Saigon Soul — Restaurant in Melbourne

Our first time at this great little Vietnamese in Ascot Vale and it won’t be our last! It is really cosy with only about 30 seats in the main restaurant but with a large courtyard out the back for when the weather is

The menu has a lot of variety without being massive and it was really hard to choose as it all sounded great. There are definitely some things I will be heading back to try.

We started with the Steamed Prawn Dumplings, VFC (Vietnamese Fried Chicken) and San Choi Bao. The dumplings were full of prawn pieces and the ginger in the sauce was a perfect compliment. The VFC chicken wings were super crunchy and really delish – my favourite starter of the night! Loved the way the San Choi Bao was served, in a tea cup. Not only did it look good but it was super practical for catching all those delicious juices. The San Choi Bao was a little more rustic than usual with chunks of chicken and a hint of honey sweetness.

For mains we had the East Meets West grilled chicken. It was such a generous serve with great flavours. I was tempted by the Pepper Beef and I have to say it was like it was home cooked. The beef was tender, vegies with a hint of crunch and the pepper had just the right amount of kick without being overpowering. A fabulous place, we will...

Sadly, for us, being locals, we have no choice but to avoid this place from now on.

The food is reasonably good in fairness, but the service is atrocious, bordering on theft.

The problem is: they ALWAYS cock.up your order... EVERYtime.

We thought it to be an accident at first, but, after the 4th time, when they openly admit that they give you additional food AND CHARGE YOU FOR IT, it makes you wary. You shouldnt have to check & double check every order, - you should be able to pick it up & enjoy your meal.

They did refund us...all 3 times, but only because we checked & challenged them...

Also: Wait times are TERRIBLE. They always say say: " ready in 10 minutes" & you inevitably wait in queue with uber eats for half an hour.

Sad to have to tell you to avoid. ** In response to Saigon Soul's response:

YES, - I am 100% certain it is Saigon Soul in Ascot Vale.

It definitely DID occur I will not be removing my review, as it is fact & I am a real customer & this is a real experience.

You can refute it all you like, however, your time would be better spent rectifying your business practicises, rather than rejecting reviews from paying...

Absolutely terrible experience. Ordered a pickup at 7.40pm. My wife arrived at 8.10pm to pick up the order. They told here there would be a slight wait. Then, they said they were "out of the signature box" (which is made up of many different items), which after further clarification just meant a certain style of chicken. They re-iterated it would only be 10 more minutes. It comes to 9.00pm, and they then explain that they are "out of everything and need to refund our order" (while in full view still serving rice and other food to other customers).

Terrible service. If you are out of food, or too busy to fulfil the order, tell us at the time of the order, not make us wait an hour and a half and ruin our dinner and evening. We will never be ordering...