About
Our sidewalk
A husband and wife from Saigon, a short menu, and a Berkeley lunch crowd that knows what it wants.
About
The Nguyen family
Lunch is a low stool and a steaming bowl.
Huy and Thao are both from Saigon. They grew up eating on its sidewalks, where every cart does one thing and does it the same way every day, and the whole street knows which cart to trust.
Saigon.
A short menu, cooked the way the street taught us.
In 2018 they opened Sidewalk Street Food on Domingo Avenue in Berkeley.
The family.
The family moved. The food never left.
Our family's roots moved from Saigon to the Bay Area decades ago, and the recipes made the trip with us: the broth, the pickles, the mayo we make ourselves.
What goes into the food
Street food is simple to list and hard to do well. This is the list.
A slow-cooked chicken broth
Every pho on the menu is built on a broth slow-cooked with real chicken.
Pickled carrot and daikon
Sharp, sweet and crunchy. It is what makes a banh mi taste like a banh mi, and it goes in every fresh bowl too.
Mint and cilantro
In the rolls, on the bowls, in the pho. Herbs are the point.
Homemade mayo and pâté
The two things that make a banh mi rich, spread on a crusty baguette before the filling goes in.
Why people come back
LOVE this place. The ladies are all so sweet and accommodating. Everything is delicious with large portions. We come every week, can't get enough!!
Hoodline put us first on its 2020 list of Berkeley's top Vietnamese restaurants. Hoodline (opens in a new tab)
Good for the whole table
Vietnamese food is built on herbs, rice noodles, pickled vegetables and clean broth, so it is easy to eat well here. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and paleo options are on the menu; our spring rolls are wrapped in gluten-free rice paper and our tofu is organic. Tell us at the counter and we will point you to them.
Bring the office, bring the kids, bring the friend who says they do not like pho. We are open Monday to Friday, 11 am to 4 pm.
Come eat with us
2924 Domingo Ave, Berkeley. Order at the counter, call ahead for pickup, or have DoorDash bring it over.