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Categories: Vietnamese, Sandwiches [Edit]
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA"I loved this place. Came here for Happy Hour and had a nice glass of wine for $3 and split the pita pizza with Gorgonzola, grapes, and…" read more »
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Sandwich was fine (made better by a gratis swap of carrots for lettuce/tomato), but it's the coffee that makes me a fan. I was in dire need of caffeine after Markus Schulz induced insomnia (this is not a bad thing), but was hesitant when the guy running the place told me it's made with usually not very healthy condensed milk. After taking a look at the nutritional label (thanks!) I decided I earned this after four hours of dancing (I also earned a breakfast torta at Burrito Express),
Every sip was fantastic. Slightly sweet. Very, very good.
This place sketches me out.
I'm pretty confident it's just a front for some sort of illegal bullshit. It's never open. The dude who works there is always in the back. The place is almost always empty but they've somehow managed to stay in business.
SKETCH.
I live next door. Literally. Moved in a month ago but I've always lived in the area and have walked by this place countless times. The posted hours have nothing to do with the time that this place is open, and more often than not it's closed.
For years I was too scared to try the food here, but the convenience and low prices won me over a year or so ago and I tried their spring rolls... they were terrible. So bad that I spit out the first bite.
Now I'm steps away and all these positive Yelp reviews are giving me the itch to try this place again.... but I'm pretty scared of consuming anything that comes out of a place that smells & looks like this place does.
We'll see what happens. Maybe the dude who owns this place will see this review, realize I'm onto his drug trafficking / prostitution ring / human organ sales / whatever else is going on there besides health code violations and kill me in my sleep. He wouldn't have to go far.
SKETCH.
Their spicy vegetarian Bahn Mi with avocado and tofu is the most happiness that four dollars can possibly buy.
Only complaint: this guy keeps very sporadic hours. Just when you need him most, he's always closed. I thought he closed at 6:30, but then I kept getting burned when I showed up at 6:20, so I started calling ahead... Now I'm noticing he'll close as early as 5:00 on many days. And some days, like if it's raining, he might be closed all day. The weird hours wouldn't be so torturous if the food wasn't so delicious! C'mon, Saigon Deli, quit jerkin me around!
Are you kidding me? I love this place and the silly little man who runs it! The veggie sandwich makes my eyes roll to the back of my head in ecstacy. Add avocado and you'll need a moment of silence to pay homage to the greatness of this hearty sandwich. I finally tried the bbq chicken sandwich and I sh*& you not I had to pick up the phone and call 2 people plus text another to let them know just how amazing my food was. Apparently I need to try their spring rolls also, perhaps tomorrow! I don't understand how anyone can rate any lower than 5 stars. OH! AND IT"S CHEEEEAP!!!!!!!! It's the kind of sandwich where after you've eaten you wait for a belch to come so you can get just one more hint of the taste!! Mmmmn! mmmmn! mmmmn!
Don't listen to the negative reviews. They must be unhappy people ;-).
If you look at this place from the outside, it does not look very inviting. I have walked by this place for years and never went it. I was really craving a Vietnamese sandwich in this neighborhood and decided to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised. The bread was crunchy and barbecue pork was well marinated. Their SFDPH inspection score was 98 helped alleviate my concern about cleanliness. The best part is that you can get a yummy sandwich for under $5. This is not the place that you'd take your out of town guest. It's a great place to pick up a sandwich if you want to bring a picnic to Golden Gate Park or the Panhandle.
Dig it. close to home, owner is friendly, cheap and great sandwiches. Get the BBQ chicken, not really "bbq" just has a real yummy flavor-oh and skip the cheese. Its cheddar that really just makes it tast like a cheese sando-not bad, but not what youre looking for with a nam sando. I always try to order the shrimp spring rolls, but he's always "out" / doesnt actually carry shrimp.
The restaurant is nothing special. It is a few blocks from the panhandle and a couple more from the Haight Ashbury. The only reason this place is getting a high of a rating as it is, is their prices.
They don't make the best food here, not the fastest food here either. Actually the food doesn't even taste that great. It is just a very economic restaurant in an expensive area.
Crazy cheap and good.
The restaurant itself is nothing to look at. But if you phone in 10 min, you can pick up and enjoy it in the beautiful Panhandle or the comfort of your home instead.
Since their menu is not available online, I've uploaded a pic of it for future use.
Good price for reasonable food.
I had the springs rolls and a bbq pork sandwich; not bad, but nothing to write home about.
