Sonny’s Cafe

This place happens to be near my work place so I do come here often when I want vietnamese food and/​or phó. Unfortunately, the phó here is nothing compared to others and the service is horrible. The lady seriously has a RBF (resting bitch face) and just makes you feel unwelcomed. Just order, eat, and pay. Luckily they’re the only vietnamese restaurant in the area otherwise I’m sure they’ll go out of business.

The expectation of Vietnamese food is high when you’re in San Jose. Just like when you got to Rome, you’d expect good tagliolini. You walk in and well it is a café. One side literally is a coffee shop (not that kind) where you can order morning breakfast to go with some Asian influenced beverages. The other side is similar to a divey American brunch spot — some patio furniture seating, cold linoleum, screechy metal leg chairs. Hey I’m not knocking divey joints — some of my best experiences are in joints like this. But it’s gotta be backed with the food.
Shrimp and Bbq pork over rice — defly a solid 4, maybe 5. Flavorful, fresh, seasoned and plump scrimp. Pork was cooked spot on — thin with tons of charcoals flavor. Rice was broken and authentic.
5 spice chicken phở was eh. I requested it to be served separate but she was confused by the request so I just had them bring it out as normal. Chicken was boiled rubbery. The chicken was very well portioned but a few bites in, where is the flavor? I suspect pre-​cooked chicken and warmed in the phở. The noodles were nice and full — expected snap. The broth was ok — didn’t seem deep and was on the bland side.
Place was decent clean. Utensils were clean. Service was pretty much order food (no recommendations or smiles), serve, no check in, and boom here is the tab.
It is what it is. I’d probably come back for take out on the rice plate. But no need to dine in.

Solid Five Spice chicken Phở, Solid Viet Fried Potstickers, Solid Bahn Mi, and great service! They’ve never messed up a pick up order and always come correct! This place is definitely a gem! No doubt!

So called to place an order for take out. Yes, I know it’s lunch time, but this lady picked up the phone… said it takes 35 minutes (which is fine with me) and then hung up on me… WTF!

Best bbq pork banh mi I have ever had. Incredible bread, fresh and great pickled veg and delicious pork for only 4 bucks. I will definitely be back when in the area.

Worst place I’ve ever eaten at. I found a wavy short black hair in my bánh mì sandwich and the waitress did not care. She just brought me a new one with no apology. And still charged me for it! Never again will I go there. Sorry not sorry.

Hit the spot entirely. We needed a fast fresh and tasty lunch for myself and five others. Did not disappoint. The bread was exceptionally good and the flavor was excellent. Great value too.

their banh mi is great. i’ve tried a couple local spots for banh mi and they all sucked.
i also like their phở, and able to eat outside. sometimes i bring my pup and enjoy my food while he enjoys some stranger love. =)

Came in randomly after my dr’s appointment at Kaiser & decided to order a BBQ beef banh mi w/​a Thai tea & my mother ordered a shredded pork banh mi and a mango smoothie.
The service here is very friendly and the restaurant Itself is very clean.
It’s a nice little whole in the wall, sure you’d probably over look it since there is a bill’s café right next to it.
The Thai tea was really good, just enough cream to pair with the tea.
The mango smoothie was ok in my opinion, it had a slight artificial taste to it but it wasn’t too overwhelming or anything like that.
The banh mi look so cute, it’s small and is pretty much the length of a dollar but is filled with goodness.
The taste of the BBQ beef was good, the bread was perfect, perfect crispness & softness. The beef inside could use a little more flavor but other than that it was good & tender.

Matter-​of-​fact setting with wonderful food served quickly. I wish I worked by here so I could come for lunch every day. The curry is particularly good.

Me, my hubby, & daughters love coming to eat here. Especially, my most picky eater baby only wanted to eat here. We come almost weekly at once or twice a week. Their grilled pork over rice are absolutely delicious along with the yummy spicy fish sauce & the side soup. Food is always fresh & tastes amazing. We can’t get enough of it. Not to mention their yummy Thai ice tea (kind of tasted like cotton candy) & their honey dew milk. The older gentleman the owner always greets to us with smiles. It’s a very clean, fresh & comfortable place to eat. Clean restroom too. Just wish they have a diaper changing station/​table in the restroom. That would be ideal for mommies with babies or toddlers. Price is fair & service from the owner & son are always friendly & great, except for the lady with moody pms attitude (she never smile).

Service was very good. Food was average. There’s was quite a variety; however, the ingrediants seem basic all accross the board of each dish so you dont quite get that satistfaction of eating Phở or spring rolls.

