Out the Door

This place is so good. Nothing is bad; I even tried to order things I would not like last time and it was still good.

Went for dinner, ordered vegetarian spring rolls, daikon cakes, scallops, and bok choy. Found the food to be very delicious and the dishes all paired well with each other. Great sauces and presentation on the dishes. Loved the trendy yet relaxed atmosphere, service was friendly. Great selection of hot teas too.

Ok food. It definitely isn’t authentic Vietnamese food by any means. Good food non the less.

Ordered: Chicken porridge, pork bun, hot milk tea
Pork bun: Delicious! Dough was very moist and filling was very good with a good mixture of vegetables and pork. The difference was it didn’t have that bright red food coloring, which is a plus. The downside was it was just one for $ 3!
Hot milk tea: Delicious! It came in a glass container and you pour it into a small glass tea cup. flavor of black tea was perfect… not too strong and not too weak. I like my milk teas to be not as sweet and sugary as some boba places.
Chicken porridge: Delicious! I love my porridges to be thick and not watery. Flavor was good and had a few slices of the chinese breadsticks.
Overall very good, but just a bit on the pricey side. I wouldn’t mind coming here for my Friday’s office lunch gatherings.

We Loooove Out the Door… this is our Favorite spot to eat in Pac Heights. The service is fantastic… the food is Amazing and the vibe is super chill.
We love coming for brunch and dinner… everything on the menu is perfection.
They always welcome you here with open arms and warm spirit.
I wish we could give them a million starz!

In the words of OutKast, this place is so fresh and so clean (clean). It hands down has the most repeat value of any I’ve been to thus far since moving to San Francisco, I’m back almost every week!
Things I like:
— Clean, flavorful food — it makes my tastebuds happy without that «oof…so gross» feeling you get after eating out
— Spacious interior — you can talk here without screaming
— Good price point!
Could be better:
— Timing: the food takes its time coming out, so this isn’t the place to come if you’re in any kind of a rush
Dish recs:
— Green papaya salad
— Grapefruit & jicama salad
— Crispy imperial rolls (they have a vegetarian version I like)
— Beignets & vietnamese coffee (FYI they only have beignets for weekend brunch)

We came here for brunch this morning and the food was pretty good! We had the spring rolls, veggie steamed buns, and I had the bavette steak with scrambled eggs. My friends had the 5 alarm chicken/​rice, and the congee. All were flavorful. No complaints on the food.
Service was probably one of the worst I have ever experienced. If I have to ask for water 3 times before I get it, that’s a problem. If I have to wait 25 minutes for my order to be taken, that’s also a problem. Servers had complete lack of awareness and no sense of urgency.
Hostess was completely clueless and was obviously new. We asked if the communal table was available (apparently there were no tables available, but when I looked around, there were about 4 – 5 tables that were empty) and she had to walk away and ask someone. She said it was reserved. When we left 2 hours later, the communal table was still empty.
I would expect a lot more experienced servers/​host staff at a restaurant located in Pac Heights.
We left less than a 10% tip.
Love the food, not a fan of the service. I’ll probably have to wait a really long time before returning, unless they can assure me that their staff has been properly trained.

I went to Out the Door with colleagues after work one day and we had an amazing lunch. Our boss placed the order and she knew what she was doing. I especially loved the pork buns, the lemongrass chicken, the broccoli and the chocolate peanut butter pie dessert. But I had multiple (albeit somewhat small) helpings of everything and often added a bit more to my plate each time. This is a great place for large groups, because you can order so many different things and share it all.

If Slanted Door was the expensive penthouse that had a broken toilet, unmade beds, and no TV, Out the Door had the same crappy things that were wrong with a hotel room AND it was a regular hotel room not facing the ocean. Being sister restaurants, their menus featured a lot of the same style of Vietnamese fusion food. Both restaurants are too expensive for just A-​OK food.
Located inside the Ferry Building, Out the Door has four counter seats right next to the cashiers. They also have a standing table on the side, but most people just take their food to go.
— Chicken Claypot Special ($ 13.50): cubed chicken cooked in claypot with caramel sauce, fresh thai chili and ginger. This dish didn’t taste much like all the other claypot dishes I’ve had in other restaurants. The chicken and sauce tasted just like chicken pan cooked with some sauce. (Nothing too special here!)
— Beef Noodle Soup ($ 12): pretty typical Vietnamese phở, but with wide noodles. Although they don’t skimp on the noodles, the noodles were definitely a bit overcooked. The broth wasn’t too flavorful, so I had to keep adding hoisin sauce with each bite.
Two mediocre dishes for ~$ 28 made me cringe and die a little inside, but hey, this is my punishment for dining at the Ferry Building!

