Best pho in Portland. For sure. Soooo fresh. Good. The service is excellent, and because it's now downtown there's hardly a wait, if at all. And best part: NOT EXPENSIVE. Pho is a cure all, so if you haven't tried it yet... you should. read more

This was the first time we tried this Vietnamese spot for take out. I wished we dined in because the aromas were so pleasant along with the cleanliness. Service is definitely great for take out and our order was ready in a matter of 10 minutes. I have had different types of Vietnamese dishes, but the rice noodles were very sweet and tangy. I should have settled for Pho, but take out Pho isn't the same as dine in Pho. I tried mixing paprika into the dish, but that didn't take away the sweetness at all. The main delight was the complimentary soup that was given to us and believe it was egg drop soup with tofu pieces. I will not give up on this restaurant because I know I'll find a dish other than Pho that I will fall in love with! read more

Saigon Restaurant - Rice Noodles with chicken and vegetables and a complimentary soup! - Vietnamese Near Me - Portland, Maine

I was very pleasantly surprised at the recent surge of Asian restaurants in Southern Maine while I was there earlier this month. Saigon Restaurant was highly reviewed in an article in the Wall Street Journal newspaper and I needed to go see for myself if the review there and on Yelp lived up to the praise. This place was easy to find, along a busy street with a small parking lot of its own. The building is small and the dining room only houses about 10 - 12 tables. Inside, it was nice and bright with no shortage of Asian decor. The people working there were very friendly and served us quickly. Their menu was a mix of authentic Vietnamese food as well as some traditional Chinese-American familiar dishes. There were many items on the menu which I wanted to try but that day I was there for the Pho. I am happy to report that their Pho did not disappoint. The broth was flavorful and well seasoned. The vegetables were fresh, the meat was tender and the portion was just right. I have eaten plenty of Pho and this does rank up there in the top 5. If you have the opportunity to stop in here while you're in Maine, take a break from the seafood platters and have some Pho instead. read more

I've got to agree with Anh T. I love pho. I would eat it every day of the week if I could (and I sometimes do). And this was some of the worst pho I've ever had. Poor quality vegetables, poor quality broth, everything about it was disappointing. The vermicelli was okay. The staff was nice. The portions were large. And I did like the tea and soup as an appetizer. However, I was here for the pho, and I left disappointed. read more

Best seafood pho around! Amazing service with a smile and always quick and courteous. Solid stop and reasonable prices. Go now.

This has become a weekly meal for us. We get the food to go and it is always ready very quickly and is delicious. The prices are much less than some other places in the city. Some favorites include the fried rice dishes, the spring rolls and the smoothies. Everything we have tried has been great. The servings are generous to the point that we can usually get a second meal out of our orders. I recommend picking up a printed take out menu for future orders, as the menus online are not easy to use and are outdated. read more

Visiting from California I was craving some Vietnamese food. So me and my friend made a decision to come here to Saigon Restaurant. There were a couple other options close by, but I'm glad we chose the one we did. Amazing service! Fast and friendly! And even better food. Delicious! I had the Pho special and the chicken wing with tamarind sauce! Love love love. Super happy with the choice! Will definitely refer people here! read more

Atmosphere: Don't let the outside of the building scare you away. Decor inside was nice and the staff was amazingly friendly! Food: I like most people love me some free stuff. Tea was awesome and the Tofu soup was amazing and complimentary. Settled on chicken pad thai. After living in the Virginia where I believe spicy food is illegal, or perhaps a sin, I aimed for the top of their heat scale. The waitress helped me realize that I was crazy, so I settled on 3/5 with extra heat on the side. It was PERFECT! Oh...and it was under 8.00 w/ tax. Verdict: I'll be back with the Mrs...many times. This place is WAY too close to my office. read more

Came here for lunch based on the Yelp reviews, and it was really a good call. A small, super casual joint, with a huge Vietnamese menu (lots of authentic dishes) and polite service. Bathrooms were spotless, which is a very good sign of the overall cleanliness of the place. Food was well made and thy obviously have pride in their cuisine. Try the veggie spring rolls, wrapped in rice paper and served with a peanut dipping sauce - yum to the max! Pho - one with chicken and one with beef and meatballs - were both excellent. Tasty broth, delicious noodles, and Vietnamese style meat. Chicken was white meat and super tender. Pho came with a soup appetizer (tofu soup) which wasn't necessary, but we ate it anyway. Squeeze that lime into it, add the bean sprouts, and take a long, deep slurp. Awesome! read more

I went for lunch on a weekday. The place was packed. As the other reviews said the Saigon is not much to look at from the outside. The inside is clean and pleasent. The food is presented nicely and the service is quick. I had Pho with seafood and fresh spring rolls. The soup was excellent, nice broth, and reasonable quantity of seafood. The fresh spring rolls were good, ingredients fresh, although I think they had been in the fridge too long. I would definitely go back soon read more

