Elements Restaurant

When they were open they were great service and great food! They are close by so decided to try this place. Glad I did! Please come back, soon!! I only did take away since it was close but it seemed clean but a little dark/ moody.

We've been back a few times for dinner since my last review. The last dinner we got, the chef was willing to make us pho even though that was a lunch item menu. It was so delicious, clean, and the meat was so good quality, we thought we'd try our luck again.Unfortunately, this time, our server said they weren't serving pho despite us calling at lunch time to check if they would serve for dinner. Since we were already there, thought we might as well get a good dinner in. We tried the butternut squash soup, the garden mixed green salad, the half rotisserie chicken, and the salmon wellington.While all the dishes were good, refined, well cooked, and well seasoned, each had a factor of slight disappointment. The soup was yummy (avoid if you don't like cinnamon), but small portioned and expensive at $15. The garden mixed salad promised orange, pear, and bleu cheese among other things, but we somehow missed all those ingredients or flavors, and instead there were beets. No real complaints about the rotisserie chicken (except that pho wasn't available); had a crispy skin, tender and juicy, mashed potatoes were creamy, au jus had a good flavor, and the veggies were nicely cooked and seasoned. The salmon wellington, also good, and while we knew it might take a little longer for that one to come out as indicated on the menu, we didn't realize it would take 45 minutes. The server should have informed us (the table next to us were informed of the wait and their dish was immediately put in, but by then, we had already been served our food). We were sufficiently full and opted out of dessert. While service was fine, for a restaurant that touts on being more upscale, there were a few misses. Maybe we need to stick to their lunch menu and come then. We did order a chicken banh mi to go, which was decently priced at $9 - the bread was nice and crispy, plenty of chicken, but could have used more pickled veggies.

We were pleased overall with our dinner. The steak was delicious and the scallops and prawns as well. I typically like a filet with a nice helping of gravy. This time the gravy waswatery and swimming in it on the bottom. The ,Mash potatoes were delicious. The veggies need more flavor. The salad needed more flavor and prefer the fruit to be cut small rather than big pieces. Ambiance was ok.

Had our holiday company dinner this year at Elements after trying it one night just before they closed. It's in a strip mall off of Almaden in South San Jose. But once you walk inside, it feels classy with a big glass wine cellar to the right, and an open kitchen towards the back. The restaurant is family-owned and operated. The chef and his father both work there, with possibly more family working other positions. It was packed with patrons on a Friday night. Their fusion cuisine is quite unique in that it is more French and Western than Vietnamese. So there are dishes such as Salmon Wellington that you would never see at a Vietnamese restaurant. For appetizers we ordered fried softshell crab, spring rolls and green salad. All solid in terms of taste and freshness. For entrees, each person at our table ordered a different dish. I ordered the Salmon Wellington, which was nicely breaded, in a plate of cream. There was a thick cheese inside the breading surrounding the perfectly cooked salmon. I tried the Australian rack of lamb, also well cooked and seasoned. The desserts were not quite on the level of the entrees. My colleagues had to chip away at the peach sorbet because it was frozen solid. The chocolate cake was spongy and tasty, but the ice cream on top was ordinary. The drink menu was somewhat of a surprise in that they didn't have any cocktails. Unsurprisingly, they had a wide variety of wine and some beer, but I had expected some creative cocktails given the food menu but I guess I didn't see a bar there. If you happen to be on the south side and want to have a unique French-Vietnamese meal, I recommend Elements.

