Dinosaurs

Shaking beef is a must. Tasty beef with a little tang. Bread is not too crunchy like some other places and a good proportion of bread to meat. I like getting their spring rolls, good portion. Too bad they don’t have salads anymore since their papaya salad was really good. I like to order ahead or online as they can get busy at times.

Such a great spot. The food is wonderful and the prices are reasonable. Highly recommend!

It really is as good as it gets. Fresh spring rolls and Vietnamese sandwiches and awesome smoothies, all at a reasonable price. The staff is great! I haven’t been there in a while, it was nice to see their smiley faces today.
Their spring rolls come in a tray of 3 and they are so fresh! No ingredient is skimmed and no shortcuts are taken in the making of these. My favorite smoothie is the watermelon lychee, but I have tried their avocado smoothy as well and it’s very refreshing. They have soy creamer, so if you are dairy free, they can make your vietnamese iced coffee or thai iced tea with soy and it still tastes fantastic.
I live in Oakland now but still make my pilgrimage over there when I can for the fantastic eats they have. Also, they have a dog friendly patio for your fur child!

Not much else to add here!
Shaking beef sandwich was GRUBBIN’. It really hit the spot, I was very impressed.
The tofu/​taro rolls yummy as well. great peanut sauce.
Cute little bottle of Dr. Pepper

I’ve left reviews with comments like this before about small show that treat customers as if we were invading their private homes.
The food was okay, not great and I would have given four stars if not for a couple of annoyances.
1. There seemed to be a kid there who I assume was one of the owners kids in the 8 – 10 year old range. You could tell she was used to hanging out there as she was both bored and felt comfortable annoying the customers. This simply is not professional. Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against bringing kids to work and making them part of your family business. But it’s a different thing if they ar left to their own devices, bored and allowed to bug the customers. Another couple sitting outside got up and left to avoid her. I won’t get into what she was doing, I have four children I realize they can be curious and sometimes say things you’d rather not have them say. This went a little beyond that with her making faces and turning up her noise at the way people ate or what they had ordered, getting a little too close and looking at your food and breathing on it. It was just a little too much.
2. Which goes hand in hand is often smaller shops like this which I love and prefer often have family or friends hanging out. Some proprietors handle this well and pay appropriate attention to their customers even as they engage with their friends. This was not the case, new to the restaurant I have a few (really two) questions and the guy taking my order rolled his eyes at me and kept talking to his friend. After placing my order he made some comment about me not being a local and I did not catch it all but it was clearly derogatory and got a laugh out of his friends and one of the cooks. Hardly inviting. needless to say I won’t be back.
Again I liked the food and I since I’m moving to the area I was starting to look for places I wanted to frequent. This will not be one of them.

Very friendly service. Delish sando w/​fresh ingredients. Tried the steak sandwich and it was very very delicious. The bread was super crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, Def a plus. I can’t wait to go back and try a different sandwich.

I wanted to see what the 4 star rating on Unilocal was all about. Came here on a Friday for lunch and it was pretty empty. There are a few tables here so I decided to eat there. While I was there, there were maybe only 2 – 3 other customers that made an order. I’m guessing it’s probably because it wasn’t a weekend and there’s not much people around the area. It’s in a small plaza that’s kind if dead and there’s not much around it. There’s parking in the plaza so parking shouldn’t be an issue here.
I ordered the shaking beef sandwich and the mango mint drink — they were out of the watermelon lychee that I wanted to try :(the shaking beef is pretty good, flavorful meat and didn’t have fatty pieces which is a plus. The sandwich is pretty decently sized. The mango mint was not as I expected. It lacked flavor and I didn’t really taste the mint at all. It was very slushy/​Icey so it kinda drained out the mango and mint flavor.
The service was great! Very friendly, attentive and polite.
However, I probably would not go out of my way to come here since it’s not 4 stars amazing in my opinion. But if I did come back or happen to be in the area, I would order the shaking beef again.

Love this place. Food is great. And when ordering through Unilocal Eat24, the food is ready at the pick up time I selected.

This is definitely a small establishment hidden in a corner in a big lot in Pacifica. Parking is a bit limited given the spaces are plentiful but the section of the parking lot where the shop is located it’s not very well thought out on entry or exiting.
I’ve ordered the Kari Kari (off menu paper item limited to 10 per day) and the special. The sandwiches are filling and good. It seems pretty pricey compared to other places in SF as each sandwich is about 7.39 or so before tax.
The shop itself doesn’t have too much space for seating, so it’s best to take it to go.

This restaurant is super out of the way, hidden below apartments and tiny. Don’t let the size fool you. My parents and I were craving some Vietnamese sandwiches and were lucky enough to find this place. I got the portobello mushroom sandwich and it was awesome! The food is super fresh and delicious. There is seating inside and out, so you can enjoy the sun (I was lucky to go on a sunny day in SF). Check this place out for a quick lunch next time you’re in the Castro!

