Saigon Uptown Restaurant

I didn’t expect much when I first saw an empty restaurant on a Friday night. But the food is good! The portions are good enough with the prices and I myself don’t like eating typical giant bowls or plates. I had grilled pork and it was delicious! My only complaint is they need to have better menu with more diversed dishes.

Best kept secret in Minneapolis. Hands down our favorite takeout. And the best part is that with such great prices, you can sample an assortment of everything. Would recommend the chicken and tofu with vegetables, spring rolls, pork egg rolls, and sesame chicken. Not only is it fresh, DELICIOUS, quality food, but the low prices makes it too good to be true.

Some of the best fried rice ever! Delicious and healthy chicken phở. Excellent fresh spring rolls. Run by the nicest people!

Don’t be fooled by the understated décor. This place is solid and CHEAP. The people working here are sweethearts, and the food is really good. I like their cream cheese wontons and egg rolls, and they have great mock duck. It looks like they haven’t redecorated in about 20 years, but hey, if that’s what ya gotta do to keep the prices low, I say come over here and give me a high five and a $ 3 IPA. The vibe inside is cozy and completely unpretentious. Definitely worth checking out.

I have ate here about once a month for the last 5 years. This place is one of my favorites and was a staple during our time in Minneapolis. The food is very good and extremely reasonably priced. I would recommend the tofu spring rolls and the curry tofu.
This is a family run business, I think the two older women — the server and the chef — are sisters and the younger guy is the son of one of them. Be sure to ring the bell at the counter when you want to pay. 90% of the time the same women waited on us, she may seem ‘cold’ but this is a cultural difference — she is actually very friendly and kind hearted. I will deeply miss this place when I move.

This place is the kind of place that I go to when home is too far away. It’s the kind of restaurant I want to share with everyone I know and like. I would even recommend it to people that I don’t like. The pork egg rolls and wontons are delicious and simple. I would say my favorites are the sesame chicken (I’ve eaten this dish in almost every Asian restaurant I’ve been too and these guys make it the best) and beef in black bean sauce (if you want something with more vegetables). The mango smoothies will make a man go «whoopee!» And I think they will have the same affect on women. Really this place is my favorite and the old lady Lynn that runs the joint with her family is very kind. I asked her son and he said she works 365 and 10 or more hours a day. Hope u get to experience this restaurant and family. The other regular customers that are here to dine in or order out seem to be just as pleased as me.

This is the best Vietnamese food in Mpls.

I love phở and happened to be biking past here at about lunch time. It was 12:30 or so on a Saturday. It was a nice day with many people about. I went in and nobody was there. I looked at a paper menu, of which there were only two. I then sat down and waited for a long time. I could hear some noise from the back (kitchen?) but no response to my, «hello?». I then walked out.

I have been going to Saigon for years. I used to go far too often when I lived closer by but I still make the trek now because I am obsessed with their spring rolls. I am a spring roll fiend and have tried them from all over but I always dream of Saigon’s. All of the soups and the spicy beef with lemongrass are also some of my favorites. But again, the spring rolls are a must.
While the inside isn’t anything special, I always enjoy the service. The main woman is always working and is extremely polite.

I’ve been going here since I was a kid, so I’ve got to admit I’m a little biased, but I love this place. The interior is lacking, but I think that plays a part in its charm.
My favorite things about Saigon Uptown: EGG ROLLS (with the fish oil!) are to die for. Worth going here just for the egg rolls. Quiet atmosphere. Free parking in the back. Friendly staff — they recognize me at this point and chat with me, which makes me feel very welcome.
As many others have said, don’t expect to get in and out quickly. I never wait for my bill at the end of the meal — go up to the counter and ring the bell, they’ll get you sorted out faster that way.
Also, if you’re a fan of spicy food, ask for ‘extra spicy’

I had an opportunity to visit this place recently and the restaurant is not very fancy, but the Vietnamese food was great! I had the pork fried spring rolls and the phở (beef). The spring rolls were exceptional and so was the beef phở. Do note that the menu shows a lot of Chinese food items, but I would suggest the Vietnamese items. The server was an older woman mentioned in other reviews and was very attentive and helpful. In addition, the prices were very reasonable! A great little spot for Vietnamese!

This place is the best deal in town. I really like their chicken vegetable dish with black bean sauce. All for $ 6.50. Sure, the décor is tired but the food is very good and the drinks are cheap too!

Excellent food, especially the seafood soup. Crisp, fresh vegetables. Egg rolls are perfect, melt in your mouth.

I love this place, especially visiting with the old women that run it. The coconut curry is fantastic and the prices are great. 6 – 7 bucks gets you great dishes that you can tell have been homemade.

