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Le Saigon
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
22 reviews for Le Saigon
Review Highlights
"Le Saigon is a quality Vietnamese BYOB on the Main Line."
(in 5 reviews)
"The broken rice was perfect and the meatball skewers app..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...place in Media I would recommend their Pad Thai much more."
(in 3 reviews)
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22 reviews in English
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Review from Percy N.
12/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
After reading the other reviews, I had a little trepidation but had a good experience here. There aren't too many places serving Vietnamese cuisine around the main line.
The vermicelli bowl came with a spring roll and both were delicious. I decided to go with a fusion dish of spicy shrimp lemongrass soup with vermicelli noodles. Shrimp portion was generous and were perfectly cooked.
Some reviewers complain about the price, but the place I usually go to in Norristown charges even more. $8-$10 for a lunch menu is about what one would expect to pay.
And what made me give them an additional star is the fact that they are the only place outside Philly where I can get a Banh-mi. Most bahn-mi were $6.95
Wish the Vietnamese coffee came with the authentic coffee filter and a small pot of hot water.
Next time will try one of their desserts. -
Review from Steve S.
10/16/2011
There should be additional Yelp designations, such as "It's good for a strip mall on the Main Line" or "It's good enough for Downtown Philadelphia". Believe me, it would set the proper expectations.
You have to come here with your "strip mall on the Main Line" set of expectations, however you choose those expectations to be.
I've seen complaints here about the prices. I decided to go for a chicken curry lunch special for $7.95 which may not be the most authentic thing on the menu, but it's the most reasonable, which really means it's just overpriced by $2.
Flavor-wise it was good. The curry had a nice kick. The portions were just right. The chicken noodle soup was just good enough to not be totally bland. I did enjoy the iced coffee splurge I took on at the end. Good coffee kick in that drink, and at $3.50, again, it was overpriced by about $2.
I wouldn't tell you to go out of your way for this place, but it's good enough for a change of pace. -
Review from Kim N.
Washington, DC
10/2/2011
I have high expectations since I grew up eating home-cooked Vietnamese food and for the past few months, I've been living in Hanoi. I was in the mood for a bowl of pho and my dad didn't want to stop off in Chinatown after picking me up from the airport, so we opted to stop here since it was close to their house. I got a bowl of the rare beef and meatball pho to go while my dad opted to try their asparagus and crab soup. Total for the two items, $16. Yikes! (A bowl of pho in Hanoi is about $1; a bowl of pho in D.C. is $6 - $8. They were charging $10 for theirs)
The broth was okay, a tad salty, but when I added bean sprouts to the broth, it evened out. The broth lacked the subtle aromatic flavor that I'm accustomed to in a bowl of pho. The noodles were a bit chewy, and the meat was a bit on the tough side. -
Review from Andrew K.
Bryn Mawr, PA
12/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ugh. We bought a Groupon and tried them out. Wouldn't go back if it was free. My meal was edible with enough Sriracha, but my wife and son left hungry because they wouldn't eat their meals. Someone needs to open a good Vietnamese restaurant on the Main Line - this isn't it.
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Review from Michael C.
Chesterbrook, PA
12/14/2011
Place was awful. Went in and my party was the only customers. Place smelled like moth balls. Portions were especially small, overpriced by 3-4$, and didn't taste all that great. The waiter was playing games on his I-touch the entire time and we had to go up to the counter to ask him for the checks. Will not ever go back.
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Review from Danan R.
11/6/2011
They finally have pho! But I was in a charbroiled pork chop mood. The pork was very tender and moist although the seasoning is a bt different from nam phuong's. The broken rice was perfect and the meatball skewers app was great. Prices reflect the area so although they might be high for Philadelphia, they are actually relatively low for the main line. About $8 for platters, $6 for banh mi, ad $10+ for entrees.
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Review from brian r.
Harrisburg, PA
11/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
I was surprised to find this place in a strip mall, but the inside is actually quite nice. Come to think of it, this place is one of the nicer looking Viet restaurants I've ever been to.
Foodwise, I enjoyed the Bun Thit Nuong. Portions were city sized (on the smaller side), sauce was decent, and the noodles were tasty. -
Review from Sophie L.
Devon, PA
12/12/2010
I like this place.. quite and good service.. but don't like the music.. looks like the CD has scratches and it repeats over and over one song.. I wanted to eat really fast and get out..
Taste: alright (I ordered pho for safe..I might try 'real dish' later..) -
Review from Phoenix L.
Philadelphia, PA
4/6/2011
Way overpriced for what it is. The food is mediocre at best with portion sizes half of what they should be for the price. $9 for a kiddie sized portion of bland pho. My lemongrass beef had no lemongrass, instead, heaps of oily hoisin sauce with 4 small pieces of beef and overcooked vegetables.
Service is slow, and oddly enough, showerheads for sale at the counter....
I'll give 1 star for the do-it-yourself spring roll that was the only saving grace, but it hardly made up for the rest. -
Review from Dave H.
