Saigon Express

Moved here from San Diego and was craving phở like I can get back home. This place is legit! The broth was delicious and the meat tender (My only qualm was that there could’ve been a little more meat). We also had the banh mi; I had the pork, my boyfriend had the beef. Both were very yummy and the bread was nice and soft. Egg rolls were good too, but how can you really mess up an egg roll?
All in all it was a good dining experience. Staff was friendly and food came out quickly. Can’t wait to go back and try the bún!

Great for a quick bite. I sat down at 11:56 for lunch ordered, and by 12:08 my food was out. It was pretty good phở too ^.^, not the best I’ve had but better then some places I’ve gone. There wasn’t an over powering of noodles either, there was a nice amount that I didn’t feel stuffed after enjoying my food ^

We walked in during a lull on a Friday afternoon, with a handful of to-​go customers waiting inside. The lady at the counter was quick to help us, and made sure that our order went right through and correctly (we had specifics to our order). They had our food out within minutes, and the owner greeted us on our way out. For less than $ 9, we walked out with two filling tofu banh mi. The ingredients were savory and the bread was soft and easy to tear into. Delicious! What more can you ask for?

Wish I could recommend, but the spring rolls were as bad as one gets at HEB, fish sauce was tasted like jarred lime juice, and the noodles were bland.

Their Banh Mi is awesome but is sadly overshadowed by their horrible customer service. Waited 10 minutes for a refill of my tea while the staff sat there playing on their phones. Both girls working seemed entirely disinterested in being there. Hopefully owner will replace with quality staff so I can review with the 5 stars their food deserves.

This place is great and super vegetarian friendly! The food is good and very affordable. I usually get the tofu vermicelli bowl. Everything is prepared well and the portions of ingredients in the bowls are balanced really well (something I’ve seen a lot of Vietnamese restaurants goof). My only complaint is that they don’t play any music in the restaurant and (unless I’m mistaken) the dining room is carpeted. So it’s extremely quiet in there, which is a little awkward. The ambience is weird, but the food is dynamite. I’ll definitely be back.

Horrible customer service. Waiter didn’t welcome us. Chicken curry had a plastic feel to it and the fried rice wasn’t fried well. Never again.

Greasy spring rolls, bean sprouts on the road down hill, lettuce mostly fresh. The pork was old but the vermicelli was tasty. All in all, just not good enough, although close to where we live. I am disappointed.

I have a good/​bad review. The food here is decent. The girls are kind of bitchy, but I get take out, so I don’t have to deal with it long.
Today, I had vermicelli and it was good – but when I went to open my fortune cookie, I noticed that it was cut off and kind of crinkled up as though it had been re-​stuffed into the cookie. (The cookie packaging was slightly open and suspect, but I usually get the fortune and throw out the cookie anyways.) After closer inspection, the fortune was not only cut off, but had been torn and taped back together. With. Dirty. Tape. Gross.
I realize that they don’t make the fortune cookies, but they should be more careful about what they are serving because now wondering what else they are not so particular about.

Saigon Express deserves five stars for the egg rolls alone. I have yet to find an egg roll that compares… they are sweet, salty, crunchy, and savory! Also, the tofu vermicelli is so fresh and delicious! Can’t speak to much else on the menu, because this is what I always order.
AMBIANCE: hole in the wall Asian place.

I don’t know why this place got good reviews. It is awful. The banh mi bread tasted like it had frost bite from being frozen and the 5 very small pieces of grilled pork couldn’t mask it. Fried rice was so so and everything else tasted blah. Not good Vietnamese food.

The phở was boring and the veg sorely lacking. On top of that, this place is filthy! I don’t get it. If the dining room and bathroom are this dirty how bad must the kitchen that is out of sight be. Never again!

Good food. If you’re in the downtown/​Monte Vista area this a great spot for a quick lunch. The outside and parking lot is a little sketchy and the interior is very simple but don’t let that discourage you. The waitress and food delivery was extremely fast. I had the sweet and sour chicken, which came with an egg roll and fried rice. While my meal wasn’t typical Vietnamese, but it was good. My buddy had the phở which looked great and came in a huge portion. My meal including drink and tip was $ 10.
I’m not in any rush to come back but would definitely return.

