Elements Restaurant

At first glance, the restaurant may look sketchy and may look like a smoothie shop that sells banmi sandwiches because of the outdoor seating, but looks can be deceiving. This white tablecloth ambiance is the finest Vietnamese restaurant in the area! Absolutely a delicious experience, flavors were consistently but was not boring at all. Salty and umami to the gut!Presentation wise, stunning. Flavor combinations, not shy at all. The chef knows exactly what he's doing and has a lot more potential if he so desires it. Perfect weekend restaurant because it's not saturated with people, noise level is kept at a minimum. My only concerns were that there was only one server staffed for the evening, making it difficult for the server to talk about wine pairings with the food. Paying attention to detail was upheld but lost as more tables had to be attended. Thank you, chef, and I will be coming back for more!

We had the beef in rice crepes, sea bass, tea smoked duck and chocolate bomba. Everything was perfection! Surprisingly delicious, high end food in this unassuming shopping center. There are so many more menu items we can’t wait to try! Will be back friends! Excellent gluten free options!

The food here is SO GOOD! I had the beef appetizer wrapped in noodles it was bomb, also the sea bass special was perfect. The sauce was amazing.

The service was also so great! I was very happy eating here. Highly recommend

Wonderful take on Asian French fine dining. Love the presentation of the food. The quail appetizer was nice little half birds cooked wonderfully so the skin was crisp like peking duck. The Paella was so delicious! The tea duck was also very good. Great restaurant 👍👍

This place provided fresh taste sensations. Chef here knows his/ her sauces! The Salmon Wellington was done to perfection: wild salmon inside a toasty Wellington shell, over an airy & delicate lemon sauce. Balance btwn crust and fish showed a deft hand. Seafood Paella
was a full bowl of shell fish over satisfyingly flavored rice: the tangy tomato sauce had a nice bite, but showing sufficient restraint on the pepper. And the Filet Mignon: what can you say to a perfectly executed med rare filet sitting atop a truffle sauce that enhanced everything on the plate?!

The only minus was the fried calamari appetizer: it failed to match our gold standard from another place. A bit on the rubbery side, and without any flavors. Like it was done by a whole different person (probably was!)

Service was attentive yet unintrusive. Loved the bold art work on the wall and the beautiful music. Wish they'd fix the door alarm, which was an annoyance to an otherwise highly pleasurable experience.

Excellent food and service. We've been dining at this family owned restaurant for years. The Vietnamese Stew is my favorite. My friend almost always orders the salmon.

Tristen the chef owner is super friendly and knows all his regulars by name. It's a great atmosphere.

I had the pleasure of dining at Elements, the Euro Asian restaurant, and it was an absolute delight! The appetizers were a tantalizing introduction to the culinary journey that awaited me. Each bite was a harmonious fusion of European and Asian flavors, leaving me eager for what was to come. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly the rack of lamb. It's no exaggeration when I say it was the best I've ever had. Cooked to perfection, the lamb was tender, succulent, and packed with flavor that lingered on my taste buds. The skillful blending of ingredients truly showcased the restaurant's commitment to culinary excellence.

Equally impressive was the service. The staff's attentiveness and knowledge of the menu made the experience even more enjoyable. Their passion for providing an exceptional dining experience was evident in every interaction. From start to finish, the evening was a symphony of flavors and impeccable service that left a lasting impression. Elements has truly mastered the art of creating a remarkable dining experience, and I'm already looking forward to my next visit to savor more of their exquisite dishes.

We had bun tom thit nuong and pho special. They both are very fresh. The taste is very pleasant. Overall the food was great. We would recommend others as the environment is pretty nice also. Next time we will try dinner time.

My sea bass was cooked perfectly, very tender and tasty. The vegetables were good too. The roasted quail was also crunchy and flavorful.

The price for value here is off the charts, they could have charged double and I would have been happy, its that good. I've paid double for similar dishes and it was not as good. Get here fast because these folks are going to move out of this zip code quick...

