Freshroll Vietnamese Rolls & Bowls

So they call this place the chipotle of Vietnamese food. I think this place has a lot of potential. Too bad the name is so generic and not creative at all. But the food was really good. As a lover of Vietnamese food, I found the concept of this Vietnamese fast food very smart. I had the 3 rolls. Very filling and satisfying. The four sauces they offered were amazing as well. It was a satisfying dinner for only 10 bucks. I’m a fan!

lemon grass noodle bowl with the standard! yum!
the process is super easy and quick. each ingredient is portioned just right. one of my favorite is the crunchy garlic, adds the right amount of crunch and extra flavor.

Super vegan friendly. Love their vegan banh-​mi with citrus ginger sauce and sweet and sour sauce!!! I would highly recommend this place =)

Always a long line and fills you up at a good price might have gotten sick from
It once but not sure

This was a great surprise! It was right around the corner from our hotel. We were looking for a snack and saw that it had great reviews so we decided to give it a try.
The fresh rolls were huge. We shared 3 rolls and it was a great snack. You choose your protein. We tried pork, chicken and shrimp. My favorite was the shrimp but my mom liked the pork. The meat was a little hard because I think since it was like 2:30 it had been sitting out for a while. But it still tasted good.
They also allow you to choose your own add ons. It was nice trying jalepeno on some and cilantro on others. All the veggies were very fresh.
What I enjoyed most was trying all the sauces. I think the Vietnamese vinaigrette was my favorite but the ginger sauce was a close second.
I enjoyed it so much, I may go back tomorrow!

3 Stars because I like the Vietnamese Bun and goi cuon (bowl and spring rolls), so there’s no problem with the food. I pulled out 2 stars because of two reasons.
One, the Vietnamese coffee was pre-​made, NOT FRESH. Normally a Vietnamese coffee MUST be made fresh from expresso before anyone pours in sweetened condensed milk. I grew up with Vietnamese coffee so I was disappointed to see that my favorite coffee was made wrong. They could have brew some french roast into individual cups and let it stand until someone orders it – that way the coffee doesn’t stale with the water and the condensed milk.
Second, the stale coffee taste made me lose interest quickly. The added sweetened condensed milk wasn’t stirred so it sat at the bottom of the cup.
The store could have provided thin red straws solely for Vietnamese coffee because it was meant to drink slowly in case a person gets too jittery too fast (this coffee is traditionally very caffeinated).
I’ll come back for the food, but not for the Vietnamese coffee.

Not perfect, but hits the spot. It’s fast food, so I don’t expect an amazing meal. But every time I need a quick fix for fresh rolls or phở, I come here. It’s not simply ok, but delicious.
The rolls are delicious and usually overstuffed. This is a full meal and you will be stuffed. The standard fillings aren’t my preference, but the make-​your-​own format means you can tailor your roll to your taste. I like more veggies and herbs in mine. Definitely go for the crunch, which provides a nice texture contrast.
The phở is below average, but not bad. It has good flavor and meat. This isn’t a dedicated phở joint so not going to knock them for it.

This isn’t where I’d go to get my Vietnamese fix; nevertheless, Freshroll is a good choice for a fresh and fairly healthy lunch. It’s like a Vietnamese Chipotle, making ordering banh mi or bun thit nuong much more fun :) They have a bunch of sauces you can choose from to soak your vermicelli in, or to dip your banh trang rolls in. I just go for the «Vietnamese Vinaigrette», which is essentially watered down fish sauce for the uncultured American. The peanut sauce and the sweet & sour chili sauce (reminds me of a Thai sauce) are also decent.
Lines can get pretty long, especially when there’s a conference across the street. But fear not, you can order ahead. Lastly, the people working here are generally pretty awesome. Even after dealing with hundreds of techies with name tags, they’re still super upbeat and friendly.

Props to Freshroll for using 100% natural, hormone & antibiotic free meats. Not legit organic, but pretty darn close. This is a rare thing in the fast food world!
They offer 3 basic options: spring rolls, bowls, and phở. Phở is only available after 3pm weekdays, all day weekends. It’s all made assembly-​line style, so you build you meal as you go down the line. It’s not as smooth as Chipotle’s system, as the line gets backed up and a little chaotic. But the end result is DELICIOUS. And CHEAP!
Love the 4 sauces you can choose from (take all 4 if you like!) and the option to order a side of phở broth for $ 2.
A heaping bowl of fresh, healthy Vietnamese food for less than $ 10? I’m into it. Check in on Unilocal for 10% off!

After traveling to San Francisco from the Midwest I was tired. My stomach growling. My legs and feet weary. I didn’t want to walk too far from my hotel. I passed by a Chipotle, Noodles and a few gastro pubs before settling on Freshroll. The menu is easy to understand for the first timer. The employees efficient and helpful. I liked that they had a made example of a freshroll on the counter. I settled on three freshrolls with grilled chicken and sweet & sour chili sauce. They were fast, light and yet filling, easy on the stomach. The employees were playing their iPod on hip hop very loud which made me want to pack my ears with vermicelli noodles. I do wish they had wet wipe packs because the sauce was sticky on my fingers.

