Ordered: vege spring roll, Hu tieu dai, and vege hu tieu... None were good. I gave it 2 stars because of place is nice and the service was not bad. read more

Food is okay. I had a medium combo beef noodle and my fiancé had a basil chicken. We both shared a shrimp spring roll appetizer. Let me start off with the shrimp appetizer - they were not fresh and the sauce was cold - cold as if they just pulled it out of the freezer. The spring rolls skins were super duper chewy and sticky! :/ My beef combo was good but I did not get bean sprouts or lemon or anything. In fact I didn't even get a spoon to eat my pho! Really? My fiancé's basil chicken saved this review from being a one star. His chicken was delicious. However they messed up his rice. He asked for brown rice and got white rice. I understand it's Saturday and it's a busy night. However customers expect consistent quality of food and customer service. Won't be coming back for a while. read more

I wasn't too impressed by our dinner here. Like many other reviewers have said, the service was fast but bad. We had stuff dropped on our table with a grunt. And he came *right away* to take our order before we even had a chance to read a portion of the menu, and seemed annoyed we weren't ready to order. Did the same thing at the next table, but didn't even give the dad and his kid a chance to open the menu. Everything arrived at our table with that grunt. I had the chicken pho, which was OK but not great. The broth seemed bland, and the spoons for the sauces at our table were so gross looking I didn't want to brave adding some flavor. Not a lot of meat, but it was edible. I can't say the same of the sandwich my husband ordered (bbq pork). I tried a bit and one bite was too much. The bread was some hoagie and disgusting. The meat had an odd taste to it I couldn't place - but it wasn't pleasant. Other fillings were sparse and meh. I think I'm spoiled by Saigon Sandwiches in SF :) If we went back, I'd probably go for a rice plate or something. Saw other people getting them and they looked pretty good. read more

Spotty service but good food at reasonable prices. The entrees are reasonable and they are open late (10pm) for takeout. Eat-in favorites are the vietnamese crepe and claypots. They do have vietnamese sandwiches tucked away in a side corner of the menu, with grilled chicken, beef, and pork for ~ $3. The oddity is a beef stew banh mi for $5, which I had to order as I had never seen a vietnamese manwich. The beef stew sandwich is a bowl of beef stew with carrots and bread on the side, without the usual pickled veggies. It's a lot of meat but not very spicy or flavorful, like a real canned manwich. The other sandwiches have good quality meat and vegetables, but I could swear the bread is regular Colombo sandwich rolls, which are slightly sweet, not the usual French baguettes. On the bright side, if you order a sandwich at 9:30pm the bread isn't rock hard. They always take their time with the check, so don't hesitate to ask for it at the counter. read more

I become an ignorant eater when it comes to pho. For the most part I really don't care. Piping hot beef broth, soft vermicelli noodles, and raw thin slices of beef all seem to hit the spot. I always like to ask for the beef on the side so it comes out raw and I can cook it in the soup at my own pace. Apparently this place serves other stuff besides pho but I could care less. Granted I did take a look at the menu and my only question is whether a restaurant like this needs to have 77 items to choose from for lunch. Reading that big of a menu just gives me a headache. Did I mention also that the dinner menu begins its number at 22? Got me. read more

I think my review is only average because I did it wrong by ordering the vegetarian crepe. I wanted to try something different and didn't really know what to expect. It was decent. Basically lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots along with the crepe with bea sprouts and some tofu. If I go back, I would definitely get either pho or some sort of noodle, which looked much better. Service was a little slow and our food came staggered - probably 10 minutes passed from when the first person got their food until the last person had theirs (we were a group of 5). It was packed, but it's nice to have everyone eating at the same time. read more

