I’ve tried their eggrolls, bahnmi sandwich, and vermicelli noodles with grilled pork! Everything was so good! The grilled pork especially has that perfect smoky flavor. I love Vietnamese food, and I’m so glad I found my go-to spot.

Mỹ Cảnh Restaurant is a wonderful place to enjoy authentic Vietnamese cuisine. The restaurant serves many delicious dishes such as grilled pork with rice, rare beef with lime, crab noodle soup, and crispy Vietnamese pancakes (bánh xèo). Each dish is full of rich flavors and truly represents the essence of Vietnamese culture. When you come here, you will not only enjoy the food but also the warm and attentive service from the staff. Every visit makes me feel like I am at home—just like when my sister used to cook for me. I haven’t lived close to her for nearly 20 years, but whenever I dine at Mỹ Cảnh, it brings back that same comforting feeling of home. Thank you to the team at Mỹ Cảnh for your heartfelt service and for always making me feel welcome.

Amerlee Silver

Upon entering Betty Lous, I was told by Aldo, my wonderful host/server, to sit wherever I wanted. So I took the seat against the wall by the window, which gave me an amazing view of the hustle and bustle of Columbus Street. Soon after being seated, I was served fresh warm bread. I asked for sliced lemons and oil so I could make a nice dip for the bread. This is a small family run Italian restaurant that does seafood exceptionally well. Along with Aldo, I saw a server and the chef laboring intently in the small cooking area visible to me. That's it. The space was very clean and quaint. I enjoyed my bread and water for over 45 minutes, just people watching and observing guests coming and going. Aldo was taking phone reservations for later in the evening and welcoming early afternoon diners coming in from a morning of sightseeing. The menu is sparse and very well thought out. Just great classic Italian selections all around. I started with the fried calamari. They were exactly how I imagined they would look and taste: a nice mix of rings and tentacles all succulent and bursting with fresh fish flavor. Not salty or overpowering in fishiness. The large bowl was accompanied by a mild tangy tartar sauce and a sweet cocktail sauce. I had plenty of leftovers. I saw the prawn and scallop combo listed, but I did not want the potatoes and vegetables. I asked Aldo if I could swap out the sides for linguin. Aldo checked with the chef, and he was able to accommodate my request. The presentation of my meal was picturesque.The taste? Exquisite! Light al dente linguine tossed in garlic and olive oil. Fresh jumbo prawns succulent and sweet. And the most plump and fresh scallops I have ever tasted. Both were set in a lemon butter base sauce with herbs. Most notably, garlic! From start to finish, I felt welcomed and unrushed. This dining experience was definitely the hilight of my trip to San Francisco, and I look forward to returning in the future.

Harvey Jimenez

Food is top notch. Good portions. Great environment. Best seafood and pasta around.

Charlotte Cabezas

Cioppino is my favorite dish and I order it every chance I get. This one is hands down the BEST I've had in San Francisco. This place is consistent with their dishes and never fail. The calamari was not too greasy and perfect to the crisp. I always enjoy introducing friends to this spot!

Thom Carpenter

Have visited twice during our trip to San Francisco. Both times we had scallops or scallops and prawns. Both were the best we've ever eaten, and we've eaten these things on both coasts and other places in foreign lands. Absolutely superb! And, watching the two evening chefs was like like watching a kitchen ballet - masterful!

Pam Vanwyngarden

We were craving seafood and pasta. Fortunately we found this wonderful restaurant. Friendly and prompt service, delicious seafood linguini with a perfect pesto sauce. Creamy west coast oysters, and an excellent tiramisu for dessert. We hope you enjoy this restaurant as much as we did!

Tom Kwan

Wonderful clam chowder with plenty ingredients. Flavors is well seasoned. Oyster is ok and fresh. Creamy pasta is in good quality. Service is nice. I arrived early lunch time. Plenty of seats available

Mai Sena

Who’s the best? Betty Lou’s Seafood & Grill is the best. Exquisite in all respects, a deliciously tasteful menu and wonderful staff who are very kind and attentive to the details. Thank you for always being consistently above and beyond excellent.

+6

Alex Liu

Extremely good seafood and pasta. Everything is soooo delicious and authentic . The servants are very friendly, this is like local family style restaurant with history, very relaxing environment. The food is so fresh and tasty, strongly recommend! My favorite is seafood pasta and scallops.

