Two new Asian restaurants have opened their doors for business on Geary near 18th Avenue – Enjoy Vegetarian and Perilla.
Unlike many of the restaurants that open in the neighborhood, both have other locations in San Francisco – Enjoy Vegetarian in the Sunset District and Chinatown, and Perilla in SOMA and the Inner Sunset.
Enjoy Vegetarian (5344 Geary) offers a large menu of dishes that are 100% vegetarian. Emblazoned on the menu is the credo “Dishes served do not contain garlic, onion & MSG. Imitation meat are made of soy product, yam or wheat gluten.”
The selection of dishes is extensive, with prices ranging from $5.99 for appetizers like “Fried Curry Potato Triangle” and “Japanese Sashimi” to $22 for an “Black mushroom, Veggie Abalone, and Sea Slugs with Lettuce”.
Enjoy Vegetarian is open daily for lunch from 11am until 2:30pm (including a large menu of $7.50 lunch specials) and then again for dinner from 5pm until 9pm.
Just a block further down is Perilla (5423 Geary), offering Vietnamese cuisine. Owner Tin Truong also runs another restaurant in the Richmond District – PPQ Dungeness Island (2332 Clement).
Perilla’s menu is ample and includes sections for starters, garlic noodles, Vermicelli, rice plates, vegetarian options, and noodle soup. The beverage menu includes a “three color drink / red bean drink” ($3.25), a sweet drink that is a Vietnamese version of Nab Vam, made with a simple syrup of caramelized sugar, coconut milk, ice, and tapioca pearls.
Prices at Perilla range from $6.50 for starters like “Imperial Rolls” or $9.50 for “Papaya Salad with Poached Shrimp”, to $10.50 for larger dishes including “Charbroiled Beef Garlic Noodle” and “Vietnamese Carpaccio”. View the Perilla menu (PDF)
Perilla is open daily from 11am until 9:30pm.
Both restaurants were hopping when I cruised by around lunchtime on Sunday, so I think it’s safe to say they’re off to a good start.
Have you eaten at Enjoy Vegeterian or Perilla yet? If you have, let us know about your experience in the comments!
Sarah B.
for Perilla, we used to order from the Irving location, now we have done take out twice at the Geary spot. Always tasty. Those running the new location are super friendly and welcoming.
I love Enjoy Vegetarian. I often visit the Kearney location and the food tastes great. I hope they stick around, the Richmond needs good vegetarian options.