I had the Shaking Beef banh mi, which was very flavorful and delicious. The beef is sliced thinly, similar to a cheesesteak sandwich, so it soaks up the marinade perfectly. Freshly shredded carrots, cilantro, and sliced cucumber topped it all off. The sandwich would benefit from toasted French bread, but other than that, it’s a solid banh mi.

The sandwiches are near perfect: crunchy bread, fresh insides, lean meats
The rolls are solid, and I’ve never seen chicken and shrimp before. They have the largest selection of Kettle Chips in the world (?1), the drinks, including beer, are respectable.
It’s in a mall with standard tables, so the ambiance is utilitarian, but this is perfect take-​out food for picnics, plays, a day at the beach, etc.

My boyfriend & I eat Dinosaur’s sandwiches at least once a month & sometimes more that my bf even bought a Dinosaurs shirt. We come here for their Special sandwich (especially how it has chicken pâté in it) & their organic Thai iced tea, which is probably the best Thai iced tea I’ve had.
If you know what you want, call ahead so they can get started on your sandwich (es) & it’ll be ready once you get there. All the people who work there are all friendly & pretty cool.

Shaking beef was good, chicken spring roll had green apple in it which made it a bit sour. Watermelon lychee shake was ok, Nothing special.

Every time I come here, there seem to be higher prices or fewer items than on my previous visit.
First, they raised their prices. I get it, ingredients are expensive. But I feel like the current prices are just too high. If memory serves, a sandwich was about $ 6.50 to start, and now it’s up to $ 8.50. A decent amount of filling, but very few pickled veggies.
Recently, they decided to close on Mondays. Bummer, as the Unilocal app at the time still showed they were open. There was a hand-​written sign on the door, so I’m glad they at least did that.
On my most recent visit, I noticed they had covered up the salad portion of the menu. No more salads.
The sandwiches are still good, but I find myself visiting less and less often.

I’ve never met a banh mi that I didn’t agree with until now.
I ordered what all the reviews said to order: the special and the shaking beef. I took a bite of the special and was overwhelmed with a shrimp paste taste. I’m not sure if that’s an ingredient in the sandwich but if it is, I literally had a mouthful. It was so off putting that I couldn’t take another bite. I took the sandwich apart and gave the meat to my dog. The shaking beef was okay. It was heaven compared to the special, but standing on its own, it was mediocre.
Maybe I just got bad sandwiches? Regardless I won’t be coming back. It left a bad taste in my mouth… literally.

Finally made it here and tried their shaking beef banh mi.
What I liked:
1. The baguette — nicely toasted with the perfect crunch.
2. The shaking beef — flavorful and sliced like a cheese steak.
What I didn’t care for:
1. The prices — $ 7.39 + tax for my banh mi.
2. The carrots and daikon — not pickled enough.
3. The overall taste — nothing outstanding.
I was expecting more. My banh mi was decent. For that price, I could’ve gotten 2 sandwiches at a traditional banh mi shop that offered more.
Sorry Dinosaurs. You’re just a little too hip for these taste buds.

What the eff happened?
Prices have gone up, but quality has gone down.
I would justify the price hike if the quality is still there, but this is now so-​so at best and you can’t even compare their Banh Mi to the ladies at Saigon Sandwich.
I get it — you have to cover food cost, labor and benefits to operate a business, but you have to maintain your quality and not skimp on ingredients if you want to continue to have a successful business and a loyal following.
Just like the way of the Dinosaurs, this place would go extinct if it keeps going this route.
Here’s a tip: Go to Vy’s just a few blocks away for better and less expensive Banh Mi.

Accessibility (Parking /​Wait Time)
¹⁄₁ Star: free parking lot. No wait.
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Service (Waiter /​Cleanness /​Ambiance)
¹⁄₁ Star: fast food service. Clean. Pinball Machines!!! Hip hop music. Outdoor seating
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Taste (0=Not Edible /​1=Edible /​2=Good (average) /​3=Must Try!)
³⁄₃ Stars: the Special Sandwich is a Must Try! Lots of meat!
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Overall Experience
⁵⁄₅ Stars
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Last Words
Better have a lot of meat if it’s an $ 8.00 sandwich.

Located in a dated strip mall off of Hwy 1. Close enough to Sharp Park golf course that we could come here to eat after a round of golf.
I’m pleased their banh mi sandwiches are just as good as their sister Dinosaurs on Ocean Av in the City.
As we approached the counter to order, the phone kept ringing. She took three phone orders before we could place ours. Good indicator of good business. Since there were plenty of seating we decided to eat in. Unlike the Ocean Av location, this one has plenty of indoor/​outdoor seating.
Lately I’ve ordered the grill chicken banh mi while hubby has stayed true to the Special — three different types of pork.
The banh mi was an exact copy of the one on Ocean Av. We were very satisfied.