R & D Cafe

Planned a visit on Monday and only found out they are closed both Sunday and Mondays. Sometimes it's a good sign that the food can be great because regular day businesses are good enough. Turned out the BBH is quite good. Deep red and flavorful broth. More tipping to the sweet side but I guess it suits their taste. I personally prefer the strong shrimp paste taste (which in this case, IMO not enough) and had a quick convo with the owner lady. "You should ask for more shrimp paste next time" she said. Willing to give me more is another star. And, no strong cleaning spray smell is a plus. I came on Feb. 18 and starting this Saturday they will be closed for 2 weeks. I asked why, she said: we are going to Portugal for 2 weeks. I: must eats on the list? I heard it has a lot of good food. How about the egg tarts? She: I heard it's too sweet so I'm not sure? I: what? too sweet? Come on, Viet. desserts are quite sweet too, u have to try the egg tarts! I love the fact that ppl who make a lot of good food are going to eat a lot of good food. ^^A must try in the area and there's an interesting Asian supermarket also sells Hispanic spices a few door down.

R&D Cafe is a fantastic little find, despite its limited seating. It's the kind of place you stumble upon and instantly know you'll be back. I recently tried the grilled chicken with garlic noodles, and I was pleasantly surprised. The garlic noodles were the standout - perfectly al dente and packed with a delicious, noticeable amount of garlic. So good!My highlight, however, was the shrimp papaya salad. What I really appreciated was that they served the sauce separately instead of tossing it all together. This allowed me to control the amount of dressing and kept the salad fresh and crisp. It was a brilliant touch.I'm so glad I discovered R&D Cafe. I'm already looking forward to my next visit when I'll definitely be trying their banh mi.

Love this place, never disappoint. Once the weather gets cold this is my 1st stop for Pho!!! I get the same thing every-time, The #9 Rare Steak & Well-Done Brisket with extra Green Onions & Wontons. I usually get the shrimp spring roll, but this time I added grilled beef. Wow!! This how I want my spring rolls from now on!!!The service still awesome!!!

I was hungry and in the mood for some Vietnamese food. Lucky for me R&D Cafe is right next door while grocery shopping. I ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee and a grilled pork banh mi. The iced coffee was perfect! It wasn't too bitter it was just right for me. The banh mi was delicious it had so much flavor. It was filled with a good amount of meat. The owners are so sweet! I will be back again to try some different dishes.

I was on the hunt for a banh mi spot that was nearby. I found R & D on Yelp and decided to try it out.I ordered the Grilled Chicken Banh Mi. Honestly, it wasn't bad. The bread was really soft, and the chicken was flavorful. The bread and filling ratio was a bit off though (not enough chicken). I felt like I was eating mostly bread. However, my bar for banh mi sandwiches is Saigon Sandwich in San Francisco. For $6.85, the sandwich wasn't bad.The owner was so sweet and nice when I went into pick up my sandwich. I would stop in to try their pho or maybe something else on their menu though. Casual dining environment.

While waiting for our dog to get tests and be treated by an oncologist, my husband treated me to a wonderful Vietnamese food lunch at R&D Cafe in San Lorenzo. R&D Cafe has many tasty, sizable dishes at great prices. The proprietors were warm, gracious and attentive as they took our order and served us. The place was bustling with nearby high school students in line buying carry out lunch; the tables were full of diners. And folks just kept on coming, filling up the small cafe. The vibe inside was friendly and comfy with people chatting and delighting in their meal, as did we. We started off with fried calamari. My husband had lemongrass grilled chicken, salad & rice and a Vietnamese Coffee; I had grilled prawns w/garlic noodles. Being there felt good--a little slice of diverse Bay Area community joy. My husband and I happily thanked the proprietors. We were glad the oncology assistant referred us to R&D cafe.

Finally got to order from here. Ended up getting beef combo soup, grilled pork over rice and some banh mi. The pho was very nice and broth not overly salted. The banh mi were pretty good. I would prefer more filling. Affordable and tasty, very easy parking.

I really enjoyed R&D. I ordered vermicelli with beef, shrimp, and egg roll. I will go back to try the sandwiches which seemed to be very popular. Clean and a nice cozy environment inside.

Second time coming here and the food is amazing! The the service was quick. Came at lunch time and lots of kids from the nearby high school came and got food. Service was fast. The garlic noodles are so yummy and the phone and wonton soup are so good!

My favorite restaurant. The food is amazing and packed with flavor. You can't go wrong with any selection.