Little Saigon

What a strange mixed bag! Ordered fresh Spring Rolls, Egg Rolls and Grilled Calimari to start. All were great, especially the Calimari. Ordered Bun and Phở as main course. Bun was very tasty, but the Phở is the worst I’ve had in a long time. The broth was nearly flavorless. Despite the other food being good I have given 2 stars because if a Vietnamese restaurant can’t get Phở right then they don’t deserve more.

Dan and I went here today after a very long day of car repairs in the rain and wanted to warm up!
We got the Volcano bowl to share and something was off about it. It had a very different taste. We couldn’t quite put our finger on it but something was off.
We got fresh spring rolls to start with and they are my all time favorite. We got them with shrimp and they were good. Kind of a hard thing to mess up! So they were tasty.
My husband and I both got the seafood noodle bowl. I got mine with rice noodles and he had the normal egg noodles. We love noodle bowls so we were very excited about them. The seafood was good, however the shrimp comes with the tail still on them, making it a little messy to eat. The crab was imitation which I can’t even eat. Growing up in a lobster boat I can’t even stomach it. The meatballs and seafood cakes I couldn’t even eat. I normally don’t in many cases, I gave them to my husband!
The place itself is very small and cozy. But they layout is a little funky. The service was a little disappointing. There was only one person serving when we got there and at several times we had to wait longer than normal. It took us almost 10 minutes to get our check after we asked for it. The waitress was not talkative at all and she barely checked in on us during our meal. Today happened to be very rainy and cold and they had the door open during our whole meal and sat us in the front, made for a chilly meal!
I would recommend this place solely on the food. But I wouldn’t hold your breath on the service itself…

Fresh an authentic. Well priced and very nice menu… Dinning room was hot… but I’m sure it will be fixed for the tourist season.
We will be back.
Really good. :-)

Delicious food! We enjoyed papaya salad with shrimp, pork crepes, House Bun and brisket Phở. Such fresh and tasty flavors on everything. Very fast and friendly service. Took many leftovers home as well– a whole meal awaits us tomorrow. Can’t wait!

This little gem is nestled at the end of the street downtown, right near an Indian place and an Italian place with a little neon sign in the window announcing Phó.
We have officially become regulars as the waitress (always have had the same one) asks, «The House Bún?» To which my reply is adamantly, «Yes!» The House Bún (pronounced Boon) is to die for!!! Yummmmm! It’s generous on the meat (4 kinds in the house version) and it’s always fresh and perfect when I’m hungry but don’t want to leave feeling weighed down. Hubs and I have easily declared it one of the best places we’ve ever gotten Bún, if not the best. We also love their fresh veggie spring rolls with shrimp and peanut dipping sauce. & hubs dies over the house egg rolls. I keep thinking I’ll try something else, but then if it aint broke… why fix it?
The ambiance is always pleasant — usually quiet and quaint. The waitress is attentive but not intrusive and we love this little spot for an evening out. Even our toddler regularly asks about going there! If you’re a fan of Vietnamese food, then you have to check this place out!

This little Vietnamese restaurant is right down town. It is quiet and cozy place was just what I was looking for. The service was polite but a bit lacking. We went during late afternoon and everyone seemed to be setting up for dinner and weren’t very attentive.
The food was good. The appetizer platter was yummy. The meatballs were grilled perfection. The shrimp were juicy and exploding with freshness. The egg rolls were crunchy and filling. The rice crepes were not something I would order again. It’s a texture things. They are soft and mushy exteriors. I ordered the house phở, which was just the thing was a cold day when I was feeling under the weather. The broth was the effect temperature. It was served with all the fixings and sauces. I liked mine slightly spicy. It was delightful. The large portion was huge. I could hardly finish half. So I got lunch for the next day.

