Saigon Y2K Vietnamese Restaurant

My husband, mom and myself came here because our fav Vietnamese restaurant was closed. The first impressions was the dated décor and the wait for someone to notice us before being seated. It took 15 minutes for someone to come by to take our drink order, the food was so-​so and they forgot about one of our appetizers until we were done eating. It then took over 10 minutes to get the bill and then my husband had to go find someone to get change. I’m pretty easy going and not picky when it comes to service, and I understand it was near the end if the night but this was the worst service I’ve ever experienced. Do yourself a favor and go to Lemongrass Grill across from Chinook Station instead.

Stopped in here with mum, sis and neice, when we couldn’t decide what we felt like and decided phở would keep us all happy. neice has mastered chopsticks!
The three of us has the same phở tai and tea and the little one had a small bowl of noodles from her mum’s bowl. Tasted good.
Décor was dated, stereotypical plastic flowers, art bought in bulk, like 1988. I had no complaints until ten minutes after we left the restaurant, and I had to ask my sister to pull over so I could be sick at the side of the road. Seriously.
As we all had the same thing, I can only assume it was a bad piece of beef or a rouge sprout, but I will never stop there again. Had to rush home and change. Not good.

This past week, we’ve endured some chilly weather. So when some friends wanted to meet up for Vietnamese, we said phở’sure! It was a Sunday of the long weekend, and our attempts at trying out one of the smaller places in the area didn’t work out becuase they were closed. Enter Saigon Y2K… open 7 days a week, with just slightly reduced hours on holidays. Yay! Success!
Mike got the Satay Beef, and I got the Chicken Phở. I’m sure that there are other places in the city which lay claim to the best soup stock, but we did still enjoy the flavors here. Mike’s wasn’t too spicy, but had a nice beefy depth of flavor. There was a LOT of chicken in mine, and it was really nice lean white meat. I hate it when the bowls are loaded with sinewy unedible bits, so they definitely met my expectations. It felt like a never-​ending bowl of Phở, filled with lots of noodles, onions, chicken and broth. By the end, I was stuffed and couldn’t even quite finish it. It was a pretty great deal for an $ 8.25 lunch.
The service wasn’t overly friendly, but it was fast and efficient. I was happy with that. Saigon Y2K certainly warmed me up and cured my Calgary-​winter-​blues.
Review #12 for Unilocal’s 30 Day Review Challenge 2012

3.5 STARS. Solid place to eat. Food is very good but portions of chicken/​beef lacking. So if extra hungry (ie large hungry man) this place may only satisfy you for a short time. No problems with the service. Food comes out hot and without too much of a wait. If in the area, I would consider making a return trip. Not the best in town but it holds its own.

Great service. We visit all the time. The special fried rice is phenomenal as is the Phở. Way better than the downtown location. Not the same at all despite the name. Hit up the mall after, it’s across the street.

My main reason for liking this place so much is the music. They have this terrific soundtrack always going of elevator music versions of movie themes and other epic classical music. It’s a great game to play with your table, is to go completely silent, and try to figure out what song is playing.
Other than that, the food is the same as it is in every other Vietnamese place in Calgary. I always order beef and spring rolls on vermicelli, and it’s really good.

Food: 2.5÷5
Atmosphere: 3.5÷5
Service: ³⁄₅
Overall experience: 2.5÷5
(1– Terrible; 3– decent; 5– Fantastic)
One of the worst places to get Phở. As one of my friends said «the broth tastes like toilet water» haha. Even though the portions are huge and you get your money’s worth ($ 8-​$ 9 for a huge bowl of Phở), I suggest you avoid this place if you want ‘quality’ Phở. One time I couldn’t even finish a quarter of my Phở because it tasted like dirty water and ladened with MSG– I actually felt sick from eating Phở for the first time in my life. Other than that, I haven’t really tried their other dishes so I would go at your discretion. I can tell you that Vermicelli bowls are around $ 9-​$ 10 which is average, and $ 12-​$ 14 for noodle and meat dishes dishes that can be shared family style.
Just a note, their bubble tea drinks are made out of powder which I always avoid — fresh fruit is the way to go!
It’s usually very busy, and there is plenty of space and tables to accommodate big or small groups. It’s kind of dingy, and their service is a hit a miss.
Overall, I suggest don’t come here to eat. There are much better places around the area that you can go to.

Poor service. I’ve been to y2k several times. The foods not bad. Once in awhile the kitchen messes up and the service is poor. I ordered phở there the other sat and the soup was luke warm to the point that the rare meat wasn’t even cooking. I told them that the soup wasn’t hot enough and all they did was reheat the entire bowl. Any Asian noodle shop knows that reheating a bowl of noodles overcooks the noodles and completely ruins it. It was a disaster.

I really enjoy this Saigon Y2K in particular. It’s got great food (like they all do), nice people, and a great atmosphere.
Unlike some other Saigon’s, this place has a more comfortable feel to it. It’s got cute decorations as well as comfy seats and large tables. It’s perfectly suited for a large group of people, but is also great if you’re dining alone or with just one other person.
I find that the workers of this Saigon Y2K are exceptionally friendly. You are always greeted and served with a smile. Upon entry you will receive a big «hello» from whoever is behind the counter, which makes you feel right at home.
Just like the other ones, the prices at this location are pretty good. You can bet that you’ll be stuffed to the brim for under $ 15 a person. If you’re drinking, the booze can get a little pricey, but that goes for anywhere you visit.
Normally, I’m more of a North girl, but this South location breaks all the rules. It’s a little tricky to get to (unless you’re coming North up MacLeod) but it’s worth the trip every time!

I eat a lot of Vietnamese food and Y2K does a great job.
It’s clean, which is pretty out of the ordinary, let’s be honest. Plus the food is really tasty. They make a dynamite phở satay. The service is quite good and the price point is perfect.
No complaints!

If you’re close and starving and in the mood for Viet’ this is your best bet.
It’s popular amongst the university students too. it’s cheap cheap cheap and you get your fill.
I could definitely argue I’ve had better. but O well it’s close to the Uni — don’t got many other options.
service was always vary. we were always a big group so we didn’t mind the wait.
I liked how it’s a pretty big restaurant… enough room to accommodate all their patrons.

A cut above your standard Vietnamese restaurant. It has all of the staples — phở, vermicelli/​rice-​noddles, fried rice, Vietnamese spring rolls, etc. — but they are all above average.

My husband and I eat at Y2K a minimum of twice a month. Clearly we’re big fans. I didn’t rate it «as good as it gets» because the service has been hot and cold. The food is always good. I usually order the vermicelli with vegetables, and I pay extra to add spring rolls on top. The food always arrives quickly.
Some days the waitresses can be quite unfriendly. I think it might have to do with how extremely busy they get sometimes and I don’t think they like when you veer off the regular menu (subsitutions or extra stuff).
If you want great Vietnamese food in the North West of Calgary, I highly recommend Y2K.
Tip: The main parking lot is small, but there is a pretty big parking lot on top of the building that not a lot of people know about. Also, I recommend going early because the place fills up fast.