Pho Saigon

They aren’t kidding when they said don’t go to a Vietnamese place for the Chinese buffet. Walked in and everyone was eating phở. Order phở, it was reasonably priced. Nice portions. Served quick. I don’t think I’d crave it, but I’d definitely go back.

This was the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. My boyfriend and I went and got their buffet and the food was cold and hard and not edible. The customer service was horrible. We ended up not being able to eat any of the food and had a 20 $ bill.

I eat here all the time.
I really love their phở. Most phở I’ve eaten taste different from each other. It’s good that they taste different because it would be very boring if every shop had the same tasting phở!
Note to others, everyone cooks differently! =)

Currently sitting in their restaurant. I ordered phở and my husband is eating their buffet. I took a bite of his chicken wing and the lady that usually works there comes up to me and said «you cannot eat those food.» i am super disappointed, i was shocked! How is she going to tell me how to eat?! Iu nderstand that they’re trying to make money by eating one or the other but its not like i went up to their little buffet line and got a whole plate. I use to come here a lot but this will be the last. I lost my appetite.

Decent at best.
Maybe for a buffet spot, it makes this place cool but it’s lack of authenticity for a Vietnamese restaurant gives it a 2 star at best.
The taste was not fresh and what I’m use to is fresh, light eating.
I leave a restaurant and feel better. Not regret my choices later.
I regret this place slightly.

Really good phở, I like to order fried dumplings and special phở, recommended:) I’ve had phở in other vietnamese restaurants, but I think this is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the twin cities :)

This is a great Vietnamese restaurant. I enjoyed the Phở soup. Good customer service. They also, have a Chinese buffet. It look good. But the soup itself was pleasing really like it a lot. I would recommend it.

My boyfriend and I stopped in on a whim to see if they would be able to satisfy my craving for traditional Vietnamese food. We were greeted right away by the couple who owns the restaurant. The wife is super sweet and doting, almost reminds me of my mother. The husband may come off as «reserved» but he’s just very quiet and nice. The inside isn’t all that glam and lights, but hey! It’s a Ma & Pa shop! So I’m not that surprised plus I’m not that pretentious to care enough. I’m all about promoting Ma & Pa shops that deserves to be recognized for their tasty dishes and customer service!
Cons: the buffet isn’t always all that great. Tapioca pearls for their boba teas are super soft and not chewy.
PROS: Everything you order off the menu is AMAZING! Especially the Vietnamese dishes. Everything that is on the buffet table, you should just order off the menu itself and it will be amazing. Even though I complain about the tapioca pearls for their boba teas, their drinks themselves are delicious. Also free ice cream or dessert for dining in!
I only knocked down 1 star strictly due to the buffet & and tapioca pearls.
Customer service is a plus! The wife is super sweet and remembered my boyfriend and me from the very first time. I’m a regular now.

When we scoured Robert Street for an Asian buffet, the first two locations we stopped (Grand Buffet near Cub Foods & Supreme Buffet near K-​Mart) were closed. Our third stop was Phở Saigon… and how… I wish… we would have kept driving. Although we arrived during peak dinner hours, the food selection was limited and uninspired. Entrees were fried or soggy. Hot food was cold. Cold food was room temperature. The server was grumpy.
The restaurants was inexpensive, but costly to my pride. I was embarrassed to have brought people to this venue. I promised to make it up to them, tho — so if you have a favorite Asian buffet in St Paul, let me know!
Please note: The buffet did not include Phở, a signature dish of this restaurant.

We just stopped in on a time crunch, and we’re in and out in 2 minutes max. We ordered 2 special banh mi sandwiches. They were quick, polite, food was cheap, and tasted phenomenal!

We had lunch last weekend, I ordered a chow mein combo from the menu, which was served up from the buffet and not the kitchen, could have ordered the whole buffet for the same price, pretty lame. Food was lukewarm. The place could also use a good cleaning. Used to love this place!

I’m going to start with the good which happens to be the main attraction – the phở. The broth (although sometimes watered down) is uniquely flavored which I could easily pick out in a blindfolded taste test. The phở is amazing and is one of the best I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, the presentation and consistency isn’t up to par. I wish they provided a smaller bowl of phở. Something like $ 6.99 for a small special.
Now with the bad. This place is under-​staffed for lunch; I can’t speak much about dinner. Although the two owners do quite well with keeping up with customers, the pace that they go from table to table is unacceptable. No waiter should make it seem like they aren’t giving you their full attention because they’re busy seating, serving, or accepting payment from other customers. Don’t get me wrong however as they are nice and genuine people, but their service is pretty lackluster mainly due to the lack of employees.
The place isn’t quite filthy, but it’s going to get there if they continue to ignore some details. There are always splashes of phở somewhere around your seating area like the walls, the condiments, and just the seats themselves. It just doesn’t feel like they care enough about the little things which is sad because the phở is that wonderful.
The worst thing (it happened twice) was when they re-​fried their ordinary chicken wings (probably from the buffet) and brought it out as the supposedly fresh oyster wings that I ordered. What makes it worse is that they actually want me to believe that these were done fresh. This is completely unacceptable.
All their stir-​fry dishes taste basically the same with just different vegetables. I don’t think they take pride in anything that they do. The buffet is always near empty and not fresh, but it is relatively inexpensive. They seem a little cheap as owners when you put all the puzzles together.
If you can tune out everything around you and just focus on their phở, this place can be a gem. If you want an experience, go somewhere else. Wish they would renovate the décor and make it a go-​to place for twin cities travelers.

