Saigon Express

Well looks like the place has changed ownership. V (such an awesome lady!) sold it. I guess the food is just OK and I rather just continue supporting V at her main restaurant Phở Saigon on San Ramon Rd. in Dublin.

Awful. I have eaten here more than 3 times and it just gets worse. Phở broth is like water. Veggie phở had basically raw cauliflower in it? Service is almost nonexistent. This place will not be open for long

I have lived in Vietnam for close to 5 years initially was ‘nt a big fan of their food. But must tell you this that once I started eating I never stopped. My outings would always end with a Vietnamese meal. They are pretty healthy and less on oil. So I know how authentic Vietnamese cuisine tastes like.
This place has some amazing Vietnamese spring rolls both fried and un fried rice paper wrapped ones stuffed with leaves and some kind of meat like chicken or pork. They have to b eaten with a fish sauce dip. Warning the sauce has a very pungent and lasting smell and you may not like it in the first go. The menu has a lot of stir fried dishes which are good. But having said that they do not use a lot of Soya sauce in them which is the way it should be. Probably because you need to develop a taste for it. I tried the tradition Vietnamese Phở noodles which was also not too bad.
Overall I was happy with the place their service and food. Definitely a place to go and try some South east asian food. It’s more like a walk in restaurant with not much of effort or emphasis on décor. I would give it 4 stars out of 5 simply because it made me nostalgic about my Vietnam days.

I wanted to like this place. Close to trader Joes, close to our house, next to that weird indian food place on the corner.
But nooOoOoOo, Saigon Express had to do us wrong.
1^st time there. Ran out of bread. No Vietnamese Sammies. Boo.
2^nd time there… We are the only ones in the restaurant and it is dead quiet. Like awkward quiet. We get some phở as well as a bbq pork sammy. Nothing amazing, just a sammy and some soup. The whole time all the workers did was play with their smartphones. At least put some background music or something on the tv.. Super awkward. I guess it would be okay for takeout, but for that much time to be spent, I’d rather go to trader joes !~

Consider this a vegetarian sub review. My coworkers seem to enjoy the carnivorous options, but I can’t say first hand how good they are. What I can say, is that finding a Vietnamese restaurant with vegetarian options, let alone good vegetarian food, is no easy task (in the Tri-​valley at least). I’m usually fine if a place has one option for me, but this place has it all.
First, let me get the bad stuff out of the way. The service here is a little timid. If you want a server that’s super cheery and always coming by the table, not gonna happen. Also, the ambiance is hit or miss. I’ve been in while traditional Vietnamese music softly floated around the restaurant, and I’ve also sat through about 30 minutes of Anaconda playing on their flat screen. That said, the place is unpretentious and my water still gets refilled, which is enough for me. What I really come for is the food.
My absolute favorite dish is the bun chay (vegetarian rice noodles). It’s not exactly on the menu, but it’s just vermicelli with thin strips of fried lemongrass tofu, bell peppers, and onions. Easily the best vegetarian vermicelli I’ve ever had. If you don’t like tofu, you can also get it with crispy vegetarian rolls instead.
Another favorite is the tofu basil stir-​fry. The tofu is nicely fried, the basil is just right, and the sauce savory, sweet and delicious. Every time I get it and take it back to work, my coworkers will pop their heads in the break room to find out what smells so good.
If you’re in the mood for soup, the vegetable phở is also very good. When I first ordered it shortly after they opened, it was basically vegetable soup with noodles. After trying it again recently, though, the soup had a more traditional phở flavor and it came with all the fixings (basil, lemon, bean sprouts, etc.) for a very authentic phở experience. I was really glad they made the changes.
Lastly, the banh mi is good enough for me when I want something quick and easy. It comes with tofu that is cut thick and very soft, which I don’t really prefer, but the bread is soft and it has all the usual ingredients that make it banh mi and not just a regular sandwich. Like J M. said, no banh mi can compare to Ba Le in Oakland, but this place is better than most.
With all that to choose from, and the appetizers like fried tofu and spring rolls, this place is hands-​down the best Vietnamese place I’ve been to outside of Oakland. If you’re a vegetarian, and looking for traditional vietnamese flavor, give this place a try. It’s definitely worth putting up with the Trader Joe’s parking lot. (Pro tip: try to park on the street along side the dry cleaning place. Your car doors will thank me.)

Service is great, food is good, portions are small for the money. The dishes taste good but I would need to order 2 plates to feel full. I have gone to Vietnamese restaurants all over the eastbay and San Jose and the portions here are the smallest I have seen. If the portions were average this would be a 3 star review.

