French Baguette

The Vietnamese sandwich left quite a bit to be desired. I had their banh mi quite a few times when it was Hi Tea and I thought it was ok. Under the new name and/​or owners its just not good.
True its under $ 5 which in near impossible to find downtown and its a big sandwich which is a plus but that’s it. I got the #1 which is Vietnamese ham and pâté along with a big ol’ cold baguette. They put a generous slab of cold cut ham and chunks of pâté, stuffed some slightly pickled carrots and daicon and an unpickled cucumber slab, then topped it with a half a bunch of parsley for the finish. Yes I’m stuffed and I have change in my pocket from the $ 5 bill I gave them but that’s it. No flavor whatsoever. I will not be making a trip here again for their sandwiches.

Closed?! WTF! Thoroughly average to mediocre, but I’m still sad it’s gone. The garlic noodles were the only really good dish I ever had here. I mostly ran in to buy the pre-​prepared spring rolls because it’s across the street from my building. Now I don’t have anyplace with a grab-​n-​go lunch on my block. No, Walgreens’ sandwiches don’t count!!!

ITS CLOSED NOW! Windows covered up. I’m soooo sad!!!

Surprised to find poor average rating on this place. Overall food is ok, not the best but not the worst. I think they deserve a better rating.
I used to love their tomato crab soup noodles, but they stopped serving that. My coworkers and I really miss those ugly meat balls. They weren’t very attractive but the flavor (I think crab) that was inside the ball was so flavorable! Anyway, I still come (at least once a week) for their Vietnamese sandwiches (approx $ 7). The pickled veggies in the sandwiches are yummy! Sometimes I get the beef phở, but noodles are not To-​Go friendly. I actually like this place better than the noisy V restaurant on Mission & 1^st. Workers here are nice. My only complaint is their milk tea and thai ice tea.

I work right around the corner from French Baguette, so I occasionally drop by for their phở. I’m surprised to see so many negative reviews on Unilocal!
I usually pay 10 bucks for their #11 which is a combination phở with various types of beef (beef ball, tripe, beef slices, etc.) and I really enjoy it. In particular I’m a big fan of the soup here… every time I get I drink all of the soup because it has a very nice meaty flavor to it.
I’m a very picky eater and don’t like chives or cilantro, so I ask them to leave that out of the phở and they’re very good about that.
It’s a small restaurant, so seating can be hard to find sometimes, but I’ve gotten lucky every time and manage to snag a seat right as someone is leaving. The trick is to come here in very very small groups (2 people is probably best) if you’re coming during the lunch rush.
Service is fast, last time I was here my coworker and I got our phở within minutes of ordering!
Decent phở place in downtown and it really hits the spot on those cold windy afternoons.

For fidi and phở that you will undoubtedly add two sriracha and two hoisin packets its a 4. Purists or those who’ve spent time in se asia, a 3. But on a cold day in sf, it’s perfect.
I go early at 11 – 11:30 before the Lunch rush and never wait long.
Love the #10 and #12. (Much more meat in the 12 than the 10)
Side note, unquestionably one of the cleanest phở joints I’ve seen.

Harsh reviews my fellow Unilocalers!
* COMBINATION BEEF PHO ($ 9) — 3 STARS:
This place seems to be run by a bunch of Canto ladies. So the phở broth and noodles were not exceptional, but the place is clean and modern, and it gets the job done. I was surprised that they were relatively generous with the meat.
* SPRING ROLLS ($ 5?) — 3.5 STARS:
Comes vegetarian or with shrimp/​meat. This tasted pretty much like what you would expect, I like that it included both shrimp and meat and that they give you a decent amount of protein. I liked their more soy-​saucy liquidy dipping sauce over the traditional thick peanut sauce.
Pro-​Tips:
— They use the Belly App for their stamp card.
— You can purchase broth only for only $ 2.50.
— They serve Vietnamese Iced Coffee but it is pre-​mixed (boo).