E Lee

I like the eclectic decor. Sometimes breezy if someone leaves one of the doors open. Cioppino is definitely the way to go. I liked the large shrimp and scallops especially. Risotto was okay but a little under for the rice. Seafood was fresh. Bread was good. I could see why they charge for additional

+3

Shakeel Syed

Amazing sea food and pasta, service is fast a efficient. Servers are on top of their game and food tastes amazing. I had to ask for some red crush pepper because I would like little bit of kick on my pasta. Will visit again when in the town.

David

On a seafood recommendation by a resident my wife and I had a wonderful experience here. We were visiting The City for her birthday, having lived here many years ago. So many choices for good seafood, but we will surely go here again when we return. My wife had the seafood linguine in tomato cream and I the cioppino. Mine had 1/2 a crab and was so large I thought it was for two. I ate it all! Thankfully, they had bibs. This cioppino is finger food and will decorate the tablecloth, napkins and you! So good! We both finished our plates, which is rare these days. The staff were attentive, suggestions spot on and the owner was very nice, sharing stories of his life and career. Thank you Hector and all the staff. Looking forward to our next meal!

Amy S

Omg wow one of the best freshest seafood dishes I have ever had. The sauce, amazing. The service, phenomenal. What a wonderful place completely recommend. Don't pass on the homemade tiramisu. Both our seafood plates were completely packed with a diversity of fresh seafood.

Greg Saunders

I was pleasantly surprised by this relatively new seafood bistro near a vibrant intersection of Columbus and Grant. I was surprised how easy it was to get a reservation on the same Saturday. They serve up some really good fresh seafood, and I loved the risotto. Waitstaff could be slightly more attentive. There was not as much personality put into the service and our water went unchecked for the whole meal.

Russ Lewis

Everything was very good. Service was good. We had a window seat so we could people watch. Arrived after the peak time and the place was less crowded and more quiet. It is a small place. They take reservations but we just walked in off the street and we were seated immediately. The calamari and the Bay shrimp appetizers were very good. The fresh sea bass was cooked to perfection and the Crab Louie salad was more than filling. This is a must place to eat.

The food is great. The service is acceptable. The staff seem to be always chattering in a language I can't understand, which means it's like going on an expensive vacation in Vietnam. It's a taste of the culture, but without that early 1970s angst of no support for that war. It's a refreshing break from the big box joints. Not everyone wants to risk this. I don't understand and get confused at times.

Service was great! Food was good. The wonton soup was okay.

NEW OWNERS continuing on with new attitude.. service & food is definitely up a notch or more! Posted on their menu “We use organic food ingredients and 100% non-toxic cleaning product, GLIM Super Alkaline Water” 2 favorites remains on the menu .. BUN BO HUE CRAB Soup with thick noods & $9.99 BanhMi

Great down and dirty Vietnamese on the edge of San Francisco’s Chinatown. The aesthetic is rough however the food is great, well priced and popular with locals. We arrived at just around 11pm and the place was alive and clearly popular. Food was tasty and a great find if you’re a seafood lover.

Alex Taffe

The food itself was tasty. The meatballs especially were absolutely delicious. The seafood pasta was good, but not mind blowing. The servers were a little inattentive.

Camilo Arenivar

Delicious food! Great service, iconic location. One could not ask for more in this North Beach eatery. The calamari was really flavorful and the sea bass special was great, thankfully they filleted it for me!

+1

D M (Bigdtravels)

**A Solid Seafood Experience at Betty Lou’s Seafood Grill** Betty Lou’s Seafood Grill offers a **pleasant dining experience in the heart of San Francisco**, delivering fresh seafood with thoughtful preparation. While the **clam chowder was thinner** than expected, it still carried a decent flavor that complemented the meal. The highlight of the evening was the **large prawns in butter sauce**, an entrée that truly stood out. The prawns were **perfectly cooked** and paired beautifully with the accompanying potatoes, creating a rich and satisfying dish. Service was **decent** throughout our visit—not extraordinary, but efficient enough to ensure a smooth meal. Overall, Betty Lou’s is a **good seafood restaurant**, providing enjoyable flavors without going over the top. If you’re looking for a casual spot with well-prepared seafood, it’s certainly worth considering.

