Saigon

The food here is not terrible but it is far from good. I ordered phở and spring rolls.
Service:
There were only two employees visible working when I arrived. They were both server, cashier, and clean-​up. The menu was on the wall adjacent to the entrance. You order the food first and then find a table. Very similar to a fast food joint.
I ordered the spring rolls as an appetizer but it never came. The phở was brought out first. I had to remind my server/​cashier person about that order.
The two employees working there were very nice.
The Food:
I come from Orange County CA, where there are quite many Vietnamese and phở (pronounced Phuh as in Fuh-​get-​about-​it) restaurants. I have tasted good and bad phở and the phở here is not so good, yet it is not terrible.
What makes a good phở is the broth and the herbs that comes with it. The broth is a little bland and salty (I wonder if they use MSG… this is a short cut that some restaurant takes because cooking the broth right takes about 8 – 10 hours)
The only herbs I got was cilentro, afalfa sprouts, and jalepano. Traditionally herbs provided for phở are basil, thorny coriander, alfalfa sprout, and some sort of chili pepper. Since we are in Lubbock most people wont know what they are missing.
Verdict:
Would I come here again? Probably not. Should people come here? There’s not many choices of phở restaurants here. If you never had phở and just want to try it out, then why not. There’s not many good choices for you folks out here. The other place that I tried was I Love Phở and it was about the same as Saigon Café.

Ordered my usual of BUN THIT NUONG and CHA GIO. Disappointed by the flavors and amount of protein in the dishes. Maybe hiring a Vietnamese grandma to revamp the place would be a good option? I did enjoy the wonderfully attentive service and the option to order at a counter for quicker service. We sat by the fish tank and had a great time viewing the sea life though.

Slow. Slow. Slow. Slow. Don’t be in a hurry when you arrive. Food is good but the wait just to order is ridiculous. It took almost an hour from the time I walked in the door to get my food.

Only decided to come here because I love Phở is closed on Mondays but the chicken phở was actually really good! And so were the shrimp spring rolls. Definitely coming back. The bubble tea was alright, tasted a bit watered down

Great food, authentic. Place is clean and well kept. Service and wait staff are very kind

The phở ca had lots of msg in it. I didn’t really like the phở ca because of it. I tried another dish, it was great

I am from California, (bay area/​san francisco) so granted this review is a bit unfair. I am spoiled with great authentic vietnamese food from all over the bay area. When I found out that there is a vietnamese place here in Lubbock while I am on a trip, I was naturally excited (sorry Lubbock, there is nothing to do here and honestly, the food sucks as well.) I was extremely confused when I walked into this place. I stood around with my girlfriend for about 5 minutes while two woman who apparently works there ignored us. I went up to the counter to ask if i am suppose to seat myself. Apparently we have to place our order at the front counter and pay for it before we can sit (I thought that was extremely unusual.) I ordered a Bun Bo Hue and a «regular» phở. Their selections are really limited. They even had a lot of things on their menu that I’m not used to seeing on menus back home. I’m guessing they made their menu to tailor to what the population in Lubbock wants. There is little diversity in Lubbock so given, there might not be a lot of folks here who like authentic foreign food. I was surprised that my Bun Bo Hue did not come with pork blood. How can you have an Authentic Bun Bo Hue but fail to add in a key authentic ingredient? Their «regular» phở tasted like there was a lot of MSG in the broth. Bun Bo Hue lacked major flavors. The bowl itself is suppose to be sweet, tangy, spicy and salty. I tasted none of the above. The «regular» phở tasted okay for the first few bites, after that… it was a waste of money (even though it was only $ 6.) I suppose for a «vietnamese» restaurant in an area where it is not diverse, this place is not bad, but I would never in a million years step foot in a place like this if this was back home.

I order C14, extra bowl of noodle, but they gave me C13. The type of noodle was totally different. It was ok if they just changed it. Im not a mean guy. They corrected it. But! The attitude of the waitress made me mad. It seemed that it was my fault! Never ever go there if it is still that waitress!

I waited 20 minutes for my order then after I reminded the food runner, he brought me the wrong order. I ordered B3 and I was given B1. I then argued with the young lady that I ordered b3. Finally she went and asked the chef and I ended up having to pay $ 2 more for the food I actually wanted even though they messed it in the first place.

