Saiwalks

We love this neighborhood Asian bistro. Owned and run by Victoria, this is real Vietnamese with a twist. The Phở can be traditional or fusion with lots of vegetarian options. Excellent friendly service and cool atmosphere.

Favorite cold night go to place, which can be any night in our fair but brrrr city — Chicken Phở & the coconut crêpe with vegetables & tofu.
I dare you to try to finish a bowl of Phở; you’ll have leftovers to enjoy. Split the crêpe with a pal.

My fiancée and I consider this our «go-​to» when we are craving Asian food. Definitely recommend it.

Fantastic Phở. The broth is authentic and tasty. Perfect for a cold January lunch. And we were able to eat outside with our dog. My wife had the Vietnamese crêpe made with coconut milk. Delicious. Service excellent. What a fun place for a Sunday afternoon. Highly recommended.

We went here on a cold winter evening, just before Christmas. The physical appearance of the restaurant was totally adorable (Christmas lights up, etc) — BUT– the inner ambiance did not match at all! While I was trying to relax and enjoy my phở, Pitbull and other obnoxious music was blaring over the speaker system. Loudly. There weren’t that many people in the restaurant so I nicely asked the waitress if they had some more relaxing music and she kindly changed the station. The phở was fine, but overall I don’t think I’ve found my go-​to phở place yet.

I’ve been to Saiwalks about ten times and usually it is ok. A dollar or two more than you want to pay but it’s Chestnut Street so that is the norm. This week I went and had the steak vermacelli bowl. It always has a lot of flavor but this time about ¹⁄₃ of my steak was inedible due to the stringy fat in it. I mentioned it to the waitress and she nodded that she knew what meant and smiled and walked away. Hmmm so I ate what I could and when she brought the check I pointed to the 3 – 4 pieces that I didn’t eat (you could see the fat) and she smiled and cleared the plate. Well I didn’t leave 25% and I will try the chicken next time!

Excellent Phở — all broth is made from scratch which is so rare to find around the Marina/​Cow Hollow/​Union street area — actually anywhere! They do a very yummy vegan Phở with tofu and lots of vegetables… And they have an incredible ginger tea that they make themselves with real ginger and honey an incredible combination.

We were looking to eat in the Marina District and was trying to avoid that Burger joint we always fall into. We came to this place right around the corner from the Theater. We had not had Phở for a awhile so we went to try it out. The signage said «Vietnamese Street food» but it neglected to say Asian fusion street food. The place had plenty of seating and very attentive servers. We started out with a Pork/​Shrimp Spring rolls served with Peanut sauce and chilis sauce. They had a few beers in bottles and of course Vietnamese coffee. The entrée I ordered was the Tipsy Tourist with Vermicelli noodles, BBQ Pork with Jicama, Pineapple, with sprouts and Sesame seeds. Wifey ordered a savory Crêpe. The ambiance is nice and the portions are pretty big. I noticed a lot of locals were getting food to go and they had a few seats outside. If you happen to be in the Marina and wanted some Phở or Vietnamese in a urban setting, stop on by and grab a big bowl of Phở.

The most unfriendliest place if you are getting takeouts. There are better places to get Vietnamese food.

I tried to order some Phở for a friend of mine who was sick. I originally ordered the food at around 5:35 p.m. After I ordered the food, gave my credit card number and everything I got a call back from Saiwalks about 5:48 p.m. informing me that the address was out of the area and I had to order online if I wanted to make the order happen.
I was in a bind because I was out of state so I go online and place the order (thru a service called Caviar on the Saiwalks website) at 6:02 p.m. I also called Saiwalks back to confirm that I wouldn’t be charged twice for one order. (I wasn’t.) It’s supposed to get there in 30 — 40 minutes but no later than an hour (7:02 p.m.). At 7:00 p.m. I get an email from Caviar saying the order will be late and I should expect it by 7:30. At this point I’m frustrated because I don’t know what’s taking so long… it’s soup… and some imperial rolls as the order itself had to have a minimum cost of $ 20 for delivery (no argument there on the minimum cost).
I called Caviar and they tell me that their currier is there at Saiwalks and has been so since about 6:20 waiting for the food but that the restaurant is taking a long time to prepare the order. Now I’m particularly disappointed. I was hoping to get my friend some food by 6:30. If I was in San Francisco I could have just popped over myself but I can’t so I’m paying these folks to do it and Saiwalks is dropping the ball. I got an email from my friend at about 7:22 p.m. that that food is there and looks great. So… it took about 20 minutes longer than they said it would to get there. Not that long a time in the scheme of things but for a sick friend who I told the food would get there by 7:02, Saiwalks had me break my word. I don’t like doing that. On a positive note, Caviar indicated they will pay for the meal given the screw ups by Saiwalks.
On another good note, my friend really liked the food so that’s a plus. I wish I could comment on the quality of the food personally but I can only comment on the quality of the service. Saiwalks: good product, unfortunate service. (Caviar on the other hand is freakin awesome!)

Excellent service and food!
We catered from Saiwalks for a party today, and the service was really amazing! The owner Victoria was great, and she is super responsible and accommodating. Our guests all enjoyed the food very much! This was definitely a plus for our party.

This place is fantastic — they do a banh mi the way you’ve always wanted it to be done: with good meat and lots of it, plus a lot of fresh produce and a really nice roll.
They have several other great menu items, but I recommend the Noisy Nostalgia

Bomb modern healthy Vietnamese food! Banh mi sandwiches are very good! As are the spring rolls ! This place sorted me right out when I hadn’t had breakfast the other week!

