Taste of Saigon

Great family run restaurant, great service. We had the Phở which was excellent! Very authentic food with atmosphere… Also make sure to get the egg rolls

I’ve never been super impressed with the Taste of Saigon. There really isn’t much for atmosphere. It almost feels like you are eating in a cafeteria. Which, I suppose would be ok if the food was awesome. But, it is just ok.
In the menu, certain items are listed in red, which means that they are SPICY! It also states that the SPICY dishes are by default served at a medium level of spiciness. If you want it SPICY, the menu suggests that you just ask and they can make it SPICY!
Well, what I’ve discovered is that really means: «We’ll bring you the blandest plate of food possible and if you request that it is made SPICY, we’ll bring you a big bottle of Siracha and you can do it yourself.»
On my most recent trip to the Taste of Saigon, I ordered the SPICY Curry Chicken with Coconut Milk. I have never seen Coconut Milk Curry that looks like a pile of gravy, but I double checked with the server when he brought it to our table and he confirmed it. Well, it tasted neither of coconut milk nor curry… I sure hope that was chicken! The rice was a bit crunchy and severely under-​cooked.
I also tried the SPICY Chicken Lemongrass, which was terrible. I could only handle about 2 bites. I did save it and bring it home for some reason. Somehow after spending about 18 hours in the refrigerator, it wasn’t nearly as terrible.
Well, it was several years in between my last two visits to the Taste of Saigon. I am guessing it will be several more years before I muster the courage to try it again.

Nice vietnameese food in Canal Park. Solid choice, small place, nice feel. It’s mostly the location that make it great. Stroll the shores of Lake Superior afterwards.

I hadn’t been to Duluth for years, so I was hankering for some Taste of Saigon chow. I loved their veggies w/​hot and sour peppers and their egg rolls, along with most everything else I had tried there.
So, when I got to Duluth, it was with great anticipation that I headed down to Canal Park for my fix. I placed an order to go with the veggies w/​hot and sour peppers ordered HOT, veggie fried rice and egg rolls. Everything was nicely packed upon pickup.
I got my meal home and commenced chowing down. Yes, the egg rolls were as good as I had rememered. The fried rice was good, as well, but light on veggies other than water chestnuts. The veggies w/​hot and sour peppers was a complete let down. It was bland, and had no kick to it! I could not find any peppers in the carton!
When I order hot at the hottest number on the scale, I expect to suffer a bit. Not this day. It was like eating Gerber apple sauce for babies.
Come on, ToS, I know you can do it! Give me what I remember you giving! I shall give you one more chance. But that’s all. I’ll be sure to stress HOT (as if the dish name shouldn’t tell it all).
If you fail next chance, that’s it; I’ll be moving on. Pity.

This used to be my favorite Chinese spot in Duluth. But they must’ve hired a new cook because the last 2 times I’ve eaten there… The food is completely different. Disappointed!

This was not good. The fried rice was tasteless as was the phở, wontons had almost nothing in it, and the sesame chicken taste like orange chicken. Never again.

Sorry… but these reviews posted on here must not be by Asian people. We ordered some combination phở, egg rolls, chicken wings, and fried rice.
The phở was the blandest I’ve tasted. It tastes like they just added salt to some water and served it. My kids can make better phở. Not worth the $ 12 price tag.
The fried rice was saturated with fried onions and garlic. The chicken wings were baked so they came out dry and the sauce was on the side. By them selves, they had no taste.
I guess the only thing decent were the egg rolls. They had a funny sour taste to them but they were crispy and tightly wrapped. Everything on the menu seemed over priced because the quality just wasn’t there.
Good rule of thumb when eating at an Asian restaurant… If there aren’t any Asians dining there… get out.

If you enjoy Vietnamese food do not eat here! I had curry and egg rolls neither were close to the real thing! In fact it’s just bad. When I ordered the Vietnamese term for egg roll they had no clue what I asked for. I should have left after that.

Phở was good after a long walk on a cold windy day. The spicy lemongrass chicken dish was a gloppy mess. $ 40 for three for lunch isn’t exactly a deal. Two phở and the gloppy ckn. Server was quirky – kind of funny… maybe? Trying to be funny? My 15 yr old daughter thought he was funny and loved her Phở, she thought the place was cute. Wouldn’t go back.

We were excited to see a restaurant serving phở in Duluth, but we weren’t sure what to expect. Unfortunately we were not pleasantly surprised. Most of the food was bland. I would probably never get the chicken wings again or recommend it even. They lacked flavor and were far from crunchy, as you would expect friend chicken wings to be. We ordered the beef lo mein and beef and potatoes, but the sauce they were both smothered in tasted the same. The phở was over salted and the cream cheese wontons were just flaky with barely any cream cheese.
On the bright side, I will say that the service was fast, friendly, and hard working. Would probably not recommend this place, unless you’re fixated on a bowl of phở while your up north of the twin cities.

