Out the Door

best baos ever. get the chicken one. get two. it’s really good!

Went here for lunch recently and got the chicken rice porridge, steamed pork bun, and coffee milk boba. The porridge was great, lots of flavor and was very filling. The pork bun was small, and also cost $ 3 which is pretty expensive considering you can get 1 for $ 0.75 in Chinatown. The coffee milk boba was awesome!
Overall, I’ll be back. However, it would be nice if you could order via phone for Pickup. The Unilocal listing states that you can call in an order, but when I called today they told me they don’t take orders via phone.

I love Vietnamese food and want to like this place, but… eh. I’ve been twice and wasn’t blown away either time.
Yesterday I had the lemongrass tofu dish. The chunks of tofu had a nice flavor profile but needed a boost from Sriracha and soy sauce, which are conveniently provided in to-​go portions. It came with a pile of white rice and steamed broccoli, which was too crunchy and also a bit discolored. The broccoli and rice were really plain – I wish there had been more sauce coverage. And it took a long time to slop this portion together. Not a worthwhile lunch, and it was over $ 12 with tax.
Maybe I’ll return to try some other dishes, like sandwiches or spring rolls or boba… but I’m not in a big hurry. As other reviewers say, there are better options in the Ferry Building.

Super long lines and the food was well prepared but I wasn’t blown away. it was inline with the price though so if you’re in the area for some vietnamese I don’t see why not. But it’s not a destination. I’d like to try the restaurant.

Lunch review.
Crispy imperial rolls — ⁴⁄₅ — 7×7. $ 3 cheaper than inside.
Overall, «I’m a fan.»

Had time between our morning tour and afternoon tour to visit the Ferry Building. Lots of eating options, so we chose the take-​away Slanted Door spin off, Out the Door. In short, it was decent.
It’s a pretty much a takeaway spot with 5 or 6 stools in front of a small counter. There are plenty of other spots in the Ferry Building to sit down including some outdoor options.
I had a pork sandwich and Shari V had lemongrass tofu over vermicelli. Both dishes were totally adequate. My sandwich had fresh vegies and the pork was medium quality, around what one would expect for a $ 10 sandwich. The shortcomings of both dishes were their lack of seasonings, sauces and mostly a lack of flavor. It wasn’t that anything tasted bad, but it just lacked taste in general.
There are so many good options in the Ferry Building. Next time, I’ll try another.

Out the Door was an unassuming food shop stop while wandering through the Ferry Building looking for some light eats. I was unaware, at the time, of the affiliation between Out the Door and Slanted Door, so this review is with respect to its individual performance and without any expectations tied to its flagship shop.
Pork banh mi: a meat mountain inside a baguette. I only tried one piece of pork, which was on the dry side, but very flavorful and filling. My boyfriend seemingly enjoyed this sandwich. $ 8.50 is expected for SF + Ferry Building considered, but it still hurt a bit.
Spring rolls: Rice paper was strong yet delicate and yielded easily to a bite. I know it’s a simple aspect, but I’ve never really liked rice paper that much until these rolls. The filling could have used more protein, and what is this creamy mayonnaise-​y spread? Inauthentic and unnecessary. Their peanut sauce is unique and creamier than most I’ve had, which would effectively eliminate the need for that mystery spread. Pretty damn delicious sauce, but could be even more delicious with the addition of crushed peanuts. Overall, would eat again, but $ 9 for two rolls is a bit much.
Vietnamese coffee: Not strong enough. I appreciate the authentic Vietnamese coffee filters doing their thang in the corner, but the resultant product was much too weak, especially with the munificent amount of ice. Stronger coffee, less ice please.
The workers were very friendly and quick with their service, which I appreciate.
Overall, a good option when craving Vietnamese food when in the Ferry Building hood. Pros are for tasty food, cons are for steep prices, weak coffee, and weird mystery mayo. Out the Door, until we meet again.

I finally had the chance to try the curry chicken rice plate. The food was good, the chicken was moist and the rice was cooked perfectly. In short, the food was excellent. However, $ 13.75 for two drum sticks and white rice is highway robbery plain and simple.
I won’t take a start off, but the food was way over priced.

I ordered the meatball sandwich. Threw it away after 1 bite. It was raw! You can see the pink in the meat. It almost looks like when you first roll a meatball, that texture. Slimey and not cooked. They may have thrown it in the pan for a quick second but definitely not cooked. Too bad because I love the imperial rolls. Never again. Now my stomach is hurting from eating that. How could you serve meat not cooked. It would be a different story if it was a steak. This is indeed not a steak.

I had the spring rolls and it has mayonnaise in them. It tasted weird, this is soo odd! Vietnamese spring rolls never comes with mayo. This is why there’s a peanut dipping sauce.
The chicken phở was no where authentic. It tasted more like Chinese style chicken noodles with fried onions in them.