On my continue quest for the best pho in Portland, Saigon was on my list. I have had better pho, the broth was not flavorful, however, the fried chilli pepper made the difference. For someone who loves spicy food that sauce made it great. I also tried the rice noodle pancake. I will not be ordering that anytime soon but it was great to try something new. read more

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From the reviews, i had very high expectations in coming here. The noodles were cooked just right and the ingredients were fresh, but the broth to the pho was very, very light in flavor (almost tasteless). I had to add the plum sauce and hot sauce to the soup to give it flavor, whereas I normally don't. I also ordered the summer rolls (vermicelli and shrimp and other bits)... the portion was small and there were pieces of shrimp rather than whole pieces of shrimp. This is portland. I would've been happy if the roll were stuffed with lobster, so long as there's a whole piece of it rather than chopped bits. read more

This rating may be from my own stupidity, but I ordered delivery the other night and was not impressed. I have never had Vietnamese food before and ordered a pork fried rice kind of dish because I know I like it. $8 I was then told that there was a $15 minimum for delivery. I had heard about the pho on Yelp so I ordered a medium. $7 Somehow my bill was $21 (maybe the delivery fee?) When I got my food the pork fried rice was good, but I didn't know how to put the pho dish together as there were 4 different containers. This is where my own stupidity comes in, I kind of just wung it and put a bunch of stuff together. Whatever I did it was terrible. Not sure if Vietnamese is my thing... read more

I'm still wondering why not so many people realize this hidden gem on Forest Ave. I did drive by this restaurant few times and I was like "nah, it looks so unprofessional, maybe next time :))". And then we finally stopped by last night to give it a try, it was just.... FANTASTIC!!!. We got the special Duck Soup and the Bean Vermicelli with seafood, everything is flavorful and well-marinated. Service is awesome, we even had tea at beginning and main dish came with complimentary soup. We are definitely gonna come back. Soooooon :3 read more

Saigon Restaurant - Rice with pork chop and egg omelet @saigon restaurant! - Vietnamese Near Me - Portland, Maine

Each time I come here any given time either lunch or dinner, the pho is always five stars!!! Best pho in Portland Maine for sure. Service is awesome, fast & satisfying. Moderate restaurant but clean & neat. People def come from their food & decorations nor ambiance. Lots of choices in appetizer department & main course as well. read more

This place has made me fall in love with pho! It looks really small, but I have always been able to get in for lunch. They have been consistent and I have tried other restaurants that just don't compete. Come here for the # 1 pho in Portland! - Oh and get an order of the pan fried dumplings and add them to your soup. (You're welcome) read more

Saigon Restaurant - Beef pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Portland, Maine

5 stars for the clean ambience and friendly service. 4 stars for the pho - good portions, flavorful broth, and reasonable price. 3 stars (unfortunately) for the bun, which is the vermicelli noodle bowl - I felt like they skimped on the "toppings," as the shredded cabbage was just meh and scant, not a lot of meat, and overall bland flavor. I prefer the bun at Veranda Noodle bar. read more

Love love love their Pho soup. Family is super friendly, and helpful. Recommend the fresh spring rolls, beef satay, crab ragoons, and any of the Pho soup bowls. read more

We ordered the bun no hue and a grilled pork banh mi as take out - bun no hue was on the lighter side but we really enjoyed it; great flavor and perfect level of spice. The banh mi was balanced and super fresh. I really appreciate that they packaged the noodles, veggies, and broth separately so nothing was soggy or over cooked. Would happily eat here again. read more

I should have written this review when we went, because I no longer remember all of the details, but I remember loving it!! I had a cold noodle salad dish with tons of veggies, and I really loved it. It came with this lovely light dressing. My boyfriend had a more typical veggie stir fry type thing which was very nice as well. Very generous serving sizes, at least eating in. Fantastic service, super friendly people run this place. I love the complimentary tea and soup to start your meal! Little details like these really elevate a restaurant in my mind. Pleasant seating arrangement, pretty moderate prices. Great, traditional place. We will be back repeatedly in the summer, because I liked the cold dish so much. 4 rather than 5 stars just because it isn't food I will dream about, but it's high quality for what it is. No down sides. If you love Vietnamese, this place is one of the nicest around. read more

Been meaning to try this for awhile and I'm glad we did! We had the goi cuon, chicken wings and pho. It is much cleaner, nicer, tastes better, and better customer service than Thanh Thanh that's right across the street. I ordered the large dac biet (special) pho and took the rest home to eat it a few hours later. Will definitely come back! read more

