Saigon Eats

This place is an institution. The woman who owns it is a fighter. Every couple of years they are trying to shut her down since her prices are too low to compete against.

One word: gross.
Worst banh mi I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. That’s saying a lot considering I grew up eating banh mi at least a few times a week. I couldn’t even finish half of my sandwich because of how dry it was. What a shame because it also happened to be overpriced. If anyone charges you over $ 3 for banh mi, you’re getting ripped off.
Oh yeah, their Vietnamese coffee was super diluted as well. You’re supposed to feel as if you just chugged down 50 packets of sugar when you drink Vietnamese coffee.

I used to LOVE this place. Seriously, I thought this would be my go to place for Vietnamese food — not the Vietnamese take on Chinese take out style of their combo plates, but the banh mi’s and fresh chicken and shrimp salad with vietnamese dressing.
But not anymore :(I tried out the place several times during the semester and it has gone DOWNHILL in food quality since the summer ended. The fall semester’s food is not so great. Their garlic noodles are super oily and even oilier is their rice. How is that possible?! The orange chicken is like one nip of chicken surrounded by a huge HUGE mass of flour or whatever makes up the crunchy outer layer. And it didn’t even taste like orange chicken o_​_​O! Gurrll, I am not even exaggerating!
Their jasmine milk tea (used to be my favorite) is now tasting nothing like jasmine or milk or tea… I don’t even knowww.
I’m utterly disappointed at how the food is turning out. It was my go-​to place before for healthy eats. It doesn’t even taste like vietnamese food anymore… whaththeheckkk???
Has there been new management? I keep seeing new

I tried the entrée with two items and a side (teriyaki chicken, a tangy grilled chicken, and fried rice). Everything was just okay, but i did enjoy it and would probably go back if i wanted a good deal and some asian-​like food. Although the rice was a bit oily, it was less oily than i would have expected and everything seemed fresh. It was a really good deal for a big plate of food for less than $ 5.
The staff were also really friendly and it definitely seems very clean. Don’t come here expecting good authentic vietnamese food, but for a convenient meal and inexpensive meal, this is a pretty good choice.

Decent pricing for large amount of food. 20% for Cal students and staff. Got a hot entrée combo with chow mein and 2 dishes: orange chicken and broccoli beef. Sadly their hot food feels cold. No flavor in chow mein so you would have to borrow your dishes to add flavor. The orange chicken had more flour than chicken, I don’t recall biting into a piece of chicken larger than my pinky. Broccoli was undercooked and too salty. Beef was overbooked, some were burnt. I must say that this is one of the few times where I have to throw my food away.

Meh, decent food for a good price.
Food: I’d recommend the sandwiches! They’re always really tasty, and super cheap. You can’t beat paying less than $ 3 for them. The entrée meals, on the other hand, are really inconsistent. The first time I had it, the orange chicken was pretty amazing! The second time I went a few weeks later, they tasted totally different and soggy. It made me sad. Also… THE ASIAN WRAPS ARE DISGUSTING. I felt sick after eating it — the taste just isn’t good at all. Spring rolls are good, but not as good as the place that was there before it. Haven’t tried their phở.
Price: 20% off for Cal students/faculty…awesome.
Service: Fast and friendly. They are always nice and always quick.
If you’re hungry, in a rush, on campus, and want Vietnamese food, go here (I guess that narrows a lot down for you, though).

Looking back, I see that I gave three stars to the Healthy Heavenly outfit that Saigon Eats replaced. I argued that HH deserved a tad more than 2.5 stars and rounded up to three.
I feel the same way about Saigon Eats, which I regard as a tiny upgrade from their Healthy predecessor. Unfortunately, the phở here is not worthy of a detour unless you happen to be standing on Bancroft Street with a slice of Blondie’s pizza in the back of your mind. I had the tofu phở, which set me back $ 5.65. It was arguably A-​OK but it’s not likely to be an experience that I’ll repeat soon. The main result of today’s lunch is that I’m now more motivated than ever to go down to the high-​scoring phở places in Oakland that some of my Unilocal friends have been touting.

