SFReview
photo credit: Erin Ng
Bodega SF
Included In
The bánh khọt from Bodega SF are no ordinary bánh khọt. These turmeric-tinted shrimp pancakes are zhuzhed up with caviar for added decadence. They’re an example of what you’ll get during your meal: impressive Northern Vietnamese dishes punched up with unexpected surprises. On top of these fancy dishes, the Tenderloin spot’s casual, down-to-earth energy draws us back.
Bodega SF is a rebirth. It’s run by the family behind Bodega Bistro, which shut its doors in 2017 before evolving into a pop-up. The newest iteration still focuses on Northern Vietnamese dishes. They’ve also created a stylish space—with funky geometric overhead lights and dark wood pillars—that inspires us to kick back for hours over cocktails infused with pandan and Vietnamese coffee, plus family-style appetizers and entrées, like bun cha and whole-fried branzino. Sink into a semi-private booth and debrief the latest celebrity breakup while Kehlani and Jack Harlow pump through the speakers—Bodega SF feels like an Outside Lands lineup ran into a neighborhood bar. So it's no surprise that this spot works as well for birthday dinners you reserve a few weeks out as it does for tourists looking for lunch after a morning of Union Square window shopping.
photo credit: Erin Ng
You could spin 15 times, eyes closed, point a finger at the page-long menu, and land on a dish worth shouting about through a bullhorn from the top of the Transamerica Pyramid. Bodega SF’s strengths are combining traditional flavors and interesting new ones. There’s truffle butter in the shaking beef, yuzu coconut foam on the oysters, and even crumbled beef jerky atop the papaya salad. Salty, spicy, sweet, and umami flavors also shine through. Lemongrass clams arrive soaking in surprisingly spicy broth balanced by mildly fruity kumquat fish sauce. The bò tái chanh is a mix of thin-sliced filet mignon, citrus-y fish sauce, and crispy shallots—it must be on your table, full stop. Another non-negotiable is the bánh cuốn, with mushroom and ground pork filling swaddled in delicate rice sheets. They’re a perfect, chewy consistency.
A night at Bodega SF, shuffling around plates and trying bites of everything, reminds us of being at a dinner party at our friend’s house, and one where the food plating is more detail-oriented than a Shonda Rhimes plotline. Everything tastes incredible, too. So until Bodega SF shape-shifts into something else in the future (though, we certainly hope this iteration stays), you’ll find us here with a bánh khọt in one hand and a pandan cocktail in the other.
Food Rundown
Chef’s Tasting
photo credit: Erin Ng
Bánh Khọt Caviar
photo credit: Erin Ng
Bò Tái Chanh
photo credit: Erin Ng
Bánh Cuốn
photo credit: Erin Ng
Lemongrass Clams
photo credit: Erin Ng
Bun Cha
Whole Fish Cha Ca
photo credit: Erin Ng