Saigon Allee — Restaurant in Victoria

What an unexpected surprise!

We were in Ballarat buying time yesterday, waiting for our bikes to be ready for pick up, so we were on our way to Forge Pizzeria for a vegan pizza. We decided to see what other cafes or restaurants were in the vicinity and stopped at an unassuming restaurant called Saigon Allee to read the menu on the window. We could not see very well through the glass, but the menu had a number of vegan dishes so we decided to walk in.

My wife and I were immediately hit with the most beautiful Vietnamese decor from top to bottom including murals...we could not believe how beautiful this restaurant was, not only was it decorated extremely well, the lighting was also soft and inviting and the music was cool and unobtrusive, allowing for conversation.

The staff from the moment we walked in were courteous, helpful and inviting and appeared legitimately happy. Once we sat down we were given menus and served water, the menu had a number of vegan options and my wife and I ordered 2 entrees to share and a main meal each.

The entrees came out first, they looked amazing and tasted just as great as they looked. We could not believe how beautiful this place was and how great the food was. Once we finished our entrees our plates and cutlery were cleared and replaced by fresh ones, this also added to the whole experience as many restaurants these days have lost the tradition.

Our main meals came out and again the food was fantastic as was the service, we could not stop talking about what a great find this place was and already talking about coming back and taking family and friends.

Unfortunately we totally forgot to take photos of our meal, but my wife did take some photos of the establishment. Honestly, do yourself a favour and have a meal at this place, you will not regret it and I'm sure you will go back.

A big thankyou to the staff at Saigon Allee that looked after us and also to the owner of the establishment who appears to have put a large amount of work into making this restaurant so beautiful. Also a big thank you to the chef or chefs who cooked our exquisite meal, keep up the great work, we...

Went back to try the menu beyond bánh mì. Shared five dishes between four. Flat head fish bites too sweet. Not spicy enough. Lacking punch in the fresh herb selection. Slow cooked beef curry: sweet and mild and boring. Beef not as tender as you might expect. Like a massaman without the peanuts (and I love peanuts) - but if I’d wanted that I’d have gone to one of Ballarat’s many Thai restaurants. Banana leaf barramundi: the green sauce had some sour tang (finally!) but not enough kick. Arguably overcooked. I wish I could say the same about the steamed rice. Personally I don’t enjoy an al dente bite to my rice. The Vietnamese ‘nachos’ turned out to be rice crackers with some yummy juicy toppings that actually had some chilli heat and a decent sweet/sour flavour profile. If the crackers themselves were a bit undercooked in parts I forgave them because it showed they were made from scratch. The other deep fried element of our meal was donuts and they were the best thing we ate. So freshly made and perfectly crispy, moist and succulent. Fun dipping sauces, Thai milk tea and pandan kaya, and a coconut ice cream ball. But again, if I’d wanted Thai-style donuts… where am I? Excited by the owners recent travel shots on their Instagram feed, I came seeking inspired new dishes. The young wait staff were a barrier between me and the owners though - there was no opportunity to discuss their recent trip. The servers could not even tell me how to pronounce the Vietnamese menu items. I left frustrated with my own decision to live in a conservative colonial country town, but next time I will try a Thai place or go back to my fav new Malaysian/Indonesian kid on the block, Flying Chillies. At least at those places I know I will be able to control my own spice levels. I like Asian cuisine to punch me in the face with flavour. Turn up the heat Ballarat!

P.s. forgot to take a single photo so these are by the venue

Original review: A very good pork banh mi. Delicious, if a touch heavy on the (mayonnaise?) that made the last few bites reminiscent...

Named 'Saigon' but inner decor is a strong reference to Hoi An, from Murals to lanterns. We had Pho 4.5/5, tofu 4/5, flathead 5/5 bun bao 3/5 and a few drinks. Great value$

Flathead salad is a highlight, the fish is really good, great use of pickled radish and carrot, yummy fish sauce dressing. I'd like to share my thought with the chef regarding the creative part of using caramelised onion as the bedding though. This is a fusion addition to this Vietnamese dish, and unfortunately it does not bring any value or enrich the taste of this dish at all. In fact we think the salad is perfect, fresh, crisp, balanced, and suddenly the bedding is of soggy caramelised onion. Anyway, it's at the bottom and does not impact the overall dish much, 5/5 still If you like to bring some sweetness of onion in, please use fried shallot!

Pho broth is lovely! Totally enjoy that. The meat is a bit thick and well done but its ok.

Tofu comes as 3 pieces with some sort of tomato relish. I would love this to be cover with abundance (fresh, chopped) tomato, which is a tradition dish, simple ingredienta but always works.

The bao was a bit of a disappointment when one of them is not steamed properly and came out dried and hard like a rock. We drummed on it with the chopsticks and it makes this sounds .. but on feedback of it. The waitress told us they didn't charge us, so we appreciate that.

We had two drinks, all are great. A lemonade and a margarita with this pearl of chilli in it! I dont know how they do it but enjoy it!

By the time we left the restaurant is full! Customers standing waiting for a table, not all surrounding restaurants did that well. Nice ambience over all. Its location is gold, in the middle of everything. Value for $: $70 ish all up, really good values! (Not possible...