Golden Era 1

I cannot give this place higher reviews. My partner and I absolutely adore Vietnamese cuisine, and we’ve tried a myriad of different places. This place is at the top of our list now. The most flavorful broth I’ve ever had, with just the right amount (a lot lol) of chopped green onion and cilantro on top. Not to mention the fried garlic chips also!!! The spring rolls were also made to order. So many fresh veggies and succulent shrimp with homemade peanut sauce. Ugh, I want to go back ASAP! You can tell the food here is made with love and to taste, I have nothing bad to say. I’ll definitely be trekking back across the Golden Gate to eat here again. I wish this restaurant nothing but the best, the people here were so nice and they definitely know what they’re doing

Andrew Zoller

Unbelievably good beef rib Pho, honestly some of the best tasting broth I've had! Awesome hospitality in a hole in the wall vibe. Highly recommend a trip for some tasty food.

Cynthia Tran

Delicious hidden gem! We were visiting downtown from San Francisco and wanted to try this pho spot out and it was SO GOOD!!!! Nice and friendly staff, delicious pho, and homey atmosphere! We will be back!!!

pompompurin

Hidden gem! Didn't know how it would fare to Vietnamese hotspots such as San Jose and Orange Country, but it certainly surpassed my expectations. The Beef Rib Pho is one of the best bowls of pho I've ever eaten. The freshness of the ingredients speak for themselves, only aided by a good dose of black pepper. The Thai Tea was frangant and had the perfect amount of sweetness. Wishing the owners success 🪷💎🫖🫶

Essam Abdelazim

This might be the best Vietnamese food in Marin. Everything we enjoyed over here tasted amazing, healthy and fresh. The pho' dishes are very tasty and full of flavor. My personal favorite is the Beef Rib pho'. Perfectly prepared with intentional balance between the broth and the herbs used in the meat cooking process. On the other hand, the Pan Seared Salmon is juicy and the skin is crispy. Even the spring rolls were fresh and delicious. The shrimp in the spring rolls were warm and cooked fresh. To be honest, there is nothing I tried over here that I was not pleased with. Everything was made with care and consistency. Thank you Rose! I can't recommend this place enough. Give it a try when you get a chance.

Mariam Alaeddin

Food AND service was amazing! I feel like the beef rib can be so gimmicky at a lot of these places but they know exactly what they're doing with their pho! Food was so good I got their beef stew and salad to go for dinner!

Davin Leong

There are already a number of really good Vietnamese restaurants in San Rafael. How did we get so lucky? Golden Era 1 adds to this line up and offers something different. The menu is not as extensive or as typical as other American Vietnamese restaurants, but the food feels very home style in a great way! Everything I've tried has been delicious. I'm not Vietnamese, but it really feels like you are having an amazing home cooked meal. The dishes are so hearty and comforting. Everything tastes like it was made with TLC. I've tried the Beef Rib Soup, Combo Beef Soup, a special spicy Beef Soup, Beef Shank Stew, Shrimp Fried Rice, Grilled Chicken, Pork Rib Barbecue, and Korean Beef Barbecue. I'm pretty sure the last two aren't traditionally Vietnamese, but the chef includes Vietnamese tasting herbs and sauces with them, and I really enjoyed the fusion. If you have the Pho, the broth tasted clean and not overly salty. Just the right amount of flavor so you can really pick up the flavors of the fresh herbs that accompany the dish. If I had a gun to my head I'd pick the Beef Shank Stew as my favorite, but I still have not worked my way through the menu yet. The food speaks for itself. Do not look this one over. *** Finally came back again and tried the Grilled Chicken. The flavor was unexpected and delicious! I've eaten A LOT of Asian food and never had grilled chicken like this before. This place continues to surprise me with their excellent food.

Saul Godinez

This is a new restaurant in town. This is as authentic as you going to get to home cooking. The owner Ms. Rose is hard at work in the kitchen bringing her childhood dishes to live once again and is doing an awesome job at it. We had a combination soup, beef barbecue, and grill chicken, all delicious. The Thai ice tea is freshly brewed and not to sweet like you find everywhere else you order it. I highly recommend, it keep in mind she is doing a soft opening until she gets het staff up to speed. But we’ll worth the wait.

Jessie Finch

This is my second time here, and I have to admit—I forgot the name after my first visit and had been trying so hard to remember it because the rare beef pho is hands down my favorite I've ever had. I was literally dreaming about it! I was ecstatic to stumble upon it again (especially since I live almost 2 hours from San Rafael). The food is just so good. I’ll definitely be back for that rare beef pho again!

Tram Nguyen

The restaurant is spacious with a stage for karaoke and live music. We celebrated birthday of our friend here with 50 people. This place is nice and clean and rents out for private parties, such as wedding anniversary, wedding reception, quinceanera party, family gatherings that could hold up to 300 people. The food here is excellent and delicious and the. price is reasonable. I LOVE combo beef pho. It is so delicious.

Abigail Kubota

I cannot give this place higher reviews. My partner and I absolutely adore Vietnamese cuisine, and we’ve tried a myriad of different places. This place is at the top of our list now. The most flavorful broth I’ve ever had, with just the right amount (a lot lol) of chopped green onion and cilantro on top. Not to mention the fried garlic chips also!!! The spring rolls were also made to order. So many fresh veggies and succulent shrimp with homemade peanut sauce. Ugh, I want to go back ASAP! You can tell the food here is made with love and to taste, I have nothing bad to say. I’ll definitely be trekking back across the Golden Gate to eat here again. I wish this restaurant nothing but the best, the people here were so nice and they definitely know what they’re doing

This place really offers delicious authentic Vietnamese dishes. They made a great vegetarian ban mi sandwich for me (it's not on the menu) with amazing handmade tofu. All the other dishes we ordered, pho and fried rice were really good too, and the owner are super nice too. Highly recommended!

