Saigon Bistro — Restaurant in Fayetteville

UNFORTUNATE UPDATE: I originally reviewed this place years ago. It’s been a family/friend/local favorite for so long, I just can’t believe the state of it now and am disappointed that I feel obligated to write this update.

There is new management. I think the previous owners have retired. Today was our first day back since the changeover and we probably won’t go back.

The new menu has changed in a bad way. It’s now more Americanized and with much less variety. Our Pho soups tasted good, but they were out of a few ingredients and not worth the price point. They were also out of tai tea. It seemed like they were out of ever third item someone asked about.

It took OVER an hour to get our food. The one appetizer we got arrived next to last. We were only a party of 5 and the place wasn’t half full of patrons. I understand and appreciate quality food made to order and do not mind waiting under the right circumstances, but today was not it.

No one checked on our table or refilled drinks the whole time we were there, just over an hour.

Staff LIED when we asked about the one order that hadn’t arrived at the hour + ten minute mark. It’s was the simplest dish, for the only one person who ordered stir fried rice. The rest of us got pho soups. I was originally told (after seeing the obvious shock on their faces) that rice takes longer to cook… which is bull. The owner ended up coming out with the last dish and apologized, admitting that the waitress hadn’t taken the order down correctly (if at all) which is crazy, because she had discussed the level of spicy heat and other points about that particular dish when it was ordered. This last dish also came out with no heat at all. I could have respected the situation more if they had just been honest in the first place, everyone makes mistakes- but they weren’t and then scrambled only to mess up the order. The owner/manager still had no excuse for the lack of drinks and never offered to refill even after the fact. Come on now!

Over-all I guess I’m just super disappointed with the low quality of service we received from beginning to end. The new ownership has taken a Fayetteville gem and tarnished its reputation. I hope they change the name because they definitely don’t deserve to ride on the coattails of the original Saigon Bistro which will be sorely missed. If you decided to try this place out anyway, I recommend picking up your order to go.

Original review:

Never judge a book by it's cover! This place could use a face lift, but it's definitely a gem, and one I've only discovered recently despite being a Fayetteville native. The staff is friendly, the service is timely and the food is AMAZING! Apparently this place is best known for the soups, but everything we've eaten has been delicious. I highly recommend this place whether you're visiting or...

It's a sad, sad day. The management at Saigon Bistro changed (completely different family) and what used to be an excellent spot is now utterly sad excuse for a restaurant. We arrived at 6:50 on a Tuesday. The restaurant was about 1/3 or 1/4 occupied. The young lady who eventually greeted us seemed clueless - she couldn't answer simple questions about their drink offers and once we told her our drink order she scurried away saying she would be right back despite that we were ready to give our orders. She took way to long to return just to tell us they didn't have that drink. So we updated our drink order and again she left. Took forever to come back. Finally we got to give her our food order. It took 35 minutes to recieve 3 bowls of pho. The cold noodle dish one of us ordered and the single appetizer we ordered took 45 minutes and the single dish of chicken fried rice took 65 minutes!! At the hour mark, we inquired at the front counter and the staff had the audacity to LIE and say that rice "takes longer". We finally got the rice dish when the rest of the party was fi used eating. No apology. And in the 65 minutes we were sitting there, we were not checked on a single time. All of our glasses were empty. We let the manager or owner or whoever it was know of our issues and he tried to hush us! And the worst part in my opinion is that after we pointed out the drink issue he still did nothing to correct it. Didn't bring refills or even offer them. The food was medicore and with all the nearby options that far exceed this changed Siagon Bistro, there's zero reason to waste your time and money there. If you're looking for Pho, I recommend Ben Tahn or...

If I could give it 0 stars I would. Horrible customer service. I’ve worked in customer service for quite a few years now and I know what is and not acceptable. We frequent here somewhat often and I usually get a v1 as honestly I’m not sure what the meat is. My girlfriend today decided to o see the chicken and rice (R5) as we have had steamed rice and chicken filet and vegetables at other local restaurants around here and it was good. Hers came out first and she tried it and I wanted a bite while I waited on mine. It was disgusting. It couldn’t have been chicken. When the server brought out my food I asked him if she could get the same thing as me to replace what she had ordered and he said “I’ll see if she’ll let me” like what? I’ve worked at Texas Roadhouse before and if a guest didn’t like something they weren’t belittled, yet they got something else to replace it. The owner came to our table ask asked why she didn’t like it and literally talked her down for not liking the food. Then asked why it looked like the rice had been eaten. She finally rolled her eyes and did take it away after interrogating her. I have NEVER seen anything like this before and it’s not the server’s fault as he clearly knows how she is by saying “let me see what she wants me to do”. Poor management. We will never be coming back and again and I will be...