Pho Saigon

Phở Saigon has reopened on Kapiolani blvd. Had the vermicelli noodles with spring rolls and BBQ pork. Prices went up and does not match with dish. Spring rolls tasted like it was sitting for awhile. Sauce tasted like it was watered down. It’s been a year and disappointed. I will go back to try one more time.

Very nasty experience plastic wrapper in my phở and choke ants in veggies. Yuck

Tofu and veggie Phở was the beef broth mind if I do… You are perrfect… everything this woman longs for in a bowl-​o-​PHO!

I’m Vietnamese and I’ve had Phở from most places in town and others around the island. First off let me say that NO ONE in Hawaii has «awesome» Phở, especially compared to Cali or homemade from my awesome Grammy.
Well anyway for here in Hawaii, Phở Saigon has the best priced Phở for the taste and proportion. The only other place that comes close is Phở One down the street but it tastes almost the same but at a higher cost and maybe a little less in serving size.
The rice dishes are okay here but if you want rice go order a broken rice dish from Phở One. Best so far here in all my years in Hawaii.

The restaurant is very cozy but clean. Portions aren’t too bad and the soup is about average. Coming from the East side, this is one of the better Phở restaurants in the area if you don’t want to drive all the way to Chinatown. Staff here is very friendly and parking is free with validation.

Of all the 3 Phở restaurants in the Ala Moana /​Keeaumoku St. area that my Unilocal iPhone app told me there is, I chose this place over Green Papaya and Saigon Pearl — in the vicinity of Ala Moana Shopping Center, but not quite. Saigon Pearl didn’t have any good reviews from the Unilocalers, so I decided that, since I did go to Green Papaya already, might as well go eat Phở and review a new place.
It was after 1:30pm as I arrived on a Saturday afternoon after shopping at Wal-​Mart and recharging my iPhone at Starbucks. I took the bus here, so if you need to park somewhere, best bet would be Wal-​Mart, Ala Moana, or one of the many side street parking options (good luck).
Located on Keeaumoku Street, literally across the street from Wal-​Mart, it is in a weird psuedo strip mall complex of restaurants and mixed businesses. This place is pretty much a hole in the wall if you are not looking for it. The place was kind of packed, but I got in, the server looked at me, I signaled «1» to him with my finger and he directed me to the table right near the door. I guess that was ok I guess.
I ordered the rare steak + well done flanks Phở with extra noodles. Along with that, the summer rolls. This time around, the summer rolls were not really fresh. I tried to peel them apart, and I could tell by touch that it was previously frozen or in the refrigerator for a while. I didn’t care too much as I ate though. First time squeezing hot sauce in the summer roll sauce though to spice it up. It was a unique experience, no doubt! Once the Phở came out, I noticed that the bowl wasn’t too deep and I just powered in the extra noodles, bean sprouts, and the basil into the awesome broth. Made a small mess, but that’s ok. After a filling meal, I thought it was pretty decent, although it could have been better. I guess they can’t get away with having smaller portions, especially with the Phở and charge regular /​comparable prices to make decent money.
The experience could have been better, but I didn’t say nothing to them. It was a nice respite from the real world and I could not ask for anything more. This place is decent for the amount of money you are shelling out. But be warned, I would rather take my money to Green Papaya, if given a choice.

The family wanted to try sushi II, but the wait for sushi was about an hour, so we went over to Phở Saigon. I was a little heartbroken after I had been set on having sushi… but I found the «Look Fun» section on the menu and got excited. I love look funn noodle soup. I ordered look fun soup with chicken. What I got was phở noodles (NOT THE SAME! I even asked the waitress if what I got were look fun noodles. She said: «usually look fun noodles are thick»… sooooo why do I have thin noodles in my bowl?) with dry chicken and salty chicken broth. No thank you. The food is a little pricey for vietnamese too.

I am not that fond of this place as everyone else seems to be. Located by ala moana, the parking is pretty hard to come by. The place must be making some $$$ considering they are moving locations to the old news building on Kapiolani (huge venue).
Now if you would have asked me how I liked phở saigon two years ago, I prolly would have said it was the best phở i’ve ever tasted. That was before I moved away for school to a very cold place where my phở trips were weekly.
Back to the present, the phở is okay, nothing special. The fried rolls are good, but dude $ 9!!!, get out of here. That is like buying another phở. No thanks. I would come here only if you’re in ala moana and craving phở, but don’t come here if you are willing to drive elsewhere. It’ll save you money.

