Saigon Cafe

Family owned and operated. As authentic Vietnamese as is possible. 8+ years of good food and good conversation

Meh. The owner is a sweetie (at least to me) and the food is… acceptable. But Saigon phở in wappingers falls is the best if you want truly delicious Vietnamese cuisine. Even the owner from there says that the owner of this place comes over to buy her food because it’s so much more delicious.
Last time I ordered from them, my dish was dry and kind of burnt. The first time the food came out good. But it doesn’t compare to Saigon phở sorrynotsorry

This is one of those hole in the wall places, run by a husband a wife. Sometimes, things are a bit unstructured, but the food is excellent and the proprietor friendly. I’d go more often if there weren’t so many other excellent places nearby.

Authentic food warm and friendly owners. Small place 7 tables, several filled for mid-​week lunch. The owner and his wife were very conversational and appreciative, suggesting after our meal we try the delicious ice coffee. And we were happy we did! After vacationing in Vietnam we crave the food that reminds us of that trip and we finally found it. Not many places in the Hudson Valley for Phở, but we found one and we’ll be back!

Been going here forever. Never a bad experience. There food is wonderful. Best Vietnamese I’ve had to date. Can’t wait to go back.

For all of you phở-​heads, I’m sorry but this is not the place for you. Saigon Café offers only 1 style of beef phở, but i wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. It is a mom and pop, hole-​in-​the-​wall, family-​recipe kinda place that’s been in town for over 20 years. The hospitality was wonderful, the old man was charming and the décor displayed their true Vietnamese pride. I’ve eaten damn near everywhere in Poughkeepsie, and Saigon Café has the most this town has to offer (Weird right?). Don’t get me wrong, other restaurants in this neighborhood have decent food but Saigon Café cooks with the most important ingredient; soul.
–Recommend: Goat Curry, Lime Chicken Skewers, and BBQ Pork & Vermicelli

I came here while I was visiting my sister for her graduation. I am from Santa Barbara California. In SB my favorite place to eat is a little place called Saigon Noodle House. I was craving it and this was the closest place I could find. I got the Bun with beef and Spring rolls and another side of Spring rolls. The place seemed kinda sketchy and there was only one person working there and he took the orders and made the food. Very awkward atmosphere. We were the only ones there. The total bill for my meal was $ 19. It seemed really high for what I got. He had already added in a 20% tip! I work in restaurants so this really angered me. A tip is not a given. just because we were the only ones in the restaurant doesn’t mean you’re entitled to charge me more. The food wasn’t good, the service was slow and the atmosphere creepy. The total experience was definitely not worth $ 19 maybe more like $ 10. I would never eat here again.

I set out this afternoon with the intentions on going next door for some sushi. I’ve passed by this place a bunch before and have frequently encountered the owner outside the shop or in the doorway, always with a smile. After passing by all these years, I finally decided to give it a shot.
I read through nearly all of the reviews today, and it seems that most of the negative reviews are about the phở. I did not have the phở, so my review does not reflect that.
I ordered the seafood clay pot dish and a black iced coffee. The iced coffee was delicious and very strong. I’m considering going back just to get my daily iced coffee fix — much better than other coffee shops in the area.
The seafood clay pot dish was delicious as well. Everything tasted very fresh and it was full of flavor. There was a perfect balance of spice in the dish as well. The portion was a perfect size. I left feeling full, but not stuffed.
I’m very happy that I finally decided to give this place a try. Overall, it was one of the most satisfying meals I’ve had in a long time. The husband and wife team were extremely friendly and I’ll definitely be returning in the near future.

I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried here and my favorite are the spring rolls. I’m a big fan.

Pro: food full of flavor
Con: cook coughing habitually
Price: cheap/​reasonable
Went again this year and again very happy. After going to the other saigon on rt 9 and being disappointed I was feeling down about even doing this again. Glad i didn’t throw in the towel. It was a little busy but service is always great
…just one caveat the owner’s wife is the cook (if im not mistaken) and i’m a lil ocd about cleanliness and every 5 min i kept hearing her coughing… so since you can’t see the cooking area it was a bit bothersome to think that the cook is coughing habitually. I think if it had been any other place i would of left, but i had a good experience the first time so i had *faith* that she used proper sanitation.
We ordered lime chicken, spicy beef and my hubby ordered both spicy beef and a regular beef phở. Even though it is only one size its not huge but enough. I love that they serve lime water, this got us drinking lime water at home after researching the benefits. Then the phở soup is full of flavor! i don’t have to add anything. still happy so far!

I eat here at least twice a week. The lime chicken is absolutely amazing! The ice coffee is the best I’ve ever had. It’s very strong and delicious. I also order the seafood with mixed vegetables. It’s always fresh and tastes very good. They add just the right amount of spice to make the dish perfect. I will definitely recommend this place to anyone of my close friends.

