Tari H.

It was my first time coming here and it won't be my last! I'm so upset with myself for not giving this place a try earlier. The food is great. I love the drink selection and the customer service rep that we had was amazing. I would definitely recommend this place if you're in any neighborhood that has it. There's not much of an ambiance I would say, but it's a very minimalistic Vibe. Very simple nobody's over chatty. You'll have a great time

Julius C.

Another Vietnamese restaurant that serves the same classic menu of grilled lemon grass pork chops and beef phos. Interior looks very clean ample lighting nice decor that gives you a warm easy feeling. Service is good considering the place is not packed compared to other Vietnamese restaurants. Food presentation is very good but I cannot put my finger on that it lacks something. Doesn't have the wow factor that brings out the flavor but it's still good, I think it's on the lighter side which is not bad. Something different from the other Vietnamese restaurants. Definitely would go back there again to reset my taste buds something different.

Tiffany M.

Cute location. The tables are pretty close together but the food is good. 1) We enjoyed the mango salad (the fresh herbs made it spot on) while we didn't think the soft shell crab was necessary. 9:10 2) The wings were hot and crispy. Nothing special with the flavor but a great standard set of wings 8.5/10 3) The spring rolls were robust and meaty. 9/10 4) We also got the Tom yum chicken pho. Delicious broth. Definitely would have liked the shrimp but they were sold out. 9/10 We will definitely come back to try their rice and vermicelli dishes. They looked great!

Maia E.

Had dinner with my daughters and aunts here. Saw a lot of IG reels on this place and wanted to try it out. I love Vietnamese restaurants but more on a lower scale where I'm not paying an arm and a leg for this type of cuisine when you can get super authentic Vietnamese food for a low price. I took off one star for the service. I wanted to see what the hype was all about. The ambiance was nice and modern. The service was a bit slow. Everyone working in there was in a conversation with each other. We had to go up a few times to the front to ask for things since they never came around. The food was great! It was priced on the high side of this type of cuisine however the food selection was very unique and flavourful. It was a great experience and the food was delicious.

Mary T.

For months, I have heard nothing but good things about Dear Saigon. This eatery opened up recently on the northwest corner of Midland and McNicoll. It takes over from where Yu Garden was. The turnover of businesses in this plaza is disturbing. I loved Yu Garden. Next to it was OneZo Tapioca. On my Uber Eats app, I ordered the following items: - Fresh coconut juice (BOGO) - Vermicelli grilled chicken with a spring roll The app let me know that my food would take fifteen minutes. It was enough time for me to get here from the Toronto-Scarborough border. I never have had any problems finding parking in this plaza. I backed into a spot and walked over. I will say that the interior is much nicer than when it was Yu Garden. I loved the lighting and how cozy it felt when I walked in. I walked up to the counter and spoke with a nice woman. I indicated that I had an Uber Eats order and said my name. My food was ready. She handed me my order in a bag. I thanked her and left, snapping a few photos of the dining area. This eatery is roughly a five-minute drive from my home. I got home and was eager to chow down. The fresh coconut juice was carefully placed in a tray. No spills. Yay! I loved the thin slices of young coconut. They were awesome and yummy. The juice was naturally sweet. It was so refreshing and delightful to enjoy on a hot summer day. Dear Saigon is known for its premium ingredients. My vermicelli grilled chicken with a spring roll was $22.49 before taxes. If you looked at that price, you'd say that it was an expensive meal. However, when you look at what you get, the price is right. Let's start with the spring roll. It was packed with veggies and vermicelli. The exterior was super crispy. It was delightful to devour and enjoy. The vermicelli with grilled chicken was amazing. This place was generous with the chicken, which was sliced thick, grilled nicely, and had a lot of flavour. I loved the fresh julienne veggies. The vermicelli was done perfectly. Chopped peanuts and sauce came in separate small containers. They were fresh and yummy mixed in with everything. I was stuffed. This dish was huge. My stomach was content. I had a wonderful experience getting takeout from this eatery. I look forward to getting more food from this place. (348)

Philip L.

This is an excellent Vietnamese place in north Scarborough. The dishes were well made and nicely presented. You can find some very flavourful food here. The SP5 Bò Tái Chanh (Ribeye Beef Carpaccio) and the A9 Bánh Khot (Mini Savoury Pancakes w/ Tiger Shrimp) were special dishes. Seriously recommended. The highlight was the P9 Dear Saigon Pho (Back Rib Bone & Rare Beef). Great presentation with good quality meat. The hot stone bowl came with a back rib. Meaty and tender. Beautifully done. We enjoyed the pho noodles together with the sliced beef, bit by bit, in the hot stone pot. It retained heat very well throughout the meal. Great experience! Nice decor. Good servers. Interesting place. Truthfully recommended for its unique taste.