I'll go back for the price :)
I've walked by this place a bunch of times, but I've always been kind of afraid to go in. It's not because I don't like Vietnamese food or because I don't believe the "VEGETARIAN FOOD" portion of the awning. Rather, the last two places that occupied this building since I moved in to the neighborhood have closed, and I've been assuming for awhile now that this one would follow suit. No need to get attached to a place only to see it crash and burn, right?
Well, the 43 dropped me off across the street from Saigon Cafe the other day, and since I was sleep-deprived and dreading the five-block walk home (I know--I'm lazy), I decided to stop inside.
I was kind of grossed out by the interior. It would be clean if it were in the Tenderloin, and sometimes these gross places have the absolute best food, but this place has only been around for two years tops, and it looks like it hasn't been cleaned since 1972. When I saw the guy preparing my vegetarian sandwich, I knew I was going to give this place two stars. It was the ol' we'll-put-avocados-and-tomatoes-in-a-roll-and-call -it-a-sandwich deal. I took my bag, and when I left the store, a 21 rolled up to whisk me home.
When I finally got up all the stairs, found a plate, got ready for bed--I have a night job--and opened the sandwich, I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted really good, and it had much more than just avocados and tomatoes. I can't say exactly what it had, but I'm pretty sure it was, in fact, vegetarian. I also think it had MSG.
So order a cheap sandwich to go, and spend as little time inside this place as possible.
This place definitely feels like a winner. Two plastic tables, a fridge with drinks. A menu that barely ever climbs above $5. A block from the Panhandle.
We tried the veg. sandwich, the pork sandwich, and a pork rice noodle salad. The veg. sandwich was excellent, full of cucumber, avocado, and tasty pieces of tofu, along with little slices of jalapeno. The bread was crisp and fresh. The pork sandwich is tasty as well.
The salad was outstanding. Very fresh-tasting and bursting with food. Niblets of pork with ground peanuts, carrots and rice noodles. But underneath is the payday: lettuce and sprouts, doused with a sweet/spicy dressing. Toss all this with the meat and noodles and chow down. About $6 or $7.
The service was good, too, very friendly and courteous. Everything made fresh. Carry on, Saigon Cafe-Deli.
I HAVE to say it once more... Saigon Deli is amazing. I've tried probably a dozen different vegan banh mi across the city and Fremont/Newark and this my Yelp friends is my favorite. Don't think twice, just go, eat, and be happy.
Oh yeah. The spicy vegetarian banh mi here is soo amazingly delicious. It reminds me of childhood.… Read more »
The only Vietnamese food in my hood, that I know of
the bahn mi is pretty good...... and the man behind the counter is super nice.
the BBQ pork vermicelli...not so good. I felt like I was eating beef (pork) jerky on noodles.
Strictly sandwiches from now on.
I ordered the spring roll and a sandwich with the ham. Both items were delicious. The spring roll was nice and fresh. The dip was good. It needed hot sauce, but that's just me. I love spicy. Same goes for the sandwich. It is delicious. It is better than the ones from Irving Cafe.
The man who made the delicious food is very friendly.
This was take-out.
Conflicted!!
Saigon Cafe & Deli uses STYROFOAM! Dude, join the 90's at least -- that's AWFUL. For this horrible sin, only single star can Saigon attain.
BUT, unlike most evil places, I really do enjoy Saigon. It's the kind of place where the chairs are all different (and not on purpose) and there's an out-dated calendar on the wall. The noodles are quality, and the price is PERFECT (seriously, 5 bucks!).
Go to Saigon Cafe & Deli, encourage the dude behind the counter to get rid of the Styrofoam, let me know, and I'll switch my review from the 1 start Saigon has earned, to the 5 stars it deserves.
I've been living in the Panhandle for over three years now and for some reason just haven't come across this little Vietnamese deli. In terms of Vietnamese sandwiches, the guy who runs the place makes a decent bbq pork one. He also makes some gigantic shrimp spring rolls, with a just spicy enough sauce for dipping. They both go down nicely with some Orangina.
My recommendation: Take your food into Golden Gate Park, just follow Hayes Street until you reach the Fuschia Glen entrance, and there are some pretty secluded parts of the park ready to be discovered by you (and the Flower Conservatory is very nearby as well).
I echo everyone else's sentiments:
the vegetarian sandwich is divine. 5 stars everytime.
(I think I want one for lunch, in fact)
The BBQ pork isn't too shabby and I also love the spring rolls.
It is easy on the pocketbook, not a dine-in destination as it is the true definition of a hole in the wall.
I frequently grab a sandwich on the way home and savor every bite. mmmmmm.......
