Little Saigon Cafe

It was a snowy evening in St. Louis, as we descended upon Little Saigon for our weekly group dinner. My friends and I decided not to venture too far away from our workplace, the Washington University School of Medicine. Little Saigon wasn’t our first choice, but on this night we decided to settle for what used to be quite passable Vietnamese cuisine (more on that later).
On this night, Saigon was rather busy, as about 75% of the tables were occupied and multiple large groups had congregated for dinner. The scene at Little Saigon is quiet and pleasant. The hostess sat us immediately and our waiter was patient as we fumbled through the menu. I was surprised that recently Little Saigon had decreased the number of its offerings significantly. What used to be a multi-​page menu filled with names of traditional Vietnamese dishes was replaced with a large page listing dishes like the «stir-​fried vegetables with fried tofu» which I ordered. Vegetarians have very limited options at Little Saigon and I was disappointed that my favorite dish from the old menu– Ca Ri Ga– was totally removed from the new one. Also, I cannot verify this for certain, but I think they have increased the prices on this new menu. Nonetheless, because of my past positive experiences, I was optimistic about the flavor of the food.
Unfortunately, this is when our night turned south. Our orders were promptly taken upon our arrival, but we didn’t get our appetizers or main course for about 25 minutes. There was another party of 12 in the restaurant that had been seated right before our arrival, so that may have contributed to the delay. When our food arrived, we were disappointed. My meal was really an embarrassment of an entrée for vegetarians. There was a complete disregard for flavor, as I was literally served plain stir fry vegetables with 4 small pieces of tofu with a side of brown rice. Many restaurants have token meat-​free entrees and I appreciate when they try to do something creative Luckily for me, they had Sriracha available and I promptly doused my vegetables with the condiment, as to make its consumption more pleasant. My omnivore friends had mixed reviews of their dishes. Four of them ordered soups and the major feeling was that the food was rather bland– lacking the typical flavorful profile of more traditional Vietnamese soups.
Honestly, if you are in the Central West End, there are much better options. I wouldn’t recommend spending the money at Little Saigon. If you are in the mood for Vietnamese try Phở Grand. It is cheaper and more flavorful.

$ 10 for Phở, which is more than I usually spend on Phở. The broth was lacking in flavor and the noodles didn’t hold up well in the soup. However, the beef was of high quality and cooked perfectly. The hoisin sauce on the side was unusually watery, but the sriracha was fine. I got a lot of cilantro and not much basil. The amount of bean sprouts and jalapeño was fine. Very fast and polite service and the restaurant was clean and nicely decorated. If you want Phở I would recommend traveling elsewhere in the city though.

My hand’s down absolute favorite place to eat ever! The food is incredible. It’s light and flavorful and fun. Perfect comfort food especially on a rainy day. However, the food is outstanding, but the real 5-​star review is for their customer service. They have the nicest, friendliest staff I’ve ever met. They’re the real reason I always want to come back. You feel more than welcome and at home there. I would recommend Little Saigon to anyone!

Not bad. I got Singapore noodles aka curry vermicelli noodles with chicken and shrimp! Pretty good. I’ll admit up front I’m from San Fran so normally a bowl of noodles will only set up back $ 8 – 10 for this basic of a dish. So a little bit pricier than I’m used to but the food was good. Pluses for nice ambiance and great service!

Most. Boring. Vietnamese. Food. Ever.
The entrees totally whitified. If that isn’t a verb, it should be.
Well ok, my wife thought her phở was the worst she’s had in the USA. Not that it tasted bad, it just didn’t have any taste.
And my pork chop? Yeah, I didn’t know they could make something so dull.
Two saving graces of the meal:
1. The fried spring rolls were pretty awesome, and thankfully did have taste. Perhaps we should have just gotten another serving or two and had that as our dinner.
2. Good beer options.
Very good service too.
Overall Little Saigon Café isn’t that good. I no longer live in St. Louis, but I KNOW you can find better Vietnamese in the city. Yeah, I know, this is the Central West End, so what should I expect? I guess I was hoping for at least average Vietnamese for more $ than your average Vietnamese resturant. Instead it was subpar food for more $. Oh well…

