Sip of Saigon — Restaurant in Sparks

I have been to Sip of Saigon a handful of times for take out & have enjoyed the Sip Fried Rice as well as the Special BBQ Pork spring rolls. I went in for dinner with 3 friends on Friday evening. I felt like something fresh & light, so I ordered the BBQ spring rolls. Last time I ordered them, the pork was flavorful, thinly sliced & delicious. When I took my first bite, I realized something was very different. The meat was very thick & similar to a hot dog texture & taste. I went up to the counter & said that I had gotten something different than what I had ordered. The lady looked & said that those were what I ordered. I said that I had ordered the same spring rolls in the past & the meat was much thinner & different. She told me it was the other spring rolls that had a different kind of pork. I went back to the table & took another bite. I was surprised to bite into something crunchy. I went back up to the counter & asked what the crunchiness was. She said it was a crispy egg roll. I told her that, “crispy egg roll” was not in the description. She read all of the ingredients out loud from the posted menu & told me that I was right. I said that I really just wanted what I had ordered last time. She said okay & then told me my total. I was surprised that I was expected to pay more & told her never mind. She said she would ask in the back. I went back to my table. My friends ate their meals & we chatted. I heard the lady telling other workers about the description of the spring rolls & how it didn’t say crunchy egg roll, but she never came over to say anything to me. After about 30 minutes, I was very hungry, so I decided to take out the meat & egg rolls & eat what was left (the picture is what I took out). I was very surprised to be ignored the rest of the night. I am extremely disappointed at how I was treated as well as the ingredients in the spring rolls that in my opinion were not...

How this place got 4.6 stars is wild to me. Came for the reviews and was in the area. Let me start by saying this. You gotta pay first before you order like its some fast food place. It do give off that vibe like you got to get your own water and condiments. I never had pho where they didnt bring you out a tray of condiments and a nice bundle of veggies to go with it. Food came out fairly quick like too quick. I got the combo pho which was $17! And the Saigon bahn mi which was like $14 with extra pate. Total came out to $40 + tip. Not sure why I tipped considering i ended up serving myself . Lets get back to the food. For the price I paid in was given the most saddest excuse for a bowl of pho I ever seen. 2 small meatballs like 4 pieces of brisket drowned in noodles over the most sorry excuse for pho broth I ever tasted. Watered down bland . On top of that I get not even a handful of vegetables to go with it. Only condiments they have are hosin and Sriracha. What kind of pho place is this?!. Im already off to a bad start. Thinking the bahn mi will save my trip. It did not. The only thing going for it was that the bread was crispy. Whoever is rating this place highly really must be on something cuzz this aint it. Overpriced small portions not authentic. Customer service none whats so ever. Not once did anybody come check on me to see how I was . They probably saw it in my face how disgusted I was to waste $40 on two orders of food that was enough to feed a kid. Atmosphere is like a high school cafe. Boring. Trying hard to make it modern with seating mixed around with different furniture . Looks uncomfortable. Food is overpriced, small portioned and lacks flavor . The audacity to charge this much and put out this kind of food is diabolical. Save yourself the trip and...

(Update! 4/21/23 ) LOVE PHO! I’ve tasted pretty much every pho place in Reno / sparks area and so far this place and 1 other have stood out to me as far as quality of broth taste, noodle taste, meat quality, service. etc. This spot is in my top 2 and it’s almost my number 1spot because of location and accessibility.

First off! Daniel which is at the front and face of spot is great, so chill and relaxed really makes a huge difference while ordering, he’s patient and kind and wants to help so tip him nicely!! (Thank you Daniel) you are the reason I continue going back because everything with ordering is straight forward and never had any issues. I’ve waited to share a review to see if the quality and serving portion was here to stay, so far it’s been great, pastries are delish, service has been great so far. Typically I order for pick up and it has always been on time which is 10 to 15 minutes for my order and is always nice and hot (even though I still boil the broth once I get home cause I like it HOT! That’s just me and I add some chile oil.) my kids love it also. Spring rolls are delish and I get the peanut sauce only ( then I add chile oil to the peanut sauce. Try it and You are welcome. Yum! .) I typically order a plain Pho, only noodles and broth and it’s garnishes, noodles have a great taste and broth has been on point. I’m so happy I have a great Vietnamese cuisine close by, I’m looking forward to their other food...