I love the restaurant interior — it’s open, industrial but warm at the same time. It’s busy — we got there at 1pm and there was a wait — but it goes fast.
Service is very efficient and friendly — 5 stars.
The food is fine — I love the attention to ingredients, but it was mixed execution.
5 stars: The omelette/​crêpe thing was delicious– executed perfectly, the outside egg crêpe was crunchy but not at all burnt. a must order.
3 star: chicken porridge. Again the chicken was generous and tasty, but the porridge was way too thick. Perhaps we arrived late and so we got the stuff at the bottom of the pot. In our porridge was also 2 huge chunks of ginger (which is fine when you are cooking it, but usually it comes out when you serve it), but I prefer the ginger finely slivered as a finishing touch. Outer Geary, Clement street do porridge way better in terms of consistency.
3.5 star: phở. It was okay. I like that good quality meat was used, but the meat was not as thin as I prefer and it was overcooked — I prefer my phở meat to be thin an almost rare. I’ve had much better phở in the South Bay (San Jose)
It’s pricey for average fusion, Vietnamese food — the décor, the service, the location jack up the prices.

Went to lunch here the day before 4^th of July with my cousin. There weren’t many options for lunch in the area that were open and seemed attractive. We just decided on Out the Door. I saw the mixed reviews but figured since I enjoyed Slanted Door that it may be a good option.
It was bustling but we were able to get counter seating. Do get the imperial rolls and banh xeo (rice crêpe pancake). Both are a little greasy at they are fried, but both are crisp and filling and filled with veggies and pork. The wonton noodles’ broth was clean and I liked the cracklings, however the noodles weren’t cooked long enough and the wontons were just standard. The chicken jook was a little on the thinner side for my liking and we both agreed that it was very bland.
I would say it’s a generous 3 stars. Asian fusion/​upscale Asian is done better elsewhere, but you can’t go wrong with the appetizers here! Perhaps we ordered the wrong things.

Out the Door is good, but it has a dirty little secret: It’s less than authentic Vietnamese food being served to the Yuppies who are happy to pay top dollar for an upgraded dining experience.
The Imperial rolls and spring rolls are bomb. Actually, everything is pretty great — even the host and bar tenders were great! I just work and live in some neighborhoods where I can get 3x the quality at ¹⁄₃ the price. I bet if you were to venture into the Sunset (as most pac heights people are afraid to do) you can find a sick Vietnamese spot and have a super authentic experience at a third of the price.
Imperial rolls — good. Lean on the shrimpy side. Would like to see more pork, bean sprouts, cilantro. Why the mint?
Spring rolls — maybe the best I’ve had. Really nice portion for $ 10. Awesome peanut sauce.
Shrimp soup — Pass, flavorless. Its basically corn, chicken stock, shrimp, and a little herbs. Not worth it. The shrimp were beautifully cooked though.
Louisiana shrimp with onions — Shrimp were medium sized but tough. Had that classic rich soy + onion taste but with less salt — decent.
2 apps, ½ bottle of 1, 1 soup, 1 entrée, 1 side rice = $ 81.
If you’re white, you want some spring rolls, and you’re basic– come here. If you have a breadth of knowledge or a taste for authentic Vietnamese — avoid.

Good service and a friendly ambiance! Surprised on a Tuesday that only the community table was available when we were there right when it opened, we are community people so that was just fine.
The halibut was perfectly cooked and very tasty with a nice salad to compliment. Tuna tartare had a bit too much soy sauce, not my favorite.
The imperial rolls were absolutely delicious! Id definitely go back here again! :)

The sister restaurant to The Slanted Door, OTD is a cozier version located in Pac Heights. They serve trendier, almost fusion-​like Vietnamese food that is decent, but leaves you wanting more. Their brunch menu has more traditional rice plates as well as more typical brunch items with an Asian flair. I had the chicken porridge, which had great flavor and a nice crispy element with the fried shallots on top. It was a good-​sized bowl of homey comfort food, and ended up being my favorite dish. My boyfriend had the five spice chicken plate, which came with a pretty generous portion of grilled chicken. The flavors of the marinade melded well with the charcoal flavor of the grill and I liked the addition of the pickled veggies, but the plate as a whole was nothing special. Overall, the meal was satisfying but none of the dishes were standouts.

Solid vietnamese fusion food. Good atmosphere, good food, great service. Pretty large wine and beer list.
Mung Bean Dumplings, Jicama salad with grapefruit, Claypot chicken, fried chicken, prawns were all awesome.
Bok choy and asparagus were pretty standard, pork chop was flavorful but somehow moist but dry at the same time.
Food was solid and a good place to go with friends. If I lived nearby it would be a good standby, though it’s not the type of place I’d go out of my way to visit again.

