Saigon Noodles

Excellent spring rolls, peanut sauce is the key! Also tried my friends steak phở, will definitely be getting this next time!

I never thought I’d eat a banh mi in Madison, but since I got to drive a little further away from the capital during this trip, I got to try some new restaurants. Saigon Noodle was one of those places. A friend of mine and I were craving banh mi, and some other friends we’re staying with suggested Saigon Noodle. We visited during lunch, and banh mi can only be picked up for take out orders, so this review only covers take out.
We ordered the special banh mi that included pâté and ham. The meats tasted good, and while I don’t usually order pâté, I enjoyed it. The cucumbers were sliced longways, but not julienned like the daikon and carrots. I like lots of vegetables on my banh mi, so I was missing more of the pickled flavor, and I wish there was more cilantro too. The jalapeños were just spicy enough, and the bread was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, though it wasn’t warm.
We also ordered spring/​summer rolls and Thai iced tea. Both were good.
I give this place four stars for Madison, but if it were in San Jose, I would give three stars.

We enjoyed our meal. My spouse is in a wheelchair so parking and getting in through the double doors was a challenge but worked with a little help. We ordered fresh spring rolls (very good), chicken skewers (excellent) and a papaya salad (not so good). They use a manufactured pressed chicken loaf so it can be thin sliced … which is a bit off putting. Not bad, we’d go back, but not great either.

Would agree with most reviews and say this is probably the best Vietnamese food in Madison. Came here for lunch and it was fairly packed but they seated me really quickly which was nice. The service was prompt as well.
I ordered the ice coffee w condensed milk, phở # 18, and the egg rolls. I like that Saigon gives you the option to order a regular or large. The egg rolls were alright, would probably not order them again. I really liked the coffee. It was very flavorful.
My bill came out to 17 which was nice given how much food I got.

I absolutely love this place, and I’ve been coming here for years! Best phở around. Beef Stirfry with the rice noodles is also one of my favorites and don’t forget the tricolored sweet dessert.

Only place I could find within walking distance from my hotel.
It’s ok. Food is not horrible. I found the phở broth a bit salty and the spring rolls dry.
Place is clean and staff is attentive.

Best Phở in town! Actually, best phở I have had in US.

We used to eat here on a weekly basis and then the prices on everything started slowing going up 50 cents at a time. So we eat here maybe every two weeks instead. The last time was earlier this week and there wasn’t much to be disappointed except the quantity of noodles of a large bowl seemed a bit smaller than usual. Very rarely do I get a bowl with mediocre broth. I hardly ever feel the need to add hoisin and cringe when my hubs does so.
Service is usually fast and we have the same waitresses who know we like to order right away.

One word, phở. Everything is good but the phở is to die for. We have three kids under the age of 5 and they love this place too. They eat the soup, and love the egg rolls and beef skewers. It’s always busy which is a testament to the quality and authenticity.

This was my first visit to Saigon Noodles and I’d ALMOST forgotten how well a hot bowl of phở fits with a grey, stormy day. Saigon was relatively full but still quick and delicious on this first visit. The phở broth was good, but a slight sweetness through me off a bit at first. Over time as the other flavors married themselves into the soup the flavor improved significantly. I ordered spring rolls and egg rolls to start, both of which were good. The egg rolls may have been slightly on the small side, but very solid flavor. Spring rolls were nicely sized and again, good fresh flavor. I also ordered a thai iced tea right at the start and it took a while to arrive but once it did it really hit the spot. Lots of deep flavors here from strong dark tea mixed with creamy half and half. This is a perfect compliment to a hot and spicy dish and I was a little disappointed that the chili paste I was adding to the phở could never quite get the flavor hot enough for me. Overall the portion sizes were good without being over the top or skimpy (although a little more heft in the egg roll would not have been amiss). The prices were quite reasonable and the service was solid.
I saw a sign in the window for Vietnamese sandwiches but did not see them on the menu anywhere. A really solid bahn mi can be a PERFECT compliment to a good bowl of phở so I was disappointed not to have that option presented.
Apologies for the relative brevity and lack of detail but I visited Saigon Noodles some time back and started the review but didn’t finish it. Perhaps it’s telling that the overall impression I’m left with after a while is ‘good’…

This is probably more of a 3/3.5− Based on the other reviews I feel that I should like Saigon Noodles more but I’ve been twice and neither time has left me impressed.
The first time I went was a Sunday at around 3 pm, so at a very off hour, but there were still a surprising number of people there. The second time I went was on a Friday at around 6/6:30 and the line was out the door so it’s clearly a very popular place.
The food was fine both times but nothing that memorable or special– I’m not sure if I’m ordering the wrong dishes or my expectations for Vietnamese food in Madison are too high.
One thing that did stand out though was the peanut sauce that came with the spring rolls– it was incredible so I definitely recommend trying that sauce.
I got the #18 phở which tasted good (even better after adding in the chili paste and hoisin/​leftover peanut sauce) but there were very scant amounts of meat in it. I’m not sure if this was because they were extremely busy or that’s the normal portion, but the noodle: beef ratio seemed too high.
This is some of my friends’ favorite place for phở/​noodles in Madison so I’ll probably be back to try other items and see if that helps me understand the hype.

Love the beef phở with meatballs! Also the crunchy egg rolls are delicious with the sauce they serve.

This is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant of all time. The food is delicious and very authentic and the restaurant is always super clean. There are many options to choose from but I almost always get the Lemongrass Pork & Egg Roll Vermicelli Bowl, their phở and spring rolls are also delish. They have yummy bahn mi sandwiches too but you can only get those for takeout.
Great food, great service, great place!

