Recommended Restaurants: Vietnamese

Le Cheval

1007 Clay Street, Oakland     MapIt!
(510) 763-8495
$-$$/L Mon-Sat/D daily

One of the Bay Area's most venerable Vietnamese eateries (founded in 1985), the Clay Street location is one of two Le Chevals in Oakland. It's also the biggest and prettiest, a very contemporary-looking restaurant with sponge-painted walls, high ceilings, and gleaming parquet floors. This place is very popular, so reservations are always a good idea. Among the winning choices are imperial rolls and lemongrass beef with a very light curry sauce. Better yet are light and refreshing shrimp rolls with lettuce and fresh mint, as well as any of several versions of the beef-based soups called pho. Even the ubiquitous fried bananas are above average here.--Diablo

Le Cheval

344 20th St., Oakland     MapIt!
(510) 763-3610
$/L

Le Cheval, with two locations, continues as one of the most popular Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area. Be sure to try the shish kebab--available with sweet beef bronzed in a hoisin-marinated coating or fresh and tender prawns exuding a just-grilled flavor. Among the winning choices are imperial rolls and lemongrass beef with a very light curry sauce. Better yet are light and refreshing shrimp rolls with lettuce and fresh mint, as well as any of several versions of the beef-based soups called pho. Even the ubiquitous fried bananas are above average here.

Le Soleil

133 Clement St., San Francisco     MapIt!
(415) 668-4848
$/L /D /R /W

Tucked into Clement Street's lively restaurant row, the bright and handsome Le Soleil is arguably the best Vietnamese dinner house in the city. Among its offerings are a fragrant raw beef salad, Saigon-style barbecued pork, and a claypot of jumbo shrimp.

Slanted Door, The

584 Valencia St., San Francisco     MapIt!
(415) 861-8032
$$/L /D /R /W

This good-looking two-level restaurant serves what chef Charles Phan calls "Vietnamese home cooking.² The menu changes weekly and might include delicious imperial rolls, classic fresh spring rolls, "shaking beef,² or caramelized shrimp.

Vi's Vietnamese Cuisine

724 Webster Street, Oakland     MapIt!
(510) 835-8375
$-$$/L/D Fri-Wed/Cash only

Vi himself works the tiny dining room here, and the whole family is usually in the kitchen or bringing you your noodles or spring rolls. This tiny shop in the crush of Oakland's Chinatown has long been a favorite of restaurant folk--cooks, waiters, bartenders, owners--and it's easy to see why. The pho here has the richest of beefy broths, and salads sing with the addition of savory shrimp, chicken, or pork. If you have the patience, order the Vietnamese iced coffee and watch it make itself on your table, drip by drip.--Diablo

Yvonne T's Golden Oak

2618 Pleasant Hill Road, Pleasant Hill     MapIt!
(510) 256-8899
$-$$/D daily/W

After two years away from the Diablo Country restaurant scene, Yvonne T has returned with this Pleasant Hill version of her previous eateries in Concord and Danville. Like those, the newest Yvonne T's serves a mix of Vietnamese and French dishes with California influences. Don't miss the restaurant's signature roasted duck with green-peppercorn sauce; its brittle, almost fat-free skin, moist flesh, and excellent sauce (reduced duck stock with brandy and puréed apricots and pineapple) make it one of the best around. Traditional Vietnamese dishes--grilled pork, beef with lemongrass, and imperial rolls--are strong points too. Desserts, however, are not.--Diablo

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