Great Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant, Norfolk, Virginia Restaurant Details

Food:

Place has gone out of business and permanently closed their doors recently. We walked down here to eat 5-4-2013 to discover the note on the door.

Food:

Let's assume you're a regular for Vietnamese Cuisine. The minute you walk in, you notice the atmosphere isn't quite... traditional. I'm a regular to Vietnamese places around the Hampton Roads and Richmond area. I've seen mostly family businesses, but this kind of took me by surprise. It was like i walked into an American sit down restaurant. Aside from that, the food was excellent! The lack of tradition was made up for by it's exquisite food. I ordered the Vietnamese Curry with Tofu and Shrimp. The Tofu wasn't too soggy, nor was it over cooked. The sauce complemented the shrimp and rice perfectly, and i was overjoyed at the peculiar taste it offered. Let's talk about the service now. There was one waiter attending to a crowd of 20+ customers. I'm guessing this is average for a Friday lunch? I'm not going to say that the service was poor because that would be unfair. I would like to express my concern for the lack of waiters. I understand this may be a family oriented business, but if you lack the manpower to uphold an efficient business then i suggest you hire some friends. I would eat here again despite the negative things I've stated, primarily for the food.

Food:

So not amazing! My wife and I recently visited Virginia Beach and we were craving vietnamese cuisine. Based on the excellent reviews we ended up at Great Saigon. We started with an order of spring rolls (cha gio). The two spring rolls came out on a saucer with a side of sweet chili dipping sauce. FYI...saucers are not plates! Vietnamese spring rolls are always accompanied by torn pieces of lettuce, pickled carrots and daikon. All the accoutrements were missing from this appetizer. The chef even used the wrong sauce. Cha gio is pared with a fish sauce based dipping sauce...not a store bought sweet chili sauce. Our next course consisted of a large bowl of Pho and the Vietnamese Hot & Spicy soup, which was highly recommended by our server. Our pho came with thinly sliced steak and meatballs. I should correct that...meatball (singular). I put all the slices together and it was a portion of one small meatball! Typically, a large pho with meatball should have at least 6 to 7 meatballs halved...not one meatball sliced into 6 or 7 pieces. I tried a slice and it distinctly tasted of the frozen meatballs found in the asian market...so not fresh! The most important part of pho is the broth, which was poorly executed as well. An overwhelmingly powerful taste of five spice permeated the broth rendering it unedible. The $8 bowl of pho was filled with barely 3 mouthful of noodles. I ended up watching my wife eat her Vietnamese Hot & Spicy Soup for the rest of the time. Again, nothing authentic about the Hot & Spicy Soup...not even spicy. Slightly better than their regular Pho. We found Great Saigon to be not so great. The food was lacking soul and authenticity and the portions were insulting for the amount of money that was charged. We recommend Pho 79. The outside of the building and the parking lot need a little TLC, but the inside is clean and offers a no frills dining experience. They only serve pho and Vietnamese hoagies.

Food:

We come here often for lunch and the food is always amazing and a ton for your money. the lunch specials are great too! this is my whole office' favorite place to eat that we can all agree on!

Food:

Take your time to read the menu... there is an amazing selection. Portion sizes are always generous, especially for the price. Great friendly staff, and healthy food!