Pho Saigon

Great Phở and great service. I had the Chicken Phở and fresh Spring Rolls. Both were very good! I’ll be back.

I have been twice, getting the Phở second time around (you can’t really review a place like this until you have tried the phở…). First time through I had the shrimp spring roles and a beef broken rice dish. The spring roles were a disappointment, they were mostly lettuce and rice noodle with little flavor, and they were chewy to the point of being difficult to eat. The beef in the rice dish was flavorful but chewy as well. The sauce was decent.
Second time around I had their regular phở (brisket and round, if I remember correctly). The broth was good and by far the best thing I have had there to date.
Overall, I think they are a bit over priced for what you get, but worth exploring more of the menu since they take a deeper dive into Vietnamese cuisine than most places around town.

Came here late with my family. We ordered:
1. Pork dumplings– these were really good, am I’m a dumpling fanatic. Sauce was a little weak but they provide chili and hoisin sauce so I mixed that into the dip.
2. Taro Bubble Tea– delicious, bubbles were smaller and harder than the ones at TT Lounge but still very satisfying.
3. Taro Root Cakes– interesting take on taro, we enjoyed it thoroughly. Good healthy choice although my mom thought it was a little oily.
4. Vietnam Pad Thai Wok– not spicy, which was good for my family, but I added a ton of chili. Good amount of shrimp, and not greasy.
5. Swahi fish– this was the best out of what we got. Sweetly flavored fish with broccoli and jasmine rice, this dish really hit home.
The service was excellent and all in all I highly recommend this place.

The phở is alright, not the best that I’ve ever tasted. In my opinion, the cinnamon was way overpowering the taste of the broth. The restaurant is clean and the staff is very friendly. The staff is friendly but need to be more attentive, I asked for shredded onions and I received chopped green onions. No big deal, but I think it’s important to pay attention to what the customer asked for.

It was a cloudy and cold Saturday, so we decided to venture out for lunch. What to eat on a cold day? Phở, of course.
The restaurant is decorated nicely and is somewhat small. When we walked in we were immediately greeted and sat at a table by the window. The waiter took our drink order: Vietnamese iced coffee, a bourbon barrel beer, Tiger beer and water all around.
For appetizers, I got the soft spring rolls, and my husband and daughter got the crispy spring rolls. The soft spring roll was just okay. The rice paper was super thick and chewy and the dipping sauce was a peanut sauce that, to me basically tasted like peanut butter. I tried to doctor it with hoisin and chili sauce, which helped. Still, I wouldn’t order these again.
The crispy spring rolls on the other hand were good. The dipping sauce was too sweet and didn’t have that balance of salty, sweet and tart.
For entrees my husband got the oxtail phở and it was excellent. My daughter had the phở ga, which was also very good. I opted for the chicken noodle salad. It was okay, but had the same overly sweet dressing that comes with the crispy spring rolls. I added lime and chili sauce to balance the sugar. The chicken was grilled and had an overly charred flavor that was fine at first but became sort of overwhelming as I continued to eat.
If you eat here stick with the phở. I think next time I’ll go a few extra miles down Broad Street to Mekong.

The phở here is pretty awesome! The broth is clear, a sign of careful technique, and flavorful. I’ve been here twice, once for dine-​in and once for take out. The atmosphere is pretty nice, perhaps the nicest Vietnamese restaurant I’ve ever been too. It’s clean and modern. The service has been very good too. I think it would be a nice place for an intimate dinner, if you’re into having intimate dinners with Vietnamese food. It’s not a white table cloth type of place, but still nice and with a passable alcohol selection.
For take out, the phở broth and the solid ingredients are packaged separately. I think it was pretty nice that the noodles come in a togo soup bowl/​container. You could just poor the broth into the bowls and eat it. That’s unlike most places where you have to find your own bowl if you are ordering togo.
I’d give this place five stars, but my cheap Vietnamese soul prevents me from doing that. The phở prices are higher than what you would pay at other places. Expect to pay about 10 $ per bowl. The flavor of the broth and the nice décor of the establishment justify the increased price, but for togo pricing its not as justified.
Bottom line: good authentic phở in a tasteful setting.

OMG! The best Vietnamese food I’ve had outside of Vietnam. Rice pancakes, green papaya salad, phở of course and REAL sticky rice with mango! I may have to move here. Seriously.

I’ve eaten a lot of vietnamese and I think this is one of the best phở I’ve ever had. Their vermicelli dishes are great as well.
The facility feels more upscale than most vietnamese places, almost a little too nice as it feels a bit ‘fake’ but I’m nitpicking as it was clean and nice. That said the food certainly isn’t fake and is outstanding across the board! Everything we tried was just great!
The vermicelli bowls are really tasty but a little shy on goodies for $ 11 – 12. The phở was really amazing but at $ 11 – 12 a bowl it’s quite a bit higher than phở tay do which sells a large for $ 7 and is equally good.
I imagine the cost factors are due to the nicer facility and the higher rent area in general but i wouldn’t call it a rip off as the food is legitimately great and worth a few extra bucks if you’re in the neighborhood.
The service was friendly and attentive while not being intrusive. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, a decent place bordering on romantic… Well worth a try!

Service was great. Husband ordered ox tail phở and he loved the homemade broth just like his mom used to make. I ordered the Vermicelli with pork, egg roll and shrimp very good. We eat a lot of Phở since my husband is vietnamese. We will come back.

Oh my god. I live in NYC and I’m used to amazing Vietnamese food. THIS TOPS EVERYTHING. You must try the Bot Chien. It’s unreal. The taro is pan fried and super tender and flavorful. The grilled onions on top had me licking the plate for any leftover pieces. A must have! The Cha Cuon was also solid. The sauces are great. If you are in Richmond, you have to make it here. It deserves to be on a food show!