I eat here ALOT! basically bc its on campus and sooo cheap, like most food places on campus, but its not the best viet place you’ll find. STaff here is VERY friendly, the boss would make sure your soup is hot and to the best that it can be before serving you.
But even that, the phở is 5.50 for a reeeally small bowl that you can eat in 15 min. i mainly get there hot entrée only less than 5 $ except its ssoooo oily if you get the noodles, it was dripping in my bowl and then your mouth gets all oily so you can’t eat it everyday cuz you get tired. But the good thing is that they do give you lettuce with it to partially balance it out.
THeir tacos are too shabby, but sometimes I get it cold and its not so great after a while. I got like 10 salads from munchonme for lunch. not so great, but its 3 $ for lunch, sooo plain, everything taste like water lettuce, even the shrimp with no flavor and the dry chicken which also has no flavor. But either way is soo cheap and close I keep comin back.

Fast and convenient, but not good.
Let’s start with what’s good. They give a 20% to Cal students! Their jasmine green milk tea is a winner. It smells so good and tastes just as it smells. It’s not watered down like at other places. I have also heard that their phở is decent in comparison to other places around campus.
Onward to the bad. The Viet sandwiches here are NOT good. I tried it after my Viet friend told me that it was good, but I was disappointed. It was so sweet, and I had to drench it in sriracha. I decided to give this place another try when they had a munch on me deal for their shrimp and chicken salad. The salad was fresh, but there was something missing. The dressing that they put on it didn’t complement the shrimp and chicken very well and I had to ask for extra to even taste it. It’s so liquidy that all the dressing ends up going to the bottom. It doesn’t stick to anything, so you end up with a pool of dressing when you finish eating the bare lettuce.
Sigh. I wish this place was better, so that I could fulfill my cravings for a legit Viet sandwich.

This place is great. I’m really glad we got some better food than the one we used to have last year. I’ve been to all three new stands and they are all really good at great prices.
I’ve tried a couple of things a
I never did understand why Tacontento was so expensive.
I’ve tried to try the different foods that they have. DO not get the tacos! They are really bad. I had heard about Korean Tacos being really good in LA food trucks but not these. These were gross.

On my previous visit, I had complained about very greasy food, so I went back here today as they had a munchonme deal– $ 2.95 for a shrimp & chicken salad. I was not impressed.
The ‘salad’ consisted of bean sprouts, iceberg lettuce, pickled daikon and carrots, boiled chicken and shrimp. Portion size was fine for a three dollar meal… my problem with the dish was that it was so SOUR. I think the guy who prepared my salad had been soaking the shrimp in some brine, and adding this same brine to my salad. I also thought the salad would come with some nuoc mam as shown on the munch on me picture, but I guess not.
I’ve given this place multiple tries. In fact, I had their grilled chicken banh mi the other day. They had toasted the bun with the pickled veggies inside, making them warm and disgusting. There was also no cilantro in my sandwich, too much mayo, and the chicken juices made the sandwich soggy. Still great customer service and the food tastes fresh… just not very delicious.

The Short:
* Semblances of authentic Vietnamese food.
* Come for a bite if you’re in a rush, or in dire need of Vietnamese food.
Located in Lower Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley Campus, this eatery was recently renovated early in 2011. With a new, more modern looking venue, the place looks appetizing. Unfortunately, the food can’t match its appearance. I have had their Vietnamese sandwiches, Combination Phở, and Vietnamese Iced Coffee and all three left much to be desired.
Vietnamese Sandwich: It has the look and feel of your typical vWich with its toasty bread, parsley, jalapenos, and etc, but the meat really threw it off. I got the grilled pork, and the offbeat flavor left an unusual aftertaste. It was filling though.
Vietnamese Iced Coffee: It was nice to see that they make it with those old school drips and condensed milk, as expected. While it has the robust flavor you would expect, the texture of the coffee was not as smooth as I had hoped. But props to them for actually having it.
Combination Phở: It was interesting how they made it, but its understandable to have most of the items precooked and then dropped into hot broth to ensure that they are cooked. But this left the chicken overcooked and tough. There were some additions such as BBQ pork and wontons that gave it a more Chinese feel than your typical beef flank and rare steak that you’d find in a combination phở. Not exactly the best thing, but it was appetizing. The nicest part would be the broth, which was not drenched in oil or lacking flavor. Satisfying for sure though.
Recommendations:
* Combination Phở (be sure to avoid ordering the Chicken Phở)
Pros:
+ Decent food on campus.
+ 20% discount for Berkeley students and faculty.
+ Clean venue.
+ Good variety of drinks and «quick eats» (pre-​made Spring rolls, etc).
+ Takes credit card.
Cons:
— Not that authentic. You’d find better elsewhere.

