Pho Saigon Authentic Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli

Hole in the wall small restaurant. Its pretty good for fast food phở. The problem is there isnt a fast food phở place. It beat eating McDonald’s but sucks as a restaurant. I didnt get my condiments. No separate plates to share a dish.

I didn’t know what to make of this place on Unilocal since it looks like people either love it or hate it. However, my boyfriend’s friend swears by it, so off we went for a Vietnamese Sunday brunch.
First off, it’s a real hole-​in-​the-​wall place and the interior is nothing to look at, but I didn’t mind. We actually found the neon phở signs hanging on the wall kinda hilarious. A lot of the dishes on the menu were new to me, so I decided to go for it, and ordered the com tam suon, bi, cha, which is a plate heaped with broken rice accompanied by a grilled marinated pork chop, a little hunk of meat cake, some shredded roast pork, lettuce, and tomato slices. Sounds like a lot? It was indeed a huge amount of food, and everything was so tasty. The pork chop was just a tad on the dry side, but it had a great charred flavor. The meat cake ended up being something like a steamed egg meatloaf with ground meat in it and other things I couldn’t identify. It tasted so comforting. The shredded roast pork was not what I was expecting – it had a funky fermented flavor that I found myself really liking. Dipping everything into the fish sauce on the side just made all the flavors pop all the more. Speaking of popping, I felt like I was going to pop after I finished everything on the plate! For $ 9.50, it’s a pretty great value.
My boyfriend got the phở dac biet and enjoyed it. I tried some of the broth, and it was pretty good. I’d put it on par with Phở Boston, but we both prefer Phở 501. He did appreciate that they added beef balls to it, which is not something you find in phở at a lot of other phở places around here. The large was a healthy portion, and he couldn’t even finish all the broth at the end. If I remember correctly, this was $ 8.50, so also a great deal.
Contrary to what my other Unilocal friends have experienced here, the service we got was friendly and attentive. As soon as we walked in, a sweet old Vietnamese lady seated us with a smile. As we were perusing the menu, she kept apologizing for being too busy to take our orders immediately, even though we hadn’t even been waiting for that long and didn’t mind. Maybe it was this particular lady or perhaps they saw the bad Unilocal reviews and decided to improve on their service.
Overall, I really enjoyed my food, and I’m intrigued by the specials board, which had dishes that sounded super authentic and foreign to me. I’ll definitely be back to try those!

Deliciousness. That’s a word, right? My mom has long been a lover of Vietnam Restaurant about 2 miles from Phở Saigon but me not so much. Whenever we go out for Vietnamese I get her to try a different place. On a Monday for lunch this was my pick and it did not disappoint. We ordered crispy rolls and summer (I think) rolls (the un-​fried kind) and they were SO DELICIOUS. The crispy rolls came with a super delicious peanut sauce and the summer rolls had huge shrimp, flavorful pork and more in them. We were in heaven. We split a crêpe, which was huge and listed as an appetizer, filled with shrimp. I was less enamored with that dish as it seems a tick greasy and had a coconut flavor to it but she loved it (that’s her go-​to dish for Vietnamese restaurants). I know, I didn’t love the pancake but still gave it 5 stars but the rolls were THAT good.
It seemed as though every other patron was having a bowl of phở as big as your head. It smelled great in there too. I will SURELY be back (I’m already planning a trip for take out tomorrow night, the night before Thanksgiving). I will update my review as I eat more stuff.

Came here for the second time a couple weeks ago. The first time my dining companion had to pull a long hair out of her mouth. She couldn’t eat after that but I continued on like nothing had happened. This time I ordered two grilled pork banh mi’s to go. They were missing jalapeño slices so I had to add my own to spice it up. At $ 3.95 each, you can’t beat the price. I’ve had better bahn mi though and I couldn’t shake the thought of picking hair out of my teeth with every bite.