Ridiculously good barbequed meats and rice dishes, and this one catfish-in-claypot has a weirdly perfect texture. I've tried the rice dishes at every Vietnamese place I can find, and far and away this is the one of the best, and definitely the best in the area.. It's so good it feels out-of-place next to the KFC on the wrong side of the tracks. No matter how much of a rush I'm in to get it, once I start eating, I somehow end up eating in slo-mo just to make it last longer. Caveat- Since I only have ever gotten the rice dishes at night to go, the complaints about iffy service and pho I don't know about... though I guess they do seem kind of ornery at first, I chalked it up to efficiency. read more

Came here over the weekend since the wait for Dojo Ramen was ridiculous. We ordered the lemon grass chicken spring rolls (very tasty and the perfect amount of chicken/noodles/veggies) Husband had - pho/rare beef/beef balls; He said the broth was way too salty and tasted like they had put a sh*tload of msg in it. I watched as he chugged water all night long. Poor guy... As for my meal...I was happy with it. I ordered a sandwich (chicken) and was completely satisfied with my meal. Don't think I'll be coming back since the husband doesn't like it. Overall good service, delicious sandwiches, and just ok pho. read more

Hankering for Pho? I always try to roll here if I do, can't beat the price of the Xtra large bowl. Me I'm a noodle guy, noodle here, noodle there, noodle everywhere! The vermicelli plates are a reasonable price and tasty as well. I'd pass on the sandwiches just because I don't like them on a normal Colombo roll. read more

I've been coming here for a few months now with coworkers, and while the food is always delicious, the customer service leaves a lot to be desired. It was bad enough today that I felt compelled to write a review and probably won't be coming back again. Three different service-related incidents contributed to a very frustrating meal... 1) When he came to take our orders, our waiter was continually staring off into the distance around the restaurant, not really even making an attempt to ask each person what they wanted. 2) My friend's pho appeared not to have the extra beef balls he ordered (later he discovered a few in the bottom), but when raising the issue with the waiter, the waiter seemed not to know what my friend had ordered and more broadly, didn't seem to care that it was wrong. When my friend agreed to eat it as-is, the waiter just looked relieved and made no effort to offer to fix the (perceived) issue. 3) When it came time to pay, we gave the waiter cash and asked him to deduct it from the total, then to put two items on one credit card and the remainder on another credit card. Not only did he refuse to do this but he actually got aggressive / upset at the request ("You already gave me cash! I'm not going to something-something...") I don't think I have ever seen a waiter get visibly angry at a customer, much less for a request that would typically be no problem. If he politely said that they wouldn't be able to split the bill as such, I'd understand, but I thought anger as a reaction was completely inappropriate. I'm giving this place two stars because I have always enjoyed the food; if you don't care at all about customer service, it's a good choice for tasty inexpensive Vietnamese food, but in my opinion all bets are off if you expect any minimum level of customer service. read more

I have been going to Saigon City (yep, to the real Saigon City too on my frequent travels to Asia) for the last 17 years when I am in town. There is nothing un-authentic about the menu, or the service, as another yelper complained. It took my family and I 10 years to get a smile out of the husband! They are now all smiles and attentive every time we dine there. Over the (17) years their prices increased about 95 cents on average. They recently increased the prices $0.45 probably to cover the cost of printing their new menu. Hahaha. The decor is nothing to shout about. In fact, I think they replaced the painting on the walls just once since I started going there. It is definitely not a place to take your bf or gf if you want to impress them on your first date. However I don't go to Saigon City for the atmosphere--- just to sit down for a great dining experience. Order the #8 and wrap the meatballs with rice paper & veggies at your table while you decide on pho or rice plates. The Vegetable rolls and Imperial rolls (although a bit on the small side) are to die for. This is a hole-in-the-wall place where you get much more for what you pay for. read more

