Saigon Noodle

When I walked in I wasn’t expecting much. I heard the bun bo hue was good. Wow was I surprised by the service! I felt like family and the veggies were fresh. Nice and spicy with plenty of flavor! The best part was the broth and a slice of cha tossed in?!? Nice! Very peaceful and the décor wasn’t much but the tables were spotless so I can’t complain. I would definitely come back again on my break: D

I ordered a rice plate with a pork chop, meat cake, and pork skin ($ 9.40). The best part of the dish was the pork skin because it was slightly spicy. Food was prompt and tasted fresh. The inside of the restaurant was very homey, but clean. The clientele was a mix of Vietnamese and Americans. Service was brusque, but sufficient.

Not outstanding or anything but good food, fast service, and plenty of street/​public parking. What more could I ask for.

I haven’t been here for a while and my last review was a while ago. I have to say that I’m very disappointed with how it has changed.
The thing I used to come here for was their porkchops and rice dish which I loved. It used to be this semi thick piece of bone in chop that was grilled and marinated to perfection served with a generous side of greens. I ordered the same thing and it was such a disappointment. Instead of the thick piece of bone chop they used to serve. they give you this thin strips of pork. It had half the flavor and meat it previously had! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Their Phở too was blander than I remembered. I don’t know what else to say about that. Finally I also had their house special fried rice and boy was it a let down. It was mushy and smelled very fishy to me. I didn’t enjoy it at all though I will say that they gave a huge portion for it.
I don’t think I will be frequenting this place anymore.

Pleasant staff… usually greeted with a smile!!!
Food is always fresh and the condiments are fresh as well…
Phở is tasty and the spring rolls are amazing!!!
Price is more than affordable! Def a hidden gem.
Never a complaint when I come here!
Could use an improvement in the cleanliness department… Floors seem a bit dirty and the tables are outdated…

Definitely a hole in the wall, but I have tried different phở in the area n this place by far is good for their phở. I can’t speak much for the other food, but their phở is good. Happy to have found a place rather than phở bistro in malden.

Friendly service, good Vietnamese Phở soup!
Really good price.
Had lunch here before and spring rolls were included.

Good

A lot of people complain about the cash only but I think this is more of a feature because it is how they keep their prices well below average. Many gas stations around Malden are cash only as well and their prices are unbeatable.
As for the food, I find Saigon Noodle unbeatable even compared to Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown. I’ve had their beef noodle phở regularly which is usually great. I’ve had a couple of visits where the noodle has a strange stale texture but I think they’re a fluke as I’ve had the same experience from time to time in other Vietnamese restaurants too. I’ve always love the taste of their broth which is the best I’ve ever had in any other Vietnamese restaurants. Their grill shrimp, pork vermicell or house special vermicell is another favorite of mine and my wife. Their fried rice is amazing as well and rivals even the best Thai fried rice. As for appetizer the ban kok and fried quail is completely amazing.
As for service, I’ve always had a great customer service experience. The waitress always smile, always greet me warmly and make small talk with me. I do agree that the atmosphere could be better but this is a small family run restaurant so I don’t expect anything better.

Haven’t been to Saigon in a while; I used to go here all the time with my friends after school since the restaurant was right around the corner from Malden High. Stopped by today for a quick lunch. The broth for the phở was tasty — better than I remembered! The beef vermicelli bowl was also great. The beef was very well marinated and tender. The restaurant is casual, clean and comfortable; nothing super fancy, but it works for this authentic family run business.

I usually don’t like to bother with these rating things, but after reading some of the bad reviews on this place I feel like I have to say something to do justice for this place.
First of all, this place has some of the best Vietnamese food in the area and I am talking about the Greater Boston area including Dorchester with its large Vietnamese community. Now before you question my taste or knowledge of the Vietnamese cuisine, I just want to say that I am Vietnamese and I eat Viet food on a daily basis. There are four popular Vietnamese noodles soup dishes (phở, hu tieu, bun rieu, bun bo hue) and Saigon Noodle does great on all of them, which is quite surprising considering that most of the other Vietnamese restaurants tend to be good on one or two.
In terms of the other aspects of the eating out experience, yes this place does not have the greatest ambiance, yes it does not take cash, yes it is not the cleanest of restaurants, but my question for those who made these complaints is does that surprise you? For anyone who actually eat at many Asian restaurants, you should know that these are very typical traits. Just go to a Chinatown in any major cities and you can confirm this.
In the end, go here if you want great tasting Vietnamese food and go elsewhere if you think accepting credit card is more important than good food.

The décor and ambiance is average. Very casual. I had the beef phở and spring roll. The spring roll was good but the phở was very lacking. One of the most important part of it was the soup base which was not that great. The taste of the soup was a little strange and not what I’d expect. I’ve had plenty of phở from different places but this place was the only one I did not enjoy. I might try the rice dishes next time instead.

I was asked to join my housemate and her friend here. Unfortunately, it was not a very good dining experience. Asking about items on the menu was apparently pointless as the women working there did not speak any English. Food quality was way under par. I ordered the salad with shrimp, which was mostly white cabbage. I did enjoy the fresh basil, but the dressing was nothing special and they did not de-​vein (remove the poop from) the shrimp. What can one expect from a hole in the wall. Imho, life’s too short to eat at dodgy restaurants such as this.