Ming Ming Liu

I recently had the pleasure of trying the cioppino at Betty Lou's, and it was a real treat. This San Francisco classic is a must-try for seafood lovers, and Betty Lou's version delivered. The dish was loaded with an impressive array of fresh seafood, including plenty of clams, a couple of large scallops, a succulent prawn, and a generous helping of Dungeness crab. The portion size was generous, to say the least - it was enough to fill me up and then some. My only reason for not giving it a full 5 stars is the price point, which is a bit steeper than some other places I've tried (like the Four Seasons). That being said, I think the generous portion size justifies the cost, and the flavors were rich and well-balanced. Overall, I'd highly recommend Betty Lou's cioppino to anyone craving a delicious and filling seafood meal. Just be prepared for a bigger-than-average serving, and you'll be in for a treat!

We had a Chow Mein special, grilled shrimp & beef bun and Vietnamese spring rolls. The quality of the food was good, but the portion size was quite small especially the Chow Mein came only with a very small portion of noodles and also bun dish was on the smaller side. Given that both dishes costs $17 each I was expecting at least a normal portion size. The interior looks worn out and in a need for an update. They also charge a surcharge for credit cards which was neither mentioned on the menu nor by the waiter. The service was okay expect that the waiter refused to close the door even though it was quite windy and cold outside. The waiter also tried to push me repeatedly to give 20% tip which was a bit annoying.

This placed used to be the IT place for crab noodle soup. Some would say, legendary even... back in the day. Sadly, in September 2025, we got the noodle soup with the crab and it was clear the crab was not fresh. Wife said, don't bother eating it and we tossed our crab to the side. I tried the pork blood, and even that tasted a bit off. This place went from #1 for this, to worst we've had in a while. There was a grand opening banner outside. We should have known. Our second dish, the crispy noodle wasn't too bad. The noodles were indeed crispy which met half the requirements. It wasn't great, but wasn't bad otherwise. Sadly, we will not be coming back.

Tables weren’t clean. They should disclose the credit card surcharge upfront. The “extra large” pho was actually the size of a regular pho at most places. Also, if you want the 10% SF resident discount, make sure to bring an ID with your current address. For reference, my final bill for a $16.xx something dish came out to about $21.something after adding a 15% tip, the credit card surcharge, and then applying the 10% discount.

田口正夫

I used to go here often, but it has changed significantly over the past 10 years. They used to give complimentary bread and free refills on soda. They also used to play sports on the TV. Now all of that has changed and the TV is permanently off.. Biggest issue was with my linguine with seafood. They gave me the wrong sauce selection, so had to send it back to the kitchen. Most of the clams were broken and the shell shards mixed in with the tomato cream sauce. I bit into many broken shells. Portions have also decreased by about 15% while prices have gone up 50%. Restaurant used to always be half full. We went around 1pm and there was only 1 other table there. Would not recommend anymore.

Crab noodle soup, it’s so disappointed. I used to love this place for crab noodle soup. Food now doesn’t taste as good as before. We asked for crab meat no shell, they said yes then brought out 4 bowls and said sorry they are out of the crab meat without shell. Each bowl is $20 so not worth it. Never come back.

Jina

This visit was unfortunately very disappointing. We ordered two lemonades, but both were undrinkable from the first sip. They had a strong tap-water taste, along with what seemed like poorly filtered or contaminated ice, so we were unable to finish them. The pasta and ravioli were noticeably overcooked and kept breaking apart on the plate, which made them unpleasant to eat. The biggest disappointment, however, was the cioppino, which is advertised as the restaurant’s signature dish. The broth had the same unusual watery taste, several clams were not properly cleaned, and the seafood overall did not taste fresh—especially disappointing for a seafood restaurant in San Francisco. For two people, ordering two pasta dishes and drinks (without alcohol), the bill came to over $140. Given the quality of the food and drinks, this felt significantly overpriced. We chose this restaurant because it is often recommended as a well-known spot in San Francisco and expected much better. However, despite it being a Saturday lunchtime, the restaurant was already quite empty. We also noticed that all nearby tables were filled with tourists and no locals, which gave us the impression that the restaurant’s quality may have declined over time—possibly due to changes in ownership or kitchen staff. Overall, this experience did not meet expectations, and unfortunately, it is not a place we would choose to return to.

+1