Very disappointing. Not authentic Vietnamese food. The fresh spring rolls came with a weird hoisin-​like sauce rather than than the traditional peanut sauce. The phở lacked depth of flavor. It tasted like they used canned broth. The meat in the soup was way overcooked (it usually comes out rare). We also got a forgettable entrée with steak (or pork?). It might have been the bo luc lac. Either way it tasted like a dish you would get at a take out restaurant. Save yourself the time and money and try another Vietnamese restaurant.

My parents live right around the corner from here, so when I came into town a few months ago they had to take me here! They go here at least once a week and are constantly raving about it.
Thu is always their server, as well as the night I was there. Fantastic service, and I think David is the bartender… he has their drinks ready as soon as he sees them come in the door! The lemondrop martinis are to DIE for, and they will certainly do the trick to get you to loosen up. All of the dishes were amazing — of course I had to steal some of my parents :) I wish I lived closer!
Fast forward a few months; I wanted to get my dad a present for his birthday. What do you get the man who has everything? A surprise dinner at his favorite restaurant! Living so far away, I e-​mailed John to see if he could help me out and let me pay for my parent’s next meal, and it all worked out and I was able to treat my parents to a dinner out from afar!!! Where the heck would you ever get that service??!

First time here and we will come back! I had a seafood, vegetable crispy noodle dish which was awesome!

Love the chicken phở with all the fixings! Great staff! Great atmosphere! I’ve eaten here twice in three days!!!

I cannot figure out why this place is not packed every night! But I guess better for us :)
The food is excellent, Ca Ri Ga & Goi Du Du (which Dave (server/​bartender) introduced us to) are my top 2 dishes but the Phở is also amazing.
The service is always on point! There an amazing server who works there, I think her name is Thu, that always remembers us and that my husband loves their hot sauce. She brings it out without asking. That IS service at its best, makes you feel at home!

So I’ve been to this place quiet a few times. All the times have been really good. Service is great and friendly. The service always fills up my cup with water when it is half empty and boxes up my food for me when I ask for a to go box. Food is good. I can tell it’s more traditional, but still very Americanized.
I can’t give this place a 5 star because there is something off about it. I can not figure it out for the life of me. I really don’t even know the reason. It just doesn’t seem worthy for a 5 star review. Yeah I’ve had good experiences, but never anything to try and get my parents to try the place. I guess you could say it’s good for a quick meal with friends between classes, but nothing more.
Overall, I will continue to come back until this place gives me a reason to not come back.

The food was fresh and very good. The restaurant was clean and the service was very good. I ordered spring rolls, wine and an entrée, all were good. I recommend this restaurant if you want to wake up your taste buds with fresh ingredients.

Overall it’s good, but it’s a little overpriced. I am guessing the price is just due to the location.
Food is pretty average Vietnamese cuisine. I have had phở tai, spring rolls, and a couple of other items.
It’s definitely nicer than most other Vietnamese restaurants in town as far as atmosphere.
Unlike most they do have a full bar so that’s a bonus.

This is a wonderful sit-​down restaurant for over your lunch break or dinner. I tried the Cai Xào au Hu (stir-​fried vegetables and fried tofu with brown rice) and it was fantastic. The mushrooms really gave it a nice, rich flavor. Main dishes here hover around $ 10, but the quality is good and if you’re not too hungry, you could probably have leftovers for another meal.

Little Saigon is a favorite restaurant of mine that I don’t patronize often enough because I forget about it. The service is wonderful and the food is fantastic. I believe the menu is on the healthier side of the spectrum, so that’s a bonus. I’ve had a few different items and have yet to be disappointed.
My husband’s usual order is a vermicelli dish with shrimp skewers and spring rolls; I like that dish and also enjoy the Ca Ri Ga, a yellow curry with chicken, potatoes and carrots. It has a deeper spiciness to it rather than chili spice. The chicken sate is tasty too.
The best thing about the food here is that it’s cooked well — neither overcooked or undercooked.
P. S. Even my 4-​year-​old likes eating here, and that’s saying a lot!

