Saigon Pagolac — Restaurant in Houston

This place's business hour is a joke! I came here last weekend without calling first and was told that they would only accept carry out order by then, about 10 PM. OK, my fault for not knowing anything and just walk in. Today, before I left League City to drive to them, I called and asked what time they will close, a person picked up and said 10:15 PM (their website listed 11 PM). I wanted to make sure and asked them again what's their last accepting walking customer time, and they said 10:15 PM! I was confused and questioned about that and they said they'd accept customer at such time and will remain opened if there's business. Great right?! So I drove there and arrived at their restaurant at 9:36 PM and one of the staff came up to us and said "the kitchen is closed." I looked again at my watch and I was sure it was 9:36 PM. I walked out and looked at their door which listed operation time and it showed 11 PM closing time.

I wouldn't be mad if they had told me that they would not be accepting anyone after 9:30 PM; sure I'd find another place and not waste my drive time there. But because I had used all that driving time getting to this place and they closed on me earlier than what they had said, I had nearly 0 other options at 9:40 PM in their parking lot looking for another place that I would like to dine in and not be closed by 10 PM.

Some may say, "you should be there earlier." I work a lot and my free time is limited so I have no other time to be there any earlier. Moreover, Google Business Hour is some thing I have always used to determine whether to dine in a place or not. I even called to confirm before getting there.

So, with that said, I would not give this place a 3rd trip. Shame, I've always been easy with rating at any restaurant I go just as long as their food is alright, doesn't have to be spectacular; but here, what good is it if I had read all the good reviews and heard of all the good services and great food when I didn't even get...

This place is very quaint and has a stunning mural on the wall that really set the tone of the restaurant. You will understand when you see it!

I started with the salted plum soda (Soda Xi).

This was CRAZY to my palette and brain for that matter, because you automatically assume it will be a sweet beverage because of plums..I guess..well, Hell no. It's not sweet at all (I think the SALTED PLUM should have been the hint). Your glass comes with a salted plum at the bottom, sugar crystals atop it and crushed ice. You pour club soda over it and mash. You have to try it to really understand how crazy FUN this experience is!

I didn't eat much here as I am not a big fan of spring rolls and the bulk of this visit was creating your own spring rolls.

But I did try the "Bahn Xeo" or the Vietnamese crepe that you roll in lettuce and dip into the cause of your choice. It was really good and totally scratched the itch I was having for fried egg rolls.

Totally fell in love with the" Bo Nuong Vi" or Perfectly marinated beef in lemon grass, garlic and cilantro. You get your own little griddle to cook your meats. delicious, flavorful and smoking hot. I ate everyone's portion.

I didn't get to try the "Bo la lot" Ground beef wrapped in Hawaiian leaf and grilled over charcoal but I heard nothing but...

Very good food, really appreciate all the fresh herbs and veggies. All the meats are good, the fish is really well done. I love making my own spring rolls and know my way around rolling them. Can't imagine how lost someone would be if they'd never been or don't know how to make spring rolls.

The service there is lacking. The waitress was helpful in answering questions, but did not look happy to be working- not even a smile. She forgot our waters and hot tea and we couldn't find her- had to ask someone else in the middle of our meal. No one came to check on us. We had to get up and ask for napkins and up again at the end for boxes.

At the end of the meal, my husband went up to pay. He said the owner's mannerism was very blunt and short almost rude. So it's obvious service is bare minimal.

This is our 4th time there because the food is very good- we would give the food 5 stars, but the service is pretty bad that it borderline ruins the experience. In the past we got slightly better service because we had someone who spoke Vietnamese. I would still go back because I really like the food and there's no other place that we know of...