Pho Saigon Noodle & Grill

I don’t know what I was thinking wanting to try a new Phở place. We have our favorite (Nguyen Vu) and our dining experience at Phở Saigon confirmed that we should stick to what we know and love. Like other Unilocalers, the signs were all there. Dead empty when we walked in. I couldn’t even see the lady that was working there! We stood at the doorway for a couple of minutes almost ready to walk out before she popped up. I guess she was too engrossed with her phone to notice that customers walked in. We sat down and all… seriously all the utensils were dirty. We ended up using chopsticks to avoid using the dirty spoons and forks. I literally took all of them out because they were all needing to be rewashed. The food was disappointing too. The portion size of the pork chop was pathetic. It was half of what I get anywhere else and they gave my one tiny shrimp. My daughter and I ordered the #22 and I think they just split the order between the two of us. Needless to say we left there hungry. The Phở my husband and son ordered was watered down. Tasteless. The egg rolls were okay but they were extremely stingy with the sauce! They only filled the container ¼ full. The service was horrible too. The lady barely said one word to us the entire time we were there. I guess they don’t need the repeat business. We heard that message loud and clear. This was our first and last time at Phở Saigon.

I was here couple of times and food was really good and service, recently the food and service was very disappointing, that’s my last time am sure.

The warning signs were there! Dead empty when we walked in. Bad sign because; food probably sucks and thus no customers, and also, BECAUSE there are no customers, food = not fresh.
I ordered #22, a rice plate that is suppose to consist of a grilled pork chop, fried chicken, grilled shrimp, and egg rolls.
When I got my plate I literally started laughing. I don’t know if I’ve been spoiled by good Vietnamese restaurants, but the presentation for this one was horrible.
My portions were ridiculously small. They gave me 1 piece of shrimp, and my pork chop was so tiny I could cry. The fried chicken did not appear to be freshly made as well. The egg rolls were crispy on the outside, but the inside was very mushy, blegh. You can witness this monstrosity in the photo I uploaded. Booo.

I haven’t been here in awhile and I didn’t look at Unilocal beforehand thinking everything would be the same but after our dinner here, we won’t be back and the consensus of reviews talking about new management definitely plays a roll into why there was such a dramatic change in the food quality.
The phở broth was terrible, probably very watered down because it lacked flavor and the noodles were undercooked. The rice plate had overlooked & burnt meat. Not impressed at all. Pretty sad what was a pretty decent Vietnamese restaurant in the area went downhill, guess I’m back to driving to San Jose for my fix.

I think the owners changed because the taste has as well. The broth is watery. Sad because it really was one of the better places around. Now I’ll just have to make the trek to Phở Kim Long in Milpitas.

I enjoyed the Bun bo Hue and my daughter slurped up all of her Phở Ga after a recent outing to a nearby bicycle race. We will probably be back, enjoyed the food but also the staff were very nice and attentive.

Burnt food… Everything is just… I don’t wanna say it. Just doesn’t taste right… It’s either really salty or watery… Don’t think I’ll come back again… Even argued with me about the food not burnt… And that I ate part of it… I did because I was really hungry but lost my appetite cuz it just taste bad worst shaking beef I’ve tasted… Worst Vietnamese food I’ve had…

Quick service and good combo phở with egg noodle and yummy taro drink with boba. The pork egg rolls were crispy and tasty. The spring rolls were a little on the skimpy side with the shrimp. Most of the workers dont speak english but if you tell them by number on the menu you will be fine.

This place used to be really good and was a regular part of my family’s rotation. The last two times the phở broth was utterly lacking in flavor. All I could really taste was the Sriracha sauce I added.
I’d rather open a package of ramen to be honest.

The noodles and the phở are not so good. But the rice (com tam) and chicken wings are great. Service is kinda ok since some of the staff are not good in English.

Thursday night it was empty, I had the chicken phở, and the rare lime beef salad to go because it’s good with Heineken. When I went to pay my bill the cashier was Eating something. I asked what was that fried yams with shrimp. She quickly gave me a small dish with some lettuce and dipping sauce.

Unfortunately after the management change and the chef change, this place has gone from 3.5 star to 1 star. Phở lacks flavor and temperature (wasn’t super hot when it came out), noodles overcooked, meat was slim pickens.
Also the rice plates here used to be the bomb. Now the shaking beef is too salty and they only give you a few pieces. RIP the OG PSN&G

Don’t know what happened to this place. It was our go to spot since the phở was always on point, but they keep raising the prices and the quality has been suffering for some reason. Most recently, the broth has been either too salty or the meats in my phở has been slim pickings. I ordered a special combo phở (should have all the meats and goodies in it)… when I did receive it, there was only one beef ball, one little strip of tripe, 3 small slices of beef, hardly any brisket and tendon. It was sad to say the least and not worth the visit or the money. Their fresh spring rolls are also a disappointment now too… lacks flavor and the peanut sauce has been watery.
Time to find a new spot :(

Didn’t feel like eating anything else around the ‘hood, and decided to try out this phở place since we’ve never been.
The service wasn’t bad, the food tasted alright… but what makes me not want to come back is the portion.
I ordered the #2 phở, which is basically the combo phở. I was extremely disappointed when I started fishing for beef in my bowl. They gave a very small amount of meat, and I even ordered the large bowl! My sister ordered the small bowl, and they virtually looked the same, except mine came in a bigger bowl and had what looked like more noodles.
I usually share a large bowl with my son and he loves beef tendon. I could only find one small piece in my bowl. So disappointing!
I can’t say I’ll be coming back here often, if at all. I’d rather drive to Huong Lan, Phở Appetite, or New Heart.