I’ve been here for lunch twice now. I’ve enjoyed it both times — enough so that I’ll take my out of town peeps here for a nice, relaxed meal where we can catch up and gossip after we’ve spent beyond our means in the CWE boutique shops.
I work in the lovely CWE, so this is very convenient spot to people watch if you sit outside on the sidewalk patio or by the big windows — which by the way, the whole wall is a window and opens in nice weather. BONUS! It’s like an indoor patio! LOVE.
As for the food… don’t ask me what I ordered. Whatever it’s called, I name it «Good Eats.» I keep forgetting to write the name of the dish down, because I can never pronounce or spell it on my own. It’s the tofu dish with chicken substitute, served with very fresh bok choy, zucchini, mushrooms, snap peas, carrots, and a light sauce. I love that the veggies are fresh and that the plate isn’t swimming in sauce. I’ve had the dish with brown rice and then vermicelli — either way is great. I’ve also has the spring rolls — fresh and fried. Love the fresh the best. Again the veggies are super fresh, and the dipping sauce is yummers.
It’s a small spot, but good things come in small packages!

I have gotten take out from here several times, and went to the restaurant to eat for the first time last night. I can’t comment on the authenticity, but on the whole I’ve been happy with my food. I absolutely love the shrimp soft spring rolls and get them every time I go. I’ve gotten grilled chicken skewers/​chicken satay a few times and generally feel it is dried out. The steak cubes are decent but lacking any sort of stand-​out flavor, and I got a seafood and pineapple sweet and sour soup that was decent before.
Their real forte is the speed of service for take out. It usually takes about 15 min for an order of 1 – 3 people! Can’t be beat when you are hungry. Also the atmosphere is neat and on nicer days you can sit outside or inside but they have big windows that open to the outside.
Convenience, speed, and reliability are what keep me coming back.

This review is long overdue. So, please bear with me if the details are a little hazy. I came here for lunch with my lab over the summer and absolutely loved this place. I have been meaning to come back, but somehow I just never find the time.
We came in on a Friday afternoon and were served fairly quickly. It only took a few minutes to get out food out and the service was great — quick and attentive. Perfect for lunch on a busy day. I ordered a chicken dish that was amazing. I can’t remember the name of the dish but it had sautéed bell peppers, onions, and chicken, and was served with rice. The sauce was light and refreshing and the chicken was moist, tender and delicious. Check this place out if you’re ever in CWE.

Don’t get me wrong… the food was ok and central west end is a great location, but it really bothers me to have American-​style Asian food.
The phở was not good. It wasn’t really bad, but super inferior to actual Vietnamese restaurants. The banh xiao appetizer (the rice crêpe) was good and I worth trying I guess. I had a salmon dish that was really tasty but still super Americanized.
This is not a good place to go if you like the usual hodge podge of shared dishes and oriental restaurants… they make their dishes here for the individual. And they are WAYYYY overpriced. Especially for how tiny they are.
I think olive blvd or grand ave may have some better options than this place.

Last Saturday I stopped by Little Saigon Café for the second time, and have to admit that the food wasn’t as good as I recall in the past. On this visit I decided I wanted something light so I ordered the Com Chiên, which is essentially Vietnamese chicken fried rice. The rice was a little bland with no real flavor, also there was hardly any chicken in my entrée. I was able to try some of the Bún Thit Nuong, (Grilled pork served with vermicelli noodles), and I admit that it would had been the better choice. I think on my next visit I will probably order the Bún Thit Nuong or Bò Lúc Lac and avoid the flavorless Com Chiên.
Overall the service was good, with a friendly staff. Also the location is great, while the atmosphere inside is nice, and pretty casual the outside seating here is a better choice. The inside seems a little bit stuffy, despite the large windows letting in a fair amount of natural light.