How does this place have 4 stars? I can definitely relate to other Unilocalers who also reviewed it and complained. I came here for Phở with high expectations based on mostly good reviews and it so was terrible I could not finish it. The broth tasted like meat flavored dirty water. I was actually nauseous after I left. The worst part was having to share my food with the flies hovering. The place is filthy and there are a lot of cobwebs everywhere. You would think someone left the Halloween decorations up. Service is also horrible. I was constantly being neglected. They stay in the kitchen the whole time, and I could have easily walked out without paying. I had to walk in the kitchen and ask for my bill. There are no excuses for poor food and service especially when your place is so small, about 25 chairs. Put in an effort if you want to be in the restaurant business. Go to Phở Boston around the corner or anywhere else really. I am gonna go home now and vomit.

Their food is just delicious. We have tried their food twice already. The first time, we were craving for some Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches and came since it seemed like not alot of places served them. Omylord, they were scrumptious. We had the grilled pork with the a sunny side up egg to go. It was devine. I also ordered 2 orders of their summer rolls. We promised ourselves we’d be back again. Last weekend, we were craving again for some Vietnamese food so of course came here and decided to dine in instead. Their restaurant is quite small. Place looks a bit dingy but do not let that fool you. Their lack of décor doesn’t define their food. Their bathroom is quite big for such a small place. Back to the food, we ordered again the summer rolls to snack on to wait for you fried rice with shrimp and his grilled pork chop, pork butt & shrimp over rice with an egg ontop. IT WAS DELICIOUS. We cleaned both our plates. We will definitely come back to either dine in order take out their other food. Perhaps their phở noodles or more of their bahn mi sandwiches.

6 October, 2015
If you are seeking a place of excellent flavor, and not décor and ambiance, then Phở Saigon is the rare find and gem of Vietnamese fare.
It is a Mom-​and-​Pop type shop that should be supported and selected over larger, more popularly known establishments.

Great. I always knew there were other Vietnamese options out there, but now was a chance to explore those options. The closest and best starred option found on the Unilocal App, a Free Download in Google Play!, was the aforementioned Phở Saigon, and as I was driving toward it, I realized it was essentially in the same plaza as Phở Boston, almost.
Pulling up, it did not look impressive, certainly the size and location didn’t lend itself to looking reputable, and upon entering, it smelled of old fish sauce. The signage above the door inside was appallingly dirty (I’m not quite OCD, but I do appreciate clean!). Apparently the utensils were also a tad on the ‘aint easy being greasy’ side, and two tables remained uncleared. Perhaps that’s where the smell was coming from. I also noticed that the dishes remaining on those tables also weren’t completely eaten, which raised the Peoples Eyebrow. Maybe those patrons were fans of the «hey there is nothing nutritional of note in those rice noodles and I do declare I do not want them inside me!’ mentality that I utilize on occasion. Remember fast food friends, the bottom bun has nothing on it, throw it away!
The bathroom was accessible, and asking for a clean and pleasant bathroom in an Asian eating establishment is a tall task to ask for, but they were acceptable. The container of potpourri on the counter, along with an unlit candle, and Dial soap, notwithstanding, the entire atmosphere thus far has been weak.
There are 30 seats, no more, potentially less, and the décor looks like an afterthought. Almost like an amateur adult film set. The water cup was dirty, in the sense that they probably store them, rim down on a questionable counter or mat, but i saw no other indication of uncleanliness. I eagerly used the provided straw. The menu is typically Vietnamese, but could benefit from some Microsoft Clip Art. The napkins are also thinner than a one ply toilet roll, expeller pressed!
The door had a «People Love Us on Unilocal» decal. It should be confiscated, but They weren’t lying, they do have a lot of love on Unilocal,but I’m wondering if the love was induced by some sort of ecstasy pill, handed out surely, by some ruffian in West Hartford.
All of this occurred before any food had arrived. Not to say that the food took long to come out, but in a new place, all you tend to do is absorb in what you see. I also acknowledge it is a midweek day, and there was a party of three in before us, and the previously noted, two tables of eaten and uncleared food.
The soy sauce on the condiment lazy susan, was unlabeled and could be of unknown origins. Is It Maggi, La Choy, Golden Mountain, or WY? We need to know! Not really.
I ordered a dish I have eaten for at least 25 years. I used to share the plate with my sisters, until I was a big boy with a big appetite, and got a whole rice plate for one! Don’t let the name fool you, it is called com suon bi cha. It has white rice, a pork chop, a slice of quiche, shredded pork, and a lettuce wedge, cucumber and tomato slices, with a side of fish sauce, which sounds gross, but it’s not.
As designated by the photo, the presentation was nice. The quiche was moist and very light aka very eggy. Sometimes the quiche piece is small and dry, but it was perfectly acceptable here. The secret to the pork chop is that it has to be a thinly sliced cut. In this instance, the pork chop was thick, but the flavor was good, but not quite right for the dish. What does that mean?! Well it means, it should be thinner, crisper, and sweeter. But it w