It was already 10PM and my family is hungry like crazy. D: When you are desperate for food, you would eat anything. So around the area of Ala Moana most restaurants are closed already. My dad was driving around and we saw this place. The menu posted on the windows look good, so we decided to just eat here. When we saw the menu we were kind of shocked at the prices. But we had no choice but to order. It was more shocked when I realize the amount of food they give was not worth it. $ 10 for a plate like this… and it don’t even taste good. Should have went to Yummy instead. Buuuu.
I told my friend about this place that I went to, and she even said I’m a dummy for going there to eat. Aiya… I learn my lesson now. Sometimes you can’t eat anything when you’re hungry.

I just came here today… and I have to say that I think I’ve found my favorite spring roll place.
My boyfriend and I were deciding where to go for lunch and we just so happened to be at walmart and what happens to be across the street but Phở Saigon.
We just missed the lunch rush so we didn’t have to wait for a table. The servers were nice, and although all the tables were busy, the workers weren’t rushing us or taking long for our orders. We ordered the spring rolls (8 rolls) and the well done flank. I really enjoyed the spring rolls. I’m not too familiar with anywhere else that has BOMB spring rolls so please feel free to suggest anyplace ^_​_​^
The phở was good. There was so much meat in ours. I get really full trying to eat the noodles plus the meat so of course the boyfriend was happy and willing to take some of meat into his phở.
The workers were very nice and were even willing to move us to another table since our table was kind of small. Refilled water even when it was only ½ full. Checked on us to make sure we didn’t need anything else.
Total bill was about $ 30. Which wasn’t too bad considering other places we paid maybe $ 40. I’m still looking for that great phở place thats reasonably priced.

Phở Saigon was one of the very first places I’ve eaten Phở several years ago. I can see why I don’t ever eat here anymore…
If it weren’t for the convenient location on Koreamoku and slightly extended hours, I don’t see how Phở Saigon would still be afloat.
Service is not too friendly and very little meat is given in the small bowl of Phở. Maybe these guys need to get out more and try some out some of their competition’s Phở.
And maybe even take a few notes…

Phở Saigon was the very first place I ever had phở. A friend took me and my BF here when we were hungover and I was so happy to have discovered a new food which magically cures drunken ailments! Fast forward two years and I’ve eaten quite a bit of phở since then. Phở is now my BF’s favorite food and we eat it at least two times a week!
Last night my BF & I were starving and in need of a phở fixing. It was 10 pm at night and all of our usual phở spots were closed. Phở Saigon just happened to be open until 11 pm. Yes! And then we went to Phở Saigon and it turned into a NO.
In comparison to other phở places in town, Phở Saigon’s portions are small and there’s very little meat in the dish. I ordered chicken phở, where’s the chicken?! Not in my dish! Maybe they forgot to put it in? The service here is best labeled as «disgruntled and tired.» I don’t want cranky pants with my chicken-​less phở. I want happy people with heaping amounts of chicken on my beautiful bowl of noodles! But I guess that’s why other phở places close at 9 pm. They need to go home and get their beauty rest.

I may be one of the few but OMG I can’t say it enough that I’m sorry but, I ABSOLUTELY HATE PHO!
I love saimin and ramen but phở… no not so much. I’ve tried several phở joints in Kauai, Oahu and San Fran so I ain’t judging just from one experience.
After recovering from surgery back in Aug 2009, my ex-​boyfriend who was taking care of while I was recovering decided to take me here since we where already across the street at Wal-​Mart. Maybe I agreed because I decided to give it another go and have a change of heart OR maybe because I was so OD’d and f**k up from the drugs and pain killers!!! anywho… as we entered I wanted to throw up with how strong and awful the smell was, within 5min I felt all dizzy and as if I was high!
The food was awful! the ex ordered the beef phở while I had the same and we had a side of spring rolls and lemongrass chicken. I shiet you not I yelled at him while we where eating to hurry it up and pack this «food» to go because I was over the whole food and smell!
Since then I’ve never entered a phở restaurant and it still remains the same that *I STILL HATE PHO* !!

Warning: this is probably the least helpful review for this restaurant.
I only came in here for a Vietnamese iced coffee for takeout, but if anyone’s wondering how it was, it wasn’t very strong at all and it tasted like coffee candy (tons of sugar).
Sorry, I intend to come in here one day and try the phở so I’ll add more to this review when I do! It did smell really good inside though (as do most phở places).

This is one of the haunts I miss the most since moving away from town. Service here is awesome and when I used to come here more frequently they always knew my name and order.
The phở here is wonderful… served piping hot. I always get the phở with tendon and rare beef, sometimes brisket too if I’m feeling extra hungry. The rare beef is soft and thin and they ask you if you want the meat outside or inside. I hate when places assume I want the meat inside… The brisket is a little bit on the hard side, but still tasty. The bowl is pretty big… sometimes it doesn’t even look like I ate anything by the time I’m super full. Oh yeah, and I always get an extra side of round onions. It’s $ 2 but they give A LOT, and I love onions.
Summer rolls here are good too. One order comes with 2 rolls cut into 4 pieces. Each piece has 2 pieces of shrimp and a generous amount of veggies and noodles. My favorite is the spring rolls. Soooo delicious! I think the regular order has 6 rolls. To wash it all down, I usually get the iced coffee with condensed milk. :) Phở + spring rolls + iced coffee = one very happy, full, & satisfied Jamie.

If you like phở, this restaurant knows how to make a phở-​kin delicious phở.
The broth is one of the best I’ve tried and I’ve tried a lot of phở places, but always keep coming back to this one. I swear they put something in the broth that keeps me coming back for more… the broth is so tasty with just the right amount of star anise and flavor. I like it spicy, so I always add the dark, almost black, garlic hot sauce, some Sriracha and hoisin in my broth to add more flava! Rare beef on the side and sometimes I’ll add some shrimp, too. Lately I’ve been getting double rare beef on the side.
The spring rolls are also one of the best I’ve tried on the island.
Dang, who I’m not sure if he’s the Manager gives excellent service. He always remembers my order and knows to bring «extra» long leaf, which tastes like cilantro/​chinese parsley.
This is my «go to» place if ever I’m feeling sick or craving comfort food. I always feel better after eating phở.

Not as good as phở bistro but seriously it is a supa close second!!! The items were very fresh, the rare steak was soft, the brisket was a little tough, and the tendon/​tripe was very fresh and good…
Got a seat right away even with a full house at lunch time and the wait help was ok. Had to wait for water… serve
Ourselves chopsticks and napkins (the usual).
My tummy was happy and full, yours will be too! Winner!

If you’re ordering a lot of food, request for the bigger table. (Smaller tables are too confined.) Normally we would share our Phos together and order other more appetizers (maximize our spending budget). Bowls were set on individual eating so we had to order our own Phở. (So prices is a little more than I would pay at other Vietnamese restaurants). The food was really tasty and very filling. Selections is very wide with other rice & vermicelli entrees.
One note, every time I dine at a Vietnamese restaurant, the water has a funky aftertaste, so avoid drinking the water here and go straight for soft drinks.
Validated parking within the old Sam Sung Parking Plaza or opt for meter parking along Keamouku street. Parking is very limited since there is a Karaōke bar near bar.
Other than that I recommend this place to friends & family. It’s nice to know there is other restaurants nearby home!

This place grew on my because of their great service. My phở-​buddy Angie and I used to go to Green Papaya on our weekly phở outings, but we started coming here because they are friendly and they are not stingy with their sides. We don’t even have to order anymore; we just tell them we want «the usual» and they bring it out right away. We always get a side of raw sliced onions, and they bring us a massive plate.
I ordered the pineapple shake once, and the nice, helpful young boy tried to dissuade me, telling me it was too expensive. I should have listened to him; the shake was just canned pineapple blended with condensed milk and ice and was not good. And it was expensive. Next time, if the waithelp tells me not to order it, I won’t! Now if I want to splurge, I get the fresh squeezed orange juice, accented with some sugar! =P Yes, it’s pricey at $ 4.95, but worth every cent!

I wanted to go to Green Papaya but they are closed until June, so I just pulled out my trusty Unilocal App and ended up at Phở Saigon.
Like so many other Vietnamese places, the exterior doesn’t really really divulge the graciousness of staff and fantastic aromas inside.
When I walked in and saw the place packed with people who looked happy to be there, and it seemed more than half were eating Phở. I figured that was a good sign. The place is very small, but I found it charming. The service was prompt and gracious — what more can you ask for?
I ordered the summer rolls and tendon Phở. The summer rolls were quite good, very fresh tasting. The Phở was great! The noodles were the right texture and the broth was very flavorful. I found the portion to be just right… though it was so good, I am sure I could have eaten more.
Although it wasn’t «cheap» I was fine with it, I didn’t feel ripped off. I enjoyed the food and the experience. I’ll be baaaaaaack. In fact, I’m kind’a craving it. Might head down there today!