A La Saigon

This review is only for the grilled pork banh mi that I ordered for delivery. It’s edible, hence the 2 stars. However, as far as quality banh mi is concerned, it is terribly lacking. The pork could use a little more time marinading. The flavor just wasn’t all there. It also needed more time on the grill. Pork was borderline undercooked. The baguette isn’t your signature «scrape the roof of my mouth» kind. It’s more of a soft, chewy kind — which I guess, may or may not be a good thing, depending on who you ask. I personally like the rough, toasted baguette. That said, food arrived on time but room temperature. Bottom line: wouldn’t order banh mi from this place again.

Average delivery option. A little less heavy/​greasy than your normal Asian takeout and the spice level was actually on point, but the protein to carb ratio was way off. I ordered the «Spicy and Tasty» lunch option with shrimp and vegetables. There were literally only 4 shrimps. In terms of vegetables, it was 90% onion and the rest was a giant side of rice. It tasted good and satisfied me. Pricing was also good: around $ 10 per lunch special. However, didn’t think it was anything too special and really wished there was more shrimp.
Delivery was also super slow: we ordered from literally 10 minutes away and it took almost an hour. Maybe it was because of the snow storm, but still rather surprised at how long it took. Probably won’t try this place again but don’t regret the experience!

I was visiting NYC and staying in the financial district. We’d been out sight seeing for 12 hours, were exhausted, cold and tired. Too tired to leave the hotel, but hungry. I found A La Saigon on Unilocal and ordered thru Eat24.
We ordered 2 beef phở. The price, excellent. Delivery in 30 minutes. The food was fresh, hot and incredibly well packed. I felt bad for the delivery person as it was 35 degrees and he was dressed Micheline Man. He was curteous and I am forever in his debt.
The beef phở was perfect, everything was included (sauces, bean spouts, lime, chop sticks, spoons, etc).
It was perfect… and if the weather is the same tomorrow even, we may be ordering it again. Thank you so very much for the care you took to make our dinner.

Ordered the BBQ chicken with sticky rice via GrubHub. Delicious flavors! Crispy, sweet, a tad spicy, and the pickled veg adds a nice taste too. And extremely fast delivery. Everything was very fresh. Will definitely be ordering from here again. Yum.

A serviceable lunching joint in FiDi that serves up tasty, albeit undersized, banh mi. Since beginning gainful employment in downtown Manhattan, the struggle to find tasty, time efficient, and affordable bites became apparent. It is possible to find lunch specials under $ 10, but can anything $ 10 truly fill you up? While the answer to that is yes, in FiDi the answer is usually no, and A La Saigon is no exception to this rule.
One of the prime tenets by which this particular writer abides by is as follows: a banh mi sandwich priced over $ 6 (most places’ standard rate goes for five and change) better be impressive. The sandwiches here are $ 7.50 (not including tax), so they’re subject to scrutiny under this «impressive standard.» What makes a sandwich impressive? To start, it should taste pretty great: how do these banh mi fare? They’re actually pretty damn tasty, and well constructed.
The pork chop sandwich is particularly lip smacking-​ly good. Secondly, they are really pretty to look at; she’s got style and substance? Certainly a lady to hold on to. For persons of the more gluttonous variety (myself included), the banh mi here likely won’t fill you up; they forego size and replace it with petite finesse (no wonder the sandwiches here make for a fine presentation). So does the sandwich pass muster? As far as taste and presentation are concerned, the place delivers; as far as bang for your buck though… I’ll have to be fair and say, «not really.» Still, a sandwich you should make an effort to wrap your lips around.
Most people though come here for the lunch special (offered between 11am and 4pm). Despite my affinity for the sandwiches here, the lunch deals (your choice of protein, brown or white rice, and a can of soda or bottle of water) for $ 10 + tax isn’t bad at all. The basil pork would be my pick of the lot, though there are other protein and noodle options as well.
You can certainly do worse than A La Saigon when it comes down to choosing a lunching establishment in FiDi. Myself and clearly plenty of other people believe that, so thank the lunch hour gods if you do happen to grab a seat (in addition to your lunch) when stopping by here!

I’ve been passing this place in this random side street alley for months. Earlier this week, if decided to go in and give it a try, best decision ever. So many good menu items, I had the spicy chicken lunch with brown rice and a bah mi. Overall everything is tasty and flavorful, my negative would be the service. The servers could be a little nicer.

This is a pretty good find downtown — really good (take-​out) Vietnamese cuisine, large portions, good value. Their phở is amazing; one order makes a huge and very satisfying lunch (esp in winter; a bit hot & heavy for summer fare). And the pork chops that come w the phở are to die for. Delicious! Their other lunch dishes are also pretty good, though some of them seem more like Thai dishes; but so what — they do a good job. I will warn though, the order-​takers can be a bit intimidating, gruff and hurried … they want to know what you want NOW, no pondering. But that is apparently because they like to run an efficient and quick shop, which they do for the most part. Once in a while an order takes quite long (probably because they forgot to queue it) — but usually they’re pretty quick. I’m getting hungry just looking at these pics!

Comparing to other Vietnamese places, this one is more of a grab-​and-​go place rather than a restaurant, limited seating, no restroom, small menu, food is served in plastic dishes. However, the place is clean, doesn’t smell bad, staff is friendly and the food is delicious. Try Grilled Chicken or Beef Phở!

Service is top notch. This is a take out joint. There is seating but not designed for waiter service. Prices are reasonable and the food is awesome

Had the Grilled Chicken Phở and absolutely loved it. Good portion, plenty of rice noodles and a decent amount of chicken. The only complaint I have about the chicken is that it was with skin and everything. not really a fan of that. but taste-​wise, it was delicious!
The place is quite small, so seating can be a challenge at lunch time.

