BiteClub

It’s a Donut Shop. It’s a Vietnamese Restaurant. Savor Vietnamese Is Both!

You can get a glazed donut with your banh mi at this new Santa Rosa cafe.

(Update: Now known as Savor, the restaurant is focused exclusively on Vietnamese cuisine. You’ll find simple, fresh and tasty fare along with boba, milk teas and slushies. A recent remodel has updated the look and feel of the spot).

Tasty Vietnamese food at a donut shop? It’s a thing at Savor Vietnamese restaurant in Santa Rosa.

Though it seems like an odd pairing, there’s a long history of immigrants from southeast Asia opening donut shops that also serve the foods of their homeland. You can thank Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee who is widely credited for not only building his own donut empire in the 1980s but providing seed money for hundreds of other immigrants to purchase the high-profit sweet shops throughout the state.

 Formerly known as Corner Park Cafe, Savor had a slightly different trajectory, owned by longtime donut-maker Frank Whigham and his Cambodian wife, Champa, for more than a decade. The couple typically worked 18-hour days, sticking to fresh donuts of every strip. At 89, Frank was ready to retire, recently transferring ownership to Kanha Kien, another Cambodian who owns Santa Rosa’s Yo Panda. The Corporate Center Drive cafe offers — you guessed it — donuts and Vietnamese food.

Go for the pho, barbecue pork banh mi, fresh rolls, and noodle bowls, but save some room for mango shaved ice, a specialty. Mango ice cream is shaved into impossibly thin stacked ribbons of flavor, topped with a pile of fresh mango and sugar syrup. They’ve also got a taro root version with strawberries that’s a more exotic take.

Of course, you can’t leave without a couple of donuts too. 4275 Montgomery Dr, Santa Rosa.

Subscribe to Our Newsletters!

Comments

6 thoughts on “It’s a Donut Shop. It’s a Vietnamese Restaurant. Savor Vietnamese Is Both!

  1. The food is really good. Prices and portions are reasonable. Big flaw….this place is very dirty. Get order to go

    1. it was really clean when i went. They might be experiencing a little overload after the write up. But dirty is not good!

      1. Went twice early on. Same issue. Not ok from from people already in the biz. If the front of the house is dirty, you can only imagine what the kitchen looks like. I’ll continue to patronize occasionally just because of convenience factor but would much prefer paying a slightly higher price for better environment at “Simply” Vietnam on Cleveland.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in BiteClub
Halo-Halo! Flavorful Filipino Restaurant Opens in Santa Rosa

Food from Southeast Asia comes to Larkfield, featuring lumpia, pork adobo and more.

Close