Essence of Saigon Garden

This is my new goto Vietnamese restaurant. I usually like the vermicelli bowls. And these did not disappoint with hearty helpings.

I’ve been coming here constantly for over 10 years since we live in the neighborhood. I’ve tried different Vietnamese restaurants in the city and this is my favourite place. The food is fresh, cheap and comes fast. I usually get their vermicelli with spring rolls w. Beef or chicken.

The portion sizes here are quite generous. I occasionally go here after school and I find they serve some of the best phở in NW Calgary. The servers here are incredibly friendly and the food usually comes out quite quickly. I suggest the sate phở here as it is extremely tasteful with a mild capsaicin flavour. They have redecorated since the last time I have been there and the new marble tables are fitting for the restaurant decorations. It is situated in a somewhat remote location. However, when you go here you’re sure to return.

My favourite stop for chicken satay subs and crispy shrimp rolls to go! I just wish they were open Sundays!

Prior to an afternoon event with a gf, we wanted to grab a quick lunch and she suggested something «healthy» (I know her well enough that this is code for «Vietnamese») and I remember this place was close by.
I’ve dined in and had take-​out from here over the years, so I’ve tried a variety of banh mi, soups, noodles and rice dishes. For lunch, I went with the spicy beef vermicelli and my gf got spring rolls & shrimp on vermicelli — their vermicelli bowls are more veggies than noodles which I actually prefer. The spicy beef is great, not «burns your mouth» hot but has a nice kick.
Like most Viet restaurants, it has the same feel to it — Asian knick knacks/​art work, instrumental music and friendly Viet ladies who chatter amongst themselves as you dine. Nothing super amazing here, but nothing terrible either which is why I don’t mind coming here from time to time.

Really good veggie phở! Ordered takeout but no cutlery or sauce in bag. Also the noodles in the chicken vermicelli looked like they were the scraps! Otherwise very tasty and fast service!

My favorite Vietnamese place in calgary! Great prices and the food tastes so fresh. Would definitely recommend it.

Not a fan. I was praying that we wouldn’t be sick after we left here — none of our food tasted fresh. Josh’s vermicelli bowl only came with one spring roll, whereas most places include at least 2. I was excited about the Salad Rolls but discovered they had cilantro in them — a definite no for me — so that was disappointing. My Phở was okay, but a little bland — I had to add a lot of hoisin and hot sauce. The atmosphere and décor are really dated, and not in a cute way. The service was great though, and they were super nice. I probably wont be back — there are much better Vietnamese places in the NW.

This place is absolutely AWFUL!!! You want good Vietnamese? Go to Saigon Y2K. I was there yesterday and witnessed a horrific thing. Their delivery driver was being verbally assaulted and threatened with a gun by one of their customers! And what’s worse? One of the girls working there took the side of the customer! I know «customer is always right» but gosh, I don’t think a customer who (outside of the restaurant by the way) threatens to send his biker gang to kill a poor delivery driver just because the driver asked the guy to move his van so he wasn’t blocking a whole parking lot full of people. Now, I’ll admit, the food isn’t that bad, but I cannot and WILL NOT support a restaurant who defends the threats of a customer just for a buck. It is absolutely disgusting. I hope by reading this review, you too will not support such a dispicable place.

We like this place for takeout, it is consistently good stuff. I tend to get the tofu with vegetables on rice. I’m not a fan of fish sauce, but a little bit of hoisin is nice. Staff is friendly, and the place is usually busy.

The food here is alwyas good. Service is quick. You order and the food arrives hot and ready. You get lots of food. I think its good value.
This is one of my favorite spots for phở.

Cheap & cheerful but I’ve had better In Calgary. Rice vermicelli was a bit stodgy. The Vietnamese place just to the south of Peter Lougheed Hospital does a much better, fresher bun.

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: 3.5÷5
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Overall experience: 3.5÷5
(1– Terrible; 3– decent; 5– Fantastic)
I’ve been here numerous times, and it’s one of the better Viet places in the NW. Their Phở has quite a tasty broth (sometimes kind of diluted and not as good as Phở Kim’s), and their meat and tendon is super tender. The portion is perfect; there is often too much noodles for me to finish.
I’ve also tried their Vermicelli bowls which is terrific and enjoy getting specifically here. It has plenty of rice noodles, bean sprouts, well seasoned and marinated meat, and plenty of spring rolls if you happen to order them with your bowl. Very good flavours. Their subs are alright ($ 6-​$ 7) with flavourful meat served over a nice crispy baguette. I like getting the marinated chicken or satay which is not as spicy as I hoped but still has a nice balance of sweet, tangy, and salty. One thing I don’t like about it is that they don’t put enough ‘stuff’ inside the baguette so i end up eating a quarter of the sub in bread.
The service is pretty good, serving you drinks once you sit down and very friendly. One time they forgot to add bean sprouts to my vermicelli bowl and they gladly took it back, adding the sprouts and reassembling all the toppings when I got it back. During school time, this place is busy and full during lunch so you have to have a minimum order of i think $ 5 (forgot the exact price) in order to sit down and eat. There is also almost always people in for dinner.
Overall, I give this place a visit for some pretty decent Vietnamese food!

We happened to stumble on this restaurant by accident. We were hungry and decided to give it a try. It’s a fairly busy restaurant for a Saturday lunch hour crowd.
We ordered the 20A — appetizer plate consisting of charbroled beef wrapped with beetle leaves, spring rolls and salad rolls — 2 of each. It was not bad and it came with 2 sauces — the fish sauce and the usual dipping sauce for the salad rolls. I liked it and it was tasty. Thought the spring rolls were a little smaller than usual.
I ordered the no. 27 — Satay Beef on Vermicelli Bun — it wasn’t quite what I expected and it was all right. I thought the beef would be charbroiled but it was just like a stirfry beef with a inty bit of satay sauce on the top. Came with the usual vege and fish sauce. Was not at all spicy and I had to put more hot sauce to spice it up! Another family member ordered the no. 6 — Beef with tendon Phở — the soup base was a little too diluted for me. I had the a bit of the tendon and it was soft, which is a plus.
Tea is extra — $ 1.
They have a special sauce that is packaged specially for them caled the Yummy Sauce. It’s a sweet sauce good for bbq, it says on the label. It’s also sold at the store.
They also have Vietnamese subs — asked if they have brown bread and they do not.
When we left the restaurant, there was a bit of a line-​up. FYI — there are 2 round tables that can sit 6.

Of all the Vietnamese food places I have tried in the Calgary, San Diego, and San Francisco — hands down — this one is still my favorite! Indeed it tends to get busy as the night approaches so be prepared.
Their spring rolls & shrimp vermicelli bowls and their vegetarian phở are my favorite.
I can’t wait to come to Calgary for the summer to enjoy some soon!

Kathy and her daughters Jade and Annie run this little place across the street from Sir Winston Churchill High School, tucked into the Dalbrent strip mall between a vacuum cleaner repair shop and Spice Rack (go there for East Indian groceries). While the décor is pretty basic, the food rocks — especially the phở, which is so great for cold winter days. I tend to order either the grilled prawns on rice vermicelli or the chicken satay soup. My son likes the beef ball noodle soup. For appetizers, try the pork spring rolls and the grilled quail (it’s marinated in their own house recipe barbecue sauce, available for purchase). I keep coming back because the food is good, the prices reasonable, and the service always prompt and pleasant. Be warned: they can get BUSY, so expect to wait on Fri and Sat evenings during the supper rush hour.