Little Saigon

went for dinner on a wednesday and was closed. this isnt really a review but a question if their still even open?

CLOSED! About time!

This is the closest Vietnamese place around my parents house and I decided to eat here once or twice because of its relative distance compared to Phở Bang. Every time I eat here Im reminded why I hate going here and how this place is an insult to small restaurants and Vietnamese food.
For one thing the owner who is sitting in front is an unfriendly old Vietnamese woman and while some people may find it kind of charming she is actually unfriendly and rude to the customers.
Food:
It is true while they say they offer Bahn Mi, they dont; they used to almost a year ago but they were terrible and they stopped offering it.
The Phở here is just… bad there is little flavour in their soup and their noodle breaks down sometimes in the soup giving it a soggy squishy texture.
Their other specials are also not great, their beef broth with french bread really means some kind of canned or pre-​prepared beef broth which didnt taste fresh and some hard stale bread.
The grilled pork was alright but their sweet fish sauce wasnt up to par in terms of flavour.
Finally the décor was cheap and tacky and the restaurant itself was dirty;
1 star. I wouldnt go here unless I was truly lazy and didnt want to move more then two blocks and I felt really cheap.

Great price! The phở was pretty good. Friendly service. The place was clean. Food came a bit slow though.

I have been meaning to go here for a long time — and the day after a big T day dinner — is always good for spicy food (in my book). First — let me say I thought the place was very clean and I did not see any bugs. I actually made a mental note when I used the ladies room that is was much cleaner then you sometimes find in these little local places.
My partner and I started with the summer roll — which was yummy. She had chicken curry and I had seafood noodle soup. The soup was good, and although the broth did not have much of a seafood taste — it was pleasantly spicy, the noodles were good, and the shrimp tasted fresh and not at all over cooked. The curried chicken was good too. We also enjoyed Vietnamese coffee, iced jasmin tea, and a bowl of ginger ice cream.
I will definitely go back.

My first NY review! Decent bowl of Phở, as another reviewer pointed out it’s not as good as Cali Phở (especially LA/​Westminter/​San Gabriel). They only give you rare steak instead of all the meat fixings like brisket, tendon, flank, tripe. It does the job though.

Being away from Cali, I miss Phở and if you’re a Phở lover, it’s hard to go a month without a bowl. This was the closest Vietnamese restaurant that served Phở so I decided to give it a try. This is a typical almost like fast food Vietnamese restaurant and when I say that, that mean it’s cash only. You’ll get your food within 5 minutes and you be done within 20 minutes total. The Phở tasted okay but at least it killed the craving. The other times I tried the rice plate with grilled pork chop and that was pretty good.
If you live around the area, I would go here to kill the craving and get full at cheap price. At these type of restaurant, you won’t get much service. It’s here’s your Menu, Here’s your food, and good bye.” But it’s normal for me, quick and fast and better than going to McDonald’s.

I used to give Vietnamese food a bad rap. I used to think it was plain and unimaginative. I found out today that I really enjoyed my Vietnamese meal. The food was clean and crisp. I had a braised beef soup with Phở and I really enjoyed it on such a cold day as today. I am upset that they advertise «Vietnamese Sandwiches» on the awning, but they did not have it there. The guy said «no mo». That was one reason why I wanted to eat Viet. food on this given day, but its ok, I enjoyed my meal. A hole in the wall kinda place with good authentic food.

I returned to Little Saigon for an early dinner with my boyfriend. I was very pleased with the first meal I had there and had since gone back on another occasion. I was just starting to feel comfortable about making this place one of my regular eateries when the unthinkable happened.
We were near finishing our meal. Everything was delicious. My boyfriend wouldn’t stop raving about his scallop curry and I was more than half way done with my salmon filet when I saw a tiny brownish blur out of the corner of my eye. I looked down, and staring back at me was the most grotesque of sights — a HUGE, FILTHY COCKROACH! Shocked into silence, I looked at my boyfriend who was also staring at the roach. «Do something!» I pleaded. He called the nearest person, who happened to be an elderly old woman who owns the restaurant and takes the orders and informed her of our unwanted visitor. She got a napkin and proceeded to pick it up off our table, saying «Sorry, sorry … you like dessert?»
«NO THANK YOU!!!»
We sat there a minute, staring at our plates. The food that had just minutes earlier seemed so delicious, now seemed tainted and repulsive. As we were getting our thoughts together, I saw another familiar brownish blur. I looked down to see ANOTHER COCKROACH scurrying about on our table. We made quite the scene, and the same lady returned with a napkin to remove the second roach. Thoroughly appalled, we got up from our table and left! No way in hell we were going to pay for our meal after that! We voiced our displeasure, at which the employees could say nothing.
What really confused me is that there were two separate couples eating who saw everything that happened and were completely undeterred. They just sat there, continuing to eat their food, completely fine with very real possibility that insects crawled all over their calamari. Perplexing!
DO NOT GO HERE! Unless, like Sean K., you don’t think roaches on your table are reason enough to stay away. WTF!!! Crazy.

