Pho Saigon

My boyfriend and I were looking for an authentic Vietnamese phở restaurant in Guelph when we came across Phở Saigon. Decent sized restaurant, open space, smells amazing, and quick service.
Food:
We ordered a P8(S) — rare beef and beef ball for $ 7.00 and a P1(L) — house special with rare beef, beef ball, tendon, tripe, beef flank for $ 8.00. The food came out within 7 – 8 minutes.
The large bowl was not much bigger than a small. We both found ourselves still a little bit hungry.
There was not much meat (my P8 small had 1 beef ball cut in half and 5 slices of beef). Tons of noodles and an okay amount of broth. The broth wasn’t watered down and had lots of flavour.
Service was average. Expected at most Asian restaurants you go to.
Overall, I would come back if I’m in the area since it’s quick service and the food is decent.

This was the first place I visited in Guelph because my dad and I wanted something warm and quick. I ordered a bowl of phở with tendon and beef and my dad got the my tho noodles. It took about ten minutes to come out.
The noodles were good but the amount of meat in our bowls were very meager. I had two pieces each of tendon and beef and my dad’s seafood bowl barely had anything in it aside from noodles. The broth was okay… but you could tell there was msg in it as we were both extremely thirsty afterwards. Will have to come back and try the non soup based dishes.
I haven’t tried any other phở places so I can’t say if this is the best phở Guelph has to offer but it seems pretty legit. It did it’s trick in tying us over.

Heavily influenced by Unilocal reviews to come here over other restaurants in the vicinity (Ben Thanh, Soora, etc.) The interior was a little roomier than expected, but still had that asian family-​owned diner feel — down to the thin layer of stickiness coating every surface that I wasn’t sure if it was grease or my sunscreen. We were pleasantly welcomed by a strong scent of basil and yummy soup though.
Food buddy and I were starrrving and decided to order an appetizer to share (shrimp spring rolls) as well as a bowl of phở each. She got a large and I a small (saving room for dessert elsewhere) just to compare the difference in sizes. Within 3 minutes of giving in our self-​written order sheet it seems, our shrimp rolls arrived! Bonus points for efficiency. They came with a peanut-​sprinkled thick dipping and were quickly gobbled down, despite falling apart since the only binding ingredient was the rice paper wrapping.
Soon afterwards, our steaming phở bowls arrived — she had gotten the default order of a-​bit-​of-​everything in her soup, and I chose beef & tendon & something else I don’t remember… Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to the tastes of phở in the GTA, but I didn’t find the broth/​noodles as flavourful. The taste was still there, but with a much muted saltiness — good for lowering our sodium intake I guess — and better enjoyed as an aftertaste. I smothered hoisin sauce over every bite anyway, due to my mild addiction to the sweetness.
We were both disappointed with the amount of STUFF in our bowls though. Aside from several slices of beef covering the ball of noodles underneath, there were literally 2 pieces of tendon in my entire bowl (I’m pretty sure I ordered 3 additions but whatever the 3^rd one was, it never showed up). My poor friend had 1 piece of tripe, 1 small chunk of tendon, and half a meatball. Good thing that we were both too hungry to care and just enjoyed whatever we could fish out from the bottom.
Overall conclusion: For $ 7, satisfactory phở with weak broth and meagre ingredients; wouldn’t come out of my way again when there are tastier places like Golden Turtle and Viet Thai Restaurant around my neighbourhood. Or maybe I’m just being picky for a place like Guelph.

This is my absolute favourite phở joint. I have experienced the majority of phở in Ottawa, and some in Toronto, along with other phở places in Ontario. After all this, I can say Phở Saigon is my favourite. The portions, the price, the value, the service, the menu… Everything is spot on. The old vietnamese owner is a pleasure to talk too, and makes the broth over night from scratch. The smell is intoxicating.
ive had several variations of their Phở, and vermicelli dishes, curry dishes, along with some shrimp dishes, and all the appetizers. All of it is reasonably price, and delicious. Unfortunately, I cannot remember all the individual vietnamese names.
I don’t suggest ordering the Phở as take-​out, it comes disassembled, and if it sits for too long it looses its attraction to me. As for the vermicelli dishes, curry, and apps they are easy to take-​out.
I usually dont phone ahead if I am taking-​out, it doesnt take very long to make my order.
Hours: 11:30−8pm Monday-​Saturday

Have been here for lunch a number of times and always enjoy it. Very basic décor with quite a large menu. Choose food by writing plate numbers on an order sheet. Very quick service, well priced, and good Vietnamese food.

Phở Saigon is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the world. When I lived in Guelph I ate here on a weekly basis; when I worked down the road from this place it was my daily lunch haunt. The soups are tasty and flavorful and the noodles are yum. If I move back to Canada this restaurant would give me a compelling reason to come back to Guelph. (OK, I’m kidding about the last part. Almost.)