The best chicken pho I’ve had anywhere in Marin. Delicious broth and very fresh herbs and bean sprouts. Quick, get in there and support this business! I’ll be going back.

Finally, good service, great portions, reasonable price. Might be my new go-to spot for Vietnamese, and I’ve tried almost everything in the area. The broth was yummy and they don’t skimp on ingredients like I’ve seen other places nearby do.

This place has the best food and is as authentic as it gets. I really enjoyed my beef rib pho, and both ladies that run the joint were accommodating. Highly recommend

Best place in marin ever! I come here once a week. Their pho is the best I’ve ever had the meat falls off the bone. The service is incredible. Please go support!

Loved our meal here!!! So authentic. I got the rare beef pho, and my friends got the veggie tofu and beef rib phos. We loved all of them. Super attentive and kind service as well.

Cozy mom and pop place with excellent food. Chicken wings and shrimp fried rice were amazing. Even my picky eater teen son said the chicken wings were the best he’s ever had.

Someone else here said that this is the best Asian food in Marin and after the food we ate I can say with 100% certainty that this is true. Not that Marin is some paragon of authentic Asian food but I would hold this up against anything in the wider Bay Area. Menu is simple, presentations are simple, but the attention to detail and nuanced flavors impress. The pho broth was delicate and aromatic, maybe the best I’ve ever had. The rest of the soup was layer upon layer of incredible textures and flavors that made a humble bowl of pho into a masterpiece. The chicken wings were unbelievably rich in flavor and with a perfect cook on them. The beef ribs captivated, a perfectly balanced comfort dish. And the banh mi. My god. You’ve literally never eaten a banh mi in your life. You may think you did, but you didn’t. This one may change that. The pale palates of Marin drove them to drop the pate option, which is a shame because it’s the only way this could have been any better. Until I found this place, I had given up hope of ever finding halfway decent Vietnamese food in Marin. We have been blessed with this place, so get it while the getting is good.

This is the best Vietnamese food in Marin hands down. Very on par with South San Francisco levels of deliciousness. Don’t bother going anywhere else. I’ve consistently had very positive experiences here and I’ll be coming back again soon!

TG Cash111

Great menu, all dishes are made with fresh, quality ingredients. The chef was willing to address our specific dietary concerns. Great value. Highly recommend.

Audrey

Finally, good service, great portions, reasonable price. Might be my new go-to spot for Vietnamese, and I’ve tried almost everything in the area. The broth was yummy and they don’t skimp on ingredients like I’ve seen other places nearby do.

Zoe Riviere

This is the best Vietnamese food in Marin hands down. Very on par with South San Francisco levels of deliciousness. Don’t bother going anywhere else. I’ve consistently had very positive experiences here and I’ll be coming back again soon!

Erin Camarena

Cozy mom and pop place with excellent food. Chicken wings and shrimp fried rice were amazing. Even my picky eater teen son said the chicken wings were the best he’s ever had.

Bonnie

The best chicken pho I’ve had anywhere in Marin. Delicious broth and very fresh herbs and bean sprouts. Quick, get in there and support this business! I’ll be going back.

Reed Nelle

This place has the best food and is as authentic as it gets. I really enjoyed my beef rib pho, and both ladies that run the joint were accommodating. Highly recommend

BK

Loved our meal here!!! So authentic. I got the rare beef pho, and my friends got the veggie tofu and beef rib phos. We loved all of them. Super attentive and kind service as well.

martincib

This place really offers delicious authentic Vietnamese dishes. They made a great vegetarian ban mi sandwich for me (it's not on the menu) with amazing handmade tofu. All the other dishes we ordered, pho and fried rice were really good too, and the owner are super nice too. Highly recommended!

Anna Tom

Delicious, authentic Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of downtown San Rafael. I just had the very best bowl of pho ever! The broth tastes amazing - I suspect that their pho broth is homemade. Golden Era looks unassuming from the outside, and I have been reluctant to try it, but this is now my absolute favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Marin. I had the chicken wings and beef rib pho. The chicken wings were generously sized, crispy and fully cooked, yet juicy and tender. I realize I've become accustomed to freezer burnt undersized wings at other local Vietnamese restaurants. The beef rib pho had a huge tender, cooked to perfection rib, AND several large pieces of incredibly tender sliced beef (prime rib? so good!). I'm blown away by the broth! Every other Vietnamese restaurant I've ever been to has the same powdered, tastes like gym socks buillion broth. Okay, maybe Slanted Door and Golden Era 1 have housemade broth. This is the tasty, high quality comfort Asian/Asian fusion food you've been looking for. And at such good prices! The menu is on the small side, but I think that's a good thing, so they can focus on their delicious dishes. Family run, these folks try super hard to make delicious food for their customers.

Kang Yan

I had a frustrating experience at this Vietnamese restaurant. Despite the food being excellent, the wait was utterly unacceptable. I waited over 30 minutes for my first dish to arrive, which is far too long. While the flavor of the food was impressive, the lengthy delay overshadowed the meal. A restaurant must prioritize timely service, and this place clearly fell short. I can't recommend it when the wait time is so excessive.