Jenn W.

Dear Saigon's most photographed item is the Dear Saigon pho ($22.99). The restaurant knows how to draw in the camera: a large tower displaying the dishes' ingredients, a sizzling stone bowl, and a hulking beef bone that's protrudes in its full glory. I had my doubts on ordering it, but then felt obligated to see if it really is worth the extra six dollars. Firstly, the tower: they need to make it more structurally sound. To get the individual layers out, you'll need to hold onto the wobbly light-as-air tower or otherwise risk having it topple over. Ultimately, it's a bit kitschy with the only benefits being it takes up less table space and does allow diners to gradually add the raw beef slices to control its doneness. In terms of the stone bowl, while it arrives rapidly boiling, this starts to lose steam in under 30 seconds. Add in the noodles and half of the bean sprouts and the soup sits as still as a pond on a non-windy day. In fact, I was nervous whether it'd still be hot enough to cook the beef slices, so I jammed them all in at the start. Luckily, the remaining warmth was enough to gradually cook them through, and the beef did stay tender longer, which was a nice touch. Moreover, the broth stayed hot until the end. Dear Saigon's soup was just salty enough and was hearty but still fresh. While the noodles started off as a sticky clump, they quickly loosened in the soup and resisted getting soggy. Point goes to the stone bowl. Lastly, the beef bone. Perhaps the best distinguishing feature as it's an ingredient not offered with the other pho. For me, this alone was worth the additional $6. Since it arrives in the soup without any sauce, I worried it'd be tasteless. For me, it was flavourful enough solo, but if you need tje extra oomph there's hoisin and hot sauce available. Meaty and tender, I ended up sharing the beef bone and was still stuffed. If you're hungry, order the Dear Saigon pho. If the beef rib doesn't do it for you, the house special pho ($18.99) was satisfying. While not overly exciting, it contains the requisite favourites - rare beef, brisket, tendon, tripe, and beef balls - with plenty of noodles, herbs, and bean sprouts. The broth wasn't as beefy but still had a comforting quality. I sense some diners may find it bland, but I found it satisfying and liked that it wasn't oily. Dear Saigon's appetizers were also decent. The chicken wings ($13.50) are covered in a honey glaze that's best eaten hot while it's still runny. Very crispy with just a touch of heat and savouriness, it reminds me of a milder honey garlic deep-fried wing. Wash your hands as the deep-fried spring rolls ($8.99) are extremely difficult to pick-up with chopsticks - even my mom was stumped. Utensil challenge aside, they're uber crispy, and I enjoyed the combination of vegetables, beans, taro, and little bits of shrimp.

Ann B.

October 1, 2024 - treated my sister and my youngest niece to dinner. My sister has never had Vietnamese food like this. R4 - Rice with lemongrass beef (Com Bo Sa) V5- Vermicelli with grilled pork, grilled shrimp, spring roll (Bun thít nuong, Tom, cha gio) P2 - Pho with brisket (Pho D4 - Strawberry Seasonal Smoothie D8 - Fresh Coconut Juice SD8 - Dear Saigon Green Milk Tea My sister loved my dish, she nearly ate most of it! Lol. She wasn't a fan of the lemon grass, I liked it. Definitely going back with the rest of the fam.

Kerry L.

This is the new location in Scarborough over by McNicoll and Midland. There is ample parking. The restaurant is clean with lots of natural light. We ordered the bone marrow noodle soup that comes with rib eye beef tower and my little one and I shared the noodle soup with rare beef and brisket. The meat was super tender and the broth was flavourful & hot. I didn't like they squished all of the customers into one side of restaurant which made it feel cramped. Some customers who came in after us wanted to sit on the other side of the restaurant and the servers were reluctant. They eventually gave in and the customers sat where they wanted. The servers aren't very friendly and there is a lack of vibe in the restaurant. It was ok overall.

Wynne L.