We walked in and realized that we would have to wait a while before we’d get attended to seeing as there was only one person working the front. Nonetheless the wait wasn’t too long. We ordered and sat down. My phở came out first and then we waited for my friends food. Which took longer then expected. The sides that came with the phở was great, the phở broth itself lacked the intense flavor of the combination beef. But the portion for the price was decent. The noodles were a bit over cooked and the waiter wasn’t as attentive. Their passion fruit smoothie however was the best natural smoothie I’ve had. Would come back solely for that.

We really like their food! On some dishes, portion sizes are a little small. Be sure to try the spring rolls and fried wantons.

It’s crazy to say but this place has amazing phở! I’m from Houston and I’ve had my fair share of phở and this is by far the BEST.
The staff is really really nice and the place is fairly clean. They could use some music but overall the food is great!

I love this place. My usual includes either pork egg rolls or normal spring rolls, and both are delicious. I’m also a big fan of their C-​10, and my wife loves the C-​22. Keep in mind that you order up front at the counter, and they generally don’t have waitress service at each table, so sometimes you have to get up to get a refill. To me, it’s worth it. This place has been one of my go-​tos for years.

It’s a good place to go to for your Asian food fix. But I would make the trip out to Bel-​Aire for the real good stuff!

My accompaniment and I dined at Saigon Café yesterday and were very pleased with our experience. This is a small restaurant in an easy to miss location, but it is worth going out of your way to find. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful with the menu. We ordered the Bo va So Xao Rau Cai and the Cari Ga (a picture is uploaded), and we both cleaned our plates and bowls. The prices are just a little high for the size of portions that you get, but otherwise we were pleased with the service and food.

Worst bowl of Phở I’ve had in 10 years in all of my travels. They get 1 star just for the staff being nice. No selection of drinks (only had bottle water, root beer, sunkist, aloe or cocunut juice). The beef phở I had taste like bun bo hue but it wasnt. Portions were small… not enough beef… bad meatballs… just horrible all the way around. This place is bad. If youve had good phở do not come here. If this is all you know… I feel sorry for you

Wonderful food! Great flavor — very fresh and tasty. I was a bit worried when I sat down at 8pm on a Friday night and the place had only 2 customers — but I was craving Vietnamese so I gave it a try. So glad I did. I couldn’t believe this little non-​descript hole in the wall restaurant would be SO GOOD — but I’ve always found some of the best places are! Not 10 minutes after I ordered food a flood of students came in — about 12 people or so — and all I could think was — thank god these people have a following cause their food is great and deserves a crowd. Especially since Lubbock doesn’t have much in the way of good ethnic foods.
Just some advice for the owners — be a little more personable and get to know your customers and you’ll probably have more business. I felt a bit like I was bothering them by being there and not being served properly as a paying customer. A smile and hello — or asking how the food is — goes a long way. Not crazy about the ‘pay at the counter’ set up. And the décor — put some color on those white walls — the place is very sterile looking in all white. Give it some color and make it somewhere people WANT to come to and maybe you’ll have more than just to-​go customers.

This place doesn’t sell the traditional banh mi sandwiches. When I got here, the menu was on the wall. I ordered the fresh spring rolls (which were on the small side) and the C-​11 which is fried spring rolls over vermicelli & veggies. Those spring rolls were tiny as well. When I ordered the girl asked me how spicy I wanted my C-​11… I paused and looked at her kind of crazy. In all my life eating at Vietnamese restaurants I’ve NEVER been asked how spicy I wanted a spring roll. But it was the sauce that came on the side. My fresh spring rolls barely had any shrimp, and the shrimp were tiny. My fried spring rolls on too of my bun (rice vermicelli noodles) looked anorexic. I get that this is west Texas, but lacking authenticity doesn’t also have to lack quantity.

For a guy that used to live in Houston, I’ve had my share of Phở. This place has got the right stuff when it comes to authenticity. The service on the other hand is a little quirky. I ordered the V-​3 and they brought me the B-​3. I informed them that dish is not what I ordered and they, in effect, told me «sux being you. If you want what you ordered, you have to reorder and pay for what you initially wanted, and no refund on what you didn’t order.» Made sense to me when she pointed to the sign saying something like make «Make sure you order correctly, because if we miss understand and screw up it is your fault.»
Oh well I have no idea what a B-​3 is, but I’m sure it’ll make a great breakfast.

I like this place. It’s tasty and not too expensive. The ambience isn’t incredible but I love the fish tank. I will definitely be going here again– I love me some noodles and various other Vietnamese food.