Pho here is high quality, with good tender beef. The pork balls appetizer is surprisingly generous for the price, served with a full complement of vegetables and rice paper. Banh mi was good, with nicely seasoned beef filling and nice, crispy bread. read more

this place is a much better deal than pho saigon up the street. the pho tastes just as good but is about $1 less. I also ordered the tofu vegetable stir fry (which tasted more chinese than vietnamese), but it was really tasty. Our bill with tip was under $20 for two people. I noticed they also have vietnamese sandwiches for less than $3!! it looks dumpy from the outside, but on the inside, they actually try to make it a little nicer by putting all the sauces in little containers on the table instead of having the bottles with the spoons and chopsticks like most vietnamese restaurants. the restaurant was also pretty clean. i should give it an extra star for having a clean smelling bathrom with a floor that wasn't sticky, but i think it balances out the service, it wasn't bad, but i wouldn't call it friendly. definitely worth the extra two block walk! read more

The Vietnamese sandwiches are a deal here and they give generous amounts of meat, meat and meat! I also like the Vegetarian Imperial Roll - cooked veggies wrapped in rice paper. The crepe is delicious, too. read more

Had come here for lunch with a friend on a weekday. Was pleasantly surprised that I was able to order a fresh coconut to drink! Mmm, I love coconuts! Seating- accommodating. Food- deliciously filling. Drinks- I love coconuts. Would I return for lunch again? Absolutely. Besides, I love pho too! read more

Busy place, cheap eats. Service with a sad face. Learn to smile! Pho is still average. Broth average, noodles ok, beef very gd. Pho vinh, Ben tre are better. Pork spring rolls are above-average Pork Vietnamese style rice plate is ok read more

I've heard that the hole in the wall places are always the best..... not in this case. I Had dinner here about 2 weeks ago.. on a chilly night because my cousin convinced me. As soon as my pho came out I spotted a long black hair.. I motioned for the waitress and pointed out the hair and she picked up my bowl without saying one word. A few minutes later a different person brought me a new bowl of pho. I ate some of it out of pure hunger.. The waitress discounted 1 pho off our bill (the whole meal should have been free!) Never going back. Maybe they were having a bad day, but I can't go back after such a poor experience. read more

pho not really special and warm not hot at all.the taste just regular and salty only. nothing special. never go again

I go here for the Pho. The Pho itself does the job. I usually get a small with extra tendon which will randomly cost me $7 which is kind of cheap. Speaking of randomness, they will sometimes be reeeeaaalllyy slow with orders. Lastly, the service is horrid. NO ONE smiles, they are short with you and I'm not even sure if they understand you at all. read more

imperial rolls - it's an appetizer, but the portion is huge. 5 rolls + tons of noodles + pickled carrots + green leaf lettuce + cilantro. The rolls are deep fried too long. Very hard shell. Wouldn't recommend and would definitely not get again. Beef Pho - beef and tripe are good. tendon is overcooked, but at least that's better than undercooked like a lot of pho joints. broth is pretty flavorful, but didn't feel special. Didn't like the noodles. They were too sticky. I don't like how the bowls are completely filled, making it very hard to stir in the extra bean sprouts. Use larger bowls! Wouldn't come here again because it's not special. Not a bad restaurant though. read more

Now that the other pho place I go to in San Mateo has closed, I tried this one and am I glad I did. I've eaten pho all over the US since I was a child -- grew up on the stuff -- and they do an excellent cheap bowl here. $5.50 for my small pho tai, which is big enough for a moderate appetite. The soup was less MSG-influenced than other places and the beef was a moderate amount with good flavor. Some places have thinly slice good portions of beef but, I don't know if it's the cut or quality, the meat just doesn't have a beefy flavor. I also had a vegetarian crepe (banh xeo) because I felt like getting more veggies in than pho provided. Here, the crepe could have done with more mushrooms/ oinions/ tofu and less bean sprouts. Also, the flavor of the crepe did not have as much coconut milk as I like. (I know how to cook this dish and have eaten it elsewhere in restaurants.) However, it was crisp, fresh, and hot and they provided a more than adequate plate of veggies and herbs to wrap the crepe in. Suiting my Vietnamese friend's and mother's sensibilities -- their criteria for whether a Vietnamese place caters to a particularly Western taste or not is whether the place gives you a lot of veggies/ herbs (of a number of varieties) or very little. Vietnamese cuisine commonly has a lot of veggies. Finally, the service was good. Unlike most Asian restaurants, the staff WAITED until we finished the crepe to bring us our pho instead of bringing it all at once. While I am not a stickler for service in this regard, it's a welcome gesture considering how most Asian places will put everything on the table more or less as it is ready or all at once. read more