I must be on a quest to try almost every Vietnamese restaurant within a 30 mile radius of Portland. After trying Thanh Thanh 2, Veranda, and Phoever I wanted to check out Saigon Restaurant. I had the look of dismay when the shrimp and pork spring rolls was brought cut up in one inch pieces. From the first bite, I can taste it was chilled and not soft like a fresh made spring roll should taste like. I did not taste the shrimp, and the pork was not the usual pork cut used but instead had a char siu reddish color on the outer layers of the meat. The peanut sauce it came with was good. I felt like the experience of eating a spring roll with your hand was taken away when it's all cut up into bite size pieces. It IS an experience picking up the entire roll and dipping it in peanut sauce--why would you take that away from people? My pho of choice was rare steak and meatballs. The fresh herbs and garnishes they brought out is by far the best I've seen in Maine. I am impressed with the beautifully fresh asian basil this time of the year and bonus points to them for having gorgeous looking culantro leaves. I did not expect to ever eat pho with culantro in Maine. The bean sprouts looked very fresh and crispy. Unfortunately the garnish plate came with 1/8 of a lime instead of desirable 1/4 piece but that's forgivable considering I'm sure I could have easily asked for more. I've seen so many people neglect to even use any garnishes with their soup. I can understand why restaurants skimp out on some things such as lime and garnishes when most of it will end up in the trash anyways. So now comes the soup. I ordered a medium and it was indeed fair in size. I look down at my soup to see only a few token pieces of scallions and cilantro and some white onion pieces. Note to restaurant: you will NOT scare people away if you added 10x the amount of that. Those nuance additions make up so much of the flavor of the soup. After looking at my rare steak, I see it's been very well cooked in the broth. Biting into what was suppose to be a rare soft steak piece, it was not soft at all but rather tough in texture. There were a few pieces of brisket beef I did not expect but luckily I like beef so I did not mind. For those who just ordered just rare steak and got some bonus brisket cuts might be put off by that. The meatball and broth was not bad. Before I even ate the soup I had to mix and loosen up the noodles with chopsticks due to the noodles being rationed and precooked. Precooking noodles and rationing it off like that is a slippery slope due to the fact that it's practically like cooking the noodles TWICE. As I bite into the noodles I can feel that it's considerably softer than it should be. There was not much elasticity or a hint of firmness. The perfect texture and consistency for pho noodles is not being too soft but slightly chewy. It's not mad science and could easily be achieved by just cooking the noodles as it's ordered. Clumped noodles wouldn't make a good impression on someone that has never had pho before. First time pho eaters should not get the impression they have to work hard to untangle their noodles before eating. Overall, the broth was decent, side garnishes are gorgeous and green as it can be. They need to reconsider what they call 'rare' steak. It's way overcooked and tough. If you are feeling under the weather or need your pho craving then sure try this place. I would go again but try something else, maybe the crispy egg noodle dish which looked good. read more

It is more like 3.5 stars. The chicken wings for my nephew was not fully cooked, the portion of chicken pad Thai was equivalent of five big bites, but my pho was delicious. The service was a little lacking as we were half way into our meals when our specialty drinks came out. I would have given a lesser rating, but my pho was delicious. F.y.i.- ask for a table away from the door or you will freeze. read more

This was our first visit to Saigon and will not be our last. My boyfriend had the beef pho and it was absolutely delicious! The broth had an incredible flavor. I had the tofu and vegetable noodle bowl and make was yummy as well! The tofu was probably the best I hAve ever had with a flavorful, crispy outside and the perfect texture inside. The owner was really sweet and helpful! She brought us complimentary egg drop soup that was really tasty! Then she came back after a few minutes and gave some suggestions for popular dishes she recommended! read more

Amazing pho! I got a large and it came with a full box of noodles and a bag of fresh onions, a ton of Thai basil, fresh chili peppers, lemon and lime wedges, bean sprouts, plus some kind of spicy oil, hoisin sauce, and Sriracha. They said it would be 45 minutes but we're here in 15. Did I mention how affordable everything on the menu is!? My partner got bun bo nuong and he said it was the best beef ever and he wanted to go personally thank the chef. Consider us repeat customers! read more

Saigon Restaurant - A whole branch of basil came with my pho. - Vietnamese Near Me - Portland, Maine

We had dinner there last night . A small pho costs 8.95 dollars.We got 2 meat balls cut in a half, one piece of cow stomach , and two pieces of thin beef.The small noodles are not soft as they are supposed to be. We are disappointed with their food . Such and over priced meal. We will not have any meal at this restaurant again. read more

Pho was very good, but as other reviewers have mentioned, it is on the sweeter side. If it were a bit more savory, I'd gladly give a higher rating. Service was good. One of our servers was a teenage boy, who had been sitting with friends at a table goofing around and swearing before coming to take our order. Kind of awkward. Dumplings were excellent as an app as were the spring rolls. I'd definitely go back again. read more