We were in the area and wanted some phở so we decided to try this place out. After getting our seats I went through the menu and realized i had made a huge mistake. There was maybe 3 vietnamese dishes on the menu and the rest typical americanized chinese food. If I wanted that I would of hit up a buffet. We all got phở. there were no size options and it was rather expensive. I was expecting a huge bowl. What came out was a small bowl with overcooked meat and even less noodles. We were all disappointed. While paying for our meal, the older lady (the owner?) kept reminding me that if I didn’t leave a tip on the table i HAD to write it on my receipt. Don’t eat here if you are looking for vietnamese food. Don’t let the name fool you.

I hadn’t been to «A Taste of Saigon» for about 20 years — and there’s a reason why. My husband had received a gift certificate for the restaurant, so we decided to use the thing. The appetizers offered no meat-​free options. (Really? No egg roll without animal flesh?) My daughter ordered cream cheese wontons as an appetizer. The wontons were dripping with grease and SOGGY. Soggy wontons? (Really?)
The number of animal-​free entrees was impressive, yet I always think it’s better to focus on doing a few dishes very, very well rather than throwing everything and the kitchen sink at your guests. My husband’s entrée of seitan with a creamy coconut curry sauce was very, very tasty. My tofu lemongrass entrée was very generous with the lemongrass (which I love) although the tofu seemed a bit greasy. My dish was a ‘spicy’ dish as indicated on the menu, and the amount of heat was perfect. The spice was prominent without being painful. The sauces on our dishes tasted good, but the sauces were congealing on our plates which was unappetizing. My daughter’s chicken entrée was nothing special, but she said it tasted okay.
I think the restaurant proprietors are going for quantity over quality; we ate about half of our entrees and took the rest home.
The atmosphere in the restaurant wasn’t very intimate or charming. I can see where the space would be a challenge to decorate and still maintain maximum seating capacity. Maybe they should hire an interior designer to help them create a better dining experience.
Years ago, people went to «A Taste of Saigon» because it was unique for this area. Although this might be our only Vietnamese restaurant in town, and perhaps it is somewhat authentic (I wouldn’t know), there are much better places in town to enjoy Asian cuisine.
I can wait another 20 years before visiting this restaurant again.

I have never had a bad meal here, and it is one if the most economical places in Canal Park to lunch. Admittedly, this is one of the few places in the world where I order the same thing almost every time I go– the egg roll rice noodle salad and coffee! It’s about $ 8.00, delicious, filling, and fresh. I love the Dewitt Seitz building so it’s an enjoyable place to have lunch and they have good coffee too. Service has always been friendly and accommodating. Some say that it’s not authentic, but what do I know? I’m Scandinavian. I just love their food. If food tastes good, I’m in.

Great location for tourist but everything else wasn’t so great. A phở small/​medium bowl was $ 12 and it was okay but very little options. Service was a wreak, we ordered my mom a bowl of phở too but they gave us a empty little bowl thinking we were going to share a bowl of phở so it never came out then we had to reorder it. Also, they didn’t have all the side ingredients for the phở and the little old asian guy in the front was unresponsive to our requests. Its definitely was not a Vietnamese restaurant even with its name but for sure a Chinese American restaurant. Will never go there again when I’m in town.

The friendly OG running the place was extremely helpful to my friends and I on figuring out what to our and how much to pay for take out. We were kinda on a schedule and us mpls folk were pretty much confused and lost. She’s did the math for us told us what dishes would be good for the 6 of us divided the total out to see what each person should pay. We go the beef lo mein, sesame chiken, sweet and sour chicken and some white and fried rice. The egg rolls and wontons were a bit dry but we weren’t complaining. She gave us all free ice tea! She was extremely nice and the old man working in the kitchen was funny. All of this ALMOST made me get over the fact that a bowl of phở is pretty much 10 dollars.

We were indecisive on a place to eat for dinner. I remembered that we passed by this place so we came here. The waitress was good to tell us that we over-​ordered based on the family style serving size. We ordered the egg fu young, combination lo mein, and the lemon grass chicken. For appetizers, we ordered the chicken fried wontons. The waitress served our food fast and it was all hot and good. I would say that most of the style was Chinese. We didn’t think there was really a Vietnamese style but then again we did not order the phở. Also, the egg rolls were not really to our liking since the vegetables were chopped too finely. Overall, the price was reasonable so we thought it was a safe choice.

