Saigon Alley Restaurant — Restaurant in Houston

I ordered phô, garlic noodles with flaming beef, and vegetable dumplings for takeout. When we opened the bag at home we found old looking rice instead of the garlic noodles and no sauces. I called and a lady answered and when I told her the problem she said " I'll make another order for you, you keep that food. I'll create another order for you, you pick up". That's exactly what she said and since it's five minutes from my place I agreed. I go back, the guy who took my order in the first place asks me to show him the food 🙄 I found it very offending but I video called my husband and we showed him all the food they gave us. So, they apologized again and the lady goes to the kitchen and a few minutes later comes back with a box, opens it and shows me some noodles. I told her I went back because she said she would give me a whole separate meal, she said oh, as if she completely forgot the whole exchange and says if I wait she'll go and make me another meal. That was it for me. I took the noodles and left. The noodles were good. My phô was below average, the meat quality in both pha and flaming beef was awful, lots of gristle and fat. The dumpling were dry. The size of the flaming meal was much smaller than expected, definitely not enough for a hungry person. Overall a disappointing experience. Will not return...

I've seen this restaurant for quite some time and finally decided to have lunch there.

Despite all the great reviews, I wasn't impressed at all. I decided to try the Brisket Pho which another reviewer raved about and I was very disappointed. There was very little flavor to the dish. I ended up putting alot of Sriracha sauce in it and it finally tasted flavorful.

I've been on a Pho kick for a while now and was hopeful to find a new place since this was so close to my office but this really missed the mark. Beyond the dish, the service wasn't very good either. I was seated immediately and after I decided on my dish I pushed the menu to the other side of the table making it obvious I was ready to order, or so I thought. I had to get the attention of one of the staff and got my order in.

It came back pretty quickly which was nice but then I had to get the attention of the waiter again once I was done to get my Pho put in a to go container, despite pushing it to the other side of the table and it sitting there for a good bit of time.

It's a small mom and pop restaurant so I try to be forgiving but this place just doesn't have the mojo.

I wish them all the best and I'm hopeful this was just an off day but I don't...

Food 3/5 (overall) - Brisket, meatball, beef pho was okay. They give you a large portion of meat, however, a few pieces of brisket tasted like they were spoiling. Delight rice is also okay. Pork was good, shrimp was mediocre, chicken was dry. Saigon milk tea is good and probably the best thing we ordered.

Takeout Service 2/5 - They forgot 2 of the drinks I ordered and I had to go back for it. I also had to call 3 times before I got an answer. When I went to pick up in 10 minutes, there were 2 tables being served. They had a delivery being made and were out of stock of several drinks. The employee on the phone was at least apologetic about it when I was ordering.

Price 2/5 - the price is high for a standard bowl of pho. Given the Memorial area it is most likely catered to the population. Especially not worth it given the taste. $10-12 is reasonable these days even with how the economy is now and my bowl was $14. $1 over the advertised price on the menu uploaded on all of their social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Google as of today 7/5/22). They have no website so I didn’t know about the $1 price increase until I ordered. The delight rice is a large serving, so although $14 is on the high side it’s at least more worth it...