Straits Restaurant
333 Santana Row #1100, San Jose, CA 95128, United States
Pan asian restaurant in the center of a beautiful shopping mall. Free parking, tons of shopping & eateries nearby. Good food, good service, nice modern decor but it might not suit some, a bit noisy, maybe a bit too dim.
SA BY THAI Restaurant
62 W Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95113, United States
This Asian restaurant is right at the edge of the heart of downtown area. This restaurant is open till midnight. However the quality of the Thai food is pretty mediocre. I mean I would love it if I were drunk. If people cant even cook chicken properly then they have some issues. The soups are blant and when you ask em if they can make it Thai level spicy, they will throw some jalapeños in you face. Wow! Limited parking. I would have given it two stars but I feel like th eery will get better. I will give it one more shot soon.
Nam Vang Restaurant
2477 Alvin Ave, San Jose, CA 95121, United States
I always have the dilemma of either getting the #1 Special Hu Tieu (with soup on the side) and the banh loc xao with an egg on top because theyre both so delicious. The #1 is really tasty though there doesnt seem to be a huge difference between the small and the large portions. Both dishes are pretty consistent with how they taste no matter what day or time I go.The restaurant itself is kind of meh really. Its located in an Asian shopping plaza that seems to be pretty run down. Sometimes when you go in, youll notice tables that havent been cleared yet (dishes just sitting on empty tables) and that could be off-putting. The staff do not offer the best service: they dont check up on your table or refill your water. The tables and chairs are crammed together as though the owners wanted to maximize as many people in the space as possible, so that means feeling like sardines in a can if you happen to go during a busy time. I would recommend going during the dinner hours as it seems fairly empty during that time compared to lunch.If they didnt have such tasty food, I doubt that I would really go to this place so my rating is based mainly on the food and why I keep coming back despite everything else.
Elements Restaurant
6471-10 Almaden Expy, San Jose, CA 95120, United States
I had the pleasure of dining at Elements, the Euro Asian restaurant, and it was an absolute delight! The appetizers were a tantalizing introduction to the culinary journey that awaited me. Each bite was a harmonious fusion of European and Asian flavors, leaving me eager for what was to come. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly the rack of lamb. Its no exaggeration when I say it was the best Ive ever had. Cooked to perfection, the lamb was tender, succulent, and packed with flavor that lingered on my taste buds. The skillful blending of ingredients truly showcased the restaurants commitment to culinary excellence.Equally impressive was the service. The staffs attentiveness and knowledge of the menu made the experience even more enjoyable. Their passion for providing an exceptional dining experience was evident in every interaction. From start to finish, the evening was a symphony of flavors and impeccable service that left a lasting impression. Elements has truly mastered the art of creating a remarkable dining experience, and Im already looking forward to my next visit to savor more of their exquisite dishes.
Pho Viet Restaurant
2557 N First St, San Jose, CA 95131, United States
First ImpressionsDespite the abundance of pho places around the airport, Pho Viet Restaurant stands out. My daughter and I arrived early, and although it took the staff a while to notice us due to a large order from Uber Eats or DoorDash, once they did, they immediately took care of us.The Dining ExperienceOur Order:I ordered a large Chicken Soup with white (rice) noodles, while my daughter opted for a smaller portion of the same dish. The wait time was around 15 minutes, but it was more than worth it when our bowls arrived. The size of the soup bowl was impressive—pictures just dont do it justice.Service Excellence:My daughter accidentally added too much chili sauce to her bowl, but the staff was incredibly kind and replaced the broth, transferring the noodles to a new bowl without any extra charge. This level of customer service truly enhanced our dining experience.Taste and Quality:The food was excellent. The chicken soup was well-balanced, with a generous amount of chicken complementing the flavorful broth and noodles. The Vietnamese iced coffee was also very good, providing a perfect ending to our meal.Price:The prices are reasonable, with dishes ranging from $15-20 per plate and drinks between $5-10. Considering the quality and portion sizes, its a great value for money.Final ThoughtsIt seemed we were the only customers there, aside from the Uber and DoorDash drivers. I truly wish more people would give this place a shot. The parking was easy, as there wasnt much traffic around this location. My only minor gripe was the wobbling tables, which I hope they fix soon.If youre in the area and craving some delicious Southeast Asian cuisine, I highly recommend checking out Pho Viet Restaurant. Its a hidden gem that deserves more recognition!for more reviews:Twitter: @RealPreciadoBlog: iwashere.blog
New Krungthai Restaurant
580 N Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128, United States
Soup is OK, but meat is not tender at all. Curry tasted bad. Mango is OK.Service is bad. They tried to send customers out as soon as possible. Rushing to order, to collect plates, to pay bills. But generally, acceptable for Asian restaurants.Price is about 2x of what you saw on google to go list or old photos.Warning!!! They by default charge 18% tip after including tax, but not tell the customers. In the final bill to sign, it asks for tips one more time based on the amount of original price+tax+18%tip. This is ridiculous. I would love to pay tips and be generous to waiters, but not in a cheating way. Will report this behavior to local consumer organization
Jade China Restaurant
2524 Berryessa Rd, San Jose, CA 95132, United States
We decided to have dinner here this evening. We arrived at 5:20pm. We waited 5 mins to place our order and were told our food would be ready in 25 min. We went back to the car and waited. After 25 minutes we returned to the restaurant to see if our order was ready. It was NOT, we waited longer and after 40 minutes we checked again. It was still not ready. A couple of minutes later they came out and told me they were out of salt and pepper wings were no longer available! Are you kidding me after 45 minutes youre going to tell me that you dont have an item from my order? My order finally came out after 55 minutes. Have you ever waited 55 minutes for Chinese food at a takeout restaurant? However, no one told us it was our order sitting at the counter. Some man even put his hands all over my food, which actually grossed me out. After another five minutes they called our name and told us that was our food sitting there. At that point I wanted to tell them I just want to refund because the food been sitting there for five minutes and some man touched it. I really dont want to eat your food. But I had s three hungry people waiting for dinner so I picked it up and brought it home. It was cold.lwas disgusting and had no flavor. The chicken chow mein smelled and tasted like cigarettes. Save your time, save your money youre better off at panda express for a quarter of the price (we spent $72 for 5 items). Do you think somebody said sorry for the wait? They dont care, sad the way this business is ran, surprised at how many customers they had. I guess our area needs a new Chinese restaurant.
