Central Market and Cafe

wow. I have wanted to try the banh mi here for a while. I happened to be downtown and headed home I saw plenty of parking so I decided to finally stop. Walked in. 1 person ahead of me. His food came out and he walked over to the register to pay. The woman in sight greeted me. Nice. Then walked over to ring the dude up. I stood at the place to order. Another man walked in and she proceeded to help him, not me. He had multiple lottery tickets and she was calculating the amount to pay out. Annoying. At this point she said to me to "ring the bell." Look down. Bell. Rang it. Single ding. Still no one to help me, initial woman still dealing with payout. I ring the bell again. Twice. No one comes out.First woman finishes up the transaction and I say that I rang the bell. She came around and took my order and left it on the desk, after asking me if I like my banh mi spicy. Yes, and I explained how I got one recently without jalapeno and that fortunately I had some at home where I was eating it. She agreed that the sandwich needed jalapeno. She went to the back and apparently told another woman about my order. Second woman comes out and gets a rubber band and puts it on what looks like a previous order. OK I get it, she's finishing up an order. Then this second woman is wiping down counters and organizing stuff. WTF? I've already been here 7 minutes. Is someone going to make this sandwich?Eventually the second woman looks at the order and opens up a mushy roll and plops it onto the grill. Oh dear. This isn't right. Then she put some meat on the grill - I ordered pork - there wasn't a combo with pate. Soft roll, no pate - 2 bad signs already. She builds the sandwich over the next 5 minutes (yes, I was looking at my watch - was trying to get to HS to give to my son), gets a piece of parchment paper, puts the sandwich in and rolls it, and puts in a Signature Select (Safeway?) bag - ? - and hands it to me with a smile and a thank you. OK so maybe the delay was that she had to turn on the grill? I don't know, but it took FOREVER for me to get out of there. The kicker? Barely any daikon/carrot/cilantro on the sandwich, and NO JALAPEÑO?!?! We just discussed this! Mushy gross roll. The pork was ... interesting. This is a sandwich, defiinitely NOT banh mi, and definitely not worth the total of 14 minutes (12:44-12:58) that I spent in that establishment. Also, 2 dudes walked in after me and she took their order straight away. Like, no way should I have had to wait after the guy that entered after me. Take my order, tell it to the woman in the back, and GET IT DONE. THEN help the dude that was getting money back from the lottery.I'm still annoyed and this was an hour ago. Oh, and the sandwich went in the trash after 3 bites. NOPE.

Was walking in downtown San Mateo when I came upon this market. I had never heard of it before but saw that they sell Vietnamese sandwiches. My partner and I ordered the tofu and chicken sandwiches. Both had a really nice smokey flavor and I loved that there were a lot more veggies than a typical Bahn Mi... although the chicken was a bit dry and tofu a little wet. Overall, it was very affordable and I thought it was tasty! We also got a Vietnamese coffee which came in a huge size and was really really good (we asked for less sweet, and it was perfect).The owner was a super cute Vietnamese woman who was enthusiastic and really sweet. I'd come back in the future to support this local business!

I have to say for a hole in the wall. Excited to say you not bad at all. Foremost I came in for coffee. Plain and simple. Excellent cup of coffee . Flavorful and coated the tongue. But what happened next was the most enjoyable. The warmth and caring of family. I looked over and they had on a cold display spaghetti with meat sauce. And asked if it was from next door (pasta place) they said No , my mother made it her way. And Karen proceeded to tell me her mom makes excellent spaghetti. So I bought one. As you can tell from the picture , large portion!!!Delicious. Came back a couple of days later. And called ahead of time asked for two more orders for pick up. They only had two more left. I got what I am craving. Thank you so much .

Right when we walked in, we immediately got greeted by a sweet lady. We weren't rushed or pressured to sit in and eat which I appreciated because some places are really hastily. Me and my boyfriend were waiting for his car to be done and decided to try their pho. It was all fresh and homemade which did alter the taste of the pho but it was still very good. We decided to try their thai tea as well and it was delicious! Overall I would definitely go back when in the area to try some other dishes:)

Most amazing pho and Vietnamese sandwiches in all of California. The owners are amazing and so sweet and want to take care of all their customers. Great place to eat and recommend to everyone

I walked by this place almost everyday (at least pre-covid times) and finally I was so hungry enough that I couldn't all the way to the heart of downtown San Mateo. So I popped in and sat down. While I will admit that I've had better Vietnamese food (I had the vermicelli noodles with pork and imperial rolls) I will have to say that I LOVE the vibe of this place. The shop owners knew every single person who walked in. So generally, this would make me feel like an outsider but they were so quick to make me feel like a part of the family. I would say that a 3-star rating is not a bad rating for me. In fact, I will come back to this place just because I feel like I'm being fed by a couple of Vietnamese moms who want to make sure that I'm full before stepping out of their shop/restaurant. Just note that this place is mostly a convenience store with a food counter and a couple of tables. Don't expect fancy. But do expect hospitality.

If you don't have a CA license you can't buy alcohol here. Was refused service because the worker can't tell what a real, non-CA ID looks like, so they won't even take the risk. I'm also 27, so not like we're threading the needle here. Unbelievable.

Total mom and pop shop. That's what makes it so great and unique! Quaint little cafe/market. It's family owned, and you feel like you've been welcomed into the family the moment you step in. It's run by two sisters and their mom, and they're great!My fiancée raved about their Vietnamese sandwiches. She used to frequent this place 5+ years ago, and one of the sisters recognized her right when we walked in. I came back almost 2 months after, and she remembered me. It's like Cheers! On to the food...I want to preface by saying that there isn't anything extravagant about the food, but that's what makes it so good! It's simple, made with care, and delicious! No need to get fancy when you have fresh ingredients, take the time to prepare, and cook the food!-Pork Sandwich: I've had it twice. I found my 2nd experience a little bit more flavorful and more meat. The 1st I had it, the mean was a little scarce. However, the pickled veggies and spicy jalapeños made up for it. The 2nd time around, it was cooked a little bit more, so it added a char-flavor. -Chicken Sandwich: Very similar to the pork version. I prefer the chicken as it has a bit more flavor to me. It was also cooked well, a little crispy but equally moist! -Spaghetti: I'm a spaghetti lover, and this reminded me of my grandma's home cooking! They give you a HUGE portion. I prefer my pasta a little bit more saucy, but it's flavorful. They also do not skimp on the meat in the sauce.-Lasagna: I was told that this is often a favorite and special, so I had to try it. If you like your lasagna cheesy, you won't be disappointed! It's saucy and cheesy, but not overwhelming. It's very well-balanced. The portion was also quite large! Yum!If you're in the area, give this place a try. Not only for the food, but also for the experience. However, don't be asking too many questions about the food especially if they're busy. You might get brushed aside. The food is pretty basic and self-explanatory.

The sandwiches are so dry, the bread is wrong, stale, pork was dry, a ton of mayonnaise. The vermicelli noodles were straight vinegar no other flavor to them.

Great service, daily specials and their custom made sandwiches are fantastic. They have catering platters.American & Vietnamese SandwichesPho, Egg Noodle Soup, Stir Fried Noodles, Fried Rice, Curry, Spring Rolls, SaladDeli, mini-mart, lottery