I’m extremely disheartened to find out that they’ve changed management, and also have a completely new staff. This was one of my favorite places for phở, and it definitely held a special place in my tummy.
I didn’t try their regular beef phở, but I had their vegetarian phở. The phở itself was okay, but it could have been better. When I ordered it I could hear the cooks in the back murmuring what should a vegetarian phở even have in it. They just threw everything together on the spot, I guess. It came with some greens, broccoli and tofu. The tofu had a really weird sour taste to it, probably not fresh. The broth was light, and it was bland. You can’t really ask for much when it’s vegetable broth I guess. I mean, it’s my fault for being a vegetarian, who goes to get phở and ask for vegetarian?! Me…
Anyway, I’m hoping that they can get better. I’m not sure why the previous owners decided to let such a good thing go, but I hope they’re doing well elsewhere. I really did love this place for what it’s worth!

Phở Saigon has definitely been hyped up to me as having some of the best phở in the East Bay but unfortunately I’ve only managed to make a visit after the ownership change. Overall, I would say that the phở here is alright, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit.
~ Atmosphere:
Why do all phở restaurants always look exactly the same? If you’ve experienced the décor of one phở restaurant, you’ve really experienced them all.
~ Customer Service:
I read some other reviews about the poor customer service, but I’ve received nothing of the sort. We were greeted by a Mexican man who my dad said used to be the busboy, but now has been promoted to taking orders too! He was very friendly with my family when taking our order and our food came out at a decent time.
Unfortunately, I do wish that they tried to have the children’s rice plates come out the same time as the phở. It was maybe 7 minutes before the children finally received their food after all the adults got their bowls!
~ Food:
We ordered some appetisers — Vietnamese fresh spring rolls and also another set of the fried variety. Both were really tasty, and I normally don’t like spring rolls! As for my broth, it was pretty bland and definitely not the best phở I’ve had. However, the portions were really filling — I ordered a medium and had to push myself to finish without leftovers! Plus, even though the phở was bland it was easily fixed by adding some additional complementary sauces myself (such as Sriracha).
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Overall, my experience hasn’t been as bad as a few others on here. I would say that Phở Saigon is a solid 3 stars but I’d probably keep looking for my favourite phở spot in the east bay.

*NEXT DAY EDIT*
For the love of whatever you believe in, DO NOT eat this before a long road trip! I had to drive 10 hours today, and oh boy was I suffering the consequences of whatever was wrong with the seafood.
*Original post after owner change*
I had no idea they changed ownership until going on Unilocal.I got a take out order of my usual, which my brother picked up on his way home from work. I was a little disappointed at the lighter flavor of the broth, but still hadn’t seen the reviews. Less meat in the #9, but I figured maybe it was just a weird fluke. As I was eating it, I noticed the flavors were just not the same. The fake crab tastes like it spoiled a few days ago. I had to spit it out, and I will eat just about anything. I was a little disappointed, I may have to travel a bit further for my phở. Before the owner/​management change, this place was my favorite for phở. I will be taking my business to Warm Springs in the future.

Oh no, it’s sad to say my favorite Phở restaurant has changed and gone down hill! I even think they’ve changed owners and chefs as well.
On my recent visit, which was yesterday ⁵⁄₂₀ for dinner, we were greeted by new waitresses and waiters. Even the older lady usually working the front cashier wasn’t there, it was a new younger lady.
Everything from the décor to the tables are the same as well as the menus, but the prices are higher than what they used to be. It’s not even worth coming anymore, since the change.
The chefs have clearly changed, we’ve ordered the same items we always order when coming here and they were totally different. The Bo Buen Hue, which is the spicy noodle soup, was tasteless, not even spicy and the #2 was tasteless as well.
Both of the phở soup dishes were tasteless, and not good. The portions are smaller too, it’s not good anymore.
My dish #20, which is the Grilled Pork, Shredded Pork, & Egg Roll Vermicelli, has completely changed!!! It was completely different than how it used to be. It is not longer good, the meat quality isn’t the same, and they’ve added bean sprouts to the dish as well as some orange stuff to the top of the dish, which I’m not sure what it was.
Everything has chaged here, it is not what it used to be. I wonder what happend to the previous management? They were doing much better. It’s a no brainer, why this place was practically empty besides 2 other tables, usually this place would be busy but guess with the new management, people can easily point out and notice the differences.
So sad, this was our favorite Phở place, and it is close to where I live. Don’t think we will be back anymore. :(

I’ve been a royal customer for the past 18 months, patronizing on average once a week. Perhaps I didn’t get the memo, the roaches have occupied the restaurant! Although it was not my first encounter with the critter, it was still shocking when I saw it drinking water in the bathroom. After leaving the bathroom, I returned to my seat and shared my experience with my friend. We were discussing the quality of the restaurant had plummeted since the older lady took a leave of absence. The waiter brought out phở and the side of veggies. I then discovered another dead roach in the bed of veggies. That was when we decided to leave.
When the county health inspector visited last year in January, the restaurant received a passing score. I hope that the restaurant owner (s) would clean their act before the next inspection. In the meantime, I need to search for another place for my veggie phở. :-/

Mediocre service.
REALLY GOOD FOOD.
Even better iced coffee.
I left here really happy, really full, and wanting to come back daily since then.