Viet Garden — Restaurant in Calgary

I have been coming here on a regular basis for years as my Mom who ailing enjoys going for Vietnamese food and location is convenient for us. Recently (the last year or so), something about the quality and service has gradually decreased. I am not sure if they are under new ownership/management, but my recent experiences have left me severely unsatisfied. I will no longer go here and will recommend whenever possible that others avoid this place as there are many other quality Vietnamese restaurants in the area. This is unfortunate for Saigon Y2K since I bring them a significant amount of business.

Review the series of events below:

1. Around a year ago - Bowls began to change into smaller portion sizes prices slightly increase.

2. Approximately 6 months ago – My Mother got a severe nosebleed and I rushed her to the washroom to help her. The table had blood all over it and the staff, to my understanding, was fully aware of what was happening. Not ONCE did a staff member ask if everything was okay or check in. When I came out to rush her somewhere for treatment as the bleeding would not stop, I asked to have the food packed and to pay the bill. The staff did not make as attempt to hurry at all with this request and my Mother sat covered in blood in the car, her nose gushing blood, while I waited ~10 min. to pay the bill. I gave them the benefit of the doubt that it must have been exceptionally busy and they were maybe not fully aware of the situation and returned again.

3. Approximately 2 months ago – I found multiple hairs in my soup, one of which appearing to be a white facial or pubic hair after almost finishing the bowl. Repulsed, I obviously stopped eating. I naively decided to return considering the many years prior of good food, I thought this must have been a one off since I have been here 100s of times.

4. Past week – I went for dinner with my Mom and we ordered our usual dishes. Then the waitress spilled a bowl of hot soup on me and all of my belongings (including my phone, which appears to be unharmed). I accepted this was an accident and although aggravated, ate the next bowl of soup that came out since I wasn’t that wet or uncomfortable, but was very hungry. While eating it I found a similar white facial or pubic hair in the soup. At this point I was utterly disgusted and angry so I paid the bill (no discount was offered) without tipping. I would have argued that they give me discount but at this point I felt that it didn’t matter because I was resolved to never return again and no amends would have mattered. I cringe at the thought of how many pubic/facial hairs may have been in my food over the many times I ate here.

I am sure that as other people begin to discover the poor hygiene and service that has now become Saigon Y2K, they will lose more and more business. They have for certain permanently lost a once loyal...

I've been going to this place for years. The servers do not talk much, but they are fast, polite, and efficient. The food is good. For a the most bang for your buck, try some of the vermicelli dishes. They are good enough to feed a 150-180 lb male for about 10 bucks. You definitely don't go away from this place hungry!

The best thing about this place is its location with respect to the university. Just hop on the train, go to saigon and eat lunch, and be back on campus in less than an hour.

The most memorable part about this restaurant is the speed at which the food comes out at. From the time that I order to to the time the food comes out is ALWAYS less than 15 minutes, and OFTEN its only 5 minutes. Hence, its a great place to go if you need to eat reasonably healthy and get out of there quickly.

A lot of the noodle dishes do not have enough vegetables for a balanced diet, but hey, what asian restaurant doesn't.

Happy eating!

2011-06-03 Upon an additional visit I was somewhat disappointed. The servers are still quick as usual. I had a vermicelli with grilled chicken and spring rolls. The chicken was a little drier then usual. Fortunately I do enjoy that dish at most Vietnamese restaurants and was able to over look it's shortcomings.

My grandma ordered beef & tripe noodle soup. This was mostly soup and noodles and had hardly any meat in it. We were disappointed by the lack of food for the usual price we paid.

The taro bubble tea I had was still good. They make the thicker smoothie kind here as opposed to the more liquidy stuff.

Overall an average lunch at an average Vietnamese restaurant. For better food try Tango or La Cochinchine or another viet place on...

This used to be one of our favorite places to eat. We would even drive across the city just to go to Y2K. But lately the service has been going downhill. Takes forever to get the attention of the staff to order your meal, even if you see several just hanging out at the counter with their backs turned to the floor. But if you wave in a frenzy and call out, they'll come to your table. Even if you're the only table seated in the place....

At our last visit we were served raw spring rolls. They were bright pink and mushy in the center. We notified one of the staff and she proceeded to argue with us that is how spring rolls are supposed to look - that taro is supposed to look pink and is mushy. Despite us showing her how the center of the end pieces were brown and cooked.

A minute later she comes to our table and instead of apologizing for saying that raw pork is completely fine, she acts like she's doing us a HUGE favor and will replace the spring rolls because we were "unsatisfied" with the first order.

Excuse me. I didn't realize that it's fine to get food poisoning.

I do not appreciate having to argue with the staff about why it is unacceptable to be served raw pork and then having to be shamed for pointing it out.

We won't be coming back. Service is slow. Food is meh. Staff is rude. There are so many better Vietnamese places...