If you are looking for some Viet fusions food look no further. This is something that can go right or totally wrong. We tried quite a bit of the menu and our experience was that most of our dishes came out great and delicious! Here's what we ordered:Appetizers:Complementary BreadFresh Spring Rolls: $15 (4/5) Plumped sized shrimp rolls (3 large rolls but cut in half) with a creamy peanut sauce Grill Beef on Asparagus: $16 (4/5) Asparagus with beef wrapped around it with banh hoi on top and a refreshing nuoc mam sauce (4 of them) Crispy Soft-Shell Crabs: $19 (5/5) Get this you wont be disappointed. Super crispy pieces of crab and a yummy aioli sauceEntrees:Lemongrass Crusted Seabass: $40 (3/5) This was meh, not that great so passTea -Smoked Duck with Lotus Root: $29 (4/5) this was really tasty. The duck wasn't gamey tasting and it was tender and a melted in your mouth Fresh Scallops and Prawns: $27 (4/5) It was a little skimpy on the shrimp (3) and scallops (3) with 3 zucchiniRoasted Half Cornish Hen: $26 (5/5) This was really good, flavorful probably the best dish out of all the entrees Filet Mignon with Mushroom Sauce: $43 (3/5) Nothing that stood out on this dish. I think it was a tad over cooked though. But still tender beef smothered in a good sauce Desserts: Peach Sorbet $15Triple Chocolate Moose Cake $15Mango Panna Cotta $15My favorite was the mango panna cotta. Super refreshing way to end our night! The service was great and I would go back to try other dishes!

Came here for my aunts bday dinner and was pleasantly surprised! Always a little skeptical about Asian fusion foods, but elements balanced true Asian flavors with hints of European influence here and there! I really liked the chicken, instead of having the typical savory flavor roasted chicken has, it has almost like a tangy brine flavor to it and the roasted veggies balanced it out really nicely. Everyone was really sweet and accommodating, would definitely come back to try more of the fusion foods on the menu cause I stuck to the more traditional foods this time round!

When John's mom suggested we go here to celebrate John's dad's birthday a month ago, I was excited. We had never been and the menu intrigued me. But unfortunately the experience didn't live up to my expectations. The ladies who took care of us were wonderful. However, timing was an issue for the night including having to flag someone down to get our bill. Not to mention it was a hot day and the a/c didn't seem to be on or set low. The food was just okay. I ordered the salmon and it was good. But the spring rolls were just okay. I don't see us returning.

The Element in the RoomLong-running (±19 years) family-owned restaurant that's located in a nondescript strip mall in San José's Almaden Valley. Elements focus on upscale Vietnamese cooking with heavy French influences. The Good:*Reservations the old-fashioned way by calling*Crispy Soft Shell Crab app was delicious and crispy, and I loved the aioli accompaniment. *Complimentary Baguettes is a nice touch*Tea-smoked Duck was absolutely fabulous! The duck was tender and had a great smokey flavor. The taro "au gratin"--which was not really an "au gratin," but I digress--mixed with the spinach, cranberry reduction, and smokey duck was a fabulous bite. It's really quite epic. *Carissa's Herbal (sic) Crusted Salmon was cooked perfectly, and the lemon beurre blanc sauce was terrific. *Staff was really nice and tried hard, but they got overworked and overwhelmed at one point (see below). The Meh:*Spring Rolls were just decent, and for $15, I want better than decent. Their texture was too springy, and the concomitant peanut sauce was just lacking in flavor. *Took over twenty minutes to get our check. The two poor old ladies were running around like chickens with their heads cut off once the restaurant started to fill up. It really was a clown show at one point, and I could've watched it all night--if I wasn't dying of heat exhaustion! 0_o (see below)*Need a better beer selection as all they had were macrobrews. The Ugly:*We dined in during a recent heatwave, and they must've had the AC set on 80°F or not even on because I was schvitzing like Britney Spears on Jeopardy®. I mean not just a trickle of sweat, but a full-on schvitz. I really wanted to try their dessert menu, but at that point in the evening, I just wanted to GTFOH. By saving money, they're costing themselves money. But, what do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Conclusion: Jekyll and Hyde experience at Elements, as on the one hand, the food overall was quite good to excellent, but the rest of the experience was passable at best. I'd be willing to give them another chance, but maybe on a cool Autumn evening, eh?

The owner and the waitress are very nice, but they need a new chef. It will be empty in there and you will wait forever to get your food. Also a simple sandwich is done sloppy. Not cut all the way through and half dry. Thats after I had to take the first one back for having the hardest bread ever. This is with no customers.

I've been coming here for my anniversary for many years. Start with appetizer rolls or chicken satay. We usually order salmon Wellington or herb crusted salmon. The lemon beurre blanc is lip smacking. If you hear someone mmmmoaning in delight, I'm probably there dining. Save room for dessert!