A lot of good vegetarian choices.
We had the vegetarian Curry, the vegetarian Dumplings and the fresh vegetarian spring rolls.
Especially the fresh vegetarian spring rolls are sooooo yummy.
Only bad thing: It’s quite expensive.

Ordered one of their soups and it was good but pricey.
It came out to $ 16 and change.

Vietnamese take out in the ferry building that’s decently fast.
~$ 12 for a chicken salad with some noodles: not a large portion of chicken, but kept me full long enough.
Few seats available at their bar.
TLDR: will do in a pinch, but kinda pricey for what you get

Had a quick breakfast/​lunch before my trip back to New York and I would like something simple and relaxing, so out the door became our first choice.
Ordered the veggie bun and chicken porridge. Tons of mushrooms inside the bun, yummy! Also liked the dried garlic on top of my porridge, making it flavorful and reminded me my time back at home eating mom’s cooking. They also serve noodle soup/​Vietnamese sandwich/​bubble teas which I would like to try them all.

Update:
Still loving this spot in the Ferry Building. Always a go to for their steamed pork buns. I’d honestly pass on their drinks, but I was thirsty that day. The drinks are decent, but overpriced. They’re also filled with a bit too much ice (literally half ice). Maybe ask for less if you do need a drink.
This place has some awesome food, a bit pricey, but I think its worth it. Located in the Ferry Plaza, this place serves a good variety of food. My friends and I came and tried a variety of things. I had the rice porridge and a pork bun. The rice porridge was bigger than I expected and very tasty. The pork bun was my favorite though, it was so flavorful! It sort of reminded me of a xiaolongbao but without the soupiness. It was fantastic though, and I would definitely recommend stopping by for one if you’re in the area. Another couple random observations: it can get really busy here so your food may take a bit. Also there isn’t very much seating. But overall, fantastic food!

Just had the veggie sandwich and it was pretty amazing. I am a harsh critic on the veggie patties if it is done wrong– but I must admit, they nailed it! I was pleased with my sandwich :)
Only 3 stars because the service could be improved. The organization is awkward. I was told to move by the staff while I was ordering food because apparently I was in the way… it was incredibly rude and I was rather surprised… But other than that, excellent veggie sandwich.

My friend had taken me to get boba on a side of the Ferry building I never really ventured too far into.
Boba?! In the Ferry building?!
Apparently Out the Door has been here all this time serving Asian food and boba, and I didn’t even know it existed.
I tried my friend’s boba milk tea. The boba was too chewy; almost hard. The milk tea itself wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to rave about either.
Intrigued by their actual food offerings, I came back again to try their five-​spice chicken sandwich for lunch; which is basically their version of banh mi. The chicken was flavorful and they gave a fair amount of picked carrots and veggies as fillings, but it’s still not worth the $ 10 I paid for it (and it was one of the cheapest things on the menu).
I know it’s the Ferry building and everything’s pricier in there (yay tourist destination!), but it’s still hard to justify spending that much money on Vietnamese food I can get for a fraction of the cost down the street that also tastes even better.

The to go place of slanted door… aka heaven on a plate. Slanted door is a god send but the lines and necessary reservations even for lunch… not so much. So hello Out the Door. This is the go to place.
I got the chicken salad and noodle. First of all HUGE portion, couldn’t finish it so A+ because it’s leftover for tomorrow. Second of all food was super duper fast! My coworkers all seemed super pleased with their food too! It’s the best of both worlds!
Tips:
–Yes, the line looks dauntingly long, do not let that dissuade you. It goes super duper fast!
–the pork buns are amazing and already ready if you’re really short on time

Out the Door is the little brother of the famed Charles Phan Slanted Door restaurant. It would be more appropriate to call them siamense twins as they are joined at the butt at the Ferry Building. Unlike the dine in Slanted Door, Out the Door features a take out menu of various Vietnamese dishes ranging from noddle soups, Noodle bowls and rice plates.
I came here with Christine S. in hopes to find Slanted Door quality in a quick take out format. We ordered the Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup and Clay pot Chicken and Broken rice. The Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup is essentially your boilerplate Beef Phở bowl with rare cuts of beef. The soup was nothing to rave about and the noodles were limp from being over cooked. The meat was the star of this dish, but the cooled down the soup faster than I wanted.
The clay pot Chicken was flavorful with a caramelized fish sauce exterior. The chicken tasted as if it was stewed for a while and lost its tender texture. I never heard of broken rice before but I imagined something crisp and Broken after being cooked. The rice grains were actually broken before it was cooked and gave a softer moist texture. Not what I expected but it came out as described.
The food overall did not stand out in any aspect. The flavor reminded me of dishes that my mom would cook or of places that provide larger portions pack with more flavor for cheaper.

Their chicken phở is delicious! The chicken is a little greasy, which makes the soup a little greasy, but still perfect for a cloudy day.
There are some sitting and standing tables right next to it! Grab a bowl of soup and get slurping!