Pho Saigon

Beware of the killer windchime!
For starters the windchime is attached to the entry door so it swings with the door, resulting in being smacked right in the face when you walk in. But that was okay because apparently there was no one there to witness the attack. (It was noon on a Wednesday so I’m not quite sure why this place was as dead as villain in a Liam Neeson movie.)
After kind of yelling loudly about the windchime position and also to let someone know I was there someone finally came to check. I held up my forefinger and said one please. She said Vietnamese and pointed to a menu. I said yes I would like Phở. She again pointed to the menu and said some things in Vietnamese. I think she was showing me they only had four menu items available. I cant be too sure… I pointed to a booth and said «one» again.
I thought i heard the word «closed» next, so to me that was a bonus at this point. I left. And the damn windchime got me again!!!
Since it’s got a lot of good reviews I’m sure the food is good. That is if you can catch it when they’re serving more of what you can actually understand. And they are not «closed.»
And you make it past the windchime.

Went there and the woman who cooks the Vietnamese food was not there. Was asked if I would like the Spanish food… it’s Mexican.

Growing up as a vietnamese american and knowing the food as well as I do coming from a densely populated city of viet people, I have to say that their phở bo (cannot say for the other foods because I haven’t tried it) Is exactly how it should be. there are plenty of greens, a good amount of meat (can’t ask for different cuts because they only offer the one bowl with both the meatballs, bo vien, and thin sliced steak, tai), and most importantly a flavorful broth. If you want a good bowl of phở come here for sure. It’s attached to the asian market but the owner is cool. I do wish there were more variety to really show the goodness that is viet food.

This is a long narrow space next to Asian Grocery. The waitress and only employee that I saw was hispanic, not oriental. But she knew the menu and knew how to prepare food and that was all that mattered.
I came over to grab a quick lunch but soup isn’t what I got. After looking at the menu, I decided to get an order of spring rolls and another order of egg rolls. Both were delicious. The spring rolls had a couple of pieces of largish shrimp in them and she brought me a couple of kinds of hot sauce for them. The egg rolls came with their own sauce and it was very good.
All in all, a very good lunch!

this place sucks. was told they don’t have a to go menu. was told to take a photo of the of a large menu on a easel. buh bye saigon

I’m confused about this restaurant. :-) First of all, it was FREEZING inside the restaurant. Not a fan of that. But the Bun Bo Hue? FANTASTIC. Hot, spicy, savory, chewy noodles, a good amount of meat… it was amazing. And the fact that they sell pupusas? Weird. Everyone inside the restaurant that I saw was Hispanic, so I guess that it explains it? But they do make a mean Bun Bo Hue. The menu is pretty limited, but if you go and order that, you’ll be fine.
I might have to get a pupusa sometime, though.

You need to drive slowly when looking for this place, you can seriously drive right by. First, I am amazed at the ingenuity of the owner taking this part of the grocery and making it a restaurant! No doubt this had to be either a freezer was or currently is located right next to one because it was unbelievably cold! I tried two different booths and they were both cold. I asked my waitress where a warm spot was, she stated there is none. Hopefully this was a temporary problem. I must say the cold room temperature is my only real complaint. Service was very good, although there was a slight language barrier. My waitress spoke Spanish (yes, I said Spanish, not Vietnamese) and was unfamiliar with the cuisine and could not answer many questions I had. That was okay, I was familiar with the food and the menu offers photos. Plus, she tried very hard to be as helpful as she could. I got the Bun Bo Hue and it was delicious, very flavorful! Authentic. The prices are also reasonable. This gets 4 stars — good service, food and prices, also you got to love the brilliant use of the limited floor space!

