major fur ball in his esophagus. I guess I’ll bring my mah jong set next time.
FOOD — 3 stars… pretty good bowl of noodles and meat, just not the best
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… the obvious feminine touch makes this a unique place in a dicey neighborhood
SERVICE — 3 stars… pretty quiet versus the customers
TOTAL — 3 stars… a different side of Little Saigon