Huynh Vietnamese opening this week in Walnut Creek

[WCFoodie]

Anyone familiar with their restaurant in Oakland? They are opening on Locust St. in Downtown WC within a few days. I walked by today and the menu looked intriguing - focused on interesting sauces and not just the typical Pho and the like. I will try it and report back...

[iwantmytwodollars]

I went for lunch the other day. We had a chicken claypot and my entree was so blah I actually can't remember what it was (beefy?) There was a nice presentation of both dishes, but taste-wise, it wasn't super special.

I think it definely fills a niche in The Creek, which is largely bereft of Vietnamese food (ok, so there's the new Le Cheval and Da Lat). But I was, having not ordered any "signature" dishes, rather unimpressed by Huynh. The service is better than some random pho house (they are wearing nicer outfits) but not much better. It takes forever to get your food or your check.

I feel like if you go upscale Vietnamese, the bar is kind of set at Slanted Door level (actually, at Out the Door level) and this totally fails to clear that hurdle. But if you're up in the Creek and want something like that, you could totally go here and not cause any harm to your person.

[Marc Wallace]

Huynh in Oakland *was* great -- until about three years ago. Service became slow and cranky, quantities dropped, and sometimes the food would just sit there for ten minutes before making it to your table. Wow, does that make a difference with pho or bun! I don't go there any more.

Hopefully the good people moved as they opened the new Walnut Creek branch. That happened with Sabuy Sabuy Jr in downtown Oakland, which had great food (because they stole the chefs from the parent restaurant).. until they opened a new branch and those chefs moved on. *sniff*

[rworange]

Have you tried Sabuy Sabuy on San Pablo Avenue next to Meal Ticket? It opened about a year ago. I liked it and IIRC, there was one other positive report. I know little about Thai, but maybe some of the food you liked with the original is at the latest ... that I know of.

[fiddlr40]

Here's a thread on R&J. Good place:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/34620...

I haven't tried Huynh yet. Maybe today.

[swoop]

Went to Huynh in WC last night on a whim. It was a Tuesday night and it wasn't very crowded. The interior is quite nice, though nowhere nearly as chic as the recently departed Three Seasons. At first glance, the food seemed pricy- entrees from 14-18 dollars with a 5 dollar surcharge if you get any of the dishes with sea bass. Rice was a 1.50 extra. The table (with very tasteful place settings, I might add) was too small to hold all of the plates and serving dishes. This is a problem in many other similar restaurants where the oversized serving dishes leave one jockeying for space! Service was gracious, but a little spotty. The food, however, was GREAT. We got shrimp and vegetables in a lemongrass sauce, shrimp in a coconut curry sauce and beef and eggplant in a spicy shrimp sauce. All three were cooked to perfection- the meat and seafood was tender while the vegetables had just the right amount of snap. Also, there was surprisingly little grease. Once they get the initial kinks worked out, this restaurant has the potential of being great. I'd definitely go back!

[rworange]

Have you been back yet? Has anyone tried R&J Noodle Place, which opened in November? It was briefly mentioned in the link to the CC Times below and mentions they have bahn mi. Anyone had the bahn mi?

Here's the reiview of Huynh in the CC Times.
http://ae.contracostatimes.com/entert...

[Hunicsz]

I actually remember really liking this place when I first tried it not long after it opened (maybe 4-5 years ago?). Unfortunately, my two visits in the last year have been disappointments. I agree with rightstar; most dishes have WAY too much vinegar, which is weird. Maybe they're a spreading themselves too thin?

[Nathan Landau]

I like Huynh in Oakland, haven't had the vinegar problem, but then again I tend to focus on a few dishes, such as (not proper name) beef with saffron rice and spring rolls.

[darknight]

i was at the grand opening for the new huynh restaurant in wc. The place was packed. We were recommended the Ga Saigon and the pan fried fish filet with ginger sauce.The food was extremely tasty and the service was great. The only problem we had with the service was that iw was a little slow.

[michele_corum]

Ga Saigon is my absolute favorite dish and have it weekly in Oakland. Where in Walnut Creek is the new restaurant?

[darknight]

i think the place is located on locust st.

[rightstar]

The last time I tried Huynh in Oakland, I wasn't impressed. In addition to being extremely salty, the dishes had way too much vinegar.

[Melanie Wong]

Wow, those folks opened an upscale place in SF not too long ago. http://huelamour.net/ Ambitious.

Looking forward to hearing about it!