Walking into Anh Hong at 3123 Clement St, the first impression is of a casual, beautifully designed room in San Francisco's Outer Richmond. The setting matters because this is no longer the Tenderloin restaurant associated with the old fixed bò 7 món feast. The current format is a modernized menu of individual dishes, with the spring-roll ritual still providing the connective tissue: rice paper, fresh accompaniments and a meal assembled at the table. That makes the place less about marching through seven courses and more about choosing a few preparations carefully, then wrapping and eating at a sensible pace.
The two-address problem matters here: the former Tenderloin location and the current Clement Street room point to different dinners. Ask Karpo which menu, address and arrival time fit tonight's plan.
The Clement Street room changes the shape of dinner
The restaurant's current home is 3123 Clement St in the Outer Richmond, a move that changes more than the pin on a map. The space is described as casual and beautifully designed, which gives the meal a calmer frame than the old reputation might suggest. There is no need to arrive expecting an elaborate procession. The useful visual cue is the room itself: this is a contemporary family restaurant where the table supports the meal, rather than a stage for a ceremonial fixed menu.
The previous San Francisco location was documented as a medium-size restaurant with roughly 30-100 seats, no private dining room and no outdoor dining. Street parking there was difficult. Those details belong to the former address, so they should not be treated as a description of the Clement Street room. What carries over is the restaurant's scale of ambition: a serious Vietnamese beef tradition presented in a setting that remains practical and unfussy.
A family history that starts in Saigon
Anh Hong's family restaurant history began in Vietnam in 1954, when Le Van Kha and Nguyen Thi Duyen opened the first location in Phu Nhuan, Saigon. The family dates its first San Francisco location to 1986. That gives the restaurant a long local history, but the current dinner is best understood through what is on the Clement Street menu now, not through a frozen idea of what the restaurant once served.
Michael K. Le has said that his great-grandmother was the first in the family to group seven beef preparations into a fixed multicourse menu. That history explains the enduring association with bò 7 món, without making the old format the default order today. The family story is still relevant because it clarifies why beef appears in so many distinct forms, from raw preparations and salads to grilled sausages and lemongrass-scented cuts.
Seven courses is history; the current menu is a la carte
The seven-course bò 7 món feast is not the current format at the Clement Street restaurant. Anh Hong now describes its menu as modernized and a la carte, with individual beef dishes replacing the former fixed progression. That means dinner can be built around one or two dishes rather than a commitment to a seven-part meal. It also means the old title attached to the restaurant can mislead anyone who arrives expecting a set menu to appear automatically.
The choices are broad enough to make that flexibility worthwhile. Beef salad is listed at $18, while raw beef carpaccio in fresh lemon juice is $20. Vietnamese crepes cost $23, steamed beef pâté is $25, and beef wrapped with shrimp and rice-noodle squares is $25. The next tier includes beef wrapped in Hawaiian leaf, grilled beef sausages, and grilled beef with lemongrass and onion, each listed at $26.
The spring rolls are the meal's practical centre
Anh Hong promotes a DIY spring-roll experience built around rice-paper wrapping and fresh accompaniments. It is the part of the meal that rewards a little attention: soften the rice paper, add the elements that suit the chosen beef preparation, and roll at the table rather than waiting for a finished parcel. The format gives the dinner a useful rhythm, especially when the menu is being ordered a la carte and the table wants something interactive without turning the meal into a performance.
The menu also leaves room to widen the table beyond beef. Sugarcane shrimp rolls are listed at $30, large water prawns with rice-noodle squares at $39, and large rice beef porridge at $15. A sensible order can therefore pair a beef dish with a roll or prawns, then use the rice-paper accompaniments to join the flavours. The point is not to recreate seven courses by force. It is to choose a few dishes that can share the wrapping ritual.
Arrive early, then order with the current room in mind
The listed dinner window runs from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, with Tuesday closed. Arriving close to 5:00 pm gives the widest possible margin for a relaxed meal and avoids leaving the order until the end of the service window. The online-ordering page currently says ordering is unavailable and directs customers to call the restaurant, so a phone call is the relevant move for questions or an order rather than relying on an online checkout.
There are two easy mistakes to avoid. First, do not plan around the old fixed bò 7 món menu without checking the current offering. Second, do not order the carpaccio casually: it is raw beef in fresh lemon juice, and the menu carries a foodborne-illness warning. Diners who want cooked meat have plenty of alternatives, including grilled beef with lemongrass and onion, grilled beef sausages, or beef wrapped in Hawaiian leaf. Call about allergies, as the menu specifically instructs.
Practical notes
Anh Hong is at 3123 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121, in the Outer Richmond. Current hours are Sunday, Monday and Wednesday-Saturday from 5:00 pm-9:30 pm; Tuesday is closed. For transit, use the Clement Street address rather than the former Tenderloin location when planning the trip. Arriving near 5:00 pm leaves the most room for an unhurried order. Online ordering is currently unavailable, so call the restaurant for ordering questions, allergy information or menu checks. Useful prices include beef salad at $18, raw beef carpaccio at $20, Vietnamese crepes at $23, several beef dishes at $25-$26, sugarcane shrimp rolls at $30, large water prawns with rice-noodle squares at $39, and large rice beef porridge at $15. The current restaurant serves a modernized a la carte menu, not the old seven-course feast.
Tags: #bestvietnamfood #anhhong #outerrichmond #sanfrancisco #vietnamesefood #bo7mon #beefdishes #springrolls #ricepaperrolls #clementstreet #sfdining #familyrestaurant #vietnamesebeef
Sources consulted: anhhongrestaurant.com · anhhongrestaurant.com · kqed.org · sfgate.com · nguoivietabc.com
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Ask Karpo first
The difficult part here is not finding the Clement Street pin but separating the current a la carte dinner from the former Tenderloin address and seven-course expectation. Ask Karpo for the right arrival time, the beef dishes that suit a cooked-meat order, and what else nearby is worth the walk.