My second time ordering takeout– and second time entirely pleased. The first time, I had Pad Thai and spring rolls. Excellent. Tonight, chicken Phở. This will be a regular dish for me through the winter months– so delish! I was worried about ordering that type of dish to go, but it was SO good! Sprouts, lime and jalapeño were packed in a ziplock (I asked for some spice) and the veggies and rice noodles were packed separately from the broth. I was able to put it together at home to be every bit as good as if I’d eaten in.
Generous portion for a very reasonable price– I couldn’t have made my meal for as little I paid for it.
The staff were excellent (again) and cautious about my gluten allergy. I’m so glad I fell upon this place.

As a Vietnamese I do have really high standard for Vietnamese food. I’ve been here couple «Bún Nam Vang», which has a lot of meat and the sauce is delicious. However, «Ph» is not quite authentic, but it tastes decent. The Fried Spring rolls are quite good too. The price is affordable for college students.
However, the service is quite slow (sometimes really slow) on busy day. Also, the servers do not really seem happy serving you, and you feel like they are angry at some thing. So the tip is to go here at early opening time.

Get the phở! It’s perfect for a cold night. I always get the veggie phở and it’s full of flavor and an enormous portion. I think that you can get a smaller portion but for some reason I always seem to forget this. My son has tried both the veggie egg noodle soup and the chicken rice plate. My husband has gotten a variety of things, all of which he has enjoyed. It’s a small place that fills up quickly on the weekend nights. The service is always friendly and quick. This is a great spot if you are in the Brunswick area and looking for some tasty Vietnamese food!

Had a quick dinner here earlier in the week.
The air had a chill so I was really craving soup. Phở to the rescue!
I had the fresh spring rolls with tofu as a starter. They were light and delicious and reminded me of something I ate during college.
I had the chicken phở. There were two sizes on the menu but I didn’t specify a size when I ordered. She brought me the large and it was HUGE (but only $ 10). It hit the spot as it was a nicely flavored hot bowl of soup, which was just what I wanted.
It’s very reasonable and i’d definitely return the next time I’m in the area.

Stopped in for take out on a Sunday night. Place was busy. They directed me to a bar adjacent to the kitchen. Waitress staff was very busy I think one of the owners came out to help me. They were all very friendly though. Had a sing Tao at the bar while I waited for my order. Got an appetizer sampler with some sort of rice pancake and meatballs and something I could not recognized but it was good and some kind of BBQ marinated shrimp on a bed of pickled marinated vegetables all very good. I got fresh spring rolls which were excellent one of my favorite things in the world. A very good pad thai for my wife. And for me I had phở which was also very good I got to watch the kitchen work which was a treat and watch the owner jump in and help cook. And I think if we had an eaten the food there it would have been even better. We will definitely be back, the inside was cozy very nice. Maybe we won’t have to drive all the way to Portland for phở.

service wasn’t too great, food was mediocre, the atmosphere was cute and cozy
i ordered the large house phở and appetizer platter to share with my boyfriend.
large house phở: not the best i have had, but still good. the hoisin sauce really helped with the taste!
appetizer platter: i don’t think is worth the price of $ 12. rice crêpe was strange… but the garlic meatballs were fantastic!

Ordered the seafood Egg noodle bowl. Immediately felt sick and threw up shortly after my dinner companion finished her meal.
I would go for the Indian next door.

Upon arriving here I was very pleased with the restaurant itself. Very cute and small and not super cheesy like most oriental restaurants are with their décor. After sitting down it all went downhill from there.
My boyfriend and I were both craving pad thai and he had been here previously and said that the phở was delicious! So we were in the area and decided to give it a shot. Completely disappointed. Very little flavor if any.
We only ordered water for drinks and after working all day we finished the glass in just a few minutes. The waitress did not come back until our food was served, nor did we see her anywhere in the restaurant. We were the only ones seated in there, so we should have had phenomenal service. After the food came, she never came and checked on us to see how the food tasted or if we needed anything.
We were just finishing up lunch, when I’m assuming the family’s 18 year old son showed up. He started arguing in the back with his family about working there and how he wanted to work at other places for experience. Super loud and completely interrupted the lunch and got us out of there faster than we had wished.
I love supporting locally owned and family ran businesses but it is hard to support a business when family drama is brought into the place of establishment and is able to be heard by customers.
Thankfully, I don’t live in the area but I would never come back here.

