My son took my daughter and I out to eat here last night, and it was such a great experience from…read morestart to finish. The service was excellent the moment we walked in and continued all the way until we left. The entire floor staff were friendly, attentive, and incredibly hardworking--especially as the dinner rush picked up. You could really see them hustling, but they never missed a beat. The food was just as impressive as the service. We started with the shrimp and beef spring rolls with fish sauce, which are always a must for us. For our mains, we ordered a variety of rice platter dishes including grilled shrimp, BBQ pork, BBQ chicken, egg rolls, and a BBQ beef banh mi sandwich--everything was flavorful and satisfying. One thing that really stood out was our waiter, who memorized our entire order without writing anything down--very impressive! I also placed a to-go order for the #99 platter, and everything came out quickly and accurately. We were in and out in under an hour and a half, even during peak dinner time. When the service is exceptional everything else follows! Overall, a fantastic dining experience with great food and exceptional service!!!!

No one addressed us for almost 5 min in the door. Then a…read moreguy seats us, throws the menus on the table and walks away, never speaking one word to us. Then as I'm watching them work, the older guy is preparing the tins with spoons and places his fingers on the spoons and the sauce plates. As I'm watching him a young kid grabs a bowl to bring to a customer next to us and he uses his bare hand to wipe out the bowl, obviously seeing something in the bowl. And hands it to the customer. The health and safety board needs to indirect this place. The tables were wiped but you could still see grease remnants from left over food on the table. The lack of sanitary practices gets an " F" rating. It is obvious no one has a food handlers certificate. One plate came out and had to wait over 5 min for next plate to Come out. If you keep your eyes closed and don't watch what they are doing here, you probably think their food is great. We won't ever come here again.

The eggs rolls were super good! Definitely the best value item in my opinion. The pho was also good…read morebut I do wish the broth was hotter. It wasn't hot enough to fully cook my meat. We also got the avocado smoothie which was good but there were still some chunks of frozen avocado in it which wasn't the best texture. They did take a while to give out our food and waters but other than that the workers all were nice. Love the vibes here.

Went there on a Friday night and we were sat right away (++). Took some time for the server to…read moreapproach us even though it was not busy but it's not the main issue. We ordered 3 pho with meatballs (1 adult and 2 kids portions) and the meatballs were way off. Tasted extra dry, stale and felt like they were sitting on the shelf for months. Won't be returning at this location unfortunately.

For years, I was an occasional diner at Sab-E-Lee Santee, which, at six miles, wasn't the closest…read moreThai restaurant to my house, but was the closest good one. In 2024, Sab-E-Lee Santee was rebranded; it's now called "Faidang Thai Restaurant". In February 2025, Faidang was closed by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality for these infractions: Holding Temperatures - Major; Vermin - Major; Food Contact Surfaces - Minor; Equipment and Utensil Storage, Use - Out of Compliance; Floors, Walls, and Ceilings - Out of Compliance; Impoundment - Out of Compliance. Ewwww.

This place is great. Quiet and clean, nice and relaxing. The service was good and the food was…read moreawesome. Very flavorful with quality ingredients. I had the Spicy Basil Chicken and was able to order it with no spice. It was perfect for me. My husband had the Pas See Ew with Chicken spicy level 5 just enough to make him sweat a bit. My son had the Fried Rice with pork spicy level 7, he loved it. We also had the Tom Kah soup with chicken. It was so flavorful and full of chip and veggies. I could eat a trough of it! We can't wait to go back!

This place is located in a small, unassuming strip mall of Mission Gorge boulevard in Santee. It's…read morenext to Okawa Steak & Sushi. We were craving pho soup and decided to check this place out. The menu is full of other entrees, and I recommend trying some of their other dishes as well. We ordered a pho short ribs, pho filet mignon, miso ramen and shoyu ramen. The ramen noodles were delicious and they had a firm texture and were able to maintain their shape without becoming too soggy. The ramen soup was refreshing and flavorful. I had the pho fillet mignon. The broth had a complex flavor profile of hearty, and savory with undertones of onions and garlic. Tammi was extremely friendly. She walked us through how she prepares the pho broth each day. I could tell she took great care and pride in her work. We also ordered the watermelon lemonade. The taste was refreshing and you can tell it was made from fresh watermelon. We also tried the mango pudding sago dessert. It was sweet and had jackfuit and coconut jelly. My kids love it. Overall, this place is a hidden gem. The atmosphere is a quaint quiet place to enjoy a nice meal with your family. I implore everybody to give this place a try. The prices are fair, the staff is kind and the food is delicious. Will come back to try their poke dishes when they are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Absolutely terrible service. From the moment I walked in, the staff member serving me barely…read moreacknowledged me. She didn't make eye contact, didn't greet me properly, and simply pointed toward a table and said, "Table 8, please." When ordering, she was cold and dismissive. I honestly thought I was interacting with a robot. I felt like I was being treated as an inconvenience rather than a customer. I didn't wait for food and just walked right out.