A taste of Saigon indeed…
I thought this was more of a Vietnamese restaurant, to be honest. I didn’t really think that this was a Chinese restaurant that served only one kind of Phở. As it turned out, yep, it did and it was a little bit disappointing. I had thought that this was a bonafide authentic Vietnamese restaurant, as mentioned in the name of the restaurant, but it was just that — a taste of Saigon, with Chinese dishes, which rounded out the rest of the menu. While I didn’t mind that, it was a chance to have Phở while in Minnesota. For what it was worth, I would have had better Phở elsewhere, which I actually did during my short stay in Duluth, MN. I spotted this place for dinner after having drinks with friends at the Grandma’s Restaurant Grill. A Taste of Saigon was a block away, so my friend and I decided to leave the rental car at the Grandma’s restaurant parking lot and walk on over. It was fantastic, to say, but the experience was just simply could’ve been better, but it is what it is. I thought it was just okay, but the Phở had seen better days.
A Taste of Saigon is located on the bustling area of Lake Avenue in downtown Duluth. I was imagining that this restaurant was a standalone restaurant, but a it turns out, A Taste of Saigon is housed in those commercial buildings, which has multiple commercial tenants, one of which is A Taste of Saigon. With that said, A Taste of Saigon does not have much parking at all. Be prepared to find street parking wherever you can find it. For me, I just parked at the Grandma’s Restaurant and Grill nearby and walked over (as mentioned earlier). They accept credit cards, so that’s always amazing. I got here around 6:30pm on the Friday afternoon before the 2014 Grandma’s Marathon. It was pretty cool that this place was particularly empty. I guess everyone else is packing the Italian restaurants feasting on pasta, but I prefer Phở for any meal, since it’s that good and it has carbs (the rice noodles) anyway. To each, their own, I guess. The restaurant itself was not particularly big, but it had a few tables and it was clean. My friend and I were greeted enthusiastically and found a table near the back of the room.
The service here was good, but average. The menu was loaded with Chinese cuisine, but the lone item of Phở was just in the soups section, not like in an authentic Vietnamese place where an entire page is dedicated to the variations of Phở. Sadly disappointing, but nonetheless, Phở had to be eaten in Minnesota for my 50 States Phở challenge. I ordered the combination Phở, along with deep fried egg rolls. Something I usually don’t do before a marathon, but I was like, whatever, as I was on vacation anyhow. The egg rolls were pretty good, fresh, and delicious. The Phở, however, was served in a small Chinese type of bowl, not like the deep large Vietnamese bowls we all have come to love. I believe that they serve one size of Phở and they charge like $ 11 for it. Granted that’s like a bit pricey for just one size of Phở, it’s best to just eat and go without having to come back. I would rather have paid more for better presentation of Phở. Taste wise, you can tell that it was watered down. They were skimpy on the noodles and the server asked us whether or not we wanted more bean sprouts. I guess they knew when we had a lot more broth to deal with and no noodles.
The overall experience here was decidedly mixed. While the prices here are decent, it depends what you want to eat here. While my choices for Phở were severely limited to just one item on the menu, it would be best to seek out actual Vietnamese restaurants in the area or drive down to Minneapolis-​Saint Paul to find something obviously authentic, rather than in an Asian fusion place. That would be my suggestion really. I actually found a better one after running the Grandma’s marathon, which was in Two Harbors, MN. Still, this place is pretty good for what they do.
Let me know how the Chinese food tastes, okay?
Support local!
B–

Maybe when I went here the service was a total fluke, because I was extremely underwhelmed, unlike many reviewers. I will try to keep this short because I am not going to rant and rant about how much this sucked (even though it really sucked).
There was no hostess/​waitress to seat us when we arrived on a Saturday for dinner. Then a bus-​boy, I think, showed us to our seats quickly. He handed us our menus by tossing them on the table and saying, «Here». Our waitress ended up arriving and did not offer much friendliness either. I feel like no one has ever smiled here? Maybe that gives it charm? We ordered the sweet & sour combo meal and Lemongrass Chicken curry combo meal. Yes, the food came out lightning-​fast. Which is great when you’re hungry, but kinda eh when you wonder if it’s because most of it is already pre-​cooked and sitting around. My curry was ok, pretty standard. I enjoyed the bamboo shoots in it. The fried rice was just meh, not very flavorful. The egg in it was overcooked and way too brown and dry. I am curious as to why the egg roll has gotten so much hype — ours were flavorless. Well, the only flavor present was that of grease/​oil. I’ve never witnessed my boyfriend NOT finish sweet & sour chicken. I don’t think he could force down the egg roll either. It took a while to get our check, and then I went across the hall to rectify my disappointment with chocolate-​covered gummy bears.

Absolutely the BEST egg rolls I have ever had anywhere.
The lunch combos are exactly perfect in terms of portion, flavour, and price!
Not to mention the couple who owns/​runs the restaurant are the nicest people around.
Tourist season or not, Taste wins every time!

A popular street food in Vietnam, Phở (which can be pronounced a number of ways, don’t let anybody tell you different!) is a soup consisting of broth, linguine-​shaped noodles, herbs, and a variety of meat choices, primarily beef, chicken, or shellfish. The geographical origin and timing of its origin is subject to debate.
When i was growing up in Duluth, if you wanted «Asian» food, you had a choice of one or two places where the most exotic item on the menu was egg foo yung.
No longer. For the past dozen years, Taste of Saigon has been dazzling locals and tourists alike from its location in the lakeside Canal Park area.
Taste of Saigon serves a variety of Asian-​influenced dishes, utilizing the freshest ingredients available, and is voted the best Asian restaurant in the area, year after year.
The phở is great, and a good value