Saigon Phở — Restaurant in Ottawa

Update #2 Today I visited and ate at Saigon Pho for what will be the last time. I walked in and upon being seated, I immediately asked for my standard pho tai without even needing to see a menu. A few minutes later another gentleman came into the restaurant; he took yet another few minutes to peruse the menu and ultimately also ordered a pho tai. Somehow, he received his pho tai before I received mine, despite ordering his significantly after mine; clearly, the manager/owner (who was helping out her lone waiter for the day) give my pho tai to the gentleman who arrive after me. It was very obvious; there was eye contact all around as the manager, waiter, and I all realized their mistake. Here's the thing: mistakes happen, but unfortunately they did nothing to rectify their mistake- they did not admit to it, they did not apologize, and they did not compensate me in any way.

Meanwhile, a party of two arrived and were seated at a table next to me. While all this was going on, they remained completely ignored after having being seated; one of the party had to get up from the table and fetch their own menus because the waiter didn't bring them any.

In good conscience I CANNOT recommend this place any longer. It is no longer a question- to me at least- whether standards are fluctuation; Saigon Pho is on a steady decline.

Update #1 Are standards starting to slip? This WAS my favourite pho place in Ottawa but now I'm not so sure anymore. I had to "upgrade" my pho size from medium to large, because I found that portion sizes were decreasing... and I'm a slender guy that doesn't eat huge portions to begin with! Even with the large size, I find that depending on the day and time (presumably due to who's working in the kitchen) the volume of broth you get is variable.

Service is also starting to slip. I'll be the first person to say that I don't like it when wait staff check in with you every 2 minutes- it tends to be intrusive. I like periodic check-ins, or when my drink glass is empty or my meal is finished. That being said, weekend service has declined significantly; you'll get your meal and your first glass of whatever beverage, and then you're on your own until it's time to pay the bill (which you yourself have to go up to the cash to get).

As a result, I've dropped my rating from 5 stars to 4. If I feel the need to drop to 3, I'll look for another routine pho place.

Original My favourite pho place in Ottawa! Great food. My go-to dishes are the pho tai (rare beef pho), and cha gio (deep friend spring rolls) if I want something a little extra. On a cold winter day, ask for some hot jasmine tea and they'll bring a sizable teapot full of it. Service is FAST and friendly- they will definitely remember you after only a couple of visits.

Of all pho places I've tried in Ottawa (so far) this one remains my gold standard; anytime I go somewhere else, I'm always left wondering why I didn't just hold off my pho craving for another day or two until I could visit Saigon Pho.

Highly...

"NO RETURN POLICY" on expensive rotting luncheon meat: Learn about it long after you return your dish! "Hated it" is not quite enough: Tonight, at Saigon Pho on Bank Street, among other 'low food cost' dishes my family was served a Tai Chin with only a few slivers of deep green, (rotting, twice frozen) luncheon meat. I am intimately familiar with the restaurant and supply business, have worked as a waiter, cook, and a manager, know Pho well, and quietly sent the dish back - IMMEDIATELY- with a soft, polite explanation. My appetite was gone, but dinner went on. No problem... Until at the END of the meal I was informed of their "NO RETURN" policy! The waiter and manager told me I was "wrong" and that they would not take the soup they themselves had taken back, off the bill. I paid it as my wife looked on, utterly shocked. Disgusting food, disgusting people. As an addendum over the months I have monitored this review I find it remarkable how efficient they have been at "not helpfulling" negative reviews and replacing them with wildly enthusiastic shallow accolades. Eat there. See the green meat. Try to return ONE THING. Look for ONE FRESH ITEM on the menu. I was polite as could be but was rebuffed... As have been so many others, now "unhelpful" or "voted down." The innumerable reviews from people who say "never had a bad thing to say..." and "Best bean sprouts ever!" should indicate what a sham so many of these positive reviews are. Am I angry? Yep. And I have NOTHING TO DO with the Restaurant business in Ottawa. I just love food, and I care. Now - watch how this review and all other negatives get...

By far, the worst service at a restaurant I have ever experienced. Came with a group of friends and we all ordered vegetarian meals, and asked for vegetarian spring rolls. Waitress brings back meat spring rolls, and after two friends eat it, they realize there's egg or meat in there. I've had this happen a few times at other restaurants and they're very apologetic and offer an alternative straight away. I have never seen a waitress act so poorly than my experience here. At first one friend thought it was just egg and upon saying that we didn't realize there would be egg as there isn't in other vegetarian spring rolls, she just said that's how they do it. Then after another friend realizes it's meat also, she then proceeded to tell us that we infact ordered meat spring rolls. She then said she did think it was strange that we ordered meat spring rolls (???). She was not apologetic what so ever and instead kept arguing trying to insinuate that we were to blame. My friend spoke kindly and said that this was just a miscommunication but we would ofcourse not be able to eat the spring rolls. The waitress immediately reacted with "but you still have to pay for it". When we were paying she wouldn't stop there and now said that she reminded us 3 times that it was meat spring rolls. I can't speak to the food here but the service alone is going to make sure I...