Saigon Eats, you may just be that force that might make me start eating out on campus again. I was on the way home one day, when I bumped into a good friend I haven’t seen in a while. He’s related to the owner of Saigon Eats, and I just happened to have a Munch on Me coupon as well as an appetite, so I decided to give it a try.
I got the Asian Taco, which came with a choice of pork or chicken (I got pork), the typical veggies, and some sauce. For a free meal, it was a pretty good deal! The pork seemed to be honey glazed, and they put A LOT of it in there, which was awesome. Very well prepared, not too sweet, and very tender. The veggies were all very fresh and so was the tortilla. A smart concept that usually costs only $ 2, but got me pretty full right away. I don’t know what it was about it, but it was just so tasty and fresh.
Now I have to try out the rest of the menu and see if this 5 star review will be able to maintain itself. I definitely hope so!

I would have given it 4 or even 5 stars, but…
I literally waited HALF AN HOUR for Vietnamese Iced Coffee. I placed my order at 3:19pm and was told by the person behind the counter that «it will take a while because we have to make it fresh». Fair enough. I’ve had Vietnamese coffee before and I knew the process of making the drip coffee takes a little longer than other coffee brewing methods.
I took my order of stewed beef with a hunk of bread, sat down and ate my food. I was hoping the coffee would be ready by the time I was done eating (by the latest). Not true. It wasn’t until around 3:50pm that the coffee I ordered was ready. Seriously??? Every other time I’ve had drip coffee it took maybe 10 minutes at most, but HALF AN HOUR? Apparently, another unlucky person also ordered the same thing and I guess the employees didn’t know that neither of us had been given the coffee…
Luckily I had a little bit of time to wait otherwise I would have asked for a refund. The owner (I believe) sort of realized I was waiting for a while and also included one egg roll when he gave me my coffee. This is just unacceptable. Maybe if they’re able to find a way to speed things instead of making people wait half an hour for Vietnamese Iced Coffee that I’ll consider writing another review.
On a more positive closing note, they do offer 20% off your entire order if you’re a Berkeley student or staff member which is definitely nice. In addition, it is also helpful that they accept credit cards.

A new restaurant on Lower Sproul! Maybe this will fire up the ASUC-​owned restaurants. They also have a coalition with Munch On Me, which I’m guessing to be a newly launched deal website, and I was able to get a free thai ice tea voucher to use, which is what brought me here!
When I got there, it was about 1:50, and posted all over the counter was the fact that they’re not accepting coupon until after 2:00pm. Since I wanted the thai ice tea, I was going to wait.
I was a bit hungry, and decided to get their two-​entrée plate, with terriyaki chicken, and also broccoli and beef with fried rice. In retrospect, it’s kind of weird that a Saigon (Vietnam) place would offer terriyaki and thai tea…
For a total of $ 5, the price can’t be beat. (It was only $ 6ish and they have 20% for students, which I really appreciate. I don’t know how long that’s going to last, though). The food is kind of greasy, and the broccoli felt way undercooked. It’s a bit disappointing, actually. All in all, I felt that the rice plate at 99 Ranch is way better than this. Also, this is not self-​serve, so your portions are determined by how generous your waitress is feeling (although it was pretty generous, actually). I didn’t get to try the sandwiches that everyone talk about, so I guess I’ll try that next time I stop by. With so many options, though, I wonder if I’ll stop by Lower Sproul again without an incentive, for food.
The thai ice tea, on the other hand, is actually quite amazing! It’s decent compared to some thai places around Berkeley. Definitely recommend for a quick drink.

