San Leandro in the house, what, what! I don’t know why I type things like that sometimes. This is my first San Leandro post, I guess I’m excited. And Sylantro is definitely something to get excited about — do you like Vietnamese food? It’s not my favorite, but it hits the spot sometimes. And fortunately, Sylantro did not disappoint.
I would not have guessed that such a nice place would be hidden away in a dilapidated strip mall on Manor Boulevard in San Leandro. Even pictures of the place on Yelp were hard pressed to convince me that it was ok. But, Boyfriend’s mom was in the mood for Vietnamese, so that’s where we went.
Sylantro as you walk in.
Sylantro Restaurant view from the very back table.
This place was great. Aside from aforementioned crappy strip mall surroundings, this restaurant was spacious, nicely decorated and well-lit, and had really nice service. The people who worked there were kind and helpful and answered all of our ridiculous white people questions about pronunciations and food preparation.They really went above and beyond when our server actually demonstrated how to prepare our spring rolls using the materials given (dry rice paper, a rice-paper-shaped bowl of hot water to dip the rice paper in, filler for the spring rolls, and sauce; it was far more complex that I would have imagined).
Spring roll fixings including dry rice paper and water bowl in the back.
Close-up of the chicken in the spring roll dish.
The menu was extremely extensive and is listed on their website, a fact which automatically warms my heart and puts a smile on my face. Ah, a website. For a small local business. Who would have thought?
Sylantro offers a variety of spring rolls for appetizers (they are quite fun to put together at the table), a handful of crazy types of salads, noodle soups (including the Vietnamese specialty, Pho — pronounced “fuh” like in the word fun), rice bowls, rice plates, and a whole lot of a la carte dinner dishes like at a Chinese place, but not Chinese. Dishes ranged from around $7-$10 each and there is a large section on the menu for vegetarian meals.
Pho from Sylantro
The rest of the food we ordered was great and, again, the service really sticks out in my mind. Apparently they’re doing well; this is the second location they’ve opened, said our server who may also have been the owner. Definitely highly recommended for local Vietnamese food in the East Bay; a great find!
Chicken dish from Sylantro.
Tofu Noodle dish from Sylantro.
Damn, this made me want to order out instead of eating the tomatoes in my kitchen. Resisting the urge…