SEA Restaurant

Location	Pho Neon, 2-2008
741 Monroe Ave, Rochester, NY 14607
Hours (as of June 2009)
Sunday - Thursday: 11:00AM to 9:00PM
Friday & Saturday: 11:00AM to 10:00PM
Phone
585 473 8031
Accessible
Yes
Alcohol
No
Reviews
2008-10-08 City Newspaper review

SEA Restaurant is a Vietnamese restaurant on the corner of Monroe Avenue and Rutgers. that serves a variety of dishes mainly from Vietnam and Thailand. Located on Monroe Avenue across from Rutgers Street, right next to the Hess gas station. This location most recently used to be Basta Pasta.

Photos

Beef Pho with the fixins, 2-2008

Comments:

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See Archive Page for comments prior to 2008.

2008-01-05 20:45:18   I have been there twice so far (lunch and dinner)and have been satisfied each time. Once I had the seafood pho (yum!). The other time, chicken with wide noodles (tasty). Good, inexpensive food. I wonder if they continue to do well, if they will need a bigger space? —ScottHendler

2008-02-05 15:32:14   Ate here on Saturday evening. The PHO (I had beef flank) was very flavorful, inexpensive, and well portioned. The spring roll appetizer was quite simple but still hit the spot. My 2 suggestions for this place are: a) Get some real seating, NOONE wants to sit on a hard plastic chair for dinner. b) Have a few better meat selections (or do a better trim job), some of the meat was extremely fatty and unappetizing. Other then that, the food was tasty and I will be back. —DarrenKemp

2008-02-17 19:39:42   Yummy food (the Pho broth is amazing) quick, pleasant service (even though only one waitress handled the entire place) and dinner for two (Pho, Bun, and spring rolls) came to $22 including a nice tip. Can't beat that. —DottieHoffmann

2008-03-07 10:29:50   Ordered Lunch yesterday. The Chicken bun was rather bland - old lettuce, old chicken thighs re-warmed, and a watery sauce. The spring rolls were decent with a good dipping sauce. The chicken with soft yellow noodles was average at best as well. I'll try the Pho next time. —GordonAnderson

2008-03-17 12:41:50   The pho is very good - generous portions, very tasty. Not the best place for a vegetarian. Very good service, though. —SmitaRao

2008-04-09 20:44:07   What a deal! The extra-large pho soups ($8) must be the best value in town. A single bowl makes for at least 2 meals. This is really a take-out kind of place, though; there's little seating, and the atmosphere is nothing special. Just a really, really good bargain in a town sorely lacking them. —OwenThompson

2008-08-03 3:44:07   The beef special has tendon, tripe, brisket and balls and it isn't dumbed down. Nice clean broth with a complex set of flavors. I'm now three bowls in and still slurping. I was not particularly impressed with the other pseudo American/Asian muck on the menu. Stick to Viet which is what they do well. —ColinRhodes

2008-09-06 13:49:31   I can't believe I hadn't been here before. The experience was great. We started out with the fresh spring rolls that were delicious, and I had a very refreshing jasmine limeade. The pho was the best part, and I really enjoyed the broth; it was very complex and had loads of flavor in it. I will definitely be back here soon. —MaryaKaszubinski

2008-11-18 14:52:33   I absolutely love this place. We go there about once a week because it is so tasty and cheap. The brisket pho is fantastic, and the fried squid appetizer is some of the best I have ever had. —KatyHanson

2008-12-02 11:53:37   one of our favorite restaurants. the pho can't be beat- it's flavorful, light yet filling, relatively healthy and inexpensive! the squid appetizer and the jackfruit smoothie are also delicious. You can also try some Asian beer. we live in the neighborhood so we indulge in SEA at least once a week. —CleverG

2008-12-05 20:55:19   Fantastic! Best thai(ish) food I've had in Rochester- and walkable from most of the grad student parts of town (lots of places on the Wiki are pretty dang hard to get too on foot.) The pad thai is sweet and not super peanutty. I like it that way, but I know some don't. The Pho is good. The Squid appetizer is exceptional. The quality per dollar is outstanding. Tiny place is the only downside - seating is limited. —CamDube

2008-12-22 23:46:20   ok my and my girlfriend who is from LAOS both love this place.. everything is good and authentic. while its not as good as hers, its as close as i have tasted. they have beef tendon which i love and all of the dishes are well prepared and FULLY unamericanized!

that means, REAL fish sauce, spicy chilis and good fixing including basil and bean sprouts and limes.
One thing i have found. a big bowl. does not mean.. more food..its just a bigger bowl... and ask for the freshly ground dried chili powder if you REALLY want to sweat! —wahili69

2009-01-06 20:23:25   Vegetarians, stay away! One of the few veg items that I could order was Pad Thai. It was probably the worst Pad Thai I've had in Rochester (aside from Aja Noodle). It was dry, extremely sticky, overly sweet, and there were very few vegetables. I felt like I was eating the equivalent of Americanized sesame chicken. From what I hear from my carnivore friends, the Pho is great, but if you're veg then I would definitely NOT recommend going to SEA Restaurant. If you want to try excellent veg Pad Thai, head a bit further down Monroe Ave to Dac Hoa. —TrishHeckmann

2009-02-08 20:04:16   The pho is the best that I've had in town, especially for the price. Bun is also good. As others say, stay away from the pad thai. —JohnHavard

2009-02-24 11:18:16   Went here for the 1st time Saturday night. Small place but nice staff. Really should call ahead if you're bringing more than a few people. The Wonton soup is amazing. —PeteB

2009-05-15 00:53:33   I think I've become obsessed with the fried squid appetizer at this place. One of the tastiest dishes in town, period. —JohnHavard

2009-06-07 23:41:16   Seconding JohnHavard - best squid appetizer in town...seriously. A close second is Lento. —OneLove

2009-08-04 22:43:47   The Pho here is as awesome as everyone else here says it is. Really savory and subtlely spiced broth filled with a variety of tender cuts of beef, rice noodles, and veggies. This is deeply satisfying comfort food without the calories or heavy feeling. The super cheap price only sweetens the deal. $6.50 for a bowl of pho that will probably fill you up before you can finish it. And like everyone else says, yes, the squid appetizer is top notch. —AlexD1234

2009-08-21 04:27:41   All I can say, is that having a better half from Vietnam knowing what real Pho should taste like, this is by far one of our favorite places to go. The food is very good, and extremely well priced cosidering all that you get. The staff from wait staff, to the owner"s themselves are great people with an abundance of hospitality. When dining out, I find myself craving vegitable spring rolls, and beef Pho at Sea quite often. —Murphy76

2009-09-24 20:27:06   After a long hard days work I figure getting take out at the SEA noodle place. I have always ate the pho here before but after tonight never again.
So I call in a take out order of the Beef Special Soup.

Pick it up paid 7$ even left a 1$ tip for take out.
Get home and to my surprise I get 1 meat ball cut in half. IN HALF! thats all the MEAT FOR A BEEF SPECIAL?

I then call the SEA place and the women asks what did I order? I said the beef special, then she says oh okay. I get if she didnt pack the noodles but you would think a sorry do you want to come back for the rest of your Meat would be her response.
At this point i am more SAD then MAD. So I Drive back to the resturant to get a REFUND, which I do get.
lastly, I am still missing the apology.

After writing this post I think we are even now. —yellowguy

2009-11-01 12:09:53   I find no fault with the food; the pho is fantastic. What stops me from coming here more often is the music. WVOR, or some other office-safe soft rock, is constantly blaring from their stereo. It's like eating in a cubicle at work and it sets my nerves on edge. —MarkTichenor