Saigon 1

Food is great and this is the ONLY Vietnamese restaurant in VA Beach (Hampton Roads) that has lunch and dinner specials so it does NOT hurt your wallet! They also offer delivery now which makes me smile :-)

We have been going to Saigon One probably since it opened and never had anything that lacked in taste or preparation. Every time we go there I feel l am eating in Saigon.

Honestly this is my favorite of all the Vietnamese Restaurants in the area. Been going here for years now. The soups are great especially with glass noodles. The soft spring rolls and shrimp toast are must tries when you go. I usually always have the number 80 (Phở) and the spring rolls. Can’t get enough of it.

Really good phở here but I like that they have a nice variety of other Vietnamese items on the menu as well. That’s kind of rare in this area. I like the pancakes in particular. The service is usually pretty good but it can be spotty at times. I used to live near this location when they opened many years ago and frequented the restaurant but I moved 14 years ago and just get their occasionally now. The food quality has remained the same throughout that period of time and the menu now is much more extensive than it was back then. After all these years they’re still headed in the right direction.

This place was FANTASTIC. We have been avid Pho79 goers but decided to give this place a try becasue the service at 79 has been going downhill fast. I was very happy with the service at Saigon, but more than that the phở was phenomenal and the lunch special was amazing and very affordable it was like a three course meal for 7.95. Def give this a go if you are looking to branch out from pho79. They could decorate a little more, but the food and value make-​up for all that.

They have the best phở in the area, even better than phone 79. You have to try the shrimp toast if nothing else and spring rolls aren’t bad either.

Saigon #1 has fantastic Phở (soup)! My wife and I came during a snowy night and the phở was a great addition to our outing. When we entered the restaurant we sat ourselves and we waited for about 5 mins for service. There is no music that plays here, but sometimes they have a small TV with the weather channel.
We both ordered the Phở Ga (chicken soup). The small is $ 7.95 and the large is $ 8.95. I would say the Large is about 25% bigger so it’s definitely worth the extra dollar. I never put any of the sauces that are table side into my phở because I like it to be 100% authentic and I personally feel it ruins the flavor, but some people like sriracha sauce. Before your meal they bring you raw bean sprouts, leaves, limes, and raw cut jalapeños. These are for your Phở. The soup is really hot so these sides can add more flavor as they steam into your soup. Rip the leaves and place the other stuff into your Phở! Mix everything together and be brave with the jalapeños because it really doesn’t make it spicy.
Anytime I feel sick or I want a good soup I come to Saigon #1. The herbs and heat from the soup always wakes up my sinuses and makes things all better. I enjoy the silence in the restaurant with the seldom banters in Vietnamese in the kitchen. This family run restaurant will give you great genuine food that will have you craving more!

My favorite phở place! The only one I have found that I like in Virginia Beach, place is clean and the staff is nice.

I used to eat at the Saigon restaurants back in California. This one is pretty much the same good food but the only difference is that their thai tea is a little too sweet. Other than that, I’ll definitely come back here to eat whenever I can.

As far as atmosphere McDonald’s Hamburgers would win in a décor contest. But I am here to eat a quality Viet Nam meal. The prices are more than reasonable. The service is a bit standoffish, but friendly. The food is wonderfully flavorful, fresh and modestly presented. 5 stars!

Went here during a cold, clammy day for the family and usually, things are quite on the up and up. However, today seemed a bit different.
Upon entering, there was no one there to greet us. We just stood at the front rather confused. After standing around for a bit, a girl grabbed two menus and just started walking off to the very back of the restaurant. I was a bit confused as I was sure it was for us, but it was that awkward moment where I couldn’t decide if it was for us because she clearly did not greet us or acknowledge our presence. After she had put the menus down on table furthest away from us, she looked at us as if we had 3 heads and called us over. We then proceeded to sit down where she was.
After sitting down, it took quite some time before someone came to help us. After they came to help us, the food time to arrive was slow and we never even received any silverware. I had to steal some from the table next to us and there was never any follow on to our experience. I’ve been here before where the service was substantially better so I don’t think giving them 2 stars is ideal but if I come back again and this is the trend, I definitely intend to update my review.
On a lighter note, the food quality stayed the same. While this is a good thing, having such a crappy experience inside the store is worth noting. I’m sure I’ll be back, stay tuned for any updates.
Food Taste: 4
Overall Service: 2
Value of food to cost: 4
Facility: 3
Repeat customer: yes
Dog Friendly: no

The restaurant itself is not much to look at, but the food there is great! The bowl of Phở I had was fresh and the veggies were top notch. I even splurged on boba tea! My wife had a delectable stir fry on angel hair pasta that was enough for two meals.
The service was good (not great), but the food was the best attraction. Give it a try!