Banh mi’s were pretty good, and a good deal ($ 5 ea) but the service is meh.

4.5 to be exact, this place offers a wide range of Vietnamese cuisine, including phở, which is what brought us here. The phở, especially the broth is delicious, as well as the pork sandwich. I love that they offer Vietnamese sandwiches to fill you up on a bowl of phở. There are only six tables, but the restaurant is clean, and has AC.

Best phở in the area. It’s all in the broth…
We ordered a Vietnamese pork sandwich along with their standard beef phở. Both were pretty amazing.
We are frequent customers of Phở Boston just around the corner, but from now on we may be coming here instead.
Some of the downsides are the cleanliness/​decorations and perhaps the service. The place is a little hole in the wall. It is a little dingy and could use a refresh. Our waitress was nice enough, although she could have been a little more attentive. The place wasn’t very busy and it took us a while to get our check.
Despite the downsides, I will be returning.

Been to Phở Boston way too many times and it was time to venture out to another Phở spot. It’s a tiny little place hidden in the corner, but being so close to Phở Boston this place gave me confidence that it must be good. And I guessed right!
My boyfriend and I ordered vietnamese summer rolls, bahn mi with grilled pork and phở tai with rare steak and well-​done brisket. Everything was very delicious. Grilled pork in bahn mi was super flavorful, whatever sauce that they used was amazing. Phở tai came with fresh basil, bean sprouts and lime, and a generous amount of meat. We were very impressed with the broth — it was a lot more rich in flavor compared to Phở Boston, I don’t know how they made it differently but gosh I could’ve finished the entire bowl of broth! I didn’t feel like adding extra condiments like sriracha that I usually use.
The service was good, we didn’t wait too long for food either. Will definitely be back for more high quality Vietnamese food! :)

My first impression when I walked in here was that it was a hole in a wall. I was the only customer besides the flies. I ordered the spicy lemongrass noodles soup (bun bo hue). My service was horrible. I was served no drink, not even asked if I would like one. I also ordered a banh mi sandwich togo, which the lady had made at the same time as my soup was made.
The waitress was in the kitchen the entire time. So I could have walked out and nobody would had even noticed. Anyway, I sat for a while when I finished eating waiting for someone to bring me a bill. Although the lady peeked from the back noticing I was finish, she didn’t bother coming to bring me a bill or asked if everything was ok. My sandwich turned out all soggy.
I will not be back.

I had to dismiss the sticky chairs and our empty napkin dispenser this time and give this place props for showing me a better dining experience. Dining service drastically improved this time. My wait time for food was 20 min for 3 customers compared to the 40 min for 2 customers during my last visit.
I got the Com tam suon, bì, cha– steamed white rice w. grilled pork chop, shredded roast pork, and meat cake served w. cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and fish sauce.
This is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes so I was really looking forward to trying it here. Besides the small portion of shredded roast pork, and veggies… I did enjoy the large portion of broken rice (a type of rice used in this specific dish) and the huge grilled pork chop that I surprisingly finished! The grilled pork chop was full of flavor and very moist. A very important aspect to Vietnamese grilled pork because other times people tend to dry out the pork when making this dish. Phở Saigon grills theirs as compared to Phở Boston, who fries their pork for this dish giving it a dry/​bland taste. Overall, I got a large portion of food for the price. Good deal.