A small, unassuming café/​restaurant in the OSH plaza, Sonny’s Café is one of very few Vietnamese restaurants in the immediate area. I was craving com tam (broken rice) so Hubby met me here for lunch yesterday. This is our «halfway» point from our respective places of business, and I’ve never been here before, so it was a win-​win for me. Yay for new places to Unilocal!
I had the BBQ Pork & Grilled Prawns Rice Plate, which came with 4 grilled shrimp and thinly cut slices of pork, a small bowl of chicken broth (possibly canned (?) since it had no trace of that homemade oily sheen), and fish sauce for my green salad. Hubby had hu tieu. Our food came out at the same time, which was nice since most places will serve the soups out first before the rice plates. Wait time was approximately 10 – 15 minutes, not bad.
Flavors weren’t too bad but I think that the fish sauce could use some tweaking to it because I didn’t find myself craving for it afterwards like I usually do when I have some really good nuoc mam. LOL.
Parting thoughts: I don’t mind trying them out again, as some of their other menu items look pretty good. They also have banh mi sandwiches here, which is good to know.

I’ve been coming here for a year and a half now. Their banh mi/​Vietnamese sandwiches are a good change from Lee’s. The bread is always fresh and light. It’s fluffier than other places and perfectly crisp on the outside. The meat is always delicious and flavorful. My favorite is the grilled pork or beef. Their Vietnamese Coffee is potent (just the way I like it) and not all ice. I also love their soda lemonade and their avocado shake.
I’ve always had bad luck with phở in South San Jose so I didn’t bother to try theirs until last month. I was pleasantly surprised! It was fantastic! The broth was savory and satisfying! The ratio of noodles to broth was perfect. I couldn’t believe that I waited this long to try it.
Since I underestimated this place with their phở, I decided to try their Pork and Grilled Shrimps over Vermicelli Noodles (Bun) tonight. Again, I was very pleased with my meal! It was scrumptious!
Overall, I would rate the food with 4 ½ stars. I give them 5 stars because I love the older man who serves us here. He is always so kind and helpful whenever we come in!

A friend of mine took me here and i have to say… WOW!
The Vietnamese coffee was INSANE!
The food was delicious. I got the beef rice plate. So yummy!!!
I also got a bahn mi sandwich to go, and a few hours later after popping it in the oven, YES!
I HIGHLY recommend this place. Everything is so good! Some of the BEST Vietnamese cuisine I’ve ever had!

Love this place! :)
Order #32 and you will not regret it! Been coming here for years now and have never been disappointed. I think it is a little pricey for the amount I get but hey, the owner is nice and a hard worker. San Jose is not cheap and I am sure they only mess with good quality food.

Overall 3 stars and that’s being generous!
Stopped in for a Bahn Mi on Weds, 05.13.2015, around 10:30am. The place was empty except for a couple sitting at a window table eating phở. The gent sat me near them with a menu, left and gave me ample time to peruse the menu. OK, settled on shredded pork bahn mi
and a diet coke, no ice. He brings a can and a straw and didn’t bother to ask if I wanted a glass/​cup, just sets it down and walks away. Hoo-​boy, you that cheap you have to save on dish soap?
Here’s my thoughts.
Bahn Mi — 3.5−4 stars
OK, 15 mins tick by, the bahn mi arrives and it is huge. The bread was warm and real pillowy, shaped like a football, like it just came out of the oven. Decent amount of shredded pork, daikon and carrots with the usual cucumber and jalepeno slices, sprig of cilantro. Good soft crunch to the roll, nice soft texture to the pork, and sprinkling of rice noodles mixed in with pork was delightful to the palate. What I didn’t care for was refrigerated cold pork in a warm bun… warm bun, cold meat don’t mix well with me.
Service — 1 star
Unacceptable 15 min wait. A –10 stars for the female cashier. No «how was your bahn mi?», no smile, just the total owed $ 5.71. Gave her $ 6 and as I putting away my cash she coldly says, «You want your change?!?», as if I was in the wrong. I said no keep it, I turned and walked out thinking your insolence lost the rest of your tip.
Will I be back? Being the only Vietnamese eatery in the area maybe in 3 – 5 months. I’ll go spend my $$ elsewhere for better food and service. New shopping center almost complete across Cottle. We’ll see if you’re still in business.

There are so many Vietnamese restaurants in San Jose, I think your food needs to be outstanding for me to want to come back.
Everything here is Okay, thus the 3 star rating.
Phở broth wasn’t great, but good enough. Pretty limited options for Phở
Broken rice dishes are decent
Vietnamese sandwiches are okay
Did not like my Thai tea, boba was also very hard

I ordered the Goi Ga (Vietnamese chicken salad) and it hit the spot in terms of fish sauce dressing on that fresh cabbage-​onion-​carrot-​celery-​peanut mix. We also ordered #42 with grilled pork, shrimp cake, eggcake, shredded pork. Also enjoyed it because the shredded pork was not dry, and neither was the eggcake (it has ear fungus mushrooms and rice noodles in it, mm). Simple table settings, non-​sticky tables, and a cute café also part of the restaurant serving american breakfast foods and hot beverages (ie. coffee, bagels, eggs)

I stopped in for phô the other day since this place is close to my house. The beef was really good. The broth was ok. It didn’t have a lot of flavor, but it wasn’t bad. I would gladly return here and try something else.
This place is open all day. They have Vietnamese food, bagels, a coffee bar and more.