Came here with some co-​workers for lunch the other day. At first glance, this place looks like some sort of cheap Subway meets Lee’s Deli type place. But don’t be deterred by the cheesy green exterior. This fast casual eatery is quite the Saigon surprise.
The concept is like an «Americanized» Vietnamese Chipotle. Choose your style of food (soup, sandwich, bowl, or spring roll); choose your protein (chicken, steak, pork); and then select the sauce you’d like to pair with it. I wound up ordering the spring rolls with grilled chicken and paired with sweet and sour chili sauce. But if you want other sauces, they have others to choose from on the counter. The spring rolls are filled with a delicious medley of lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, cilantro, pickled veggies, and jalapenos (optional). As you can tell by the healthy ingredients, this is far more healthy than your average burrito. I was also amazed by the generous portions for just $ 9. My 3 spring rolls were the size of a baby’s arm (ok, weird comparison, I know — but you get the idea). Truth be told, I could only get through two of the rolls before I finally caved in to my full belly.
* For you phở lovers, please note that they only serve phở after 3pm on weekdays.
My only gripe with this particular Freshroll was the cleanliness of the place. There were many tables that were in desperate need of bussing. It’s not exactly appetizing when you sit down for lunch and have to wipe down the table with a napkin and dispose of the previous diners’ plates.
All in all, this is a solid SOMA lunch spot. I look forward to coming back soon and trying one of their chicken or steak bowls with veggies and served over Vermicelli noodles. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

I’ve gotta tell you… I was really surprised with my experience at Freshroll. At first glance, the branding wants you to believe that it’s a «chain/​cheap» kinda place (a Subway of sorts), but the food isn’t anything like that… it’s good. Basically, whomever decided to pick the current brand guidelines should be fired immediately.
Ok, now that’s out of the way on to the food. I opted for the noodle bowl with chicken and all the standard vegetables and it was solid. Btw, it’s an assembly line much like Chipotle. My favorite part was the array of sauces you could choose from depending on your mood: Peanut, Ginger Citrus, etc. I had a side of the Phở broth (note: they don’t serve Phở until after 3pm on weekdays) and it was good. Not earth shattering, but hit the spot none the less.
I see the appeal for those SOMA workers who are in a rush, want something that isn’t too authentically Vietnamese, and hits the spot. I’ll be back.

What a fantastic idea to apply the «Chipotle» method to Vietnamese food. This place was surprisingly good, especially for an Americanized version of Vietnamese food. Now I have to preface this with the fact that I am Vietnamese myself and I hold Viet food in the Bay Area to a different standard.
My favorite thing to order here are the spring rolls. I usually get 2 grilled chicken and 1 crispy tofu. It comes with 3 per order, but I could honestly eat 10 of these. They are that good and packed full of veggies. My boyfriend got the banh mi sandwich and the lemongrass pork filling of pretty tasty, but the bread was not the best. It was a little flimsy for my taste. We prefer either a stronger baguette or a flaky Viet roll. I also tried the beef phở which was pretty good, but the broth was a little lacking in flavor. I wasn’t too surprised because it is very Americanized.
I also tried all of the sauces and I can say hands down that the peanut sauce is the best. It was so delicious on the spring rolls. The rest of the sauces are kinda bland though, so there isn’t much use for them. The service is great, but they work so slow.
Overall, I love this place, but I don’t love the high prices. Regardless of the price, I will definitely be back.

A return visit for lunch. This busy little eating house is so consistent. The food is predictably good.
We both enjoyed the spring rolls — we had the shrimp, the pork and the chicken with lettuce, jalapeños, green onions and more … delicious, substantial and very filling. A good lunch option — service is quick and the food is prepared as you watch. Good for a quick bite when you want a little something that is fresh and healthy.
We will be back in due course.

I had the tofu phở on a cold, rainy SF night after the movies and it hit the spot. It’s probably not the best bowl of phở you can get in SF, but it was perfect for this night with lots of cilantro and basil, piping hot — perfect!

It’s not bad. I wanted quick, delicious, cheap and easy to eat as I went along my way. And near my hotel there’s Freshroll. And fresh it was.
You order from the counter, or you can grab and takeway. It’s easy to figure out exactly what you want from the giant boards above. I did a bahn mi and a summer roll. Neither mind blowing but not bad, and made right there in front of me. Took it away with a little bit of dipping sauce and enjoyed the meal.
Again, nothing life changing, but for quick and easy, you can do worse.