Tiny room, and not the fastest service, but very friendly and no communication issues. Just 7 small tables, a few of which were covered in the dishes of previous diners.
Seafood Phở– delicious, simple broth, rich in flavor, with prominent scallion and anise. generous helpings of seafood. Squid was chewy, but with a lovely buttery taste. Fish balls and shrimp were excellent in flavor and texture.
Pros– good food, good portions, good price
Cons– slow service

Tiny place. Apparently decorated by a blind guy. Fairly big menu with many vegetarian options. I had the pork rolls and phở tai and both were excellent. This joint could give phở boston a run for the money. I will be returning. Loved it.
— — -the place is kinda hidden behind the new taste chinese restaurant and has no frontage on new britain avenue. Just make a right down the driveway before the chinese restaurant and you’re there. They are closed on wednesdays.

This is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the area and I have been here over 2 dozen times. The quality is consistent, extremely fresh, and portions are generous. Everything I have had has been absolutely delicious and there’s nothing more that I love than a family run «hole in the wall» type restaurant with great food.
We usually get the spring rolls to start and I love they they include noodles, lettuce, and mint in their rolls and not just lettuce like some places. I normally get the vegetable phở (P16), with the amazingly flavorful (and not salty) broth. The vegetables inside (carrots, broccoli, onions, cabbage, and cauliflower) are cooked to perfection and are definitely fresh and not frozen. My boyfriend has tried many dishes on their menu and everything has been great. Vermicelli bowls with the crispy spring rolls, lemongrass chicken, and the pork bahn min are his favorite. The wonton soup is also worth a try if you don’t get the phở… or even if you get the phở since they are both so good!
There are many condiments, including 2 types of chili (which I love) to season your meals. Service is good when taking your order and also helpful when we had questions. Most times I have to ask for a water refill or go up to pay the check and the interior is nothing to write home about, but this doesn’t bother me in the slightest. They’re always happy to package my leftovers for me, though. I enjoy the genuine feel of a family’s restaurant and it kinda makes me feel like I’m eating in Vietnam again. The food is what matters here. Go here for an amazing meal and you will be happy you did!

Phở Saigon is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the area. As mentioned in other reviews, it has funky décor, limited seating, and slow service. If you can forgive that, you will be treated to the best bowl of phở in Hartford. The broth is very flavorful with pronounced aromas of clove and anise. They are pretty generous with the phở accoutrements as well. The Vietnamese crêpe (Banh Xeo) far surpasses the ones made in other local restaurants. They also make a mean Banh Mi and have great smoothies.
They are supposedly closing this location soon, but have another restaurant in Wallingford. Get their food while you can!

I went in expecting mediocre service (due to other reviews), but was pleasantly surprised! The lady who served us was sweet as anything, with a smile on her face, and had no problem communicating with us. I have no idea if she’s the owner, but I hope she’s there when I go back!
My phở tai bo vien hit the spot: like other reviewers have said, the broth is clear and flavorful, tasting of cloves and maybe… anise? Really pleased with the basil, bean sprouts, lime, scallions, and onion. I like to add a bit of sriracha for extra heat. I always seem to order meatballs in my phở, but honestly, they’re usually chewy, and this place was no exception. The rare steak’s texture and flavor is great on its own, so next time, no meatballs for me.
Even though I was full, I could NOT pass up a grilled pork banh mi sandwich! The pros: the bread was golden, buttery perfection. Exactly the texture I look for in a banh mi. The grilled pork had a nice smoky, BBQ flavor. There were plenty of pickled veggies and cilantro. The cons: I didn’t see or taste any paté or mayo. Gotta have it. As usual, my mayo-​hatin’ boyfriend was pleased haha. Anyhow, it would be a dream come true if this banh mi had just a bit of paté or mayo. I will be back soon to try the beef and/​or egg versions!

With Phở Boston right around the corner and several other phở places nearby, Phở Saigon has carved out a niche by offering some different menu items — most notably a variety of banh mi sandwiches. And they’re pretty good! Good bread, pickled veggies, and various meats. The only one that I’ve regretted so far is the ham banh mi, which had way too much gristle, and frankly I couldn’t finish it. The others are great though, I swear!
The chicken curry was good too, similar to a Thai yellow curry or even a mild Indian curry. Coconut milk, savory spices, not much heat but plenty of flavor. They also have pre-​made desserts wrapped in banana leaves — these were just alright. Lastly they do have some pricing discrepancies resulting from their outdated menus.