My rating is solely for the beef phở. To me, this is the best place to get it. When either my daughter or her beau are sick, this is what I bring them and they are right as rain in no time.
The phở is hot, delicious, and you can get more hot peppers upon request. This is especially helpful for when one has a cold. It travels easily and without mess if you get it to go.
It’s an inexpensive meal at just over $ 7. If you’re seeking a good phở, I believe that you won’t be disappointed by what you find here.

Took the train for the first time for some decent food. We found it her. The egg rolls were delicious as was the phở. Worth the trip. Their prices are very good too. Will be lunching here again

I have to admit, all I’ve ever ordered is the #1 Beef Phở Noodles because it is very tasty, especially with two scoops of the hot chili sauce. There is a chinese buffet but I think the star of their menu is the Vietnamese food. The ambiance isn’t fancy by any means but I doubt anyone is there for the decoration.

Came here for phở a few weeks back on a cold, snowy day. It was good! Not the best I’ve had, but very flavorful with fresh ingredients, and good enough that we’ll be back. The place has an extensive menu and even a weekend buffet, but the hot noodle soup is what we needed.

Great Vietnamese egg rolls and phở. I highly recommend it. They also have a variety of Chinese and Thai food, but I would stick with the Vietnamese items which were very tasty.

I’ve been to Phở Saigon on a few separate occasions — usually for phở, but last time I went for the buffet.
They prepare phở to go, which is pretty excellent. Included in the foam takeout box are fresh bean sprouts, noodles, your meat of choice, thai basil, jalapeño peppers, etc. You’ll also get a container full of broth, which you’ll need to reheat when you get home. It travels pretty well and is a delicious alternative to chicken noodle soup when you’re sick. All the ingredients are fresh, which just makes it taste that much better.
The buffet was your standard run-​of-​the-​mill Chinese/​American fare. Not the best selection I’ve ever seen, but they kept the trays filled and the chicken fried rice was pretty good.
If you go, go for the phở!

If you’re looking for great phở soup in the West St. Paul/​Mendota Heights area of town, Phở Saigon is the place to go.
The phở soup here is consistently very good. At $ 6/​bowl (and these are large bowls), it’s also a great deal. Every phở comes out with a hefty amount of fixins’ as well, they certainly don’t skimp on the cilantro, bean sprouts… the works. They have a Chinese buffet, but I prefer to stick to their fresher Vietnamese menu options. They also offer bubble tea in a variety of flavors, which is pretty good.
The restaurant is quaint and unassuming, tucked in at the end of a strip mall. The atmosphere is casual and no-​frills, which can be nice for a quiet family dinner. The staff are welcoming and warm, and the service is prompt.
Would recommend to anyone looking for tasty, authentic phở in the WSP/​MH suburb!

They have a small buffet and a full menu with offerings like phở (obviously), bubble tea, a number of Szechuan dishes, lots of soups and more typical fare.
I’ve had a couple bowls of the phở. I wasn’t particularly blown away but they were comforting and warm on the cold days I tried them.
The bowls are large and easily enough to split between two people.
The buffet is small but they tend to keep it well stocked. Not much changes about what’s on it; typically, there’s sesame chicken, sweet and sour chicken, pepper steak, marinated mushrooms, kung pao chicken, fried and white rice, eggrolls, oyster wings, unpeeled shrimp, and beef with broccoli. They have a somewhat decent salad bar and a small dessert/​fruit section next to it.
I used to frequent this place quite often, honestly. But the last few times I’ve went (or tried to go) I’ve been a little miffed by the experiences.
Don’t trust the hours they post for the buffet. They’ve closed it earlier than an hour before the times listed. Part of me understands if they’re having a slow night… but part of me thinks that if I show up to get a takeout buffet box an hour and a half before it’s –supposed– to shut down that I’m within a reasonable time frame to do so.
I’ve experienced this three times… and now, I just don’t bother if it’s past 6:30.
If you’re not into dealing with crowds (Great Moon) and you don’t need a giant variety to feel satisfied, I’d recommend this place.
Also, it’s cheap; the takeout, if you can manage to get to it before it closes, is priced very low per pound.