Great food and service. Love this place in every way.

The restaurant itself is small and has a nice atmosphere, but on nice days you can sit at the tables they’ve placed outside. They’re pretty quick when it comes to take out and the service is always very friendly. I love the house bun and phở, but what’s great is that the portions for the entrees are large!
Overall, it’s very authentic Vietnamese food for what I tried, so it’s definitely worth a shot. After all, I do stop by whenever I’m around the Brunswick area!

I took my mom here for her first ever Vietnamese experience at lunch time on a Tuesday. We both got the House Bun, which was excellent, although the rice noodles were slightly overcooked. The grilled meats were great and I would definitely order again. We shared the grilled calamari to start and it was pretty much perfect with an excellent dipping sauce. I like that they grill the squid whole and slice it up on the plate so you can see you are getting an entire squid. It was pretty large, also.
I treated myself to a mai tai which was also excellent. This place is a definite must-​try when you’re in Brunswick!

One of my new favorite spots in town. The rare beef phở is always delicious & fresh, and their fresh tofu spring rolls are absolutely fantastic!

Tonight was my second visit to this cute little restaurant on Maine street. Tonight I ordered the seafood rice plate and my fiancée ordered the chicken phở. I tried to tell him that their portions were huge and a large would be bigger than his head. He ordered it anyways and let’s just say the left overs will be my lunch tomorrow. Both of us enjoyed our meals. He used the word stellar to describe them. :) The sauce they used on my meal was heavenly and all the seafood was cook perfectly. The mussels must have been cook in some amazing seasoned water, I just couldn’t get enough. The price was great too!
Great meal, great price, great service!

«Grand Opening» week for Little Saigon, the second of two Vietnamese style restaurants in the town of Brunswick. Since this was my first time eating at this establishment, I went for the traditional beef phở with rare steak order. My selection turned out to be an excellent choice which came accompanied with the right amount of jalapeño peppers, bean sprouts and Thai basil. I picked the large size serving of the phở and was not disappointed in the amount of food that came with this order. Phở needs to arrive at your table steaming hot, especially when the order involves rare meat; this was certainly the case and the preparation of the broth was outstanding. Thumbs up!
The restaurant was packed by the time I left at around 1:00 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon — a good sign. Décor and atmosphere in the restaurant was elegant and social. I like how in keeping with quirky Asian tastes, there are two HDTV hanging on the walls for diners to eat and watch t.v. Very ethnic and appreciated by those like myself who look for these subtle cues.
I checked out the overall menu for Little Saigon and was impressed as well with the simplicity at which management has chosen to select the items on the list. Clearly, this restaurant is hoping to attract die-​hard phở fans as well as those who have never tried Vietnamese food. Noticed also that they have Vietnamese rice crepes/​ravioli for an appetizer which I will definitely have to try next time I am here.
Some of the things that I did notice while at Little Saigon that could be improved upon are:
— The wait staff could be more attentive and better coordinated (I gave them a pass this time around since it was «opening week» after all).
— Long wait for the food order. I ordered my phở dish and waited longer than usual for my food. Being picky here, but Vietnamese food should be fast to order and fast to arrive. They need to work on this.
— Pricing is a bit on the more expensive side for Vietnamese food that I’ve had before. I think folks are willing to pay for what Little Saigon is asking for in Brunswick. However, if this restaurant was in Portland or Boston, I think that it would have a hard time charging the prices that they are currently charging.
So, how does Little Saigon rank for me in terms for Vietnamese restaurants in the Mid Coast and greater Portland area? Hands-​down this establishment is heads and shoulders above Lemongrass (located right down the street in Brunswick) in terms of quality, flavor, atmosphere, and décor. I still feel that Saigon Restaurant (Forest Avenue, Portland) is much better and serves more authentic Vietnamese food. Little Saigon has a lot of potential upside so here’s hoping this new restaurant in Brunswick keeps growing in popularity and variety.