TIP: You can get 1 FREE taco or 1 FREE Thai iced tea if you sign up on
!
TIP: Berkeley students get 20% off their entire bill!
After Berkeley got rid of the mom and pop shops down in Lower Sproul Plaza, I was hesitant to try any of the new eateries there, but since I had a coupon for a free taco, I was enticed to try it out.
ATMOSPHERE
This place gets extra points for convenience. It’s literally right on campus so it’s an easy go-​to spot if you’re short on time. They’re open for dinner too, so you can snag a bite before a meeting.
Lower Sproul Plaza is like a food court, so the environment is very crowded and it’s a free-​for-​all when it comes to seating. The upside is that you and your group of friends can eat different foods from different places and still sit together.
The workers at Saigon Eats are mostly students and they were very friendly. The booth itself is a lot cleaner than the old one and they seemed pretty tech savvy, what with them using iPads to take my order. The colors are bright and it helped make the food look tasty.
FOOD
There seem to be a lot of choices and I noticed them advertising their traditional Vietnamese dishes. You can order customized meals (imagine Panda Express), on-​the-​spot cooking, or grab and go sandwiches/​spring rolls. Everything looked pretty good but I was only there for my taco.
The ASIAN TACO can be either chicken or pork; I chose pork. I thought it was going to be dinky, but to my surprised it was a HUGE taco. No joke, it was probably the biggest taco I’ve ever had. It reminded me a lot of a street taco, except bigger and overflowing with ingredients.
The pork was seasoned and flavored well, but there was too much sauce, making it an extremely messy dish. It was piled high with cilantro, bean sprouts, carrots, lettuce and tasty chili sauce. I give it another point for actually being SPICY! I had to drink a lot of water! It was served in a paper dish like the ones normally used to serve an order of french fries. The taco normally costs $ 1.39ish, and if they’re all that big then damn, what a steal!
Since the flavors and the portions were good, I would definitely come back in the future. Hooray, Saigon Eats, you have just garnered another loyal customer!

I had the Phở today here and it was alright. I ordered chicken and they gave me beef, I guess they just get way to busy during lunch time to get the order rights but it was still alright. It didn’t quite fill me up though, I was hungry again a couple of hours later. Maybe I’ll get a sandwich next time, I heard they are good here.

Stuff here is really cheap but I’ve found it to be extremely greasy. However, it definitely is a great choice if you want something really worth its price and quick. Lots of ready to take out pre-​packed rice plates. Also, the lady who works here is really friendly.
I always get the rice plates with bbq/​teriyaki chicken. Again, super oily but really flavorful. However, I tend to avoid he fish sauce as it’s pretty darn strong and makes me smell like fish all day.
Just a tip, something that many people may not know: I used to come here during closing hours and everything is half off — $ 2.50 for a rice plate is a HUGE steal. So worth it!

I was craving a Thai ice tea for days. My co-​worker told me that Saigon Eats has cheap Thai ice tea and urged my to get one so I caved in.
It took a while to get the drink because the employees were occupied with refilling soups. One caveat: when the lady was filing my cup, she adds ice to the top of the cup rim! Ask for little ice. I opted for no ice which made my drink super sweet. For $ 2.20 (originally $ 2.50+tax) the drink was average. If I was at home in SF, I would have got TeaWay for $.02 cheaper and I get a stamp card. Anyway, the aftertaste was on the sweet end but typical. I’ll be back to try the food next time.

Out with the old and in the with new right? Healthy Heaven, a long time staple of the lower sproul plaza, closed down a year or two ago and now a new vietnamese «fast food» joint has opened up right next to the new Subway.
Saigon Eats is quick, pick up food and go type of place. They have a nice stream-​tray variety, where you can get rice or noodles with two entrees for $ 5.95. They also have banh mi’s for $ 4.50, phở ($ 5.95), vermicelli cold plates ($ 5.95), salads, and spring rolls ($ 3.25).
I tried out their stream tray food between classes, it wasn’t too busy, cause it just opened and not a lot of people know about it. I got the pineapple fried rice, teriyaki chicken, and grilled pork. OMG GRILLED PORK GALORE! But seriously, that shit was good! It was juicy, had a lot of flavor, and was cooked well. The pineapple fried rice was mediocre and so was the teriyaki chicken. My girlfriend got the garlic noodles, fire-​roasted chicken, and the lemongrass chicken. If you like Panda Express, you’ll love this place. It’s like a cheaper better version of Panda. The lemongrass chicken and the fire-​grass chicken were both phenomenal. If you can’t eat spicy food though, avoid the fire-​roasted chicken. I really loved the garlic noodles too!
Basically a cheap and better tasting Panda Express with some nice Vietnamese options. Fast, and UC Berkeley students get 20% off!
Pros:
— Great food!
— Try the grilled pork, garlic noodles, lemon grass chicken, and fire-​roasted chicken
— UC Berkeley students get 20% off
— Fast Service
— They have Asian drinks!
— Accepts Credit Cards
Cons:
— Banh Mi’s are expensive
— Spring Rolls are expensive
Here is their facebook page: