Saigon Flavors

I’m doing more and more reviews on cuisines that I know nothing about. This is great for me because I love food and love to extend my horizons. It’s not good (perhaps) for those reading the review because I often have nothing to compare my chosen dish to.
I do know good food but that doesn’t mean it’s authentic in flavor and texture.
I did get Phở in Maryland several years ago and loved it. I thought I should try something different today.
When I walked in there were two young Vietnamese at a table eating. This is always a good sign to me when trying a new cuisine. The waiter (owner?) was Vietnamese as was the woman going in and out of the back (cook?).
I ordered Grilled Pork (with this, that and the other on the plate). I didn’t get some of the «this and that» but the pork with the noodles fully made up for it. There was some iceberg lettuce with toppings that I fully skipped.
I’m now in love with fish sauce as well as the pepper/​garlic sauce (which I’ve had before). I’ve been eating this off and on all day.
Yes = small. Yes = cheap furnishings. But very clean and the service was as good as you will find anywhere in this price range as well as being friendly.
Be sure to check menu listings to the right of the cash register on small slips of paper. This is much more extensive than the printed menu.

I really like the friendly service. The food is really good and I enjoy the phở. They also have really good vermicelli noodle bowls. The flavors are authentic as well

Was very disappointed. Heard wonderful things from a friend who swore it was good every other time they ate there.
I got the tofu pad Thai. The tofu had no seasoning & was bland. The noodles tasted like lo mien.
Might as well call it Saigon «lack of» Flavor.
The boba tea was good, but served in a styrofoam cup which was weird.
Very underwhelming. The lady who served us was nice though.

Let me preface this by saying, we are asian, live in orange county, the largest hub of vietnamese outside Vietnam and we know authentic, vietnamese food as we have many vietnamese friends and frequent little saigon frequently.
We read some of the reviews and were intrigued and trying, clearly knowing that our expectations would not be met given the limitation of the asian population here in savannah as well as local produce. That being said, this place disappointed even when i tried to use other standards in evaluating it.
We ordered two dishes. it appears probably the chef in the back was not even vietnamese, not a single vietnamese person running the restaurant. We ordered the grilled lemongrass chicken/​rice and also some vermicelli (bun) with shredded pork.
First, this is a hole-​in-​the wall type of place, which is fine; prices were on the higher end but suspect due to lack of competition the prices were higher than what we are used to in little saigon. The lemongrass chicken lacked the lemongrass flavor, it was also cooked very sweet (clearly for the non-​asian palate) and lacked the normal complexity you get from this dish, a little salty, spicy, and some hint of sour/​sweet. The accompanying fish sauce was also not well balanced as well. the rice part of the grilled chicken was standard rice. and not the long grain rice or even com dom rice that they sometimes use.
The vermicelli noodles with shredded pork as well had similar issues. There was lack of complexity of flavors — usually more fresh herbs are thrown into the vermicelli noodles (i.e. mint in particular), the noodles were standard, a bit overcooked, and the shredded pork was also very sweet. this was likely due to the accompanying fish sauce which was not as well balanced.
Prices were average. roughly $ 9 for a rice plate and $ 8 – 9 for the noodle dish.
I would not come back, not sure if there is anywhere else you can go in the area; we were visiting. maybe, come when the owners are present and perhaps, the food is more authentic. interestingly, the menu was not even written in vietnamese, never good sign.

This place has fresh flavors and food, excellent service and superb pricing. I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for something flavorful with abundant vegan/​vegetarian options ! I love this place!

We come here all the time. It is the best in town. Try the egg Crepes and lemongrass chicken. The phở is amazing. The owner Susan is always here. It is like eating at her house.

Their phở has too much oil in it which settles to the top and it looks so unpleasant to eat. I couldn’t finish the bowl and I was very disappointed.

Pretty good for Vietnames food. I moved away a few years ago. I miss this place when not in savannah.

So, it’s not fully authentic Vietnamese — it’s certainly been Americanized. .. and probably just as much for the lack of a good source for some of the ingredients. But, it is really good and the service was efficient and friendly.
We ended up stopping here twice during our visit to Savannah/​Tybee Island. My partner is Vietnamese and we usually try to scope out the local selections. The Banh Mi (Vietnamese hoagie) was a bit of a let down. They were out of the more traditional meat filling, so I opted for the bbq pork, which was the wrong choice. But, it was fresh and the very fresh veggies inside were a treat.
But, other dishes were excellent — the grilled pork tasty and perfectly cooked. The portions were large, as is usually the case with Vietnamese restaurants. We enjoyed both visits and would definitely suggest that this be your choice if you want to try Vietnamese food while in Savannah!
Our awesomely tattooed server was friendly and fun — a definite plus to this spot!

Don’t eat here. Bad service, and food was terrible. They didn’t even know what tai nam was. Only thing good was the fried egg rolls.

Sure, I’ve grown up eating Vietnamese food. I’ve even been to Vietnam a few times. So maybe my standards are a little high. So be it. I know Savannah doesn’t have many options but I was hoping this place would be at least a little better than it was.
I ordered the fried spring roll and the phở with brisket, flank and tendon. Rules might seem binding but these are the minimal expectations I have with phở:
1) Broth temperature must be piping hot from the start. Why? if you are ordering the raw meat then it must properly cook to the right wellness in your bowl. Furthermore, by the time you finish your phở the last bit of broth would have cooled down significantly. If it does not start hot enough you are left with room temperature grossness.
2) The saltiness of the broth must be a little too salty before you pour it over the noodles and fixings. When I received my phở with everything in it the broth was still too salty. The noodles should have diluted the strength of the saltiness. Which only means that they are putting way too much salt in their broth.
3) The meat was not particularly appetizing or tender but maybe because the broth temperature was not hot enough.
The last part is the cost… whoa! Over $ 8 for a relatively small bowl of phở is outrageous. I’ve seen cheaper bowls of phở in Manhattan. I’ll give the other Vietnamese places a try but if all else fails I’ll go back to making my own phở at home.

I am going to start off my review by admitting that even though I keep a very open mind when going out to eat I had low expectations for a Vietnamese restaurant in Savannah based on a few other experiences at ethnic restaurants in Savannah (and I’ve been spoiled by Mom’s cooking).
I was proved wrong and I had a good experience this afternoon. A couple of points: the service is great and the décor is absolutely (minimal) nothing to get excited about but very reminiscent of the Vietnamese phở shops in Atlanta.
Sitting down and looking at the menu, I was a bit surprised by the type of items served. It seemed to be a fusion of offerings of Chinese (dim sum– appetizers) and Vietnamese dishes. Looks like Japanese will be added to the menu as they are taking over the retail space next door to include a sushi buffet within the next month.
We ordered the following: appetizers (pig ears and shrimp dumplings), phở and a rice platter of shredded pork, lemongrass pork and egg loaf. Overall, the quality and quantity of food provided were both flavorful and spot on with taste. The coffee with condensed milk over ice was a nice finish. We ended up being very happy and full when we left.
I would recommend this place if you’re craving Vietnamese as well as a nice introduction to those wanting to try Vietnamese food– though cheap looking, there are photos on the wall of the food reminiscent of Chinese restaurants to give you a visual. Another great thing about this place is the average price of entrée is approximately $ 8. I look forward to coming back when the sushi buffet opens up as I’m interested to see if they are consistent with quality and pricing.