Jasmine Garden

Jasmine Garden was our go to spot when we lived in the Mission. The outside might seem a little plain, the awning a little faded, but don’t be fooled. The food is delicious. I always got the Phở Ga, which is tasty and comes in a decently sized portion. The barbecue chicken is also flavorful, but the portion size is a little small on that dish. If you’re looking for an appetizer, the imperial rolls are always nice, crispy and warm.
The service side of things is great as well. Waitstaff was very friendly, attentive and prompt.
I highly recommend if you’re looking for a great Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood.

We’ve all heard it– don’t judge a book by it’s cover. That’s the story here. Don’t judge Jasmine Garden by the unimpressive, dull building exterior (and its cliché Asian restaurant name… add a «Happy» in the title and you got a classic Chinese restaurant name).
We shared the bun rieu, bahn xeo, and catfish claypot. Decent portions, and we enjoyed them all. Affordable prices around $ 8– $ 11. Walk a few blocks over from the overpriced Mission and come here instead.
Good place for groups to come. Not super crowded and friendly service.

Great beef phở, and the five-​spice chicken was sweet and spicy and delicious. I agree with other posters that the chicken was a bit on the small side, but we had ordered it as a side so it worked for us.
Our server (possibly the owner?) was charming and prompt.

Best Phở in SF. I have been eating here weekly since I moved to the neighborhood in 2010. Quality is always there and the price is super reasonable. Be sure to get the BBQ Pork Spring Rolls… awesome appetizer before diving into a big bowl of goodness.

The food was good, but nothing spectacular, with small portions and mediocre service.
— Seafood noodle soup: Broth was good, but expected a bit more seafood.
— Five spice chicken: Good flavors and tender chicken, but again, portion size was very small. It was a total of around six bites of chicken.
Maybe we ordered the wrong things since the phở seems most popular, but I feel like there are plenty of other good phở places with larger portions around the city.

We came to jasmine garden because it’s across the street from my friend’s house. The location is great, but the food is just mediocre. I had the chicken clay pot, but it didn’t have any veggies and there wasn’t really any pizazz.
I have heard that their phở is better so I would be open to going back and trying a phở dish. The place itself was fine — relatively clean and big enough that we didn’t have to wait.
In general, I’d come back for convenience but wouldn’t seek out a meal here.

I was super impressed by this restaurant! The service was exceptionally friendly and the dishes were high quality and beautifully presented. The place is popular especially for weekend lunch. It was about a 10 min wait even at an off hour. The outside of the restaurant does not show off the nice homey décor on the inside.
MUST GET the crunch roll ($ 9) appetizer! That was the highlight of the meal for us. It is served in these pretty baskets. It’s basically an imperial roll (fried) inside of a spring roll. It’s perfect for people who can’t decide between the two and want to try something new.
I got the beef phở ($ 9). The brisket was perfectly fatty and the beef balls were tasty. I thought the phở was amazing but the broth was not the best I’ve ever had. The rest of the group got the vermicelli noodle bowl (~$ 10) with pork, beef, and imperial roll. I loved their dish and that seemed more like the way to go next time.

Came here yesterday for a good bowl of lunch phở — needed some good Bun Rieu to wash away the mini hangover! BFF suggested this new Castro neighborhood spot. While I was a little hesitant to get phở in the Castro, I was surprisingly excited about the results.
Arrived at noon and we were the only ones there (assuming everyone else must’ve been busy with Lunar New Year and Super Bowl activities!).
Service — impeccable. Every time I took more than two sips of my water, the waiter came back to refill my glass. The whole staff was very attentive and sweet. I’m all about some great service! Five stars.
Food — ordered the Bun Rieu. While this wasn’t a traditional Bun Rieu (had only shrimp instead of crab), I still give them major props on taste and quality of fresh ingredients. Herb condiments, fresh. Seafood, fresh. Tomatoes… you see where I’m going with this? The noodles were perfectly blanched, and the flavor of the broth was everything you could hope for in a good bowl of tomatoey Bun Rieu! Five stars.
Mini hangover cure complete. FIVE STARS.

