Saigon Uptown Restaurant — Restaurant in Minneapolis

First of all, the food is delicious. I enjoy the food so much that I overlook the extreeeeemely slooooow service. The atmosphere is clean, cold and quiet. There is one nice older lady who shuffles about and runs the show (I suspect she is the waitress, cook, cashier, busser AND answers the phone). As soon as I walked in, I asked for spring rolls and wings, because I was starving and already knew it would be a long while before any food was on the table. My guest who had never been there before was convinced the nice lady ventured to Antartica on dogsled for the ice as it took about 25 minutes to get a glass of water. We were sincerely the only table there so I think the majority of the business is composed of much smarter customers who call in their orders. (I am doing that next time). I have some photos, but I apologize, we had waited a good 50 minutes for our food and dove in when the plates were set down (before I could get a photo). Spring rolls are amazing. I had chicken chow mein and my friend had lemon chicken. It was all delicious. Maybe bring a sandwich to hold you over until the food comes? Also, pack some salt because there were no salt shakers anywhere. Pepper, soy sauce and sugar was all they had out. I would have asked for some, but that might have been...

Set my expectations pretty low considering it was raining outside and needed a place to eat because the place next door (Gyu Kaku Japanese Grill) was booked with no more open spots for the rest of the Saturday night—it was only 3:30 PM. Came in and there was only one other couple inside—thinking this would be a good sign of a quick eat. Boy, was I wrong. Our group consisted of only 4 people but we waited 35 minutes just to get our appetizers (app sampler and fried calamari). Portions were pretty small but considering their prices, it’s whatever. Had two of their combo bowls of pho and it was ridiculously pathetic! The basil literally melted and rotted into the broth (should always put on the side, considering some people don’t like the herb). The noodles were super soft, like it was made to feed a toddler. Broth was very diluted and dull with no flavors. Also had their “NEW” General Yao’s Chicken and the chicken pieces were undercooked and super mushy!

Lesson learned: Save your money! Don’t waste your time and set a reservation for Gyu...

I truly don’t understand the rave reviews. Lotus, Quang and Pho Tau Bay are far better. This tiny box was what I got for the lemongrass chicken, and it wasn’t even filled all the way. Had about an inch and half leftover to fill at the top. All other Asian restaurants I’ve been to give you about 3-4 times this amount for an entree and the same money you pay. The Thai Tea was extremely watered down and tasted like regular tea, not Thai tea. The pho flavor was ok at best, definitely not the best I’ve ever had, not even close. The beef for the pho was extremely tough and rubbery, boiled far too long. The one star is for the lemongrass chicken I got ripped off on and the terrible flavor of everything else. If you think this place is amazing and worth the long wait I feel very sad for you, for you have missed out on some amazing food at...