3.5 stars When we arrived, the restaurant had opened for the day not too long ago, so it was still pretty empty. Service (by the one server) at the beginning was really attentive, but once the restaurant started filling up for lunch, the wait time for service became extended. We ordered P9 Dear Saigon Pho and A6 Chicken Wings. The pho comes with a tower of rare beef, noodles, and bean sprouts and a stone bowl with the broth and back rib bone. We were advised to cut the noodles, put them in our individual bowls, and then get broth from the stone bowl instead of putting the noodles into the stone bowl since that would cause the broth to overflow. In comparison to another Vietnamese restaurant in the area, this portion of meat is much less, and the broth is not boiling when brought to the table. The server brought us another bowl of soup to supplement ours. The chicken wings come in five pieces and were deliciously sticky and fried perfectly. In hindsight, we should've ordered the Vietnamese coffee earlier since waiting for it to finish dripping takes some time.

Joy W.

Food 3/5 Service 3/5 Ambience 3/5 Atmosphere of a family restaurant. Attended dinner on a statutory holiday Monday at 6:30pm and there were several tables open and we were quickly seated. I was hoping we'd be seated at a setting for four so that we would be more comfortable. There were several tables open on the left of the entrance while the tables on the right of the entrance was already heavily seated. We were brought to a table for two in the heavily seated section. We have eaten at several Vietnamese restaurants and usually a setting for four has been the standard. We ordered the special of the day, the Rice Plate with Grilled Pork and Chicken $14.50; Dear Saigon Pho and the Back Rib Bone and Rare Beef $22.99 and deep fried Spring Rolls (2 pcs) $8.99. The servers were smiling and approachable. Each time we needed service I was able to get a server's attention. There were a few minor things that I rated a three for service. I had to ask for second pair of chopsticks and again had to ask for a second spoon when we discovered there was only one set in the cutlery box on the table. At no time did a server check in with us but this may be the norm for a family style Asian restaurant. The table was so small for the food we ordered, we had to keep lifting a dish to move around another dish in order to eat. They had asked if we were sharing which we confirmed we were sharing. See my photo, there was no space for our bowls. As each plate was emptied we asked the server to pick up the plate. When the table beside us vacated, the server/s did not offer to add that table to increase the space on our table which would have been a nice touch. The Miss Saigon Pho was hot, the flavour was subtle, and did not have the depth of flavour that I have enjoyed at other Pho restaurants. It had one beef rib. I saw in other Yelpers reviews from 4 months ago, the dish came with two Ribs. The plate of the day had no surprises. The peanuts to sprinkle was already very finely chopped and thus did not 'add' to the dish. The chicken was tender and the pork was a bit chewy in some pieces. Overall the plate was average. The restaurant is in a plaza beside several eateries so parking is busy in this area. There were several free parking spots available further away from the restaurants.

Jason M.

My gf wanted to try this place as Pho Vietnam nearby according to her has dropped its standards tremendously and the new Pho Anh Vu is also packed out the wazoo from all the grand opening hype. We visited for a bite to eat on Christmas Eve. On google, it said this place would close at 6pm on Christmas Eve but they were evidently operating under normal business hours cuz we saw tons of ppl streaming in and out after 6. Anyways, the interior is actually quite spacious and the wooden vibe is nice. It looked very bright along with all the plants. I ordered P9 which is the rare beef + beef rib pho while my gf ordered P7 which is pho w/ rare beef, brisket, tendon & tripe. Beef rib pho: For $22.99 I was quite satisfied. I thought long and hard about how it stacks up to my GOAT Pho Anh Vu and it does not disappoint at all. Pho Anh Vu you're paying $25.99 (at the time of this review), for a larger plate of meat cuts and toppings on the side with 1 beef rib. Over here at Dear Saigon, you just get one side plate of ribeye but you get 2 beef ribs as opposed to 1. It's a tough call. I think in terms of value I'd say it's equal value because of all the meat attached to that extra beef rib. Even though you're getting less meat on the side, you're also paying $3 less. But if you're asking me which pho makes me feel more full I'd have to say the Pho Anh Vu one does. Pho w/ rare beef, brisket, tendon & tripe: My gf really liked her pho. She said the broth was very beefy and clean. Her old go-to place, Pho Vietnam two blocks over, apparently has very watery broth now and she said the service is bad as well which means it's out of her rotation playlist. She also said for the value (price and quantity) she feels quite ripped off at Pho Vietnam as well. There's no bowl sizes at Dear Saigon but she said this bowl was relative to an L or XL at Pho Vietnam. Overall we were happy with this place. I would come back again if I was in the area and Pho Anh Vu was packed!

Aiko I.

New menu that I tried - Mango salad with soft shell crab. The crab was meaty and crispy. Perfectly cooked. The pho was good as always, but next time I want to order raw been as a side as the raw beef pho comes with the beef totally cooked. And I will also ask them to bring the soup to be hot. :)