Perilla

Loved this place! Really good food, cute basic but nice ambiance, it was bustling on Sunday night! Excellent service. Also very well priced! Especially for SF. We had the garlic noodles with 5 spice chicken. Delicious! The chicken was amazing. Definitely get the dish with the fried rolls too for only $1 more. Can’t wait to come back and try more of the dishes !!

Make it simple, make it work. Authentic people, authentic food.

Great service, delicious, and affordable food! Will be returning soon

A wonderful neighborhood spot for excellent vietnamese cuisine. Good prices and good service

Perilla's owner has implemented the two pronged attack on inflation like some San Francisco restaurants, with unintended results. Each prong targets his customers in a different way. The first is direct, the second more subtle. The prices have increased 30% over the past 18 months while management indulges in the practice of replacing higher priced protein items with relatively inexpensive carbohydrates on the plate or in the plastic take out container. For example, the six piece, #16 Grilled Pork Rolls are advertised with grilled pork, lettuce, mint, and vermicelli noodles. For $11 this appetizer comes with lots and lots of vermicelli (we all die for vermicelli, don't we?) and a miserly portion of meat in each and every roll. Or order the #24 "Charbroiled Beef Garlic Noodle" for $15.55. You get a copious helping (at least half the plate) of starchy garlic noodle (below, another reviewer described the noodle as "hard and dry") with a modest sampling of lemongrass and garlic infused dried beef drenched with a secret sauce we just could not identify beyond its insanely salty sourness. The same proportion design is applied to the Five Spice Chicken Vermicelli. So, Perilla's signature serving style is vermicelli and noodles piled high enough to crowd out a portion of the meat (so disappointing) and eliminate the vegetable altogether (no broccoli for you!). Every dish is robustly seasoned by the generous use of salt instead of flavor enhancing, healthy spices. Reviewer's recommendation: skip this experience entirely and investigate any of the Vietnamese restaurants on Clement or elsewhere on Irving Street such as Saigon BBQ Noodle House ($$) offering ample meat with their meat dishes that won't make you feel foolish or worse when you open the meat-impoverished plastic containers at home. With the 30% price increase at Perilla you get additional starch, carbs, and sodium to complement an increasingly vegan friendly lunch/dinner. Fresh vegetables are extra while you dig around for the meat because the inexpensive, abundant helping of carbohydrates dominates the plate or container and compromises the room available for the protein ( ) while leaving little if any space for the lowly broccoli ( ). Be sure to admire the spiffy awning at the front door. It's free. Parking: Bring your parking space with you or prepare for a double parking adventure.

Great portion sizes, quick service, and a truly authentic feel.

Very low quality broth.

Open on Christmas Day, wow! Yum!