Pho Saigon — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Upon walking in, my mother-in-law slipped and fell on the slippery floor. No one came over to see if she was okay or to help her up. Already that's a bad sign. Disheveled, we sat at our table and finally our waiter came over to ask if she was okay. She told him that she hurt her wrist because she fell on it. I told him that the floor was slippery, expecting for someone to care enough to try to mop it or correct the problem, but no one ever did. I wanted to leave right then and there, but my family decided to stay. So we did. We ordered our food, and I ordered the rainbow ice drink which contains coconut milk, jelly, and beans. While we waited for our food, another waiter-an older gentleman- came up to me and told me that my mother-in-law should be careful because the sole of her sandal was split- he saw it for himself. I knew these sandals were new so I begged to differ. I don't know why he chose to tell me instead of her, but I got up and walked over to her shoe to check them both and sure enough, no broken sole. I looked over at him and he looked back as if to say "see? I told you so." That's when I said "no, you're wrong, there is nothing wrong with her shoe." He came over to look and saw for himself. That's when my husband told him that the floor was slippery and that's why she fell. No apology from him. I can't even believe he had the audacity to come over to not apologize for her falling and seeing if shes okay, but to place the blame on her for her fall. After telling the 2nd employee that the floor was slippery, I'm still expecting to see someone come over with a mop to mop the spot where she fell. Still, no one ever did. That showed me that they didn't care. We got our food and ate it regardless of the bad taste in my mouth that the restaurant gave me, and the food was okay. I've had better at other Vietnamese restaurants. When I went to eat a spoonful of my rainbow ice drink, I noticed it was sour. I took another taste to try and figure out what the source was. It was the beans. I took my drink over to the waiter to tell him that the beans in my drink were spoiled. No apology, no shock at all on his part, and no offer to make me a new one. All he said was "I'll take it off the bill." I noticed they left the other prepared rainbow ice drinks in their display cooler to serve to other guests. Another show of gesture that they didn't care. I had such a bad experience here. Everything just left a bad taste and a bad memory. It was my first and last time...

Pho Saigon is one of the best places for pho in Philly. It isn't entirely out of the way, since it's really just off the Columbus exit on Interstate 95. I often come here with my dad and brother, and a bunch of my friends also come as well! The place is of decent size, and you can see the whole restaurant upon entering the store. Hosting organization is pretty lack, but they'll get you seated as fast as they could.

Food Every time I come, there are 3-4 menu items I always get. First, I always grab a bowl of pho of some sort. I usually grab the one with rare steak, well-done flank, and tripe. When eating pho, one of the most important part of the dish is the broth, and Pho Saigon delivers. In most places, the broth tends to be tasteless, but the broth here is one of the tastiest I've ever tried. There are tons of herbs in there as well. Second, I'd get the BBQ pork roll appetizer. It's like the fresh shrimp rolls because it's made with fresh rice wrapper and vermicelli noodles, but instead of shrimp, there are BBQ pork slices inside, which makes it amazing. Third, I often grab the Bánh cuon. It is rice noodles with minced meat inside, and side of pork with fried onions sprinkled on top. Definitely a must try, but a word of advice: it's ONLY offered during the weekends. Lastly, I grab the Vietnamese coffee since I love Vietnamese coffee. There's usually a bunch of ice in it, though. I've had their rice and vermicelli before as well, but they are just average. Their friend spring rolls are really good too! They are sometimes too oily though, but that really applies almost everywhere...

Service Very fast. Most of the servers are very friendly and very talkative as well, but there are some that don't really talk other than taking your order. There aren't assigned servers, and they just roam around or wait until they are called. The food also comes out quickly. It's unlike the traditional American restaurant in the sense that whatever is finished will be brought out. So appetizers won't always come out first and faster meals would come out before the dishes that take longer to make. They don't give you a paper check too, rather you'll go up to the counter to pay.If you order to go while eating, it will be up there waiting for you as well.

Pros: Fast, Good Food Cons: Disorganized

Recommendations: Pho, BBQ Pork Roll,...

We came here at 7:30 PM on a Saturday night and the middle-aged man (I don't know if he's the owner or the manager) was rushing us to get our orders in because the kitchen was about to close. It turns out that they close at 8 PM on Saturday nights. We had no idea that they would close so early on a Saturday night. Also, since the kitchen was about to close, our options were limited. We could not order any fried egg rolls or rice dishes, only dishes with soup. We ordered the summer rolls and some pho. The summer rolls were small, the soup that the pho was in was not hot enough to cook the rare beef, and even though I specifically told the man who took our orders "no onions", there was still onions in my pho and I had to pick them out.

This place is way overpriced for what they serve and, worse of all, for the poor customer service. The middle-aged man who took our orders was gruff. When he brought us our check, he did not say a single word, no smile, no thank you, nothing. He also never came back to take my credit card, so I had to go pay up front. I had been wanting to try this place for a while. What a disappointment it turned out to be. I will definitely never go there again. Next time I'm in the neighborhood and want some Asian food, I'll just go to the seafood and sushi buffet next door and I recommend everyone...