Hello Phở Saigon! Richard «Lao Wang» P. sent me. Well, he didn’t really send me but he did intrigue me enough for me to drive from the SW side of Cbus to the N side to check your place out. Richard has a profile photo of himself eating some soup. I looked at the photo. What is that soup? I wondered. It was so full of good looking things and it was a very intriguing reddish color. My mouth started watering just thinking about this soup he was eating. I wanted to reach over his shoulder and dip a spoon into it too. Hmmm. So I messaged him and asked what he was eating. Bun Bo Hue from Phở Saigon was the reply he gave me. OK? Never heard of that before. Looked it up on Wiki… ah, it’s something like Phở!
Game On!
So today was my day off. It’s cold outside and I’ve got a full tank of gas. I headed up north to seek out this Bun Bo Hue.
Phở Saigon is a really hidden, but out in public view, place… go there and you’ll see what everyone means by it’s hard to find. Once inside, (be careful to mind the door chimes as you enter), you will find a very long, narrow space. On one side is the Asian Grocery with connecting doors. The place is kinda rough looking. Carpet was stained. Not a lot to look at. Not fancy at all. If you are an atmosphere person, stay away. It’s one of those Asian places that focus on the food and has a little décor but they know that’s not why you are there. They know you’re hungry and you don’t need to look at another picture of the Forbidden City with back lighting.
So.
I got greeted by a middle aged Asian man who came over from the grocery to seat me and take my order. Very nice and polite he was.
The menu he gave me was very small — maybe 20 items total. But it was well thought out in that it had pictures for us newbies. Several items looked interesting but I was on a mission.
I got my Bun Bo Hue in about 12 to 15 minutes. A huge bowl of soup with Udon type noodles, beef, pork, cilantro, lemongrass, bean sprouts, some sort of weed, and I’m not misspelling weird or talking 420 folks, I mean like an on your lawn weed looking plant, jalapenos, a pile of some green plant something or other which is all intertwined together which I guess was some sort of sprout and some congealed pig blood for color or something. I dunno. Add a little chili paste and I’m chowing down on some of the best soup ever.
I got full about half way through but I ended up eating most of it as the further down I went, the stronger and better the flavors got. God help me, I couldn’t stop myself.
A hot cup of tea (which the man graciously did not charge me for — real nice touch) and some wonderful soup made me so happy I drove the 20 miles to come here. Plus, I only spent $ 6.95 plus tax and tip and I am still stuffed hours later.
The next time, I want to try the pork chop with rice and the Viet Namese spring rolls which I’ve not had since I went to Seattle many years ago. I’m looking forward to more great food from these folks.

This place is really hidden. It is in the same building as the Asian Grocery Store. I ordered the Phở (Beef Noodle Soup) and the papaya salad. Both where great and I will be back to try the Sliced pork w rice plate! We were the only customers and the Asian Store didnt have many items. Just dont be in hurry when you go there, the food took a lil long, but it was worth the wait.

I really hate having to give Phở Saigon such a poor review and feel like a meany, but I simply can’t find redemption for it in anything I experienced there. My boyfriend and I made a special trip here after one of our soccer games on a Sunday after I read good things about it in a local food magazine and am craving Phở pretty much every day of the week. We were hot and dehydrated and hungry! I would have eaten a leather shoe had it been nicely seasoned.
There were no customers there, but it appeared that all of the people working brought their children to work that day. Typically, I love family run places and find it a testament to the establishment if much of the family works and spends time there. However, Phở Saigon was much more like a day care. There were at least seven screaming young children that incessantly sprinted back and forth past our table. We watched our waiter wipe snot from a kids nose then proceed to not wash his hands before bringing us our food.
The TV, which was three booths away from us, was turned up so loud that we had to repeat our orders twice for the waiter to hear them, and it is the first time I have EVER asked for music or a tv to be turned down at a restaurant or bar. I also had to ask twice for some form of utensil to eat with (we were not given chopsticks or a fork or spoon) and would have accepted even a garden shovel with which to eat my noodles. The Phở was mediocre and my boyfriends porridge was lukewarm. I think you would have to get me drunk or pay me to go back when the Mi Li Café is just one plaza over and has so much more to offer in the way of delicious Vietnamese food.

First off, I’m Vietnamese. I go back to Vietnam about once or twice a year, and I’ve lived in Little Saigon in Southern California growing up.
After a little difficulty finding the location, my husband and I finally located the restaurant. It’s your typical hole-​in-​the-​wall place.
We ordered Nuoc Mia (fresh sugar cane juice). It’s my favorite drink in Vietnam (I drink this by the gallons). I give it a ¾. It tasted a touch old, and lacked the citrus-​y you get from squeezing a lemon in it, but decent none-​the-​less (not sure if it’s worth the $ 3.99 price tag though, ouch!)
I ordered the Chao Long (porridge w/​innards) and husband ordered the Bun Bo Hue. I have to say, both dishes were delicious and very authentic (although the Bun Bo could have been spicier).
I am definitely coming back to see if the other dishes stack up as well. My hopes are exceeding high, and I’ll write another post with updates. Go, you won’t regret it (unless you are a clean freak, and which case, I would avoid it).

We visited Phở Saigon around 1pm on Sat. No other customer was there. We ordered Phở Bo ($ 6.95). I like it! Its noodle was properly cooked. Vegetables were fresh. I and my friend could eat them all (soup also)! I’ll try chicken porridge next time.