It is Saturday again and it is our scheduled lunch/​Dinner date with my daughter Camille. We were originally planning to go for some good Chilean Cuisine in the Restaurant row on 46^th St. in the city but had to change plans because it has started to rain and didn’t want to go far. (We live on Elmhurst) A good Phở is what I have in mind so Camille found this gem of a place right around my neighborhood. Around 5 stops on the 58 bus from where we live. The place was very clean, simple & nicely decorated, and the people there were very pleasant. For appetizers we shared the Summer Rolls made of Rice noodles, sprouts, lettuce, shrimps, basil, mint w/​dipping sauce made up of hoisin sauce & peanuts. I had the Phở Bo, (Beef noodles Soup) w/​thin slices of beef, bean sprouts, cilantro, onions & basil, very good on a rainy day. Camille had the Banh Canh Cua or the Spicy Cabmeat Noodles Soup w/​fresh crabmeat, shrimps, tomato paste, hot peppers, cilantro & big noodles, the udon type. Really spicy. and good. then we shared the Grilled pork chops which they are famous for. Very tasty indeed but I wish it was more charred., but it was ok. then we also shared the dessert which is made up of sweet plantain (banana) cooked in coconut milk with little tapioca. It was good I had to buy another one to go. I enjoyed everything, Will definitely go back there again. We are certainly lucky to have it around the neighborhood.

There is no other place in the area to get this cuisine. The Phở is good. The crab soup not so good. The summer rolls are amazing!
***edit*** They were recently closed by the health department. They just re-​opened. What was a 4 star in my mind is now a 1 star.

My boyfriend and I went to this place two nights ago just to check it out since it’s the only Vietnamese place that’s nearby.
Things to note:
–this is a cash-​only establishment. Bring money. Don’t worry — the food’s relatively inexpensive, so you won’t have to bring tons.
–Grilled pork chop is good. Only get the dinner special version if you’re REALLY hungry. Two large pieces come with the $ 5.75 order, plus rice and some vegetables. Very reliable.
–Soups here are sub-​par. I wouldn’t get those. They don’t really know what types of noodles are supposed to go with which soups. They sound Vietnamese, though…
–Smoothies use real fruit and are really good. Get one!

I love phở on a rainy cold night. I had the phở and summer rolls. The summer rolls were on the smaller side but they were tasty nonetheless. The phở was alright, pretty much what I expect from anywhere that isn’t home. It satisfies the craving though and is cheap (less than $ 5 for a bowl)! A basic large helping of noodles and broth. I prefer raw thinly sliced meat on my phở that slowly cooks in the hot broth, but all of the meat was already cooked. The service was great, the people were friendly and speedy. Also, the place is pretty clean compared to other asian restaurants… I’d go again just for the last point.

The food here is excellent, and very inexpensive considering what you get. The service is good and the staff are very friendly. Try the crabmeat and white asparagus soup.

One can never have too many Asian restaurants. And I was so happy when Little Saigon opened up relatively close to my home. Because this meant now I coud enjoy Vietnamese cuisine as well. A family owned establishment, clean, bright with large portions of food, friendly staff and quickly served. The menu is just incredible. From Summer Rolls to a fine beer and wine list. My husband and I ordered Summer Rolls, BBQ Beef Sticks, Phở Bo (Beef Noodle Soup) and a Saigon Pancake (seafood and pork with a scallion and rice flour pancakes) served with lettuce. So if you are ever in Elmhurst and want a treat get yourself to Little Saigon.