So I don’t know if this place is under new management or I just haven’t seen it before. I have been going to Phở Bistro in Hacienda crossing for over a year and refused to try other places UNTIL I made the mistake of going Trader Joes hungry and saw this place. WTH, we decided to try it out. I have been a fan of their Phở since. I don’t like the real greasy smelly phở soup and this place does it for me.
As far as their bahn mi goes, my friend tried the beef stew bahn mi and thought the soup needed to be thicker but he finished his bowl so I’m guessing it was decent. There is absolutely NO PLACE in tri-​valley who could top Bahn Mi Ba Le in Oakland, but compared to other Vietnamese places here, SE’s bahn mi is my top choice when I feel too lazy to drive to Oakland.

Saw all the hit or miss reviews, but decided to try it anyways and was pleasantly surprised. The meats in our banh mi sandwiches (chicken and pork) were tasty and not dry. Despite some other reviews on how the bread was stale, our’s was soft and fresh. Maybe we got it on a good day.
The spring rolls and peanut dipping sauce were good too, better than Lee Sandwiches at least.
Will be back to try other stuff.

Ate there three hours ago and now we’re both fighting for the toilet. Different meats too. I think NOT.

I liked the people who worked here a lot. But the chicken dish I ordered was not tasty, enough so that I didn’t eat any after the first bite. I might still try it again.

I hadn’t had Vietnamese food in a while and saw this place had opened near Trader’s. Popped in for takeout and was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Shaken Beef with the garlic noodles. The meat (filet) was fork tender and perfectly cooked with a lovely marinade. I would def order this again. The restaurant was very clean and nicely decorated. I was surprised there weren’t more tables filled at lunch time. The prices are reasonable and I had enough food for two lunches. The staff was friendly & offered suggestions for this Vietnamese food novice. I will try a sandwich next time — the lady walked in with fresh rolls from the bakery just after I ordered.

Stopped by to support the new store. Ordered Vietnamese sandwich. Not impressed. Stale bread, weird taste with pâté. Very disappointed.

A Vietnamese restaurant that doesn’t serve Phở? Yes, Saigon Express is such a rarity. No problem — there’s no shortage of actual Phở joints in the Tri-​Valley. What’s missing to Dublin/​Pleasanton/​Livermore area, which Fremont, Oakland, San Jose all have in abundance, are: 1) a good Banh Mi sandwich; 2) Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef noodle soup); 3) Bun Rieu (tomato and crab paste noodle soup).
In lieu of Phở (well they do have Phở Ga (chicken noodle soup), Saigon Express offers these 3 lovely dishes (they also have a ton of cold Bun noodle dishes, stir-​fried noodles and fried rice and more).
Let’s start with the Banh Mi. The BBQ pork filling was generous and tasty. The bread was softer and less baguette-​ish than you typically get. I didn’t mind — my mouth gets shredded eating harder baguettes, but some reviewers seem to be calling this stale. (If you’re taking them home, just put ‘em in the oven for a few minutes and they’ll crisp right back up).
They do have about six different flavors, all costing $ 3.85. Not a screaming deal — for that, I’ll stop off at Li Do near Bayfair Mall in San Leandro on my way home from the City and grab half-​a-​dozen for $ 3/​each. But the fillings seem more generous than Phở Saigon 2 across the freeway.
I had the Bun Rieu. The broth had less tomato and shrimp paste than I’m used to, and the crab meatballs, while generous, also tasted light on actual crab. But still, pretty tasty. My wife had the Bun Bo Hue. She also termed it not bad — spicy, but lacking the complex flavor of other better versions she’d had.
Service was quick and very polite. All in all, these 3 dishes weren’t the best version we’d ever had, but good enough to satisfy our cravings in a pinch (rather than driving 20 miles). Hoping the food keeps getting better.

Me: A grilled chicken banh mi & Vietnamese iced coffee to go please
Dude: Total is $ 7 something, we have a $ 10 min for cards
Me: Ok, add a goi cuon order
Transaction complete, waiting…
Next dude: Won ton noodles to go
Dude: Total is $ 7 something, we have a $ 10 min for cards
Next dude: I used my card yesterday on order less than $ 10
Dude: Ok
WTF
Bread was not fresh… it’s all about the bread. Extra pâté and jalapenos provided a slight distraction from the crumbly dry bread.
Would love to support my peeps, but not going back there. sinh loi.

Went there today for the first time and I had the vermicelli noodles with grilled pork and egg rolls to go and I have to say it was very flavorful. Not too bad since there’s not that many viet places in Dublin!

Grand opening special 12/​18/​2012. get free soda with any order.
menu: apps, banh mi, noodles (egg, not phở), stirred fry dishes, rice plates, vermicelli, drinks
eats: combo vietnamese ham sandiwch (3.85)
–sliced ham, processed ham carrots, daikon, may?
–veggies tasted cold, ham a little sour
–sammie not much taste
crumbs:
–very friendly service
–walls had pics of new york, paris, and london, no other décor.
–not sure of other dishes, banh mi uninspired.

My experience wasn’t great, but I’m updating because my communication with the owner has been exceedingly polite and I can see the commitment to taking criticism and making a better business. I hope it wasn’t a great day because of opening day confusion and it will only get better from here.