Excellent pho tai. One of the more consistent San Mateo pho spots. Imperial rolls are hot and crispy, serves with all the proper fixings (lettuce, noodles, carrots, and the sauce). Fair prices and a neighborhood comfort. read more

This review is for pho only (and imperial rolls...yummmmm) Super solid pho joint. Among the options to choose from in the area, I like Saigon City the best. Their broth is the most flavorful, and their beef the most tender. I am never disappointed with my choices in pho here. I usually go with the rare beef, tendon, tripe concoction, but straight up rare beef is an amazing choice when I feel like a purist. Service can be lacking at times. But, come on, I am paying $6-$7 for a bowl of deliciousness bigger than my head. If I were paying $14 a bowl, I might have my underpants in a bunch. Maybe not the place to sit down and eat if you are rushed to grab a movie after dinner, as it may take a while for your server to notice you are ready to order (or for you to get the guts to get their attention). But if your next date is with netflix and your stretchy pants, this is definitely a great choice. read more

Came here with a friend on one of the busiest dining evenings of the year and had no problem reserving a table. it's definitely better-than-average Vietnamese fare, but can get a bit noisy during the peak hours. our appetizer, the Vietnamese crepe, was savory and did its job until our pho arrived. granted, getting caught up in conversation distracted me a bit from the food, but our pho was tasty enough to intermittently distract us from our conversation and held it's own. i'll have to come back and try the sandwiches one of these days. read more

I love this place....the Pho is good but I usually get cold rice noodles (bun) with imperial rolls and BBQ chicken. I also love the ground shrimp rolls, grilled pork balls (with dehydrated rice wrappers that you dip in hot water) and the sandwiches. Service is fast but it can get crowded on weekdays at 12 so go before then. read more

I only order the rice stick here. Standard order is imperial rolls with beef rice stick bowl. With extra fish sauce. Great relatively healthy lunch. Relatively, mind you, the imperial rolls are deep fried, but compared to, say, a pizza or burger, this is quite tasty and relatively healthy. read more

Yelp'ed Pho in San Mateo and this was one of the top places. Having faith in Yelp and the Yelp'sters, I decided to go. It's always a good sign with a small spot is packed and you have to wait a little to get seated. The food was very good. We ordered the veggie spring rolls which was packed with goodies and flavor. We ordered a veggie pho which was delicious -- clean and hearty. Brother and Dad had their special claypot which was also very good (a little on the small side). Will go again (and again) when in San Mateo. And, thank you Yelp'ers for not letting me down. read more

Pho is really good but be prepared to wait at least 30 min for a to-go order when most pho places only take 5 minutes if that. For some reason I always forget that about this place.. And I am typing this review while I've been standing here for 35 minutes waiting :/ and they're not that busy either read more

We enjoyed the rare beef Pho noodle bowl and the Saigon Clay Pot as per many yelpers' suggestions. Spot on! Yummy. Affordable. There are soup noodle bowls for $5.95 and the larger deluxe Pho noodle soup bowls are about $7.95. The Saigon clay pot was good and reminded me of my mom's cooking. The Pho was pretty good as well. It is a popular place in the neighborhood because it's affordable, good,friendly and fast!!! read more

on 3rd St, 5min from the 101 exit. small place, very busy joint. the food is great tho and also descently priced. definitely a place to go to if ur craving some vietnamese cuisine read more

I have tried many Vietnamese restaurants and this place is always consistently good. We have been going there long before downtown San Mateo was popular. read more