11/1/2008 6 photos
Le Saigon is a quality Vietnamese BYOB on the Main Line. (Not into Vietnamese cuisine? Try their Thai dishes.) Their dining room is comfortable, well-decorated, and has decent seating, so don't be afraid to bring friends.
Ha, our server, took our orders with a minimum of fuss - less than 10 minutes later, she brought out our food! Talk about speedy.
I had their charbroiled pork on steamed rice (C2 on the menu, com thit nuong; $7.95). The serving was smaller than I expected, and the fish sauce a bit tart, but the tender, delicious pork left me satisfied. Rice was cooked right, and the side of pickles was perfect.
Le Saigon provides fast, friendly service, an even faster kitchen, and prices that won't break the bank. If you're out in the suburbs, stop in! -
Review from Sarah K.
Philadelphia, PA
12/19/2010
Pass....
The food quality was not what I expected. For what they were charging, i was expecting superb food. I ordered the shrimp with broken rice. What i got was 4 grilled shrimp on a bed of rice for $12.
Been to better Vietnamese restaurant in Philly -
Review from E A.
Wayne, PA
7/23/2008
I have to say I'm surprised that there are not more reviews for this restaurant on the board, but then most people seem to go to Philly for their food.
Hmmmm?
I guess you might say this is a little hidden spot in the shopping center and easily missed if you do not know it is there. (Near Einstein Bagels, Bravo Pizza. In front of the Acme grocery store in the Paoli shopping center. To the far right of Boston Chicken).
I like it here very much as it is QUIET, the food is good, the people are nice and so is the clientele.
Bring your own bottle.
They have lots of rice dishes that you can have with chicken, shrimp or beef. The same with noodles and the above C, S or B. Then you pour a sauce over it. The grilled shrimp are great.
The Pad Thai my daughter tells me is nothing special here. It is a little dull and I'm getting tired of it- it could use more citric juice or something, a few more nuts on top, etc. (I had Pad Thai at the place on the corner in Media and I can now tell the difference. If I remembered the name of the place in Media I would recommend their Pad Thai much more.)
But I do enjoy their deep fried sea bass with sauce on the side. It is one of their more expensive dishes at about $27? So compared to that the other dishes running about $15 and up are middle of the road I'd say.
Lunch totals about $10-$15 a person.
The dishes on special here tend to be just that. Special and prepared fresh. The people in the neighborhood all know about this restaurant and I find that we consider this place to be on our list of "make us feel right at home".
You do not need to get dressed UP to go here.
I would not consider this a place to bring the kiddies though you could I guess.
I come here when I want to meet a friend for lunch or go out with another couple for dinner.
In comparison I consider Nectar's to have good food on the whole (pick and chooses), but is extremely noisy, over crowded, overpriced and snobby. They think they are a city restaurant in the burbs. I can go to Philly for that. Hey you might like that?
And besides, I remember when it was Pizza Hut. -
Review from Frank R.
PA
4/21/2008
Le Saigon is one of those places that when I go I say, "I should come here more often." The rice noodle bowls are super tasty with the jasmine sauce. The appetizers are also great...light and very good.
Service is swift and helpful if you don't know what you want to order. I always walk out of there feeling good about the food and the price/value. Hey, I think I'll go there tomorrow night. -
Review from Adam H.
Radnor, PA
8/7/2009
I've been here for takeout twice, so this is a condensation of those visits.
Dishes ordered were; Crispy Spring Rolls, BBQ'ed Meatball Skewer, Caramel Shrimp in their Clay Pot, Ha Long Bay Seafood Soup and one Phu with lean beef. Vietnamese Coffee was also ordered on one visit.
First, they are adamant that this is French infused and essentially "high class" southern Vietnamese food. Little of the normal Vietnamese peasant fare which makes up the bulk of most American experience with Vietnamese food is on offer. (The Pho, in fact, was an off menu order, because the person who originally recommended this place said they would make it if you asked.) So picture what Diem, you know, before Kennedy threw him that little coup, was eating for his last supper. That's what they're going for here.
The food is very well done, over all. Most meats are grilled over charcoal and are flavorful and juicy. Sauces and stocks tend to be complex and very well spiced (meaning with spices not chiles). Since this is southern Vietnamese the use of sweet spices, particularly Saigon cinnamon, is both readily apparent and to be expected. Seafood was fresh, well cooked and abundant.
For less than 18 dollars the Ha Long Bay Soup included the compulsory Asian cut squid, several large (say U-18- 20) shrimp a few very small pieces of lobster (which was nice) and a couple of Diver size "Scallops" (though I think those were actually Skate cut with a ring mold). It includes plenty of fresh vegetables, has a complex and very pleasant (though not chile hot enough) stock and feeds two. That, to my way of thinking, is one hell of a deal.
The meatballs, by the way, are the dish that all those places offering bogus "lettuce wrap" appetizers are copying. These are delicious flat rectangular hunks of ground beef, skewered, charbroiled, cut into bite sized pieces and served with lettuce, pickled carrot, lettuce, rice paper to wrap it and peanut sauce. And the peanut sauce is no grocery store peanut buttered, thinned and Asianed up. It's spicy, intense and not at all sweet.