Since my original review, I have come here many times and love this restaurant more and more with each visit. My latest favorite that is full of flavor, healthy and light yet incredible satisfying is beef carpaccio. A hefty portion of very thinly sliced raw beef in a sweet fish sauce vinaigrette topped with basil, mint, cilantro, red onion and crushed peanuts. It is so good that my mouth is watering from even thinking about it :)

Came here Sunday for lunch, and this place got poppin real quick. We just barely beat the crowd. I got Jasmine Garden Phở Noodle Soup #14 (first phở in the noodles section), and our food came out pretty fast. I really like the broth, and I was surprised by the generous amount of noodles in my bowl. I got pretty full off of it. Good service, good serving sizes, good prices, good food!

Solid, clean Vietnamese spot with an easy to access location. A hot bowl of phở is perfect for chilly San Francisco days and is not easy to come by in this part of the city. The phở portions are slightly smaller than what I’m used to (maybe I’m spoiled), but honestly, it’s still plenty and should be totally sufficient for most people.

Okay I may be biased but I honestly believe that Asians know how to make seafood the best out of all cultures. We just put so much amazing flavor into our seafood that it is the perfect combination of sweet, salty, savory, salivatory sensation in one mouthful. This place is just absolutely delicious with some of the most basic ingredients that make me wonder, why don’t we have this in Texas, a state full of Vietnamese restaurants??? We need to step up our game a notch.
I LOVE their lemongrass salmon. «When you eat you be like, wow, so simple, I don’t believe… check it out though.» I love fried shallots/​garlic in lemongrass and it’s the perfect combination. I feel like this dish in particular is more Thai than Viet but it’s all southeast Asian, no? Anyway took a pic but the picture doesn’t do this meal justice. I could eat this meal every day…

Stopped by here after church on Sunday to get a quick bite before heading downtown. I first heard about Jasmine Garden from a friend who held the restaurant in very high esteem so I was pretty excited to try out the place.
Did it live up to my expectations? Yes. Yes it did.
When you first get to the restaurant, it really doesn’t look like much from the outside. I expected a very small restaurant with minimal space, but it’s actually quite large and nice on the inside. Clean and very presentable.
When I got the menu, I immediately ordered the phở ga (chicken phở) and the garlic noodles. Within 5 minutes of ordering, my food was in front of me. I first tried out the phở ga and I really just have to say that it’s definitely ¹⁰⁄₁₀. I’ve been to a lot of phở restaurants and Jasmine Garden has some of the best phở I’ve ever had. The broth actually tasted like beef bone soup unlike at some phở restaurants where the phở is really just noodles sitting in a salt water bath. After trying out the phở, I tried out the garlic noodles which were just as amazing as the phở. I’m not a big fan of garlic flavored things, but the garlic noodles had just enough flavoring to make it taste really good.
With the garlic noodles and phở, my total came out to $ 16 which was not bad considering the amount of food I got. If you are nearby the Castro area, I highly suggest you stop by Jasmine Garden to try it out for yourself. Great food at a great price! :)

I was starving for Vietnamese food and my friends suggested to go here on a Wednesday for lunch! We walked in right as they opened and I couldn’t have been happier!!!
Our waiter was very attentive and brought us water and menus immediately. I felt like the ambiance throughout the restaurant was very dim and set more for the dinner folks. But we seated ourselves along the windows close to the entrance to give ourselves a brighter vibe. The three of us ended up ordering the BBQ pork with imperial rolls and all with rice instead of vermicelli. And oh dear, the portion was delicious and HUGE!
The BBQ pork itself was juicy on the inside and had a lovely crust of BBQ char. It came along with three miniature rolls of fried imperial rolls that cannot disappoint. It was extremely crispy on the outside and that’s the most important part! Lastly, the rice was super moist and fluffy just the way I like it! The portion was huge but it was so good that I ate the entire thing in one sitting. I had no regrets though, and you won’t either!
I also had a thai iced tea that I felt was sweetened perfectly for my sweet tooth and the dish and the drink totaled to be $ 14! I wish that I worked close by so that I could eat here all the time!

Not too shabs. I was drunkenly stumbling around after a fun day at Lagunitas brewery and decided to hop out of my über and just go for gold at Jasmine Garden.
I had the rare beef phở, it was OK, the broth was nothing to write home about to be honest and they didn’t have chow fun noodles which is what I like best, so I don’t think I’ll be back any time soon.