Good phở, and really reasonably priced. We order to-​go mostly. We almost always get the phở #16 with 2 different types of beef. We also get their fresh spring rolls which are good and taste really fresh.
I’ve also gotten the Oriental soup with Noodles and wontons, that was really good too. The broths are not overly salty and the additions of the Thai basil, lime, hosin, and hot sauce add a lot of additional flavor. Every once in a while though they do forget the hosin which is my favorite thing to add but no biggie.

We visited Saigon-​Noodles on a wintry Sunday evening. As soon as we opened the door, the fresh spicy aromas delighted our noses. The restaurant was bright, open, and full of patrons. Our waitress brought us menus and seated us immediately.
Perusing the menu I encountered numerous dishes I wanted to try. We decided to try the Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls and I ordered the eye-​round steak, flank-​steak, and meatballs. Our waitress returned momentarily to take our order, and it was not long before the appetizer arrived. The plate was covered in what was basically a light veggie salad and covered with bite sized stuffed rice rolls. The stuffing was a mixture of pork, onion, and mushrooms inside Spring-​roll wrapper. Dipped in the accompanying sauce they were delicious! We cleaned the plate down to the last bean-​sprout.
The phở was served with the usual bean-​sprouts, jalapenos, lime, and basil accoutrements. The table had soy, fish, vinegar, spicy chil and sriracha sauces available to add. The meats in the phở was perfectly cooked. The phở broth was good, but it lacked the complex depth of flavors I expect from phở.
I will definitely go back again. The service was good. The price was good. And as I looked around the room I saw numerous dishes I would love to try.

Pros: Tasty, large portions, reasonable prices, fast service
Cons: ?
The phở here is said to be pretty good. However, I really like vermicelli bowls! You know, the type where you have cold bun noodles and pour the orange-​colored Vietnamese sweet and sour sauce all over, accentuating the flavors of the scallions, peanuts, and crispy spring roll. Glad to say, they do it fairly well here.

After a disappointing visit at another Viet restaurant in Madison, we didn’t have high expectations for Saigon Noodles. But, since we were close and was tired of cheese curds and burgers, we came her anyway just to break away. Boy, we were sure glad we did!
We ordered the special phở, bun bo Hue, iced coffee, and a durian shake to go. The phở and bun bo Hue were on point. The first thing we liked was that the staff actually spoke Vietnamese so we had a chance to converse with them. The phở had just the right amount of noodles and beef with a flavorful broth through smell and taste. The bun bo Hue was also captivating in smell and flavor without being too spicy or too heavy on MSG. Very good noodle soups that hit just the right spot for us.
Definitely get the durian shake for a dessert and enjoy a taste of South East Asia. Overall, we were very happy we were in this area for this restaurant. too bad it’s far from downtown…

Hands down the best steak phở in town. I dream about the savory broth and noodles. The steak is tender and in small enough pieces to gobble up as fast as possible. The spring rolls are light and the peanut sauce is on point. The thai iced tea is perfectly sweet. Order take out and skip the lines at lunch.
It is good for my waistline that they do not delivery.

The bun bo hue here is so good!!! I would definitely recommend trying it. The phở is okay, not the best phở I’ve had in my life but probably the best phở I’ve had in Madison. I ordered a small phở dac biet last time I went because at most phở places a small is more than enough to fill you up especially if it’s the special. But I was still kind of unsatisfied after that bowl. Should have gotten a large.
The menu is a good size, prices are reasonable, and service is good. We’ve eaten here several times with parties of 10+ people and the staff is always pretty accommodating.

so I don’t think this is very good EXCEPT FOR THE CHICKEN (but more on that later) — but I’m Asian, I live in Asia, and I’ve been to Vietnam, so I’m not really the targeted demographic here. BUT this IS wisconsin, and so this place makes for an exotic option.
if you want phở and don’t have a handy Vietnamese chef in your kitchen, get a passable bowl here. portions are quite large, and they have a proper menu full of rice-​flour derivatives like stuffed crepes and noodles. flavours could be fuller bodied and a little less salty (I’m still not sure I didn’t detect MSG) but you know what — I think it makes a great choice in Madison, where much of the food is (expectedly) American.
I also had the mango salad, which was a tad too sweet but otherwise decent for a plate of Asian-​tasting greens.
what you MUST try, however, is the delicious grilled chicken. marinated beautifully and grilled with some char, it comes smoky and tender and SO TASTY. best dish in the house.

Great place to enjoy Vietnamese food.
You can’t go wrong with phở, and they also offer weekend specials which are really good (beef stew and spicy beef noodle!)

Saigon has been one of m go-​tos in all the years I have been in Madison, so I’ve seen them grow from the small restaurant which almost always have long wait lines to the current renovated site, which is expanded, so it is a lot more spacious and comfortable to dine in. There will usually still be a line during peak periods but it is really a whole lot better compared to those early days. Really happy about that ~~
I like their phở and their spring rolls. Usually I would get the saigon deluxe, which has all the different meat parts. But if some of those seem a little too adventurous for you, there are many other combinations available. Usually I would just order the large portion, since you get way more food for less than a dollar extra, pretty worth it in my opinion. If you go for brunch it will be a good way to last till dinner time! I am particularly attracted by the light broth which is not overly salty.
Their spring rolls bring with them a very refreshing start to a meal. Filled with vermicelli, thin pork slices and shrimps, top that off with some sweet peanut sauce. It’s perfect!
Recently I am taken to their spicy beef, which is offered as part of the weekend special. That is something I’d never gotten sick of even if I have it religiously every week. I love my phở with the lemon and bean sprouts. The sprouts add a crunchy texture to the soft phở noodles. The weekend is here again, time to plan a trip back for some spicy beef ~~~~