Clean, modern and spare can sum up the atmosphere at My Father’s Kitchen, a small Vietnamese restaurant that opened over a year ago on Divisadero St. We arrived early and even though the place was not even half full, we found the service slow. That can be good if you want an unrushed dinner, but if lingering is not your main aim when dining out, it can be a point of frustration. We had time to kill, so it was not an issue, but I got the impression that this may have been typical at this restaurant. Pricing was good, food was adequate, but we will probably not return anytime soon. We really need the wow factor to be enticed to come back to any restaurant in San Francisco, or very personalized service.
They may have had Vietnamese Coffee on the menu, but we ordered Thai Iced Tea instead, and were puzzled, but happy to see that it was even available. Spring Rolls were next on our agenda for this evening. If the rolls are good we know what to expect during the rest of the meal. They were classically made with rice wrappers, shrimp, mint, carrots, cilantro, lettuce and rice noodles; also served with an exceptionally creamy and thick peanut sauce. It was one of the best versions of peanut sauce I have ever tasted, and there were no worries about it dripping off the roll. This dish set our expectations higher than the restaurant could meet. But it shows potential in the kitchen.
Although the Imperial Rolls tasted fine, they had no eye appeal and looked a bit anemic, since they were not the expected golden brown color. I have to face the fact that we have been spoiled by Tu Lan, because they have superior Vietnamese food, but a restaurant facility and location that would bring my mother to tears, if she ever saw me walk through the door, or heaven forbid, sit down there. In fact, we are still looking for a Vietnamese restaurant replacement, because I just cannot sit down at Tu Lan any longer… I’m always afraid I will find vermin in my purse when I return home. But, back to My Father’s Kitchen. A for effort and pricing, but this restaurant is just not hitting the mark for us, and I really wish it would. Admittedly, we did not order anything extraordinary, so the restaurant could really shine, but it was a small menu with modest menu items to select from; nothing seemed inventive or unique to this restaurant.
For that very reason, we ordered what we generally like, since we were familiar with practically all the menu items. In fairness, I have heard that they serve a really good Pho, but we didn’t order it. Instead the Yellow Curry Chicken arrived with a good flavor and generous portion. The peanut sauce showed up as a condiment and it worked very well with the curry. The Pork With Rice Noodle in rice vinegar and sweet chili sauce was also good, but nothing we haven’t eaten elsewhere. All in all, it was decent but ho hum for someone familiar with Vietnamese food. The selection of items on the menu is particularly small.
http://www.myfatherskitchensf.com/menu.pdf
| 1655 Divisadero Street |
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