OK. The service is fast as everyone says. I had Basil chicken lunch special ($ 9.25 w drink, tax) and it was piping hot both temperature wise and spice wise. Super big chunks of partial cooked tomatoes weren’t very appetizing to eat and a little more of protein could have been nicer rather than just buttload of veggies.
I wish they just had some ventilation or cooling system in their seating area. Its freaking nyc summer and I felt cooler outside rather than inside.

Overall score: 3.5 stars
I stopped by at lunch time for takeout and after perusing their lunch specials, chose the $ 8.50 grilled beef Bun (Vietnamese Vermicelli) which comes with water or soda. The beef was nicely grilled with crushed peanuts, there was plentiful vermicelli noodles and a fair amount of cucumber and sprouts. They provided two containers of nuoc Cham sauce (sweet sour dipping sauce) and one container of hot sauce. All three Mixed into the noodles created a fantastic taste combination.
I did not order ahead and the wait was only about 5 minutes. There are a few tables to sit at but this is more of a take out joint.
I will definitely be back to try the other lunch specials.

As an obsessor of Thai food, this place was just okay for me. It wasn’t the cleanest or the most pleasant looking restaurant for dining, but service was pretty quick. The sticky rice was nice but not the best I’ve had the chicken was also mediocre.
I probably won’t return unless I was so hungry and this was the only restaurant opened in the area.

Solid Vietnamese option in the financial district. The have a great lunch special that includes a soda or bottle of water for $ 8.50.
This spot is on the smaller side so you may or may not be able to sit when you order in. Luckily people usually leave once they are done because they see how packed it can get.
I typical get Bun Xao (Vietnamese pad Thai). The portion is large, I always end up having to take half to go, and is quiet tasty. This is def my go to spot when I’m craving some pad Thai in the area.
I tried to get adventurous by trying something new the other day and ordered the Sate sauce with chicken. I expected more veggies but the sauce was good, however, I will stick to the Bun Xao in the future.

It’s great if you order WISELY. There are foods to steer clear from (banh mi for its odd, inauthentic taste; steamed crystal dumplings WAY overpriced for the size).
I personally loved their Bun (room temp plain rice vermicelli, with picked carrot, raw cucumber, lettuce, and a choice of protein); summer rolls, and ESPECIALLY their curries. Even their shrimp curry soup appetizer (with rice vermicelli and veges) is delicious.
Fast delivery to boot. It’s such a good delivery Seamless option, amidst a sea of mediocre Asian food in the area, save for a few from Chinatown that will deliver if you’re close enough.

This is a solid delivery option.
I ordered from A La Saigon on a whim one late night when I was starving. Delivery was lightning fast, which I was super happy with, and the food was piping hot and obviously fresh. The prices here are pretty reasonable, and delivery was free, which also sweetened the deal.
The food was good, but not my «thing.» The «Vietnamese Pad Thai» was a very unique combination of flavors but, honestly, couldn’t beat a solid vermicelli dish. The «Spicy and Tasty Chicken» was way too sweet and sauce-​covered for me, but it worked well over white rice, and it was a pretty healthy dish (except for the sauce, obviously).
I wouldn’t say this place is anywhere as good as the authentic joints in NOVA, but it’s a solid delivery option to be sure.

I order delivery from these guys all the time to my office in Tribeca on seamless. They almost always come in less than 30 minutes and the food is hot, fresh and tasty.
It is my go to for a delivery Banh Mi that will tax tip and delivery will cost me $ 10 and get to my door in 20 minutes. It isn’t that huge but I actually like that, as it is fresh and doesn’t leave me stuffed.

Ordered delivery straight from Unilocal/​Eat24. They delivered within 40 minutes. I was pretty impressed with the speed of service. I thought it would take them longer!
The food is not on the same level as what you would get in Southern California. I’m was spoiled and had authentic Vietnamese cuisine at my fingertips at really cheap prices. To go from paying $ 4.50 to $ 8.00 for spring rolls seems a bit crazy but hey, welcome to New York, right?
Shrimp spring rolls — mediocre
Beef phở — not the best but will do. Not sure if they put any spices like star anise in their beef broth. Didn’t smell like it
Beef Bu luc lac — mediocre
However, since this is the only place in Fidi that delivers close to me, I will probably order again and would like to try other dishes.

While I’m thrilled that there is a Vietnamese place close to my new office, this place just isn’t that good. I came here for lunch about a week ago and I had their sole vegetarian lunch special offering. It was some kind of tofu and vegetable dish. It wasn’t very good and I realize things in this part of the city are bound to be expensive, but I did not think my lunch was worth the amount of money I had spent on it. Bland, bland, bland food.
Do yourself a favor and either walk up, take the train, a bus, or a cab, or whatever and head up to Chinatown for way better Vietnamese fare.

For delivery, I was impressed especially after several nights of lacklustre Seamless sushi dinners. The summer rolls were fresh as could be – the shrimp were nice and tender, the noodles and outside wrapper were soft, and the rolls were really quite perfect. I do wish there was a peanut and hoisin dipping sauce, rather than the sweeter sauce it came with.
The Vietnamese pad thai noodle also hit the spot. The noodles were perfectly cooked and didn’t stick together nor were they oily, as is usually the case. The flavor was good, but I do wish there was a little more seasoning — just a little more sauce or salt. With the chili sauce that came on the side, though, I was quite happy.