This is one of those places that proves to rule «you don’t judge a book by its cover». It looks like an old dive, and the menus are yellow with age. Then you order, you get an obvious family feel from the staff including a lovely older woman. They are glad to help you out with anything you are not familiar with or questions you may have.
The food was simply fantastic. I had the spring rolls and hot pot, my friend had vegetable soup and Vietnamese coffee. All the food was really fantastic and considering the low prices the portions were quite large. I will be going back regularly for sure and would be suprised if anything on the menu was even average.

From the time I came in somehow I knew I would get a bad meal, no other customers, funky smell ect! Sure enough it was awful, I ordered pork fried rice and I don’t recommend it, never coming here again…

I have always wanted to go here especially since it is so close to my house, but I have also always been freaked out by the constantly closed shades. I often wonder to myself if I walked in there, would I ever walk out? You can’t see if anyone is in there!
BUT Unilocalers, I overcame my fear, as my friend suggested we go try it out. He had tried the phở before and said it was delicious.
There is apparently parking in the back, we just parked on the street and walked. The inside is a little blah and the tables kind of old looking, but there is some really interesting and great artwork on the wall which makes the place feel more friendly and inviting.
We were greeted by the cutest older woman ever, very soft spoken but very kind. The menu is huge consisting of normal Chinese dishes, separated by lo mein, chow fun, and all the meats, and of course you veggies out there, plenty of options for you! We started with the spring rolls, because come on, I gotta try every spring roll! They were good, but didn’t have any herb in them and I’ve come to enjoy a little basil or mint in my roll, however, still decently sized and the peanut sauce that accompanied was yummy.
My friend ordered the Chicken Phở and I got the Tofu with Vegetables. Mine was good, not great, but I’ll definitely get it again or try something else, and my friend slurped down his soup real quick. So the four stars you might ask? Well the price is unbelievable, seriously UNBELIEVABLE. I think my portion, which I had for two meals was like $ 5.50 and his soup was around $ 6.00 but the best part, they had Summit EPA for $ 2.20! Go here for at least a cheap beer and to check it out.
Overall, the service was a little slow as we finished and the host/​server/​owner/​whatever had disappeared. We had to find her and ask for a box to go, which was fine. I didn’t care that it was slow since I was avoiding homework anyways, however, caution to those who are expecting a quicker turnaround, I have no idea if it is always like this or not. It was extremely empty when I went, so if it gets busy (gah again with the blinds!) beware.
But now that I have stepped into this mysterious restaurant, I’ll be back when I want higher than take-​out Chinese quality but don’t want the price that comes with it!

Best chi/​viet food in uptown. I want this family run restaurant to do well and they have THE BEST PHO EVER! It’s not much to look at but give it a chance I dare ya!

This place is a hidden gem. The restaurant décor is nothing to brag about and the menus come to you in plastic school folder and sheet protectors. That aside the food is very good and REALLY cheap! Everything is under $ 10 and mostly entrees are $ 7 which is half what I usually find myself paying. The staff there are great too! It’s family owned and the mother who works there is very sweet.
Some of my personal recommendations would be the Lo Mien: full of veggies and has an amazing sauce, BBQ sliced pork: savory meat over rice noodles and veggies, and the Banh Mi are really good and only like $ 4!

This place completely underwhelmed me. Décor is nothing, but I expect that with cheap ethnic eats, the food makes up for it. But not here.
My clue should have been that it was 7:30 on a Friday night when I walked in the place was empty.
Menu was simple white on black photocopies in plastic sleeves. Low tech, no problem, except that an add-​on tag on the first page said, «Due to increased cost of ingredients, please add .50 to all menu items.» They couldn’t even run new copies out on their laser printer!
The Vetnamese offerings were mixed in with Chinese dishes, and descriptions were so generic it was difficult to imagine what you were really getting. We saw a «steamed rice crêpe» in the appetizer section with the note «when available.» We asked for it when we ordered dinner (two beef noodle salads and an order of BBQ beef on noodles) and the waiter said he would check. Then he disappeared. For 25 minutes.
Finally an elderly lady showed up with two plates of anemic-​looking «beef salad.» Soft beef, overcooked noodles, aging iceberg lettuce, and a couple hunks of mushy tomatoes and slices of cucumber. Lackluster fish sauce. Then the BBQ beef, which was the same as the salads minus the tomato and cukes.
No mention of the missing appetizer. Fine if they don’t have it, but don’t say you’ll check and then leave me hanging.
This was all the more disappointing when I compare it to the fabulous mouthwatering beef salads I get within five minutes of sitting down at University Ave.‘s Saigon. With the economy the way it is, I don’t eat out as often as I’d like to, and each time is an opportunity for something new, fresh, and fun. Too bad I wasted one of those chances on this place. I will not be going back.