I can appreciate the vibe/​ambience that they’re shooting for with their fusion vietnamese food, but after having/​knowing what authentic Vietnamese food tastes like, I can say that this place is a let-​down. The broth definitely tasted a little off and isn’t as rich as other places and their prices were really expensive for a small bowl ($ 11.25 for one size) whereas other places have large bowls for $ 10.
The service wasn’t bad so I’d hate to give it 2 stars, it just happens that the food really wasn’t good.

Not a fan, was out of town from Seattle and had a to-​go order that my bf and I picked up, ended up waiting for 35 minutes for my food added from the 10 minutes that they originally said it’s going to be ready.
Ordered a banh xeo, grilled pork sandwich and a side of broth in which they charged us $ 5.00 for, typically in many restaurants it’s less than $ 3 or it’s comp’d due to the horrible service. The food was mediocre, nothing to brag about. Was very dissapointed that my vietnamese pancake did not come with fish sauce.

Apparently they’re known for their garlic noodles… There’s a reason why there’s no pictures of them– they’re not that great.
They don’t have much garlic, very little flavor and adding the egg really doesn’t do anything for me. They’re not worth the price when we’re adding salt to them…

Mmmm mm! Yummy! So I love Vietnamese food. I grew up eating and it’s in my blood. I love it. I was nervous to try here because it looks to white washed and over priced (like many things in the marina) but I was pleasantly surprised!
The service was great, the ladies working were very nice and helpful. And quick!
The restaurant is very clean and there’s plenty of seating.
The food? OMG yumm! So I had the banh xiao which I umhardly every see at restaurants and usually only eat at home. And I wanted to give it a shot, it was so good! Hats off to you guys. I loved it!
They have a few drink for you like viet coffee and Thai tea.
My only thing I didn’t like it how expensive everything was. A little over priced if you ask me but I guess they make up for it with the quality!

I walked in to Saiwalks on a Saturday evening to place a take out order. After having seen the eye-​catching logo and storefront a few times now, I was determined to take down one of their Pork Banh Mi sandwiches.
That evening, it was pretty busy at Saiwalks. All but 2 or 3 tables remained free. I saw people young and old enjoying themselves. It seemed like a fun place to dine in and grab a quick bite.
Décor wise, I liked the retro Vespa that they had on the right hand wall as well as the Sri Racha bottles filled with what appears to be rose petals. As you may have learned from my previous posts, I love everything Sri Racha related. I am looking forward to one day own shares in Sri Racha’s parent company, Hoy Fung Foods, should the company ever hold an initial public offering or allow me to invest directly into the private entity.
It took exactly 10 minutes to receive my order after placing it. I brought the sandwich home to eat in front of the TV. I rewatched Kill Bill Volume 1 by Quentin Tarantino. The far east meets west theme of the movie made think about how my sandwich was also a product of east meets west as it traces it’s origins from French colonialism in Indochina.
While rewatching Kill Bill Volume 1, I thought not only about how well the Banh Mi Sandwich transported but also how excellent it tasted. The pork had great flavor, and the sandwich toppings and bun were also very complementary. In the sandwich, I also applied a very healthy portion of Sri Racha for which I’ve already discussed my admiration in detail.
I’m looking forward to more meals at Saiwalks.

Ordered takeout from here the other day since I had the flu and wanted some soup. I was really impressed with how they deliver their phở; the broth was in a separate container, the veggies were packed in another, and the toppings in another. This was a great way to package everything so that you can build-​your-​own-​phở at home and nothing gets soggy!

I just came back from a 2 week trip to Vietnam where I ate a ton of Vietnamese street food and fell in love with it. So when I realized there was a Vietnamese street food restaurant right down the street from me I did a little jump for joy.
BUT I had a TERRIBLE experience last night and I’m extremely conflicted writing this review.
To break it down:
Service: 0 stars
Food: A solid 4 stars, maybe even bordering on 5 for the Phở Buddah (the only thing I tried)
So what happened? Well, after a long New Years day I came into Saiwalks at about 6:45pm to place a to-​go order for Phở Buddah (vegetarian Phở). The line wasn’t long and the place was full but not packed, so I didn’t think there would be an issue getting food quickly. Wow was I wrong!
I placed my order, paid $ 13 + tip (a bit pricey for a bowl of veggie Phở, but the quality ingredients and packaging for the to go order at least made this seem not so bad), was given a number and told to wait. There was no indication of how long it would take.
So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally after 30 min I asked one of the guys working there why it was taking so long for a bowl of Phở. He looked at my number and then said that my order was next up. Great!
But not so fast… I waited another 10 min. Then I went around to the side where they were packaging up to go orders and asked again (in a slightly more pissed off tone) how long it would be. It’s a bowl of soup… it takes 5 minutes to prepare. Waiting for 40 minutes, with no warning, is just NOT acceptable.
So then I waited another 5 min. Finally, after 45 min a guy who I’m assuming was either the manager or the owner brings me my order with a vague apology for the delay and an offer to buy me a beer.
I don’t want a free beer. I wanted my food in a reasonable timeframe. 15 min, maybe 20. But 45 minutes is just unacceptable. At that point I was ready to just give up and walk out. A refund would have been more appropriate.
Suggestions:
— Make sure every to go order is given an estimate of how long the wait will be. People order to go and then just stand there and wait — not nearly as comfortable as sitting at a table with friends, chatting to pass the time.
— have dedicated service for to go orders so that they are processed more efficiently.
The Phở was good. Had I not had this terrible experience, I might even say it was really good.
But I will give you another chance — because perhaps this was just a one-​off terribly busy day. And if the next experience is significantly better I’ll update this review to reflect that. I just hope that’s the case.

if you are looking for good vietnamese food, this is the place to go.
fresh and high quality ingredients, friendly staff and nice interior.
i had the phở bo and must say it is the best one i every had. lots of meat, tasty broth and perfect noodles (still had nice bite to them unlike in most places where they are just soggy).
love this place!