Sun-Ly Chinese Restaurant
1075 Tully Rd #28, San Jose, CA 95122, United States
You would think that a small corner restaurant would be clean, but no. This restaurant lowered my expectation for being clean, friendly, and getting the best bang for your buck. While we were eating inside the 4x8 place the floor was dirty and there was still food on the table. The chefs walked outside and were being obnoxiously loud, they started smoking right in front of the door of the restaurant and the fumes were coming in. After that experience the chefs walk inside and start cooking NOT even spending at least 10 seconds to wash their hands. After those experiences I would not like anyone to experience what I saw. Even the lady who was serving us was sooo lazy she barely even gave us Eye contact just to look up from her phone. This place does not even deserve 1 star.
Gaku Restaurant
5152 Moorpark Ave #40, San Jose, CA 95129, United States
Wasnt impressed the first time but gave it several chances. Having dined here multiple times both before and after quarantine, I have a well-rounded overall picture of the place by now, in both pre-plague and post-restaurant-pocalypse conditions.Back of house masking incorrectly. Pointless. Might as well not mask at all. Hope theyre all vaxxed.The menu is (and always has been) hit or miss, mostly miss.This solidified my suspicion that most izakaya/robata joints are not the place to get raw fish. The 3 levels of bluefin sashimi (akami, chuu toro and o toro) were all fishy, sliced poorly, and the o toro was stringy and fell apart. The mixed plate of 2pcs each was not as good a deal as getting the 3 individual full 5pc orders so we went for that despite it being $85 rather than $38.50. But it was a mistake. I felt queasy from the fishiness.Ive had better and cheaper bluefin at Izaka-ya which is a much lower end izakaya-style Japanese restaurant.Even the cooked fish here wasnt great. The steamed ankimos texture was off. The ponzu jelly was interesting and tasty but that being the only ponzu made the ankimo really dry, and trying to scrape it off the stone plate was an exercise in futility.The yaki onigiri was okay but the uni on it tasted like plastic. The shiso leaf overpowers most of the other flavors (but the plastic taste).A couple of the skewers were good, while others were so drenched in sweet glaze they tasted like meat dessert.
Lanna Thai Restaurant
2043 Camden Ave, San Jose, CA 95124, United States
Ive only been here once. Service was nice and friendly. The prices were a bit steeper than other nearby thai places, but the food was bland and there was less of it compared to those places. We had tom ka and two different pad thai orders as well as thai iced tea.*The tom ka was much sweeter than anywhere else Ive had it. It wasnt bad, it was just different. It was decent flavor once we adjusted to the sweetness. The veggies in it were cooked just the right amount to still have a bit of bite, but not require effort to eat.*The pad thais were different. One was thai hot and with shrimp. The texture of the noodles was decent in that one and the heat covered the lack of flavor.*The other pad thai was medium spicy and with tofu. We did have to request that the tofu was fried as they said they normally serve soft tofu in it, so be aware of that if youre a crispier tofu fan. The heat level was on par with what Id consider mild and the veggies were again cooked just right. The noodles, however, were over soft and soggy feeling and didnt have any bite to them, but worst of all, they didnt have much flavor to them.* The thai iced tea was a bit thinner/waterier than most thai tea and it was definitely not at the top of my favorite cups of thai tea list, but wasnt horrible, however for $4.50 for a tapered and therefor smaller than it appears container or $5.50 without ice, its taste was not in line with its price.It was overall an ok but mildly disappointing dinner. The atmosphere and service was nice, but the food was just ok and the prices werent in line with what they were serving.