Saigon Express!
They put the Express in Phở! Seriously! If you have a short amount of time for lunch, and are craving delicious Vietnamese, come here. Yes, the building is unassuming and looks like it hasn’t been updated in a decade, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts! :) The space isn’t that big, in fact, they probably have about 15 tables. If you have a party bigger than 4, you might have to push some tables together. My go-​to is the vegetable phở. The beef broth is good, and comes with an ample amount of vegetables and vermicelli rice noodles. You can spice it up however you want, with Sriracha, jalapenos, bean sprouts, lemon wedges, basil, etc. I have also had the vermicelli bowls and they are also good. You pay up front at the counter, they are able to split checks pretty easily– and don’t forget to grab a fortune cookie (or two) on the way out!

On Saturday… open until 4:00 PM, we were one of 3 table seated. a couple of take outs had come and gone. The Phở is like any other Phở… it was good. The staff was ready to go home. Had to ask for refill on the water…
Looks of the building is deceiving… simple and nice inside.
I am certain it is very active and busy during the work week.

Got the beef sandwich… safe to say I inhaled it it was so good! My girlfriend got the Mongolian beef plate which she enjoyed a lot also. Service was very attentive they always kept my water filled. Only negatives were they only give you one napkin each, I’m too messy for one little paper napkin! Also, I’ve had tummy issues for two days now. might have been the spices but this usually doesn’t happen to me so fair warning!

Unilocal reviews, I’m kinda mad atcha. I had some high hopes for this place since it had four solid stars and twenty some odd reviews. Humph!
I’m ok that this place ain’t much to look at. We’re not asking for a beauty pageant contestant. I’m even ok with being the only table there — saw a few take outs.
What I’m sorely disappointed in is the summer spring rolls and the peanut sauce. The sauce was more like a paste and the rolls weren’t fresh. The fried egg roll that came with my meal was almost on par with Jack in the Box (which I’m a fan of around 2AM) and not authentic.
The small phở was over priced for the lack of meat although the flavor of the broth was pretty spot on. I didn’t order it but tried it. She was nice enough to bring me my own piping hot bowl of just broth when she saw me sipping on someone else’s.
The true price of the meal was the time I spent in the bathroom hours later. Thanks for the flushes!

If you have never eaten at Saigon Express, just anticipate a little bit of weirdness. The dining room is quiet. Awkwardly so. The standard Americanized Chinese classics might throw you off, too. No matter what you do, don’t order the egg roll. If you don’t know what to order, you may be disappointed. The powder blue interior and lukewarm, stagnant air make the anticipation for your food even harder to bear.
This place is a diamond in the rough. Stick to the Viennese part of the menu. The spring rolls are perfection, the phở is flavorful and generously portioned, the sandwiches are heavenly, and this place is amazingly inexpensive. I usually order my food to-​go, which then comes out quickly, fresh, and piping hot. The bun with grilled pork is my favorite.
Go and enjoy a delicious, healthy, inexpensive meal, and remember to order the spring rolls.

I go here for Phở and Summer Rolls. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sure, the interior feels a bit like a cafeteria and it’s a parking free-​for-​all in the lot, but this Phở has cured me in my time of need and I’m forever indebted to Saigon. Full of flavor, the generously portioned broth warms the heart. They also give you plenty of fixins. I usually go with the veggie phở, but my brother gets the P1 with brisket and other meats and loves it. The summer rolls are packed to the brim with the freshest of ingredients and three big shrimp.
I love the staff here. They are always really sweet and you can tell they take pride in what they’re serving you.

There are people in this world who like divey little restaurants that don’t look so great on the outside (but make up in food quality) and there are people in this world who cannot look past the cover (don’t sugar coat it, you will find reasons to not like it from the very start).
There is a fine line where food lovers and food snobs cross which is where Saigon Express falls. You either love it or hate it. I love it. I love the character of the building and it’s faded paint. I love the tables. I love the altar when entering the building. I love the food (the part that matters most anyway right?). Most of all I love the family working behind the counter.
Things to not pass up chicken bahn mi. Heck, if you’re like me and your friends love food, get a chicken, pork and beef bahn mi sandwich, they’re amazing when the bread is fresh! Not to mention the sandwiches are only $ 4. I love the vegetable Phở and the shrimp Phở. Forgive my spelling! The spring rolls are perfectly crispy in my opinion. The tofu has it’s good and bad days. I recently had the vermiclli Phở which came with out the soup and was surprisingly really good with just the fish oil on top.