So I guess this is it, I’m writing my first review. Unfortunately, it’s not because I was blown away by the amazing cuisine offered here; actually, it’s the exact opposite. I’d like to preface this by saying that although I am new to Viet food, I’ve only eaten the best so far. My boyfriend introduced me to it, and being full Vietnamese and a huge foodie himself, you could imagine he’d only take me to places that really got the food right. So after reading the other reviews, I got incredibly excited there was such a «great», «authentic», Vietnamese restaurant so close to home. Since I was feeling a bit under the weather today, I figured it would be a good time to head on over to Saigon Café and give their Phở a try, and I decided to bring my mother along so she could experience Vietnamese food for the first time.
We started off with the BBQ Pork «Banh Mi», which wasn’t bad at all, although it wasn’t anywhere near authentic. Just because you have meat, carrot, and lettuce on a grinder roll doesn’t mean it deserves to be called Banh Mi. We ordered the Hanoi Special Phở and the Iced Vietnamese coffee for our main course. As soon as the Phở was set down on the table I could tell something was off. I kid you not, the broth smelled like soapy water with a hint of Culantro. The noodles were all wrong. You know those microwaveable Asian meals that come with the almost clear plasticky noodles? Yeah, I could swear those were the ones in the soup. The meat was over cooked as well. Keep in mind, these were all things I noticed before I even put the soup in my mouth. It was really painfully obvious that this wasn’t going to be the Phở I was hoping for, but I decided to trucker on and eat it anyway, because I either have a sick sense of adventure or I’m not very smart, I’ll let you decide. And just a quick note, they don’t provide you with a small dish on the side for the Sriracha (which is watered down) and Hoisin Sauce, and they also have already dumped all the add ins in the soup for you, so forget about being able to choose the amount of sprouts or Culantro you’d like, since apparently they know better than you. But anyways, I ate the soup, and here is what I thought:
It wasn’t disgusting, but it wasn’t decent either. Mediocre is probably the best word to describe it. That’s just based on edibility alone though… if your wondering how it ranks as Phở, I’d give it a zero, because it wasn’t Phở. It was a beef broth with some noodles, leafy greens, and beef. But just like the Banh Mi; just because you call the cat a lion, does not make it a lion. Get it? The only redeeming thing at Saigon Café is they’re Vietnamese coffee. It was very good. Although I did find it strange that they combined the coffee and condensed milk for you in the back, so when they bring it out its already blended, which takes the fun out of it in my opinion. In conclusion, I’d warn everyone to stay away from this place if you’re looking for actual Phở. Although the owners seemed sweet enough, it’s obvious they’re selling sub-​par cuisine and claiming it to be authentic in order to take advantage of the kids at Vassar who may not know the difference. Save yourself the disappointment and check out Phở Saigon in Wappingers instead, they’re the real deal and you’ll leave their restaurant feeling satisfied, not sick.

Nice elderly couple running the restaurant, but the food, unfortunately, is not very good. Everything is a little off and not very carefully prepared. It’s too bad because this is the only Vietnamese restaurant around here and I often get a craving for good Phở or BBQ pork over rice…

This restaurant was a five minute drive from the Walkway over the Hudson. We were hungry and a little chilled. We ordered the shrimp sour soup, shrimp with ginger and vegetables, vegetable clay pot and lime chicken that came with ride noodles and spring rolls. Everything was delicious!
The owner and his wife (the chef) could not have been more welcoming — and it was so moderately priced — so much less expensive than it would be in NYC. This is a wonderful find!

Mr miyagi is a hustler. Dude needs some math advice. Ask for a itemized check. Apparently in Vietnam gratuity and tax averages 35%
Food was ok. Coffee was good.
–Paul

Being full Vietnamese and having it home-​cooked often, as well as spending most of my life in Southern California where there are plenty of authentic viet options, this place was not very good, or even close to authentic. It seemed oriented to the college area and the menu was much shorter than expected. I ordered phở and it tasted nothing like it should’ve. It was alright enough to eat but I was definitely disappointed.
The iced coffee with condensed milk, ca phe sua da, was fairly good though, a little on the rich side, but good. The owner also was nice and asked about my nationality and we talked a little.
Granted, I only had one item off the menu, so maybe other dishes are much better than what I had. But the phở was just not worth my time.

THE COFFEE!!!
It kicks ass! And the Phở was phenomenal. Although I was not happy that they did not give you extra oregano and mint leaves to put into the soup. Definitely a good small place to go to.

There’s an inverse relationship between how upscale a location looks and the quality of food it serves in Poughkeepsie.
The red and white checkered tablecloths are better suited for a hot dog location, and the restaurant is covered in assorted Vietnam history. It’s an oddly put-​together location, but full of charm. The proprietors, too, are incredibly fun and friendly.
On top of that, the food is absolutely fantastic. There’s really nothing more authentic or delicious. Saigon Café also doesn’t break the bank when it comes time to pay.
Fantastic location. Don’t be fooled by its appearance.

This is one of the best restaurants in Po’kip. It’s got tasty food (try their Phở, Buddha’s Delight, Spring Rolls, and prly whatever else they serve and it’ll be so tasty, I swear). Not to mention their Vietnamese Coffee, which is the best coffee you’ll get in the 1−2−6−0−3. Babycakes n Crafted don’t touch this stuff. The restaurant is run by a delightful Vietnamese couple (so legit). They watch soccer and other sports on their 30-​yr-​old TV when there’re no customers and I usually ask them to leave it on because y not, right. What else… the ambiance. It’s the kind that a commercial gig couldn’t even begin to even slightly be at all in any way even partial way as authentic as this place. Here’re some photos to prove it. –Vlad
PS. They don’t have a ton of business and you’d be helping out a real local bizz if u go. .

This was the best PHO I have ever had!
Better than any in New York City, better than any in Southern California-​and absolutely nothing can beat the service!!! The décor makes you feel like you’ve walked into a neighbor’s kitchen, and the food makes you feel like you are the guest of honor!
Everything was really fresh-​my fiancé and I had the appetizer sampler, which was outrageous and each came with its own dipping sauce. The previously mentioned phở was PHOnomenal. And, at the end, the Vietnamese iced coffee was delectable. Highly recommended!
(Oh, and the water has lime in it, so it may throw you off. But it’s really good, too.)