Saigon Bistro

I’ve just about come to the conclusion if a restaurant has Saigon anywhere in the name, the phở is probably going to be average at best (see my list):

Saigon Bistro is a lovely mom and pop restaurant. However, on the day I arrived the place smelled as if it had been cleaned with bleach water that was two weeks old. Do you remember that smell in chemistry class when sodium borate decahydrate cleaners mixed with ammonia, effectively creating a stink bomb? That’s kinda what it smelled like. It was so offputting that it had me wanting to leave before I ever sat down. However, I decide to trust the 4-​star Unilocal rating despite the smell alarm going off in my head.
The owner is truly lovely. Her family was there visiting from Houston, which provided the only other souls in the restaurant during my meal. The phở took surprisingly longer than I expected considering I was really the only customer. Thankfully it arrived piping hot.
MEATBALL PHO | $ 8.47 w/​tax
Immediately I noticed the meatballs had a different appearance than just about every other phở I’ve tasted in any state. The owners son (visiting from Houston) voluntarily shared with me that everything here is homemade, right down to the noodles. He also proudly informed me no MSG goes into the broth. I can definitely believe that because the broth was very mild. It was a good balance of ingredients and managed to be just flavorful enough to keep me from adding salt. While I kinda-​sorta liked the meatballs, I can’t really say I’m a fan. It would probably take several more tries for me to come to terms with the meatball texture/​flavor, but for now, I would give the meatballs 2.65 stars. Even though clearly the meatballs were cooked, they still had a raw flavor that I didn’t like.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, they serve a decent phở, but the jury is still out on the meatballs! I would say their phở is a solid 3.5-stars, give or take a half star depending on what meat you get. I just hope that terrible smell of old bleach water was just a one-​time incident.
²⁰¹⁶⁄₃₇

I was trying to make a decision between this place and a Thai place, but this Viet place won me over because I really wanted some goi cuon (summer rolls) and since a lot of people raved about the phở, why not? After all, it can’t be as bad at Phở Saigon, right (I didn’t like Phở Saigon at all)?!
This place was easy to find with ample parking. When I walked inside, I was greeted by an elderly lady who is very nice and endearing. We quickly made conversation as I’m also Vietnamese. She asked if I wanted water and I told her I’d like it with a lemon and placed my order for the summer rolls. She came back shortly with my water but no lemon, so oh well, no big deal. I asked her what she’d recommend, the phở tai or the bun bo hue since I absolutely love bun bo hue if done right. She said they were both good. I leaned toward the bun bo hue and asked if they serve it with shaved cabbage and pork blood (essentials), but unfortunately, they don’t. She said the food here is catered mainly to white Americans so many of the normal ingredients we use to garnish or compliment our food aren’t available either because the regular customers aren’t used to it or no grocery stores sell them. So after much contemplation, I decided to go with the phở tai instead. About 5 mins later, my order of summer rolls appeared.
They looked normal as I expected. I was expecting some sort of fish sauce or peanut sauce but I was given straight up hoisin sauce and sriracha. Meh, not my favorite but I can deal with those choices. The summer roll lacked a variety of greens. It had vermicelli, a shrimp sliced in half, lettuce, and some pork. These were loose rolls, not tightly packed so they’re not very filling. I ate both (given 2) in a span of 1 – 2 minutes.
I waited about another 10 – 15 minutes for my phở to finally come. As the elder lady brought out my food, she asked if I liked thai basil. I nodded in excitement, but then she shot me down saying they don’t have any as the thai basil they grew died because of the cold. Cool that they grow their own but sad I didn’t have any.
For my phở tai, she provided me with a small plate of bean sprouts, some cilantro, a few jalapeño slices, and a wedge of lime. The phở looked alright. The smell? Uhh, it sorta smelled like toilet water or something moldy. I thought maybe it’s just the smell so I sipped the broth and OM MY GOSH, it tasted like faucet water slash toilet water. You know how when you walk into a restaurant bathroom and there’s that toilet/​sink water all over the floor?! That’s what it smelled and tasted like!!! I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t want to be mean because the old lady was so nice so I squeezed all the lime I had, added heaps of sriracha and hoison sauce. Only did I do that then it was bearable. The meat tasted like cardboard with that iron taste so I ate only a slice. I couldn’t manage to drink the broth or eat the meat so I just ate all the greens and noodles. The best part about that bowl was probably the sliced onion. I was SO disappointed. When the lady came back, she asked if I wanted to take it to go since I had so much meat left and it’s a waste. I told her I didn’t like the meat because it tasted «strange» and not like home (I grew up Viet so I KNOW what phở should taste like). She nodded and made little conversation (sweet lady) but was okay with me not eating it. After she took away my food, I sat waiting for another 10 minutes. WHY?! Well, I had place an order for a banh mi thit nuong (Vietnamese char-​broiled beef sandwich) that I had placed WITH the phở but to-​go. They didn’t start the sandwich until I finished my phở, why?! I don’t know but I spent a lot of time waiting for my food to come out.
All the while as I waited, there was a Vietnamese dvd talk show on but it ended so the beginning of the dvd was on repeat for who knows how long, the death of me (for the hour that I was there)! It’s like wanting to start a movie but you can’t find the remote to press start so the 5 – 7 encore intro keeps playing and stuck on repeat forever. I just wanted to turn off the TV, but I figured that was rude so I sat through it all and no one did anything to it even while I left.
When I got in the car, I needed to try the sandwich to see if I should throw it away instead of bring it home. Surprisingly, this item was the best on the list. Not the best sandwich I’ve ever had but bearable. The mayo is slightly plain, the beef missing a little flavor, the pickled veggies needed more taste, wished they had put in more pâté, but otherwise, I could live with it. LOL
So overall? Ambiance wise it’s a little quaint, but okay furniture. A little dark and empty when I went (~7pm). The whole entire bill with tip for those 3 items was $ 20. Was it worth it? Definitely not. Would I come back? No way jose. I don’t recommend this place. Not authentic at all. I left smelling like a toilet. –_​– BUT the lady is very sweet!