I have only tried their vegetarian banh mi, but it is the best of that ilk I have ever had in the Bay Area. It's not the dessicated kind of sandwich where the bread cuts your gums and sucks out all of the available moisture in your mouth. It's flavorful, good tofu texture, the pickled veg is tasty, and he puts in avocado for an extra 50 cents (I think). Only a whopping $4.
So it's not fancy on the decor, but it's a deli, what do you expect? I'm sure the last thing on their minds is how they can spruce it up using their small profit. The guy who works there (owns it?) is really nice. He brings the food to your table.
SF Food Inspection Score: 96
I needed a Vietnamese sandwich and I needed it now! (then?)
Enough of my play on tenses.
This really did the job. I enjoyed the meat and the bread but there was no pate! Or maybe just not enough. Which is the same as none.
If you're ever in the NOPA area and you can't make it to Irving Cafe because you have to be at work in 30 minutes, this place will do.
Not the best sandwich I ever had, but it's pretty decent and inexpensive. Like everyone said the guy behind the counter is really nice and friendly. He also keeps the place very clean. I wish he could use the vietnamese bread instead of buying the sour dough bread from elsewhere. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
Still on the lookout for the perfect Vietnamese sub...
Saigon Cafe, right across the corner from the John Adams campus of CCSF mixes American and Vietnamese food. This place is a cash only establishment with a diverse selection of fruit juice drinks. Even in my ravenously hungry state, I found the chicken BBQ sub to be too salty. There was also an awkward piece of bony mass in the sandwich halfway through - so be careful while chewing.
This place sticks out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood! But that also makes it the only place to grab cheap Vietnamese food in the area without having to venture up to the Richmond.
The decor here--or lack thereof--gets a zero. It's barren, drab, and completely devoid of any noticeable effort to have made its appearance remotely appealing. Although I suppose that the huge display case next to the counter, which up until a certain point was always super empty and pathetic-looking, but has since become entirely covered with poster-size calendars of Vietnamese beauty queens so as to hide its nothingness, shows signs of improvement.
The sandwiches here are the cheapest in the neighborhood, and at least some are decent. They have American sandwiches as well as Vietnamese sandwiches, and I like that the American ones are still prepared with a baguette and the saucy daikon and carrot fixings (the roast beef was good). However, I really was not impressed with the Banh Mi, and if a Vietnamese deli only makes a so-so Banh Mi, then something's clearly awry.
It's obviously independently run, so I gotta give props to the friendly guy who's almost always working the joint by himself (once I saw a woman there with him). He also makes a pretty good Goi Cuon when I'm fiending for my shrimp rolls.
Stop by for lunch if it's what you're fancying and you're in the area... in any other case, save your appetite for Clement, because this place is nothing special.
Granted, I've only tried one thing on their menu - scratch that, two things as I am just now digging into their soup, but I have to say for a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese deli with not much going on in menu or decor, this place is great. Obviously homemade (you can see him chopping the ingredients right in front of you) and it has three of my favourite things - coffee with condensed milk, vermicelli noodles, and french rolls.
The service is very slow but friendly and you can always call ahead and place an order for pickup. I like the consistency of the taste and you can also make substitutions.
I've only had the spring rolls here, but they are the better than any I've had at any other vietnamese restaurant. Ever.
I have to admit I was a bit concerned about the guy who runs the place - a pleasant man in a beanie. (Yes, I checked twice to make sure he washed his hands before he started in on the spring rolls. Is that awful of me or what?) But the fact that he makes them right in front of you is a testament to the freshness. Quality ingredients. The sauce is delicious too.
A solid antidote to the expensive, trendy/touristy food options in Upper Haight. $3.50 for pretty good Vietnamese sandwiches. My friend who lives near here and works at home breaks here for lunch often, and I see why. But if you need to go out of your way to get your banh mi on, go out of your way to the 'loin...er, I mean "Little Saigon." Whatever.
The $4 Tofu and Avocado sandwich is CRAZY good. Just the perfect amount of spiciness. The pickled carrot/cabbage combined with the tofu is amazing. I keep thinking I should try something else, but even the thought of that sandwich makes my mouth water. The guy who is always working there is super nice. $4 for the sandwich $1 for the tip jar. $5 out tha door.
VERY old fashioned, no frills, cheap, like a time capsule. LOVE it. Vietnamese sandwich is great and so is the coffee.
This one man sandwich shop hits the spot. I am thankful for a bad ass Vietnamese sandwich place near my hood. The vegetarian sandwich is a great mix of spicy and sweet. The avocado balances out the spicy jalapenos. Nothing overpowers, it just works.
