Little Saigon

Restaurant was big and clean, no problems with service, food was very acceptable. We had shrimp and tofu pad thai and red curry. Neither were spectacular, but tasted good. The thai iced tea was quite nice, with plenty of cream. This isn’t my first choice for Thai food in Springfield based on one visit, but I would have zero problems going back for another try.

Telephone rings, Little Saigon answers: «yes, yes, what is it?
Me, «excuse me»
Little Saigon, «this is Pizza Hut, what do you want?»
Me, «Is this Little Saigon?»
Little Saigon, «Oh, I’m sorry I thought you were one of my kids.»
No sweetie, I’m a 60 year old woman who doesn’t appreciate your attempt at humor.
I just should have said, ««no thanks.»
I proceeded to order over $ 50 worth of food all the while thinking I should just hang up.
After the order was placed, I called back and asked to speak to the manager and told him about my experience.
A luke-​warm apology at best.
I won’t be back.

Upon entering, It looks small from the front but there’s more dining area in the back. The smell was great right as we entered. Service was about par with some attentiveness but no complaints here as everything was done within a decent amount of time. Ambiance was thin but warm and welcoming.
We ordered an avocado smoothie and Thai tea to start. Although they are the same price, the quantity is far off from one another (see image). The smoothie lacked flavor, and had too much sugar in it though the portion was pretty generous. The Thai tea tasted fine, but nothing special about it and the boba definitely wasn’t fresh, lacking in softness and chewiness. Even though it’s fine we didn’t receive cups of waters with our meal, it would have been nice.
My sister ordered the bbq beef ribs and I had the com dac biet with a bowl of egg drop soup. The beef included a small bowl of rice, lettuce, cucumbers, and shredded carrots all topped with their blend of fish sauce. My com dac biet included 2 pieces of pork chops (looks very similar to Sysco’s 5oz chops) rice, lettuce, julienned cucumbers, shredded carrots, as well as a small bowl of their fish sauce.
As a native to Vietnam, I can safely say that the fish sauce makes the dishes that we ordered. Their blend of fish sauce was quite disappointing. It needs to have a nice blend of sweet/​salty/​sour/​spicy. Their’s was lacking in ¾ departments. The beef had an decent taste to it as well as the pork chops, though the chops a bit salty for my taste. Egg drop soup was under par.
To sum it up, this place was OK. I would probably come back when I’m in the area if I’m craving Vietnamese food. The menu seems fairly priced as well. Well, all right. I’ll give this place another try next time I’m in Springfield and update this review hopefully! I believe in you guys here at Little Saigon!

Amazing food, quick and friendly service, great prices. I rarely get the chance to eat at a Vietnamese place so I ordered the waiter’s recommendation (Com Thit Bo Nuong Hot Ga Opla) and was very happy. It came with a very light vegetable soup, not heavily seasoned but not bland either. Everything was fresh, bright tasting and delicious.

Interesting place; it’s supposed to be a Vietnamese Thai fusion but without the fusion part. The décor is a strange mix of Mexican with Vietnamese and Thai? We were probably the only Vietnamese in a Vietnamese restaurant. We played the «guess the ethnicity of your waiter» game. I want to give it more stars for the really nice service, but the food was really disappointing.
The Phở Tai Bo Vien lacked flavor with the thinly sliced beef was too thick, which became chewing. The vermicelli noodle with beef and shrimp were overly flavored and unevenly mixed resulting in bites of salty and sweet patches. I tried the basil beef lunch special and it was more of a Vietnamese attempt at cooking a Thai dish that came out to be more Chinese than Thai. The best dish that we had there was the chicken satay– just don’t eat it with the given peanut sauce. It tastes better with the fruit-​vegi side order with honey.

For someone like me who isn’t the biggest Asian food fan, this place is great for price=quality/speed. General Tso’s chicken is very good as is the beef & broccoli.

Appetizers were good, but we probably ordered the wrong thing. We had lo mein and crazy noodles and both were a huge disappointment. These were insipid and slimy. The chicken was actually gross, tasted old, almost like something that had been stored for a long time. Not very many vegetables were included in the dishes. Service was good but the food took about 1 hour to come out. It was inexpensive around $ 40 for two people. I probably will not return.

First time trying it although Ive drove past for years, great food for sure a step above most adian cuisine in thr capital area. The General Tso’s chicken & crab rangoon were excellent! We will be back.

Being Florida and traveling thru Springfield. I would highly recommend this place to locals and travelers. The place is clean, food taste great-​fresh and the service is on time.
I’m very picky but this place is GOOD.

The smell when you walk in kind of sours my stomach. The restaurant gave me the feeling of needing a good clean. However, the Pad Thai was great & the smoothies are wonderful. Biggest flaw of this place is the ambiance.

Fresh Thai and Vietnamese food cooked just right, and tasted delicious. We were ravenously hungry and ordered Tom yum soup and couple of other dishes. Good stuff, the waitstaff was efficient, and overall good meal

I love it here. It’s such a cute building and everything I’ve ever had here is amazing! I’ve had the chicken satay, steamed dumplings (app), pad see lew (I know some places it’s eew), lad nar, everything is great. They’re very friendly and enjoy your business! I also highly recommend getting a fruit cup or a «freeze». It’s literally ice and the fruit of your choice… AMAZING! So it’s actually a really great place to eat if you want to watch your diet. or not! They also have flavors like avocado and coconut. I love it here. Some of the best food in springfield and not too expensive!