Food: authentic, fresh ingredients (no bruising on the basil or cilantro)…read more Service: quick, attentive. Parking: huge lot with other stores. The MNGO shop next door draws in a crowd so some of the parking fills up. Went at 5pm on a Friday, plenty of parking to choose from, but QUICKLY filled after that.

It was exactly what we needed on a rainy cloudy day. Everything was amazing…read more Ordered: Pho Broken rice and pork chop Garlic wings Egg rolls Luclac beef cubes on grill pan Everything was delicious Definitely would go back and highly recommend. We were a huge party of 20 people and the workers were so nice and patient with us. Service was quick and everyone got their food orders correctly.

Very very good...Im not from here and can say it's better than any Ive tasted in Chicago…read more.. they do add noodles and meat here and it has a very homey taste without being salty.. the vietnamese sandwich was also very good and filling.... wish I could have this in Chicago

Been coming here a long time, but after last visit it was time to review. The pho here is good and…read morethe pricing was reasonable for the portion received. But something changed and shrinkflation is a real thing here. Their large pho combo used to be 5 stars, but they are really cheating out these days and give you a smaller portion on what used to be a large. On top of that they served me a lemon instead of a lime for the first time. wtf? Who eats pho with lemon??? I've noticed a lot of pho restaurants starting to do the bait and switch with lemon. LEMON JUICE IS NOT LIME JUICE!

Great to have Vietnamese cuisine out here. Me and the fam stopped by on our way to lake Jennings…read more The owner was very kind and sweet. She was super helpful. We ordered the pho dac biet which is their house special and some banh mi. It was authentic, although I wish they had pâté on it. The pho broth was clean and yummy it had shrimp along with some meat. I'd recommend it since it's their house special!

Might be the #1 pho imho. The flavor is top notch, and the…read moreservice is great. This soup brings you back to life when you're sick hahaha. The egg-rolls are delicious too. Whenever I am asked by friends for a pho spot this is the place is recommend. Check it out if you're near the El Cajon area. Seating is indoor as well as outdoor. Plenty of space.

Saigon Star is the standard. Period. This is the best pho…read moreI've had -- not just "good," not just "solid" -- the best. Every time I think about trying another pho spot, I don't. Why would I downgrade? THE BÁNH MÌ BREAD IS REALLY CRISPY (NOT SOGGY). some of the less-than-5-star reviews are @#%% RIDICULOUS! People complain about the smallest, most ridiculous things. One night I was having dinner there and a "KAREN" was complaining because the credit card machine temporarily wasn't working. What exactly were they supposed to do -- magically fix technology on the spot? s**** happend! Meanwhile, another guy stepped in trying to calm the situation down and be the peacemaker. Honestly, that moment said more about the complaining than it did about the restaurant. Maybe I should leave a review on the behavior of some customers instead. This isn't fast food -- this is culture, tradition, and hard work! I love Vietnamese people in general and employ some of them . Their families take pride in what they do, and it shows.!!! If you're looking for authentic, high-quality Vietnamese food made with care, this is it. I'll keep coming back. Every time.

Love coming to Saigon star for a quick and easy dinner in my neighborhood. I've ate here many times…read moreand the food and service are both always consistent. The pho broth is well flavored, not too fatty or greasy, the noodles are always cooked perfectly and they do not hold back when it comes to the serving of meat in your bowl. The ambiance is really cute and homey as well. There's always many people eating but it's never packed/never has a wait. There servers are always so sweet. They come by to check on you and as soon as your water is empty they bc old around with a new one.