The Vietnamese Coffee is, well, Vietnamese Coffee. It's like iced coffee, but don't let that fool you. It's sinister. If you have a heart condition, here be monsters. The stuff is, like all good Vietnamese Coffee, exactly like Methamphetamine, only you'll lose slightly less teeth drinking the coffee. That's because they use sweetened condensed milk, which is about as sugary as caramel, to cream and sweeten it. So it's heady, dangerous and delicious. God love the Vietnamese.
All to go orders are packed with noodles, protein and vegetables and stocks packed separate, so nothing overcooks. Which is a definite plus.
All in all, if you're in the neighborhood; Go.
One final and additional note; Le Saigon is BYOB. For the purists in the house allow me to recommend that you head to the Beer Yard in Wayne before heading over to Le Saigon for dinner. There you can pick up Beer "333" (pronounced "ba ba ba"), the pride of Da Nang for over a 110 years. The beer is kept at room temp. in the rear left the Beer Yard. -
Review from Jaci Y.
Philadelphia, PA
4/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Everything I've had (vermicelli bowls, pho) has been decent for the Main Line - flavorful and fresh. The vermicelli bowl was sadly low on fresh herbs, and the pho broth was not as flavorful as what you can find downtown on Washington Ave. I will go back, but only if I can't make it downtown or out to Frazer.
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Review from Eugene H.
10/14/2009
What the deuce?? I've never been to a vietnamese place that doesn't serve pho!...or vietnamese food for that matter.
Their 'special' vietnamese soup is actually just wonton soup with a some chicken in there. The broken rice dish which is also another staple of vietnamese food was closer to chinese food since the 'spring rolls' were more like a 'chicken roll' consistency that you get in dim sum. We also tried the pad thai noodles, which really was bland lo mein...but hey it works when you're hungry.
Service is actually pretty good and the location is really convenient. I would say come here if you want to try a weird chinese version of 'vietnamese' food. -
Review from Christopher R.
Philadelphia, PA
6/6/2011
So while at work, my preceptor says to me "Lets order something different for lunch today!" I am always down for some different food so I said sure and we googled what restaurants were around us. We were both feeling Vietnamese so Le Saigon was chosen and we placed our order. I ordered the Golden Curry Chicken, it cost me $11.60. It was a decent amount of chicken, peppers, and onions but they made my preceptor and I share one quart of rice which definitely wasn't enough for both of us. I don't remember what my preceptor got but he seemed to enjoy it because it was gone quite fast. Overall, I feel that it Le Saigon's prices could be a little lower for the amount you get. Also, I picked up my food and brought it back and inside the bag there was nothing but our meals. No utensils, napkins, or anything of the sort. Aside from these few things though the food was good, not bad for an occasional Vietnamese craving.
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Review from Molly G.
Liberty, PA
10/27/2008
I do takeout here all the time. I love their spring rolls and snow rolls. The pad thai is good but not very exciting. Everything I've had is good. The service is quick and the staff is very pleasant.
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Review from Tom H.
Wayne, PA
2/15/2010
I eat there for lunch a lot. Friendly service. Plenty of seats. Nothing fancy. Consistently delicious. I am no expert. I just like the food. And there's a great hardware store nearby. Eat food you don't understand; buy tools you didn't know existed. The perfect lunch.
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Review from Bill R.
Wayne, PA
7/2/2010
My wife and I went there tonight for dinner. It is quite good but the portions are getting smaller and the prices are going up. We started going there in the late '90s and the Bun was about $6.50 (with chicken) and the bowl was filled past the top. Now it's $8.75 and the content barely reaches the top. Still good but getting pricey for what you get.
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Review from Emily L.
Devon, PA
2/12/2010
I love Le Saigon! I eat here every week, and sadly get the same thing so I may not be much help, but it's so delicious.
I get the chicken rice vermicelli soup which is around $4- it could be considered bland, yes but delicious.
I then order this vermicelli bun noodle salad with lemongrass chicken. The chicken is always cooked to perfection with great seasonings.
Delicious! -
Review from Gwen G.
Media, PA
10/29/2009
Best of the Main Line? Then I am afraid to eat in the other Main Line restaurants! I had lunch here and it was simply, inedible. First, I ordered the chicken coconut soup. I took one sip and thought my head would explode from the amount of salt in it. I sent it back immediately. The waiter offerred no apologies, no alternatives. Just picked it up and walked away. It didn't even taste like coconut. Just salt water. I then had the vegetarian spring roll on vermicelli. The noodles were dry and cold with about two tablespoons of sauce served on the side and the spring roll tasted like someone squirted a bottle of Glass Plus on it. It had the worst taste and smell you could imagine. I spit out my first bite and told the waiter to wrap it up. I took it outside and dumped it in the trash can. I couldn't believe how horible it tasted! I didn't want to send it back because it would have embarrassed me, but really.....