My 2 friends and I ate here for the first time today and we all really enjoyed the food and the staff was great! We were pleasantly greeted and immediately sat at the table, While we were looking through the menus, they brought each of us a cup of hot soup w/some chili paste to spice it up with. We ordered the spring rolls, chicken wings and fried egg rolls as appetizers. Each was tasty, though I'd probably skip the fried egg rolls next time (just your standard little things), where as the spring rolls were tasty (love that peanut sauce) and the chicken wings were really good too! I had one of the noodle soups (F1 on the menu) and my partner had another one (F3 on the menu), while our friend had the fried rice dish. The waitress came over and helped enhance our soups by adding the basil, lime and bean sprouts to our soup, as well as some chili paste. Very hands on and a neat experience. All three dishes were delicious and the staff checked on us numerous times to make sure everything was ok. If you are looking for some really delicious Vietnamese food in the Portland area, this is a great place to visit. We drove up from Dover, NH (about 50 minutes away) and we'd definitely visit here again while visiting Portland! read more

I give this place a 4/5 star I liked there rice and chicken fingers best meal ever but the crust was a little thin they were nice I'd come here again read more

My friend and I came here to get some Vietnamese food because she's never had any before! My friend really like the Pho Dac Biet and thought the Com Thom was okay... she wasn't a fan of the fish sauce. I personally thought the food was okay. The broth of the pho was not cooked long enough and lacked flavor. The com thom was decent, but I've had better. Also when we walked in the ground was very sticky... read more

The pho here is the best in Portland. Broth is well balanced and the free tofu soup as a starter is just as good! Highly recommend the Beef Grill, dip it in the salt/lime mixture and thank me later. read more

What a gem! Great food, the vegetables always crisp and fresh, the service friendly, quick, and thorough. The complimentary tofu soup is amazingly good as is every meal we have had there. From the outside, it is not that inviting, but the inside is clean, well kept, and comfortable. If you can bring yourself through the door, you're in for a very pleasant surprise. read more

This is a really great Vietnamese place in Portland. The tea and miso soup was a good touch. The service was fast.only reason for not 5 is that my pho didn't have too many noodles but otherwise a good place. read more

I come here for the Fresh Spring Rolls (with pork and shrimp and peanut sauce on the side) - A3 on the menu, and that is all I eat when I come here I love it SOOOOOOO much. I've brought several people here to eat with me and they all have loved their food as well. Great service, delicious Spring Rolls. My husband loves the Seafood and noodle dish. Mmmmm Spring Rolls. read more

I moved here from California I thought I'll probably not gonna find any good Vietnamese restaurant near me. ordered pho for the first time it was really good I'm going back for sure. read more

Food was best Vietnamese food I've ever had, however, several problems with place make the stars what they are. One star off because they seated us three feet in front of the door which causes this huge draft every time it was opened. Secondly, there was a huge delay in our orders. My entree arrived after the first entree was finished by my friend eating it at a normal pace. The amazing food is why this is still three stars. Would give 2.5 if possible. read more

The food at this place is as sad as the outside of the building. I know the pho in Maine isn't up to par with Boston but I was craving that day and decided to give it a try. It came with one beef ball cut into quarters and maybe 3 or 4 pieces of sliced beef. I could not believe how skimpy they are! The broth was pretty bland too. Do not waste your time like I did. Craving totally unsatisfied. read more

Super nice people, great food. The pho is well made and delicious!

I came in to warm up from the Maine "Spring" weather,and I was craving some delicious pho. We walked in with a couple other groups and executed the seat yourself policy. Normally, you're immediately greeted and brought a piping hot pot of tea...not this time. We were told by the waitress that not only had they run out of tea, but they had also run out of their famous tofu soup! I've been here numerous times and this has never happened. We ordered our pho and it was good but not great. The noodles came in one huge dense clump, which was a little unappetizing. And the broth was not piping hot as pho should be. I was very disappointed as I come here often and have had great meals and service. I'm hoping it was an off night. read more

Totally NOT a fan of this place. I am Vietnamese so I am particular about my viet food. This place is definitely NOT a place to go for Vietnamese food. I had pho and they come with a complimentary soup. Both of them were way too sweet to my taste. Even though on the menu it had lunch and dinner menu but they said they only so dinner on Sunday, which I found weird. The meat tasted very frozen-like meat. I know all meat are frozen anyway but it's really grossed to taste it in your mouth. The service sucks. We get our receipt in a post it note and the waitress was on the phone the whole time while we are ready for the check. Totally a bad experience and I'm not planning to come back. read more