We were immediately seated.
The service was efficient. Complimentary water was served with menus as we were seating.
The large Seafood Phở bowl was outstanding with a generous portion of varied seafood (rice noodle soup with tender scallops and calamari, delicious deveined shrimps, round fish balls, etc.), fresh herbs and vegetables, jalapeños, etc.
We also enjoyed a large Phở Thai (rice noodle soup with tender beef slices, fresh vegetables and herbs, jalapeños), which was consistently amazing.
This is the best Phở restaurant in Hampton Roads. The décor is simple, but you will love the flavorful and complex broth in addition to the big size portion of your Phở…
It was easy and free to park on their private parking lot free of debris.

It sucks that this is the only place around that makes viet food that isn’t just Phở. Unfortunately I was craving food from home so I came back and of course instant regret.
The hostess/​waitress wasn’t friendly and she asked me multiple times for my order… there’s over 40+ items on the menu, I need more than 3 seconds please. When I said «sorry I’m not ready yet», she scoffed and walked away. And one of the managers asked her if she had taken our orders yet, she responded back in Vietnamese in a rude and annoyed manner that she already asked us twice and we still can’t pick something. I’m a fluent American born VIETNAMESE,…I can understand you.
Now about the food;
The soft shelled crab with fried rice was very good. Came with two deep fried crabs, cooked very nicely.
The Bo Luc Lac (shakey beef) however, was barely edible. The steak cubes might as well have been cubed-​leather. It was so incredibly over cooked and the sauce wasn’t even on it, only on the salad.
Two stars only because the soft shell crab was good. These owners seriously need to properly train these kids on customer service… or just socially acceptable manners.

I’ve been back here a few times since my last review, it’s really easy to get in and get out. Everything made is quite fresh and tasty. Their phở is always really good. I tried the vermicelli today and it was more of a process to eat. Yummy, but I didn’t like having to pull the shrimp off the skewers and lob their tails off before eating. My co-​worker was half way through his phở by the time I got mine ready to go.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a good family run Vietnamese restaurant in the area! There is nothing fancy or special about the décor and we had fun guessing the restaurant’s previous incarnation.
Our shrimp rolls and «crispy» spring rolls came quickly and were pretty good.
Saigon 1’s Phô dac Biet was delicious! Taste and texture-​wise I prefer the beef balls to be sliced in half instead of slivers. Other than that, all the expected ingredients were included. The broth was flavorful, balanced and not too salty. Our friendly waitress also brought lots of extra cilantro upon request.
For an inexpensive lunch or dinner, I’d make a point to stop here again when my travels bring me back to Norfolk/​Virginia Beach.

Prior to my Unilocaling habit, I had been here a couple of times. Interior wise, I have nothing much to say about this place, its decent, clean and pretty much average. However, the one thing that makes this place stand out is the quick service. The food will take you to Vietnam, definitely one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Virginia Beach serving a real authentic cuisine.
I’ve visited several Vietnamese restaurants in the area but I consider this as my favourite one. The food in general is phenomenal. I love the «PHO DAC BIET» a beef phở with rice noodles in beef broth topped with eye round beef, flanked beef, meat balls, tendon, and tripe served with fresh herbs and beans sprout on the side. I honestly thought the entire dish was simply exquisite. The broth was perfectly well seasoned, just insanely divine. The fragrant elements elevates the flavor profile and adds texture of the entire dish. I absolutely enjoyed every bite of it. Truly what a wonderful top notch visit.
And yes, I will definitely come back.

Phở Dac Biet everything special combo, broth is balanced and has good flavor. My bowl had plenty of meat to make me happy.
Only complaints I have, I hate the small chopsticks they use, the table wobbles, the table was dirty when we were seated so we needed to ask for a wipe down. It’s cold today, I wish they could turn the heat up just a little bit? I ordered hot tea, finished my phở and was still freezing.

My first time getting Vietnamese food, and I can honestly say that I’m glad my first time was here. Service was fairly quick we were greeted as soon as we walked though the door. The wait for the food wasn’t that long even though there was a fairly sizeable dinner crowd. The food was hot and fresh and I scarfed it down it was so good. I will definitely be back here for more!

I was initially hesitant about this restaurant. The waiter took a little bit to start the service. Once they started though my concerns dissolved.
They were not packed but they had a steady flow of customers. The flavors of the food are authentic and they have avoided Americanizing the food. If you are not a fan of fish sauce you’ll probably not like this place.
I had the lemon beef salad to start and the spicy beef soup for my main. The flavors were spot on.
I can definitely recommend coming here. I know I’ll be back.