LiL Saigon — Restaurant in Northfield

I've been a long time fan of Lil Saigon since the Iowa Ave location in AC. I didnt care for the set up at the Exchange and only went there a couple of times. I was happy to see they were opening in Northfield and the new space is beautiful. And it was nice to run into my old friend Lien who is the original owner of this restaurant. I'm not sure how "hands on" she is here.. seems like there are others managing. I was initially disappointed by the new menu but was informed by diners at the next table that the "dinner menu" is also available and it lists many of the old favorites from the AC location. The prices have increased but this is true everywhere. I'm disappointed to hear about the corkage fee. I think that's a bad idea and hope they will reconsider this policy. Also $10 for a 12 oz Vietnamese iced coffee (now served pre-made in a plastic cup) is IMHO, expensive. The food is still excellent and the selections on the lunch menu are big enough to share. Two people could split a beef vermicelli ($18) and an order of 2 summer rolls ($8) and be satisfied for a reasonable price. So $34 for 2 including a 20% + gratuity... add a couple of beverages your at $45. I'm wishing success to Lil Saigon. Maybe if we kindly and gently express our concerns regarding prices and policies, management will make some changes. I hope so. The staff were polite and accommodating. Try the Vietnamese Chicken Salad. UPDATE: I fwd my comment to the restaurant's email. I encourage each of you to send respectful, positive and encouraging...

Where to begin? Took me a month and a half to calm down enough to try to be halfway objective. First off,we will not ever be returning. Went with 5 others; customer service was non- existent . Made reservations for 6 pm; did not get seated until 6:20. Waited over an hour and a half for entrees and still needed to wait for it to be wrapped for takeout. The owner/ lady/ cashier was extremely rude and unapologetic. Instead, she blamed us, the patron for impatience. Another staff/ husband? asked what was the matter,then when told by the entire party present of wait, and nonservice,began again try to blame paying customer, berating us at the take out register. Have had less than stellar experiences at other eateries before, but this was by far the worst. We have patronized the old establishment in AC run by the mother and were always pleased and wanted to continue to support a local business. I have never advised others to avoid places, but this makes it a first. Shame on the new owners for their lack of appreciation/ customer service. I feel they ruined our planned extended family gathering by their unprofessionalism. It's a shame ; the food was pretty good after being heated up separately at home by the entire party. I would not recommend patronizing this establishment; there are many other Vietnamese eateries around that know how to appropriately serve and appreciate their paying customers , who have comparable/ better...

A great addition to the Northfield area. Will be coming here often. Came here with my family and the place was super busy but yet the staff did a great job with being attentive. The wait for food was just as I expected for the food is made to order and made so in a homemade style. (Do you rush your grandmother to have your food ready in 15 minutes?) The quality of the ingredients of the food are top tier. I had the shaking beef and crispy noodles, both I highly recommend. Coming from a Vietnamese background, these recipes are the real deal and authentic. I would highly recommend getting a reservation for this place as with how busy it was, I was lucky to get seated. The atmosphere in there was just right, not super trendy, but not boring and bland. The staff was great to my kids and ended up leaving with a couple balloons! This place is still new so I recommend you bring a large appetite but as well as some patience and basic human manners. I witnessed people upset over any wait times no more than 20 minutes and throwing full blown adult tantrums over it. This place will get nothing but better with time, I look forward to seeing what else they are going to...