Jasmine Garden is a very solid Vietnamese restaurant in the Castro. I’ve been here a couple of times and have thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve had here.
Here’s a sampling of what I’ve had during my last visit there:
Taste of Jasmine Garden –
Imperial rolls, spring rolls, golden shrimps, and papaya salad. Served w/​three sauces.
Basically a smörgåsbord of all the appetizers that Jasmine Garden offers. This is a great starter if you’re eating a group of folks.
Salt & Pepper Prawns —
Prawns lightly battered then fried and wok tossed in salt and pepper, garlic, butter and chili. Served with garlic noodles.
This is my favorite dish there. Garlic Noodles and Fried Prawns? Yes please!
Dancing Beef —
Filet mignon cubes work tossed in garlic, butter, black pepper and served with organic mix green salad.
I’ve had Bo Luc Lac at other Vietnamese spots, but Jasmine Garden’s seems to be one of the better ones I’ve had. Even way better than Thanh Long’s. They give you a very generous amount of beef and it was cooked just right so that the cubes stay flavorful and not dry.
Curry Fried Rice —
Fried rice with prawns, chicken, onion, garlic and curry powder
Fried rice with a slight kick. It was a good choice to pair with the Dancing Beef.
So yeah, everything has been very solid and I really have no complaints here. It is a little bit out my way to get to for Vietnamese food since I live in the Peninsula, but I know that if I’m around the Castro area, I know I can depend of Jasmine Garden to get my Vietnamese fix.

Best Vietnamese… phở sure!
Get there when they open at 12. It gets busy shortly thereafter. We had a feast of spring rolls, crunchy roll, garlic noodles and spicy beef phở.
Garlic noodles were mediocre. Crunchy roll was divine.
The spicy beef phở was absolutely amazing.

San Francisco is blessed with a good amount of decent Vietnamese restaurants and Jasmine Garden fits perfectly in. An inexpensive menu with quality items, a welcoming interior and friendly staff. What more can you ask for?
If you’re not in the mood for phở try one of their noodle plates or com dia (rice dishes).
My favorite here is the VEGETABLE PHO ($ 7.95) — the broth is a little bit on the sweeter side and extremely delicious. The BEEF PHO ($ 8.95) is also very good, with thin beef slices in a very flavorful soup.
The restaurant is frequented by single diners and groups alike, and the food comes out very fast.
Love the service, the prices, and the food — one of my favorite phở places in town.

Good place for a Sunday brunch. Ordered the imperial rolls and chick phở. Both were really good! The rolls are super deep fried and fully filled with a bunch of ingredients. Though they could have been slightly warmer, but still tasted good with the sauce. I was surprised that it came out so beautifully because the décor of the restaurant is definitely not aesthetically pleasing.
I was also surprised at how delicious the noodles were. The right amount of chewiness, and good balance of noodles and soup.

After reading «The 11 Best Bowls of Phở in SF» by the Bold Italic, I decided to try Jasmine Garden which was ranked as #9 and the only one recommended for the Bun Bo Hue.
We strolled in around 1:30pm on a Sunday before the Superbowl. We found parking right in front and we were seated right way. Win! Jasmine Garden is located in the Castro and parking is all street parking and can be quite difficult.
The restaurant has better décor and is cleaner than your typical phở restaurant. It’s owned by a husband and wife who personally take your order and serve you.
We ordered the Bo Tai Chanh (Vietnamese style beef carpaccio) and of course the Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef noodle soup). The bo tai chanh was delicious and just under $ 10, but the portion could have been bigger. The bun bo hue was disappointing however. The soup was tasty, but it was served with vermicelli noodles vs the thick round rice noodles and rare beef slices vs the traditional pork knuckles and pork blood. It didn’t live up to the expectations we had. The wife did explain that they used to serve pork blood and pork knuckles but most of the patrons did not eat it and they ended up wasting a lot of the pork blood and knuckles so they substituted it with the rare beef slices.
Service was superb for a phở restaurant. I did laugh when my friend noted the rare beef and the husband thought he meant the rare beef was too rare so he took a pair of chopsticks and pushed the slices of rare beef into the soup. My friend actually meant the opposite and loves rare beef. The duo definitely care about their customers’ satisfaction. They’re very friendly and sweet.
I probably won’t be coming back since I’m never in the area.