Every aspect of this Ph Ga was pure crap. Such a disappointing lunch and waste of $ 10. I should have read the reviews before coming here. How can you screw up one of your main dishes so badly?
* The both is beyond bland.
* The minuscule amount of chicken they give you is terrible.
* They gave you wide rice noodles instead of the skinny ones.
* They give you iceberg lettuce instead of basil.
* They give you lemons instead of limes.
* They give you green onions instead of thinly sliced yellow onions.
* They don’t give you bean sprouts.

I guess the phở’s not that good here? It smelled good…
I had the grilled pork banh mi and it was REALLY good.
The didn’t skimp out on the veggies or meat like other places do.
The place is clean. The service is fast.
I will definitely be going back here again!
… for the sandwich

My coworker and I decided to give this place a shot. ALREADY KNOWING about their current Unilocal rating, I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and order without any preconceived notions about their phở. So we waltz in and order the veggie and chicken phở for takeout.
The price was more than most phở joints in SF, but I expected it, knowing we’re in the FiDi. The wait was nearly nonexistent. It took less than 5 minutes, so that was a plus.
However, once we got to the office, I noticed that they gave me wide noodles. Why?! I didn’t ask for wide noodles lol. –1 star. Once I poured it into my phở bowl, I immediately noticed the smaller portion compared to even other phở joints in a 2 block radius. –1 star. Before adding any sauces, I ALWAYS taste the broth, because it’s what makes the soup. It was incredibly bland. It tasted like the broth came from a can. The strongest flavor was the ginger, which I don’t normally recall specifically tasting at any other phở joint. –2 stars.
My friend also disliked his veggie phở, and specifically called out their wack tofu. He said it was a 1.5.
Sorry French Baguette, I REALLY wanted to like you. I rarely ever even give out 1 star reviews, but this was deemed necessary. I haven’t tried their banh mi here, but I wont ever come back. Sorry to say, but I don’t recommend this place for phở. At all.

This place is the pits. Worst ten dollars (YES, $ 10) I ever spent on phở — i mean if you even want to call it phở — broth had absolute zero flavor — I could have made a better batch with Top Ramen and called it phở and would have had better ratings. «pork» was processed, scary looking and way chewy — in a this can’t be real meat way. Basil — yeah, i’m pretty sure that was leaves they picked off some random plant — zero flavor. You like chives? Good because it was so over run with chives it should have been the main name of phở — «Chive Phở.» ughh. Jalapenos tasted like bell peppers. What a disappointment
Come on French Baguette — I mean I know it was the end of lunch rush hour — but how you going to charge someone $ 10 for a bowl of that mess?

Bilingual.
It was a long morning and afternoon of meetings. Few important. Most unnecessary. Some days are like that.
Left little time for lunch. Running late and running out of options. Vietnamese sandwich would do just fine.
Warm baguette. Plenty of chicken. Passed on the pâté and mayo. Decided to see what a little hoisin sauce would do. It would do delicious things.
Few pennies shy of $ 6 was just right.
Can’t speak French. Can’t speak Vietnamese. Can speak this.

Honestly– I crave this place every week. I just even walk by it at 9AM and I’m like I NEED SPICY CHICKEN PHO!
Super quick, like SUPER DUPER quick service. I like that they have summer/​spring rolls too. Not the best but they are still good.
Very difficult to find a seat, they definitely have room to add more tables.

Okayyy, need to write an update based on my phở experience. A group of us went to French Baguette on a chilly SF lunch break, and all ordered phở. We all got it to go, which we found takes away from the overall experience. Eating phở out of a plastic container just isn’t that cool.
Anyway, the phở was tasty, maybe a touch salty, but hey, I ate all of it and wasn’t apologetic about my elevated sodium levels for the rest of the day. It was definitely a little pricey for what you got, but let’s be honest everyone, where in the FiDi are you finding things that are more or less reasonably priced? Anyway, I’d go back here again when I’m in a bind and craving some hot noodles :)

I came here for lunch the other day with a coworker. This is an order and go or sit down (if you’re lucky enough to grab a table) place. I luckily was able to snag a table so got to dine in here.
I ordered the chicken phở. Overall, nothing special… I felt the broth was bland and could use more savory flavor. The noodles were also the wide vermicelli noodles which I wouldn’t prefer normally. The bowl tasted OK overall but was just lacking.
Despite the overall negative reviews, this place still seems to draw a pretty decent lunch crowd… I haven’t seem many phở places in this area so maybe this is just convenient?
I don’t plan on returning… anyone know any other phở places in the Montgomery/​Market area?

