Saigon Cuisine Restaurant Inc

Really good Vietnamese food. The rolls are really good. So is the chicken lemongrass. My all-time favorite is the shrimp with ginger in clay pot. Unfortunately, the quality has become very inconsistent. One time the shrimp were so over cooked that I could not eat them. The restaurant is also not as clean as it used to be. The bathrooms are dirty which makes me worry. I hope the restaurant cleans up and regains its consistency.

Good But I Prefer Others. We were craving some Vietnamese but wanted to try something other than our regular places so we called up Yelp and saw some good things about Saigon Cuisine - so off we went! It didn't hurt that we had a $12 off coupon from the local Attractions book ;-)

We both generally liked our experience and are likely to return but we didn't get the 5-star treatment several other reviewers documented.

We we arrived about 5:30 on a Wednesday we were the only table though there was one person waiting for a pick-up. Right as we were about to leave 4 top also entered but that was the extent of the patronage.

Food: The menu is similar to most restaurants of this style with tons of choices. As is typical most are just a variance on the theme of what protein is involved (i.e. fish, chicken, beef, pork, etc) and what noodle is ti paired with (vermicelli, egg and so on). So once you boil it down its not that overwhelming. They do offer several types of spring rolls and grilled fish specials which is a little unique. There is also about a dozen "Chef's Recommendations" too.

Interestingly for a Vietnamese restaurant, there is basically no Pho choices. I'm not even sure how I feel about that - it's like a steakhouse without steaks. The lunch menu has just 4 items so I don't know how they handle that.

We started with a traditional spring roll as an appetizer. It was served promptly and looked delicious but it was served only with peanut sauce. I'm used to (and prefer) my springs rolls to be served with the spicy chile oil, as well. We asked our waitress for some and for Sriracha, as well. She quickly returned with the chile oil but we had to fetch our own Sriracha. Once we got all of our loved condiments we dug into the spring roll and it was as tasty as it looked! In fact it was one of the better ones I've had in awhile.

For our entrees, my girlfriend had the Chicken Sauteed in Ginger Sauce in a Clay Pot and I got the Vermicelli w/Lemon Grass and Curry Chicken. Wow - on the chicken/ginger/clay pot combo! I'm jealous I didn't go with it and it's what I will order next time. My curry was tasty too but very different than other curries I've had. Rather than being a liquid-soupy style, this curry was thick and coated the chicken a vegetables. While different it was still good.

The menu lists both items as "hot & spicy" and we both asked for them to be spicy but neither were so if you like spicy food like we do, you'll definitely have to stress that.

One other thing: when served neither came with chop sticks and we had to ask for those too. At this point I was beginning to get the feeling that the staff must be assuming something along the lines of "these anglos aren't going to know anything about Asian dining". Fail.

All three items we ordered were very good, especially the spring rolls and the clay pot ginger chicken. 4 stars for food though no Pho is a bummer.

Service: This is definitely and area where they were not even close to earning 5 stars. While friendly and polite, the service was pretty weak for a one table night. In fact, there were as many servers as guests for the entire time we were there. Having to ask for the common condiments for the food style and the traditional eating utensils is tacky. The servers made only one mid-dinner visit to check on us and even then didn't acknowledge that my beer was almost empty and offer another. 2 stars for service since they weren't rude and the kitchen was super-fast.

Value: Our two entrees were about $11 each and the spring roll $4.25. Most entrees are in the $10-$12 range with a few above $15 off the Recommendation category. Overall, the prices are probably a tad higher than some of their competitors but I'll give value 3 stars due to the food's flavor.

Atmosphere: Located on High Point road it has some of the down-trodden external looks typical of the area. However, the inside is nicely done in a modern Asian theme. I wouldn't let the outside dissaude you. 3 stars for atmosphere:

Overall, we both enjoyed our meals flavor-wise even though the service was underwhelming. The restaurant is attractive inside and I'm sure we'll be back but it didn't dislodge our preferred Vietnamese haunts (Pho Hien Vuong and Vietnamese Garden).

Food: 8/10; Service: 6/10; Value: 6/10 (8/10 w/the coupon); Atmosphere: 7/10

Had just one type of pho, but was excellent. Lots of traditional cuisine, including many clay pot choices.

Great food. Always fresh, delicious and authentic Vietnamese cuisine in a very friendly atmosphere. The quail appetizer is a must and if available, the whole steamed flounder is outstanding. You can't go wrong with any menu item.