This is the best phở in the Daytona Beach area, and the price is great. The portion size wont leave you wanting more. If you go here, you will return. The owners were very nice people. I can’t wait to go back!

Hands-​down the best Vietnamese food I have ever had in Florida. Authentic, delicious, amazing and the owner Que is the sweetest. I had the phở with meatballs and rare steak and sesame balls for dessert both up to par with phở that I have tried in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Love it and I will be back again soon.

the food is great some people that write reviews shouldn’t write them when they come to a restaurant high and drunk and they think there shit don’t stink because they live in palm coast where anyone could afford to live especially white trash

We have never been disappointed at Saigon Bistro – whether eating in or picking up take-​out. Super nice family owns the place. Excellent Vietnamese and Thai food. If you are not sure what to order they are always very helpful.

The service was slow. Only two persons worked there, one in the kitchen and one in front. We waited for more than an hour for the food. I ordered Phở, worst Phở I ever tasted. My other family could not finish their dishes.

Was driving home from a road trip and decided to stop here. Very cute and kind older Vietnamese lady who reminds me of my own mother was the cherry on top of a great dining experience. Food was fresh and tasty and resembles Vietnamese home cooking! Will definitely dine here again on future road trips passing through here!

Summer rolls for lunch served by very nice Vietnamese lady. Rolls were fresh and enjoyed conversation with my server about Vietnam and great Vietnamese food. Will be back

taste like home cooking. rice dishes are delish! its a place that i would come back to.

This is a decent place. We went there at an odd hour, around 4pm and were the only customers. The sweetest older lady waited on us. We had spring roll, and fresh roll appetizers, phở, and banh cam for dessert. The rolls were typical, the phở was nice, but I felt it was a bit «Americanized», I found out later from her that they can make it with all the fatty bits if you like, and the banh cam was out of this world.
There are some nice touches, the Thai Basil that was served to us had blooming flowers on it, the lady told me she grows it herself.
This is not a new restaurant, it is a little older inside, and the décor is, well… homey :)
They lady that took care of us was as sweet as she could be, and I enjoyed every single bite of the food, what more can you ask for?

The lamest Vietnamese place ever.
The phở was boring and tasteless.
I don’t know how anyone could enjoy this place.

Very good portion sizes, service, and prices. Sandwiches are large, twice as large as another viet place in town for the same price. They offer a great dinner special with appetizer, entrée, and dessert for around $ 10. I’m not too picky with regard to taste but I thought the phở and the sandwich taste fine. Other friends I went with had the Red Curry and they said it was good, also they easily substituted the meat for generous portion of extra veggies to make the dish vegetarian. The place wasn’t busy so the service was fast and attentive. We had an older lady as our waitress, and she was super nice.

Delicious Vietnamese food, very carefully prepared. Try the whole steamed fish (just be sure to order it by phone at least one hour in advance). Very reasonable prices, and a friendly, charming owner.

They don’t even deserve one star but that’s lowest rating. I never got to try anything because we sat there for an hour and our food never came out. We got in and I needed to get up to get someone to take our order and then as he took our order and he scoffed and said «wow» when we asked for separate checks. Absolutely worse service ever! How long does it take to make phở? Its broth, noodles, and rare steak! We ended up just leaving because I then noticed the ONE server take another table’s order and it came out wrong. OMG totally a disappointment because I never thought I would ever have to wait over an hour for phở. Normally it takes 10 minutes to get some phở!

Not quite sure where to start as we literally waited over an hour for PHO and it never came as we tried very hard to stay patience. The waiter was no help as soon as we sat down we weren’t even offered any water. It took 10 minutes and two attempts from our group just to get water. We called the waiter to order our foods as soon as we aske him to put the meals on separate checks he sighed heavily and said, «wow.». That was rude! We ordered phở and fresh rolls and it took way too long. There was another table of six people who sat and waited for their food as well, it finally came but the order was wrong. We kept asking how long would it take bring our food out and was told 10 mins, that was a lie. In the end we walked out! Please don’t go here. Service is horrible, if you decide to come give yourself 2 hours and eat beforehand.

The service and food are outstanding and the prices are very reasonable. Try the crispy duck — it is amazing!

This was my first time eating Vietnamese. I thought it was excellent. Lots of flavor and spices. All very fresh. Chose the meatball soup, clay pot, steamed whole fish and savory crepes. Everything was delicious. I went back the weekend after and brought my friends. Definitely should give it a try.

I thought my Phở was outstanding. I loved the crêpe appetizer. My Autumn roll was a bit disappointing. It may have been perfectly prepared, but I didn’t care for it. I can’t wait to go back and try more! Update: been back and am now a bahn mi addict! I love them so much I am making them at home. I come close, but I still need to get in there once in a while to taste and learn. Yummy!

Delicious Foods! Prices between $ 7 – 9 for most entrees. The servings are enormous bowls.