Pho Saigon

As the yard sales get old and stale at the end of the day, I cast about looking for something amazing, something to satisfy my soul and reward myself after a day wandering the streets like a lost knight seeking the grail. I drag my tired butt into Pho Saigon and order the spicy beef soup and because it's there and and I can never resist Bao, I get a BBQ Pork Steamed bun. I don't know, but this Bao does not sing to me. It seems exactly like the ones I get in the frozen section over at the asian market. It tastes like microwave... I could be mistaken, but I love Bao like a crow loves a shiny button and this is not a shiny button. The sprouts do not look fresh, this is one of the cardinal sins. The fixin's for a broth have got to be fresh, that a restaurant would serve old fxin's takes frugality dangerously into the realm of insult. Do they think we will not notice? And then we get to the broth itself. I've had spicy broth all over town and this bowl did not measure up. There was no spice, no depth or profound mystery of culture and adventure. It was just, bland. Maybe other dishes are better, but if I can't dip my proverbial toe into what should be the signature dish of a place with Pho in the name, then I'm not going to out of my way to visit again. Staff was pleasant enough, I always feel bad when I visit somewhere and find the food disappointing. At least I found some fun stuff at the yard sales and the fact that are two Indian grocery stores directly across from each other in the parking lot (I'll bet there is a story there). Rescued the experience. A little. Where is the passion? The love of cooking? The pride of craft? It feels like the Vietnamese version of the guy in the diner slinging hash like a robot. When was the last time they checked out the competition? Tried something new? Got excited about coming into work. I know there are paces that do these things, their food reflects that.

My wife and I came here for Date night and we both are very happily pleased with our food orders. The amount of food got seemed to never end. My wife ordered Pho, and I ordered the curry. We will both be back and see what other delicious foods we will get next time. Also the staff was friendly and quick to get our food out.

This place has a pretty expansive menu but I really never make it past the combination pho, which is tasty. I usually get the shrimp spring rolls, too. Service is fast and staff are polite. The Thai tea is incredible here, according to my wife. Sometimes she gets two. If I'm in the mood for pho and close by then this is my spot. Give them a try.

Ordered from Pho Saigon last night with Grubhub delivery. EVERYTHING from food to delivery was great!! The pho was amazing. The restaurant listened to all of my individual requests and more than met them. The broth, which I always order extra, was flavorful and sooo good!! Their vegetables were super fresh. Everything was pretty perfect. I will b coming back to this restaurant in the future. I actually want more right now!! I can make 3 good sized bowls from just getting an extra 32oz container of broth and I usually save some for the next day but it was so good-I ate it all in 3 different setting in one night. I felt so much better after having a bowl that I just couldn’t stop. Thank you Pho Saigon…I’ll be back soon!!!

Our favorite pho places in the area for perspective: pho Oregon, pho van, pho green papaya, pho vi van. Some reviews for this place say that the broth here is bland. It was not bland it was actually pretty flavorful and we loved how fresh the onions were and how they were prepared in the soup. However the meat didn't seem the freshest. Just average. Not bad, just a erage. We also ordered the grilled pork vermecelli noodle dish .. and the meat again wasn't the best and was a little on the salty side.. maybe twice as many veggies would have leveled the salt level down a bit and I'm sure they would have given us extra if we had asked. This place is three star for us... at least the dishes we ordered.