This is a three star place largely due to the fact that a student at USF or someone who walks in the neighborhood doesn't really have any choices of where to get cheap Vietnamese. I like that it is here, because it gives me the option of having a vermicelli bowl with BBQ if I so desire, isn't that what America is all about?
The food is more like three stars, or possibly less if you are a real Vietnamese food enthusiast, but beggars can't be choosers and I still go back because they put in a good effort to make due with what they have.
It appears that they don't have a kitchen, so I guess the food is already made and then brought here, and I think they re-heat the meat in the microwave, which is likely why the pork is so chewy.
I haven't had the sandwiches, but from what others have said they also don't seem to be all that spectacular, but I would imagine are good enough in a pinch, and that is why I think the three star rating is appropriate.
People, come on. The delicious sandwiches here are $3. You seriously can't be complaining that "the furniture is mismatched" and the place isn't fancy shmancy. The guy who works there is super, super, super nice, and the food, for the price, is really good. Fresh ingredients, yummy sauces, fast service. All that for under $4. This is the cheapest place I have been to in the city that isn't a fast food chain.
as the self-proclaimed vietnamese sandwich connoisseur, i will say this is the best place for cheap, FRESH sandwiches. i've been fed vietnamese sandwiches from the time i was a kid so i've experienced the worst and best of 'em.
THE GOOD
-fresh vegetables
-warm yummy bread
-you can watch the owner make your sandwich (no shady back-kitchen activities)
-good price for it's quality (i know viet sandwiches are usually dirt cheap, but you can taste it's dirt cheap-ness)
-quick eats for haight area
THE BAD
-cash only
try and believe.
The man who works at this corner shop/deli is indeed very friendly, but it doesn't make up for the dismal food they sell.
I could see possibly eating their food again if I wanted a quick fix of *Vietnamese* food and lived within earshot of this place, had broken legs, no elevator and was stuck on the top floor of a five-story walkup and they delivered. Otherwise, no thanks. I prefer my Vietnamese food to be packed with fresh mint, basil, sprouts and lettuce and have meat in it that tastes like it's been marinated and grilled (as it should be).
I think they make regular sammiches and sell chewing gum. Perhaps those are better choices for next time?
Great value place. High quality dishes at good prices.
This place has 2 go to dishes.
The BBQ sandwiches are the stand out. I love the pork but will order chicken for guests with elementary palettes. I then usually have a nice side dish of spring rolls. I prefer the vegetarian if I'm getting a sandwich. Otherwise, the shrimp or pork are excellent.
Ordered BBQ Pork over rice noodles... thumbs down! The pork tasted like it had been sitting around since yesterday, and the noodles were not accompanied with the traditional crunchy veggies that you'd find at just about any other Vietnamese noodle shop. Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled, but I'll go out of my way to get to Tu Lan on 6th at Market before I come here again. Disappointing, as I was was hoping to find a good Vietnamese place in my neighborhood (Haight). Maybe I need to try the Veggie Sandwich and I'll change my mind about this place...
Saigon Deli is pretty good compared to some of the other places I've been to that have Vietnamese sandwiches. I had the BBQ pork which was very tasty but a wee bit salty. My daughter loves the combination sandwich. Prices for the Vietnamese sandwiches range from $2.75 to $4.00. They also have Rice Noodle dishes.
S.D-C is not the cheapest place to get your Banh mi fix, but it is within walking distance from work, so that extra buck doesn't hurt too much. There isn't much seating, and it is just a tiny mom and pop place, but if you manage to score a seat; you should order some hot soup! You will get a great big bowl, filled with all sorts of things that will fill you for about $5! Now that hits the spot on a rainy day like this...
My 2nd favorite place to get Banh Mi in the City. This one is more expensive than my #1 but much closer to home. The BBQ pork sandwich is just awesome. They need to get a permit for outdoor seating. The City is being a prick to them. Maybe we can campaign on their behalf...
I feel lucky to have such good vegetarian soup and spring rolls within walking distance of my house. This is a pretty bare bones place, but the food is very good and the owners work sunrise to sundown to provide what I consider very good Vietnamese food for very little money.
Bahn mi is outstanding and the service is friendlier than a door-to-door Mormon. What's not to like?
i was a banh mi first timer when i went there last week..yumsmerelda! we walked in and the owner (?) was sitting behind the counter peeling vegetables...nice and fresh-that's how i like it! i had the vegetarian banh mi with avocado. $4! seriously tasty and like nothing i've ever had before...a little on the slow side, but whatevs!
Complimentary Madeleines
Neighborhood: Financial District
Happy Hour
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Category: Sandwiches
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Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Ingleside
Category: Vietnamese
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Category: American (New)
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