Wasn’t really impressed. Maybe a different menu choice would change my review.
However, they are supposedly a Vietnamese restaurant but not a single Bánh mì on the menu at all (a serious bummer) but they do have Phở. They have lots of Asian dishes on the menu aside from Vietnamese though including Chinese, Thai.
I WISH I had gone with a Thai curry dish but I figured since they are Vietnamese, stick with that genre. I got pork and shrimp Vietnamese pancakes. Two HUGE pancakes arrived which contained a total of exactly 4 shrimp and 4 small pieces of pork plus ½lb of bean sprouts. The pancakes were greasy and the sauce served with them was crazy sweet — like they melted down jelly beans or something.
Service was great and the place was really packed. Like I said, I think my rating would have been better with a different food choice. Not impressed today.

This place was delightful. Being from out of town and just passing through I’m thoroughly disappointed this place is so far from me. Waiter was polite, attentive, and courteous. The place was not dingy as some Asian restaurants can be. The menu has accompanying pictures and descriptions for every dish which I thought was a great idea, especially for non-​Thai food aficionados.
I ordered the Crab Rangoon which were 6 smaller packets which I prefer over the folded triangle variety. The wrapper was crispy and not greasy, very light. The inside was a tad too cream cheesy but still delicious.
For my entrée I got the Soldier in the Sea, which was a mix of seafood in red curry sauce and served with white rice. Normally I order tofu red curry at Thai restaurants and dump all my rice in it and dig in. This was not the case. The red curry was incredibly flavorful and I didn’t want to fill up on rice or dilute it in any way. The seafood mix had shrimp, imitation crab, baby scallops, and clams. But it also had a great variety of vegetables in it too. Broccoli, bamboo shoots, carrots, straw mushrooms, and green peppers. This was the best, most flavorful, and interesting mix of ingredients in red curry I’ve ever had. I will be back for this alone.
My lunch partner ordered the «grilled chicken with rice» I don’t recall the menu name. It was just as described and accompanied by a mix of shredded greens on his plate with some sort or clear «dressing» (for lack of a better word) (which was pretty rank tasting in my opinion). He did not enjoy his meal. The chicken had a very stringy and chewy texture (I tried a bite myself) and the flavor tasted of old fish and bland at the same time. It was not good and a complete 180° from my meal. Unfortunately this put a damper on his experience but he’d still try something else next time so it wasn’t a total bust. Perhaps it was an off night for the dish.
Overall I was very impressed with my meal, and the service, and the restaurant as a whole. I will definitely return, and recommend.

My wife and I have come here at least once a week since we moved to Springfield in June, and we have yet to have a single less-​than-​stellar dish. We’ve bounced around most of the menu, too, and they continue to impress with their consistent high quality and speed of service.
We highly recommend that everyone enjoy this fine establishment!

May have been a bit too excited about finding Vietnamese food in Central Illinois. Back again and waited around 5 mins for the host to notice us to seat us — even though he was standing directly in front of us taking phone orders. Also the smell coming from the bathroom was wafting into the rest of the restaurant which was really unappealing. Phở was good but since we ordered only 2 bowls — we were only given one plate of the toppings (basil, sprouts, cilantro, jalapeños). When I asked for more we were informed that was the serving for two bowls. Not a big deal but the toppings are the best part!

Let me be clear when i give a place five stars it means that i had a great experience in its category. Just left little saigon and was
so impressed. We had the panang curry and mongolian beef, thai iced te and cold spring rolls and thai vegetables w/​ricw, all wonderfull and the price 40 w/​tax. The service was wonderful and the ambience is very nice. Just a great experience my first in springfield Il. If you are in Springfield, Illinois give this place a try, i will again for sure.

The wife is from Saigon, and she rarely gets treated to Vietnamese food now that we live in a cornfield, so I make every effort to take her to an underwhelming, hole-​in-​the-​wall, Midwest place for Vietnamese food.
But, Little Saigon knocked off her socks. She got the Saigon sampler, which is served on a platter big enough for four people, and she ate the whole thing. Highlights included chao tom, shrimp paste on sugar cane, which I’ve not seen at other restaurants. The crazy/​drunken noodle was also exceptionally good. Not much else to say about an exceptional restaurant.
Solid five stars thanks in no small part to the prices. Little Saigon is an unparalleled bargain and one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Illinois I’ve tasted so far.

Man oh man… I would have never imagined such outstanding Thai food in the Mid West. Let’s dive into it…
— The setting — tacky and unassuming. Doesn’t matter, the booths are comfy and the place is cozy.
— The service: excellent. An outstanding young man served us. He earned a huge tip and a good word put in.
— The food: Amazing. I tried the Pad Thai, Chicken and Vegetables and a spicy chicken dish. All great quality. The egg drop soup was a good starter along with veggie rolls.
If for some reason you find yourself in Springfield, head over in this direction. When I return, I will be there!

WOW… what a great restaurant. I arrived to a great smelling entry… standing room wait as every seat was taken.
After being seated… looking over the menu takes some time as it has quite the number of dishes. I settled upon the Tum Yum Goong soup which is a hot & sour soup with a unique sweet taste, with onion, cilantro, mushrooms, lemon grass, and shrimp. It is awesome. I also choose a shrimp and squid stir fry, with yellow and green onions.
What an awesome meal, great service, nice atmosphere. Local family business… your neighbors and friends… give your support.