Dear Saigon — Restaurant in Toronto

Avoid This Place — Worst Vietnamese Dining Experience at Dear Saigon (College Location)

We have never been to a restaurant where the staff showed such an obvious "I don't care" attitude. A woman stood behind the counter and completely ignored the growing line of customers waiting at the entrance — even though she clearly saw us and was not busy. For 20 minutes, she did absolutely nothing while customers seated at tables waved at her repeatedly — and were ignored too. No wonder several people left. One customer left after waiting in line for over 20 minutes without being acknowledged, and another who was already seated gave up and walked out after repeatedly waving at her with no response. There were plenty of empty tables, but they were covered in dirty dishes. Only after we approached her ourselves did she begin cleaning a table for us. No cold water was offered. We had to go up and ask at the counter — she ignored us the first time. We asked again, she said “okay,” and still never brought it. Eventually, another staff member emerged from the kitchen, and he was the one who finally brought us water. We ordered pho with rare beef and beef balls, but she brought us the wrong dish: beef brisket and beef balls. When we pointed this out, she just walked away without saying a word. By then, we had already waited 20 minutes to be seated and another 15 minutes for the food, so we let it go. The pho itself was awful. The broth was bland — it tasted like warm water. Even worse, they didn’t serve the usual accompaniments like bean sprouts, herbs, or lemon. When we asked for those bean sprouts and herbs, she ignored us. When we asked again, she bluntly said they don’t exist. We were speechless — these are basic, standard garnishes that come with pho. When we asked for fish sauce to at least add some flavor, she said they didn’t have any. A Vietnamese restaurant without fish sauce? That is unbelievable. I even showed her a picture of fish sauce in Vietnamese, and only then did she reluctantly say “okay” — but of course, she never brought it. We had to leave early for a doctor’s appointment and barely touched our food. When we went to pay, she asked how we’d like to pay — we said Visa. After paying, we saw there was an extra charge for using a credit card. She never warned us. Most decent places will inform customers beforehand. We’ve eaten once at Dear Saigon in Richmond Hill, and the food and service were much better. But this College Street location deserves negative stars. Horrible service. Zero accountability. And how can you mess up something as basic as pho? This staff member clearly does not care about the customers — or the business. The owner seriously needs to reconsider their hiring choices and improve both service and food. Right now, this place is a total joke. There are so many excellent Vietnamese restaurants in Toronto — do not waste your time or hard-earned money here. You...

I have always been a huge fan of Dear Saigon's (also known as Little Saigon Yonge Street location), so when I found out they had opened a new spot downtown, I was excited to try it out. Unfortunately, my experience at the new location was quite disappointing, and I feel compelled to share my honest review.

First and foremost, the service was noticeably lacking, and to my surprise, it was the owner (I assumed) himself who seemed to be slacking. Upon entering, we noticed that the spoons provided were not clean, and when we brought it to his attention, he explained that it was due to a coating. I suspected it was bleach residue, which was concerning. To make matters worse, when we tried to order their famous signature wings (new on the menu), we were told they were sold out, giving us the impression that they don't keep track of their inventory. This was unexpected and different from what we had experienced at the Yonge Street location. Additionally, the spring rolls we ordered were not up to par; it seemed like they were using a different manufacturer for the spring roll skins.

Later on, when we requested a fresh Thai chili for our noodles, the owner informed us that it was the last one. Shockingly, he handed us a frosted chili without even bothering to wash it. This lack of attention to detail was a major turn-off for us.

I have always loved the charm and passion at Dear Saigon's Yonge Street location, but the new downtown spot is a complete letdown. It felt more like being served in a food court rather than a dedicated restaurant. The lack of passion for the business was palpable and it greatly affected the overall experience.

While I don't intend to harm their business, I believe it's important to leave an honest review. Based on my disappointing visit, I won't be returning to this new location. I sincerely hope that the management takes this feedback constructively and works towards improving their service and attention to detail.

It's worth noting that my experience at the Yonge Street location has always been exceptional, and I would highly recommend giving that branch a try. Lastly, I want to mention that if they could have a broth with less sugar, it would make the...

Ever since February this year, it had been a tradition for me and my wife to dine here at least once a month. She is a student at UofT, so a big factor for us was the "student deal" that Dear Saigon was running, which was essentially a "dine with your friend", allowing you to get two pho dishes with complementary soft drinks at a discounted price. The atmosphere has always been cozy and perfect for our dinner dates. After a small hiatus from restaurants during the summer months, we come back in October to find that the "student deal" is all gone as the restaurant transitioned into a physical menu. As for the food quality, it has truly fallen off. As other reviewers have pointed out, beware of the rare beef coming in raw. That was never the case months ago. Furthermore, it used to be that the pho was served together with a free plate of bean sprouts and lime to add as you wish. Now you have to ask a waiter to explicitly serve this to you (thankfully it's still free), which is a service that I'm not sure is even mentioned in the new menu anymore. While I welcome how Dear Saigon is trying to overhaul its menu—and there are many new dishes I would've loved to try had it not been for this awful experience—I can't in good conscience recommend Dear Saigon anymore; it feels like the restaurant is trying to reinvent the wheel. And now it's offering you discounts if you pay in cash. You will either overhear this from a table or the waiter will let you know. This is a frankly unprofessional practice: the customer should not be penalized for opting to pay with card. It also shows that the restaurant (or is it a new management perhaps?) is financially insecure, which is never a good look. I don't think we'll be visiting again, as nowadays BeLeaf on Carlton St does Vietnamese food better, cheaper, and with...