I found this place by following my nose (the broth smells amazing from outside the store). I tried the Phở Ga and ended up with mixed feelings about my meal.
Pros: Lots of juicy chicken, super friendly staff, and quick service.
Con: Broth was too salty and the noodles were fat rice noodles… not the typical ones used in phở at authentic vietnamese restaurants. It still tasted pretty good, but nowhere near up to par with the phở I get back home in San Jose. The price was also pretty high, but since this place is located in downtown SF, that didn’t bother me too much.
Overall, I left feeling content since it was a chilly day and I was craving noodle soup like crazy. I would probably still come back here since it’s conveniently close to where I work.

So, it changed owners yet again.
The food is mediocre. However, location and service is hard to beat.
Came here once for a bowl of Noddle soup. Had to use lots of hot sauce to add flavor. Oh well…

Interesting little space. From a design perspective I’m very confused by the Gothic font in which their company name is displayed. This is a Phở place right? With several Vietnamese options scribbled all over the front counter I’m wondering where there designer failed in printing nice, legible menus and menu boards… Hmm… I guess this is the cheaper and more colorful option.
I opted for the noodles and have to say they were edible, but not my favorite by any means. If you don’t mind the wait and fast paced atmosphere of this little corner operation then check it out for yourself… but judging by the average rating I can’t say this place will be in business for long.

For a place with such lackluster reviews, it sure is popular during the lunch hour. Solid, soul-​warming phở can be found in the Tenderloin, and truth be told, Turtle Tower blows this place out of the water. But for FiDi convenience, I can think of a lot worse eateries than French Baguette. Café Vivoli, are you listening? It’s quite an efficient operation, and I give it credit for that since the nearby office drones are a pugnacious lot ready to snap at anyone who makes them late for their one o’clocks. I happen to be finishing a job interview on Market and needed something before heading back to my current workplace.
I went for the so-​called Special Beef Rice Noodle Soup, which I assume is Caucasian Anglo-​Saxon for phở. Sounded good with beef balls (that always makes me laugh), rare beef, brisket, flank and tendon all swimming in a hearty broth. Apparently no part of the cow was wasted in making this soup, and I was getting ready to see a pair of eyeballs floating on top. No such luck. For $ 8.75, it was a decent-​size bowl with decent-​size flavor (see photo). I really didn’t have any complaints because I really didn’t have any expectations that I was about to have something that would blow the roof off the restaurant scene in Little Saigon.
Seating was the bigger challenge here because tables were occupied, and the only vacant seat was at the counter facing the wall. I felt like I was being punished, especially sitting next to a young woman who kept sniping at her co-​worker for not standing up for her at some difficult meeting with their manager. Oh jeez, stand up for yourself, entitled one. Clearly you have accountability issues. How else would you explain wearing those orange shoes with that yellow sundress on a chilly day? And stop slurping so loud. No wonder your boss doesn’t assign you anything interesting. Oh by the way, they serve rice plates and banh mis in case you’re still interested.
FOOD — 3 stars… a reasonable phở for an unreasonable crowd
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… certainly clean enough but the seating feels cramped together
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… pretty efficient all things considered
TOTAL — 3 stars… have some phở and stifle yourself, will ya?

A decent bowl of phở, but nothing special.
For FiDi, the prices are about right at around $ 7 – 8. I don’t know that much about styles of phở compared to these other reviewers, but I’ve had a fair amount in my day, and this tasted pretty standard to me. My co-​worker said the broth tasted a little off to him, but I couldn’t tell. You get a nice sized portion, it’ll definitely fill you up at lunch.
Certainly nothing to brag about, but if you’re in the mood for viet food, this place will do.