Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant

This is my favorite place to go for pho in SF. The food is authentic and so good my wife says it's as good as anything she had when she was in Vietnam. I always get the lemongrass beef pho and my wife gets the combo pho, but we've tried a lot on the menu and it's all been great. The staff is very friendly and remembers us each time we come in. The restaurant itself is a little outdated and very quiet (no music or anything playing inside) but the food and service easily make up for it. I always recommend this place to friends looking for good pho in SF.

Nothing says 'foggy SF' like a bowl of pho Ordered the pho with beef and brisket.

Came here for the first time this last weekend and I kind of wish I didn't or at least got something different. I ordered the Bun Bo Hue and what I got was

Inside smelled like a very old storage /garage 120yrs old. Nasty stains on curtains. I should’ve really left… 7spice chicken did NOT taste like one.. but tasted like a cross between Chinese chicken with little bit of Vietnamese 7spices and ton of sugar…. Ugh

I stopped by Mai 's because I was craving some imperial rolls over some vermicelli noodles. From this single experience and from ordering this single dish, I have a few thoughts. Mai 's is a quaint and unassuming restaurant it has a very old school feel inside which is common amongst restaurants along Clement. The service was good and the food was prepared in a timely manner. I had the imperial roll and bbq chicken over rice noodle plate, which came with a single fried imperial roll, pickled carrot/veg and bean sprouts all over a generous serving of chicken and noodles. The imperial roll was okay. I thought it tasted good, but the meat inside felt dense and very homogeneous. The chicken tasted great, especially with the sauce that the plate comes with. I think if the imperial roll was just a bit better quality, I would have loved it. However, I was a bit underwhelmed. It seems like other people have had better experiences with other dishes here, so I am looking forward to being back at Mai 's to try out something different.