I can't really weigh in on the authenticity of this place -- never having been to Vietnam -- but I do think the food is delicious. And I found the service to be nice - very attentive and prompt. I highly recommend the imperial rolls, they are fantastic! Get the imperial rolls. We also got the 5-spice chicken and the grilled beef appetizer with rice paper. The portions are more than generous. This is a terrific place, and I'm surprised at some of the low ratings. I brought my kids and it seemed pretty kid-friendly. I will definitely be coming back and trying the Saigon-style potstickers! read more

good portions, great service and prices and tastier food. my favorite place to get pho any day of the week

Went here yesterday for a quick bite as I was desperately looking for bahnmi and surprisingly all bahnmi places in San Mateo shut by the evening. So one extra star for staying open till 930!! Had the veg bahnmi and a Singha beer. The 33 Vietnamese beer was unavailable. The bahnmi was pretty good. Crispy, simple and delicious. My number one bahnmi is still Saigon sand which in the city, but Saigon city certainly doesn't disappoint. Will definitely be back to try the other food. read more

A nice, friendly family owned restaurant. The bahn mi sandwiches are very good. The bun and noodle soup are delicious. This is my go to place whenever I need bahn mi sandwiches. The portion is huge and prices are very good. The place is always busy at any time of the day but service is fast. read more

I've only tried two dishes here: a) Stewed beef with carrots and baguette b) Stewed beef with carrots and rice noodles While the stewed beef is often a bit salty, I love its melt-in-your-mouth texture and natural beef flavor. I also like how the carrots are tender and soft, but not mushy. The noodles are plentiful. The baguette is not as fresh as it could be, but great to use to sop up the broth. Service is quick. I often go here on my designated red meat days. read more

This place defies the Asian rule of thumb that if there are many non-Asians at a restaurant, the food is Americanized. The staff is friendly and if you're a regular, they'll ask if you're having your usual and will rattle off your typical order. Our usual: pho tai, bun w/ pork and spring rolls or the lemongrass beef and rice. To mix things up, we also like the "do-it-yourself" fresh spring rolls. The veggies are fresh and crispy, the meat is seasoned just right. So, don't fret about the diversity here, people, we're all just enjoying good food at low prices. read more

I love this place. It fits the bill for inexpensive and very good Vietnamese food. I've been going here with a co-worker for lunch for the past year and it never fails to amaze me how good the food is. Try the pho - big steamy bowls of soup with plenty of noodles. I also recommend the wonton soup. I keep finding other good things to try too. Beware the service isn't great -the waitstaff, while not rude, are brusque and efficient. But they get the job done. read more

I met two girlfriends on their break for lunch. The restaurant was full but the food wasn't terribly quick for a busy lunch rush. I joined late and they took my order before the food came, o that was good. I ordered a spring roll with shrimp because I thought it would be fast, and it was. But it was totally flavorless. Could have used basil in it and the sauce it came with looked like a peanut sauce but didn't taste like anything. I had to squeeze lime (from my friend's soup) and add hot sauce to get it down. My two friends ordered soup and pho. The Pho came with cooked chicken and my friend liked it and ate all of it. The other soup had pineapple in it and my friend said it was too sweet, wasn't the right flavor and she couldn't eat it. She tried to and never ordered anything else. I'd have to try it again to say with any authority but first impression is not very impressed. read more

The Pho is not my favorite here =(... But I Go here regularly, for the Curry Eggplant, Grilled Pork Vietnamese Sandwiches (under $3!!!), the Imperial Rolls, and a sweet Thai Iced Tea. Fast friendly service. Reasonable prices. The Vietnamese wraps are great here! Again, I'd recommend the Grilled Pork or Grilled Beef. Lots of fresh vegetables and a fun way of preparing and eating your food. Yum! For, in my humble opinion, much better PHO go to Little Saigon in the MARINA Shopping Center. see: http://www.yelp.com/biz/tDzOmyDFtUlSUmF5HCnG1w read more