I know that The Slanted Door gets mixed reviews but I had a great experience there (it was also during an expensed work dinner which always helps); so I was excited to try Out The Door. Not to be confused with OTD on the Embarcadero — which is just a counter — this is actually a really cute restaurant good for a nice-​ish dinner.
We had a reservation for 11 people at 8pm on a Saturday and were immediately seated at a long rectangular table towards the front. I remember liking the daikon rice cake from TSD so was excited to try it here and it did not disappoint. It’s a very unique appetizer so I highly recommend that. For my entrée I had the lemongrass tofu with shiitake mushrooms which was done quite well.
This is definitely a Vietnamese FUSION restaurant so if you are looking for authentic Asian food this isn’t the place for you. Prices are tad on the high side for Asian food but the service was good and so was the ambiance so I’d definitely come back. They are also very vegan/​vegetarian/​allergy friendly.

Upscale Vietnamese is served hot and fresh off the grill in this tucked away restaurant. Have a seat at the chef’s table to watch all the ingredients blend into one sinful looking dish, or sit along the windows for some natural light. This place fills up fast, but they manage to keep it so that you can still have a conversation with your meal partner (I’d suggest no more than 4 people total).
Come here to impress someone that’s only comfortable in a modern, sleek, upscale restaurant and they’ll be comfortable enough to try OTD’s adventurous menu.

Reasonable appetizers and tasty — entrees are on the pricier side and definitely fusion rather than traditional. Highly recommend the imperial rolls, green papaya salad. The waiters are really helpful and genuinely nice. They marked out all the gluten free options.
A good selection of European wines too. The lychee infused iced tea is quite tasty too.

Dear Out the Door,
Thank you for having my friends and I over last weekend. It was Brothe’s Birthday and he had the best time! Your staff were tremendous in every way. I appreciate that you went above and beyond to make sure everyone in our party was taken care of. You asked each person individually if they had food allergies. That was kind of you.
Here’s the deal, OTD: I think you’re hella cute. You mean well. And you’re in a posh little nook of SF. However, with that being said I believe it’s important to acknowledge the weaknesses in our relationship. Though I think you’re hella cute, I know you’re over charging me based on your expensive outfit and sleek atmosphere.
Why anyone would pay $ 36 for 6 meager, scallop sized bites of shaking beef is beyond my comprehension. I LOVE shaking beef. Yours was not up to par. It was overcooked and flavorless. It should have been tender and succulent but it just wasn’t. Your spare rib appetizer also had the potential to be outstanding. But the rib meat was so tough and laborious to get off the bone I couldn’t enjoy it. The sauce was scrumptious but the meat fell short. I also didn’t care for your cellophane noodles. They were bland :(
I am not an idiot. I know I’m paying you almost like one would pay for an escort: for you’re good looks and fast, filling appeal. That’s why I keep coming back for your shrimp spring rolls and imperial rolls. They’re very, very satisfying. In fact, your shrimp spring rolls are the best I’ve ever tasted. I was also pleased with your string beans and chicken clay pot, though the portions were über tiny.
OTD, I really gotta give it up to your happy endings. You do know how to please people. You really got my loins burning once the desserts started bursting out. One after the other they just kept getting better and better. The ginger cookie and ice cream was unexpectedly packed with decadent, usual flavor. The moist cake with pineapple custard was phenomenal. And of course, since you are by nature a crowd pleaser, the chocolate peanut butter pie was to die for. Must haves to end the OTD experience.
Like I said earlier, I know we can never take our relationship to the next level because you’re over priced and you know how to work me. But I enter our relationship knowing that I’m mostly paying for your attractive interior and sexy happy endings than I am for REAL food.

On a relaxing brunch Saturday accompanied with the Blue Angels in the skies from Fleet Week, we three decided to go off the cusp and Out the Door. Started with a refreshing selection from their Crisp white wines: the Felix.
The three dishes we shared tasted excellent. In no particular order, they were the Pan Roasted Opah, the Dungeness crab w cellophane noodles, and Mary’s Organic Claypot chicken with ginger. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the Dungeness Crab, primarily for the tasty seasoned cellophane noodles.
Also shared a dessert wine: the oro puro (pure gold). What a delight! …As was our service: efficient, knowledgeable and enjoyable to talk to.
Still to come post twilight were Upcider, The Tipsy Pig, and how to view «Gone Girl» at The Kabuki the next day. The weekend was young, my friends!