The technical ability alone gets 5 star. I had tea-smoked duck au gratin (its not potato its creamy mashed taro... super good) and seafood paella and every element was cooked perfectly. The flavors are also phenomenal. The duck dish has the composition of a thanksgiving dinner, very fun plating and so tasty. The paella had 7 different seafood elements and they were all cooked perfectly and I've tried these same things all over and generally something is chewy and inedible but not here.. it was good. Very talented, thank you for the wonderful meal.

Elements Vietnamese Restaurant didn’t disappoint. The calamari appetizer was cooked to perfection - tender, nearly melts in your mouth, and a sharp contrast from chewy calamari which is normally served at other restaurants. I ordered the salmon Wellington and it had my tastebuds singing. From the lemon beurre blanc sauce, the moist salmon, and the hearty vegetable medley which is all engulfed by a flaky cage shell, I didn’t want the experience to end. Then we finished our dinner with a mango panna cotta which was light, silky and delicious. My only regret is that we should’ve ordered 1 per person. I will definitely be back to Elements!

This is my first time here with my husband.We ordered fresh scallops ,tea smoked duck and a seasonal special butter cream squash soup.All food looked exquisite and tasted delicious！The service here was awesome as well and they are very friendly!

My parents have been huge fans of Elements for years but, since I lived in LA for 21 years & only moved back to SJ a few months ago, I finally had my 1st meal at Elements for my 40th birthday this past week & it was pure perfection. The impeccable service, delicious food, beautiful presentation, lovely decor & calming ambiance were absolutely incredible! It was a little slow because it was a Wednesday night, but that just made us feel like we had the whole place to ourselves. I sincerely hope they get a lot of takeout orders though ‘cuz I want them to get a ton of business ‘cuz they deserve to stay in business forever! Highly recommend 😋

Great service! Food looks really good and are delicious. Duck and scallops are great.

Went to Elements for our 30th anniversary. Decided to eat outside. Quiet and delightful. The menu is eclectic and creative. We had trouble deciding what to get because we wanted to try everything. Our plates were delicious and large so we had enough for lunch the next day. Service was excellent.

Side note: I’m not sure what kind of butter they use, but waiting for our meal we enjoyed the bread with butter and asked for seconds because the butter was delicious. That sounds lame, but it’s true.

We will definitely go back and keep trying other interesting plates from the menu. This is a locally owned small business and we are happy to support!

I had their seafood peallea and it was amazing. This is a hidden gem that I just found. Highly recommend.

10/16/21 My friend and I came to San Jose to see Hamilton, and went to Elements for dinner the night before. We also looked at previous reviews and were excited to taste the fare. I had starters: grilled beef on asparagus skewers and Vietnamese spider rolls (spring rolls stuffed with crab, veggies, and vermicelli) and my friend had meatloaf with mushroom sauce. There was also bread and butter! Everything was so delicious and the staff was attentive and helpful . If you are in the area, it is well worth it! There is patio seating as well as dine in. It is a hidden delectable gem! It is 20 minutes from the downtown hotels.

Decent dining place. Wish they could open lunch in the future.
It's really a nice local dining option in Almaden! Not that formal as La Foret, not that casual as those Pizza places, and food options is more variable. All entrees we ordered is very nice! Environment, service and food is all good. Their source is between American and Aisan type I guess? So it's more easily to satisfy most customers. We will certainly go back some time for some dinner event.

Magnificent meal, this might as well be a Michelin star restaurant!! The scallops and prawns were incredible, the salmon was amazing literally one of the best meals ive had in almaden.. please please do yourself a favor and come experience this food

My family had a dinner for our 20th anniversary couple of weeks ago. All dishes were fantastic. We tried beef, duck, sea bass - sorry can’t remember names, which are all good. Oh, Pad Thai was good too. A bit pricey but worth it. Definitely we’ll be back again.