And my Cbus Phở tour 2012 goes on with this gem of a place off Cleveland Ave and 161. First off this place is located on the south side of Columbus Square beside a Asian Market and down the row of shops from a Avis, a photo studio and other shops and very easy to miss. Last time I went searching for this I ended up at Mi Li on the north side of this place, eh, happy accident.
Out for my usual late lunch about 1:30 pm I was the only person in the place, no problem, I entertain myself easily. The dining room is a windowless long walled room seperated by a tall wall and open at the top. Dark wood booths and tall two person tables across from each other, a TV on each end of the room playing Vietnamese music videos plus overlapping tunes from the grocery but, I wasn’t here for the décor or ambiance.
The menu is fairly simple and straightforward with a nice selection of vietnamese dishes with pictures, spiral flipcard style. Ordered a bowl of Phở Bo and only had to wait about 10 mins for a large steaming bowl of beefy goodness arrived. The first taste of broth, niiiiiice, almost brought a tear to my eyes, perfect balance of flavours. Fresh plentiful slices of steak, beef tendon, fresh meatballs not frozen and plenty of rice noodles all for $ 6.95, score!
A large plate of sprouts, basil, limes and thinly sliced jalapeño almost more than I could use. The usual containers of hoisin, rooster sauce and a couple containers of their own garlic hot sauces & oils were there to spice your phở to your own level of heat.
My server was also running the market next door so she shuttled back and forth during my visit but I never went without needing anything. I gotta say this place will listed as a «Dive» for me but don’t come for fancy décor, come for good fresh vietnamese food here. Don’t be scared of the spotted worn carpet down the room because the Phở here is great. Pholicious Indeed!

Please come eat here. Now.
I’m afraid that this place is going to go out of business. I’ve eaten here about 8 times, and except for one occasion, my party has been the only patrons.
Attached to a large, but mostly empty Asian grocery, Phở Saigon does almost everything right. The proprietor, Anh, is delightful. And his food is sublime.
I travel extensively and often in Asia, and Phở Saigon is as authentic as it gets in Columbus. The Banh Xeo crepes are perfect, the phở is a solid ⁸⁄₁₀ (whereas most in C’bus struggle to reach ⁵⁄₁₀ for me), and the spicy chicken wings are meaty, fiery, MSGy masterpieces, especially if you order them with habañeros, rather than jalapeños.
The atmosphere is standard-​fare strip mall Asian, and the Vietnamese music videos are often far too loud, but that’s all part of the experience, no?
Please come eat here. Now.

A newcomer to the burgeoning (for Columbus) Vietnamese restaurant business, Phở Saigon deserves a few serious props.
First though, let me start with the negative: this is an exceedingly modest establishment. Actually, it’s the left-​over space between the wall of the next occupant over in the strip center, and the line of freezer cases belonging to the Southeast Asian grocery it’s part of. So it’s long, it lacks windows, and it’s short on charm, although I give the owners credit for doing best with a modest budget. Don’t bring your first date here, unless he or she is hard-​core about authentic Vietnamese food.
Having said that, let me rhapsodize about the food. Beyond the usual standards that anyone familiar with the Vietnamese restaurant scene knows (phở, bun, broken rice plates, etc.), there are some serious standouts that you won’t find anywhere else in Columbus. Heck, a couple of them I haven’t found elsewhere in the US, coasts included. Let me mention you can get phở, you can get bun with grilled pork, you can broken rice with a grilled pork chop on top. So if you want the regular stuff, you’re covered. But you can also get bun bo hue, that is Hue-​style phở, in a red-​tinted broth with a slight spiciness (compared to regular phở), thick rice noodles, and bits of beef, pork, and Vietnamese-​style pork pâté sausage with peppercorns. More importantly, it’s accompanied by the usual basil, bean sprouts, but also shredded banana flower, which gives it a wonderful crispy fruity taste. In my view this is a major indication that they’re not watering down the food for a mainstream audience. The last time I had bun bo hue was in Hue, Vietnam; I’ve never seen it at a US restaurant.
They also have a great rice porridge accompanied by slices of duck served at room temperature on a bed of cabbage, and accompanied by nuoc mam gung, which is distinguished from the more common nuoc cham by the presence of a healthy amount of ginger. The lotus salad is great, as well — thinly sliced slivers of raw lotus root, which is slightly chewy and spongy, served with peanut, cilantro, shrimp, and pork, and accompanied by the ubiquitous nuoc cham.
I could keep going, but I’m going to stop here. For all it’s modesty, Phở Saigon is a real prize for anyone who loves Vietnamese food, and we’re fortunate to have it. Go give them a try, they deserve it.