Spicy bo kho? Check. Bun bo hue? Check. North of Boston? Check. AMAZING Vietnamnese food? Check. WooHoo!
I’m a certified Vietnamnese food junkie living very north of Boston, where the Vietnamnese food scene within a 10 mile radius can only be considered Meh; a 4+ star worthy of bun bo hue usually which meant an exhaustively long journey of traffic fighting all the way down to Dorchester. On an exploratory mission to Malden this past Sunday, we found this place across the street from where we parked. Unilocal had marked this place closed on Sundays but the neon Open sign was all we needed to invite ourselves in.
I was surprised to spot two of my most favorite dishes — bun bo hue and bo kho on the menu (rarely found outside of Boston-​Dorchester, and particular rare when they use the proper noodles), we ended up ordering one of each. I asked for a side of white rice instead of yellow noodles to go with my bo kho — accommodated with no problem. And after a short wait of 5 minutes, our food was ready for taste test. My bo kho soup was extremely spicy, rich and flavorful, just the way I like it. The beef was the perfect type for bo kho, lots of tendons attached to lean meat, the flavor is completely absorbed into the beef, so delicious yet much less oily than many of the bo kho I have eaten. The combination of scallions, basil and onions did its usual magic of heightening the herbal flavor of the heavenly soup. This is probably the most spicy bo kho I’ve ever had and its just magnificent. Boyfriend got the bun bo hue, which is made very properly with the right type of noodles and meat. They also have beef hotpot and bun rieu on the menu which are also rare and delicious finds usually only hosted in authentic Vietnamnese joints.
While we were devouring our food, a few tables of customers poured in and the service is lightning fast for everyone. The staff is also very friendly and all smiles. When we were about to sit ourselves next to the door, we were told it may be too cold (in the winter) and were gently asked to moved to inner and warmer spots in the restaurant. Credit cards are accepted but tips must be in cash. There doesn’t seem to be a size labeled on the menu (I think usually this implies a medium bowl), but you can ask for large or train size.
Very authentic and delicious Vietnamnese restaurant, I’ll definitely be back for more!

CHicken phở — piping hot broth. Rich with double chicken fat. Plenty of noodles. Plenty of chicken.
Meatballs with dumplings and egg noodles in pork broth is even better — a richer pork broth — also served piping hot.
Lunch specials include a spring roll — ship and pork or vegetarian and a soda!
At lunch time, the place gets packed quickly and you may not be able to get a seat.
If you ask politely, they may even make a «sandwich» for you.
Go frequently.

Let me start with, I hate to write a negative review about an Asian restaurant as I like to support the small Asian businesses being from Lowell.
This place has good phở-​the large bowl looks like a small or medium size but was good enough for seven dollars she did charge me eight dollars though not sure why?
When we walked in at 6 PM Wednesday night it was dead besides one American Couple checking out when the owner told them that it was cash only and they could go to the ATM. There’s no listing on the door of cash only and even the credit card symbols on the door– so they got cash– When I checked out there with another white guy going to pay for his takeout and then they accepted his credit card!
So, aside from all of the shady business it was a swealtering minimum of 90° by the end of my dinner I was sweating all over and it was embarrassing dinner date!
Decent phở but wouldn’t go back to the super hot restaurant with poor service. I am use to decent service at an asian restaurant but this was almost borderline rude.
Very much a lack of ambiance too– no tv, no music, and no customers! So silence!

Although this place may be a hole in the wall, the food was splendid. I enjoyed my pork chop with rice, and to be quite honest it was much better than what I had across the street at Phở Hoa. And the service was good as well. I will be frequently ordering to go from here.

I had better Vietnamese food elsewhere but I was in the area and decided to try since my boyfriend was raving about it. Their lunch special is an awesome deal. The meal comes with free soda and one spring roll. We ordered the Hue Phở and Shrimp and Pork Vermicelli.
Hue Phở — instead of the traditional Vietnamese noodles (white thin noodles), they use «lai foon — similar to sphagetti but white colored). The broth can be spicer. It was rather mild. Luckily they did not include the pork feet inside the bowl — that will give my bf nightmares haha. The traditional Hue Phở comes with it so beware. If you don’t like cilantro, remember to tell them too.
Spring Rolls — perfect and I am madly in love with the peanut sauce :)

Got a craving for noodle soup, so we headed to the Asian mecca that is Malden Center to satisfy our hunger.
The restaurant is pretty standard décor for a noodle house. The service was a little off, the guy was inexperienced and young. It took a while for Andy to get his limeade.
The food was pretty good, standard Phở and other soups. The broth was fragrant and herby.

Easily the best Vietnamese in Malden. The price, the atmosphere, the service, the food. Saigon Noodle is tops.
The lunch specials here are crazy inexpensive. For a mere $ 7 you get — a huge bowl or phở or vermicelli, a spring roll and a soda. Seriously? The beef phở was a delight. The broth is super flavorful. There is a nice array of meats (as one of my dining companion gleefully exclaimed «so many mysterious beef parts») — tripe, brisket, flank… yum yum yum.
The spring roll is pretty darn good — but that peanut dipping sauce knocks the thing out of the park. I’d put that sauce on a tire and eat it.
The service was great. The place was decently full for lunch but we got our orders in — the food came out in a timely fashion and our server checked in on us a few times. Lovely.
As for the cleanliness? Lots of these Unilocalers say the place is dirty, but I disagree. The dining area was open and bright. The tabletops and all the silverware was clean. There wasn’t any weird stuff in my food. Not sure what all the fuss is about.
Do note that this place is cash only, but there are at least a hundred Bank of America ATMs in a two block radius — so no biggie.
This place will definitely become a local go-​to. It’s a shame they don’t deliver.