Since the owner contacted Unilocal to remove my previous 1 star review, I’d write here again.
No, the food isn’t good there any more! Even the famous Oxtail phở was bland! Phở Ga? Chicky! (Owner admitted it was a boring dish any way)
Because the female owner/​chef isn’t there most of the time. And if I said, ‘scallop dish was boring, lacking of flavors, and I was chewing sand and charcoal at the same time’, I MEANT IT!
I am not afraid of a bully owner J contacted Unilocal to remove my review or started his personal attacks. FOOD there was expensive and NO flavors! That’s right, we spent lots of $$ there but been treated like this just because I had something to say about the quality of food? The owner told me to STAY AWAY by the way. Sure will!

Pretty close to one of the worst Viet /​phở places I’ve been to in my life. The choice of meats were a cheap cut and they’re lazy with the sauces. They pretty much just used soy sauce for flavoring. If I wanted soy sauce beef, I’d order soy sauce on beef. No. I ordered the com bo luc lac.
Service was pretty good so I’d give them a star for that.

This place is a great hidden spot! I come usually for the lunch special and usually get the bahn mi pork sandwiches (it also comes with chicken) and a side of broth.
The portions are big and the staff is always so nice and friendly and at times I won’t even need a menu because they usually know my order ;)
Great spot, especially if you’re a FT student looking for a quick inexpensive, but satisfying meal! Their fresh spring rolls, crispy spring rolls and rice combo plates are amazing as well!

Since my discovery of phở a few years back, I’ve been trying it at a bunch of places. The West End thankfully delivers in bountiful phở bunches, and when Phở So 1 was closed on a Tuesday, we had to find somewhere else. Phở Saigon was quite the good find!
–Food: The first time we went, I got my normal Phở Tai Chin (Steak and Brisket) and my fiancée got Phở Ga (Chicken). She commented on how the chicken was cut in strips and that it was better than the other places she has had it. I thought the whole bowl was pretty tasty, and there were plenty of noodles. I will say that the broth is a little sweeter and less spicy (as in cinnamon and star anise) than some of the other places, but with the proper balancing of heat with Sriracha mixed with lime and basil, it ended up being a delicious dish. She also got Bubble Tea, which was the frozen slush variety, and she said it was good.
The difference in flavor makes sense as they stress that the menu they have «showcases a blend of flavors and textures unique to the Dong Nai region of southeast Vietnam». It definitely tastes like phở broth, but there are distinct flavor profile changes, mostly for the sweeter side, but delicious all the same. Just don’t expect Phở So 1’s cinnamon rich, super savory broth and give Phở Saigon’s a chance.
The second time I went I got Oxtail Phở, partially because I’ve seen people rave about it on here and partially because I’ve never tried it before. First things first; the actual meat is really, really good. It’s a flavor of beef I haven’t had before, and it’s super tasty. Second things second; I’m not really sure how to eat it. There are portions of meat on the actual oxtail bone, but there is a lot of bone and fat around it, and that’s just really not my style. I still say try it as it’s tasty, but I don’t believe I’ll get it again. They have plenty of other specials that I haven’t seen anywhere else, like Seafood Phở, and will probably try these eventually.
–Cost: A few dollars more than the other phở places, so instead of $ 7-​$ 8 a bowl, you’ll be paying closer to $ 10-​$ 11 (or more for the specialty things). It’s not outrageous, but it’s more expensive.
–Service: The staff don’t talk much, but they’ve been polite both times we’ve went. Phở takes a bit longer to be delivered here (~10 minutes as opposed to less than 5 at Phở So 1), but it’s not a deal breaker.
–Atmosphere: The layout of the interior is very welcoming. It feels like a small noodle house and the dimmed lighting is really great, especially in the evening. I really enjoy the feeling here more than any other phở place in the area. One downside is that the floor was a little sticky both times. Meh. Tables were clean and the place doesn’t feel dirty.
–Overall: I’m torn between a 4 and a 5. Definite pros are varieties of phở, the broth as a whole, and the cozy interior. The main con is slight overpricing compared to competitors in the area. I really like Phở Saigon and will definitely come back, but whether it’s my favorite over a couple other locals is debatable.

This gem of a place has yet to disappoint me and is great in many ways. For one, I consider them more gourmet and «kicked-​up» Vietnamese. What I mean by this is not the normal identity crisis that many ethnic cuisine places at times encounter. These folks take something incredibly awesome already like Phở soup, and offer an Oxtail & beef flank Phở. It was deliciousness on a cold night with all the awesomeness that Oxtail adds to everything and a bit more star anise than a normal Phở soup, which I loved.
i have NEVER eaten a bad meal here. This restaurant may not just be for when you want to shove Phở or other Vietnamese awesomeness that God blessed us with down your gullet. This also is for when you want to take your woman to a nicer spot than the normal PHO house you religiously attend and be able to have a nice cocktail, or a nice wine, etc, in a dimmer lit setting for possible smooching and eye contact, with oxtail breath and oxtail stickiness still on your lips, for a similar price point as your normal Phở «church.» Yes I jest. Their food offering is creative, way past status quo, and the owners seem to «get it» in every way. As an example, about a year ago, my wife and I were given tickets to Sheryl Crowe at Innsbrook After Dark. We were feeling peckish but it was late. We arrived here about 5 minutes AFTER they closed. As we were walking back to the car, te owner followed us out and invited us back in and FED US some incredible soft shell crabs that they had on special that night. Who has this level of customer care anymore?

Very quiet, slightly awkward when you first walk through the door. Once seated, servers are very prompt. Awesome spring rolls. Fresh phở ingredients. Perfect boba tea. Highly recommended for a chilly day! Great little place.