Came here with my younger sister after we finished shopping at Union Square, just to see what all the hype’s about.
The place is clean & modern. The layout is kind of like a Vietnamese «Chipotle meets Fresh Choice». You walk up to the line, tell them what you want… a fresh bowl, fresh rolls, sandwich or phở bowl.
My sister went with the fresh bowl and I decided on the 3 rolls. I didn’t know which meat I wanted exactly, so I went with one of each: lemongrass pork, grilled chicken and garlic shrimp.
The concept is great, veggies are fresh, but everything’s on the bland side so you kind of have to add extra hot sauce or whatever else you need to adjust the flavor to your personal liking.
Parking is way too hard to find around this area to come out just for a simple meal, but I have to give them credit for trying…

Freshroll; a solid lunch choice! It’s fresh, tastes healthy, feels healthy! It’s better than a salad! :) Set-​up is like chipotle but for vietnamese spring rolls and noodles.
LOCATION
–Metreon, but not on the inside. Entrance is outside on 4^th st, next to Split bread and Noodles & Co.
–Pretty small restaurant, although they do have a good number of seating inside. However line gets crazy and seats get crowded around noon, so come early if you can. I’m usually running late so there is always a long line, but it tends to move quickly.
MENU
–Rice bowl: most people come here for the noodles but I actually love going for a rice bowl with brown rice. Next choose your protein –I like going with pork. I get all of the veggies –bean sprouts, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, and cilantro. Oh, and jalapenos. Yum!
–Spring Rolls: Comes in a set of 3 and are way more filling than they appear. Must get it WITH crispy goodness, the added texture is bomb.
After you pay, you get to go through the glorious sauce options –fish sauce, sweet & sour chili sauce, sriracha, peanut sauce, etc.
PROS
–If you’re ordering to-​go, they have sauces pre-​poured in little cups for you to take
–mini water station & cups set up next to the sauces

I’m not sure why I haven’t gone here sooner. I work right down the street and walk by every day. Actually, I did go once to get the roll but for some reason it did not leave an impression. However I decided to give it another go because I am getting bored of going to the same places for lunch. I’m glad I did because this experience definitely left an impression. I got the standard bowl with brown rice and tofu. However, the tofu was not a hit for me. It was a little too overcooked so the next time I went I got pineapple instead. Very tasty! I also got the taro chips, which I am addicted to. This spot is definitely going on the lunch rotation.

So. Many. Sauces!!! If you’re a sauce fiend like me, you’ll love Freshroll — aka Vietnamese Chipotle. The interior of the eatery is clean, bright, and spacious (but small). Think trendy froyo shop. They have a giant sign above to show you how the ordering process works.
I usually get the vermicelli noodle bowl with the works. They give you a decently sized portion (but not huge). Sauces available: peanut, sweet chili, citrus ginger, Vietnamese vinaigrette, hoisin, and sriracha. I can never choose just one and I end up trying them all. But if you’re getting your meal to-​go, they limit you to two. I would suggest getting one you know you like, and then one to try out. Peanut and citrus ginger are my favorites!
As for seating, they have several 2-​person tables inside, as well as one-​seaters at the window. They also have a few tables outside. It’s never been full for me, but I’ve mainly gone for dinner, not lunch.
This place is quick, healthy, and as cheap as you can go for the prime location. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in the area.

Ich liebe Sommerrollen! Und das hier ist ein Laden, der sich genau darauf spezialisiert hat. Ganz einfache Sache: es funktioniert nach dem Subway-​Prinzip, also entweder eine feste Combo aussuchen oder sich selbst aus den einzelnen Zutaten etwas zusammen stellen.
Mich hat das Zusammenstellen komplett überfordert, darum habe ich einfach meine Kernpunkte («1x Shrimp, 1x Tofu, 1x Veggie») über den Tresen gerufen und gewartet was passiert.
Lecker war es, sehr lecker. Auch deshalb, weil man sich aus mehreren verschiednen Soßen einfach die aussuchen kann, die man will. So wird es noch interessanter.
Fazit: auch wenn es «nur» ein Fast Food Laden ist waren die Rollen hier besser als in manchem Restaurant. Für Fans ein Muss!

Pas de vrai coup de coeur pour ce Freshroll, mais l’endroit reste sympa si vous êtes en quête de nourriture asiatique et saine dans le centre de San Francisco.
On a le choix ici entre des freshrolls (sorte de rouleaux de printemps non frits), des bowls (la même chose mais en bol) et d’autres options que j’ai oubliées. J’ai opté pour un bowl, et choisi ensuite mes ingrédients (viande/​poisson + légumes). J’ai dû rater quelque chose dans ma commande, parce qu’il y avait moins d’ingrédients que ce que je pensais et beaucoup, beaucoup de pousses de soja. Du coup c’était très sain… mais très fade aussi ! Alors après avoir dévoré les chips de taro (miam) recouvertes de sauce à la cacahuète, j’ai opté pour une version bien moins saine en recouvrant à son tour mon bown de sauce à la cacahuète et de sauce de soja. Autant dire que pour le côté sain, c’était raté. Mais pas non plus hyper savoureux. Bref, allez y tout de même si vous avez envie de manger sain, je suis persuadée que ça reste une bonne option, très économique, qui plus est !

you can DIY your rolls there. the rolls are wrapped in rice paper. you can choose pork, chicken or shrimps. if you order the 3 roll combo, you can have them all. The bbq pork and and chicken are very tasty! in comparison, the shrimps are so so. you can take free dips incl. sweet sauer, ginger and citrus, peanut sauce and vietman vinegar. The last two sauces go well with the fresh rolls:))
fast, dynamic, young and yummy! I will go there again!