Review Saigon Noodle House - Courtenay

Not trying to be something it isn’t. Tasty Pho, rapid service, excellent pricing. The plastic fruits and vegetables on the ceiling add interesting touch of character I suppose…colourful if nothing else.

Ordered A3 off the menu. The pork tasted weird. The rice noodles were all cut down, and this is the first time EVER asking an Asian restaurant for chopsticks.. (which explains the noodles being Chopped into pieces). I'll pass on eating here again. Good prices, but too western .. WHO STILL TAKES JUST CASH... Saigon Noodle House, but no signs anywhere in the building day cash only.

Good bowl of Pho. Cash only no debit or credit cards.

Hands down my favourite noodle shop in Courtenay. My partner and I have been going here for almost 18 years. Order is done quickly and with the same high quality every time.

Want fast, cheap, easy pho? This is the place. Yeah so they only do take out or only take cash? Who cares. Its a short life and i want cheap pho and this is the place to get it. I dont want an extra 2 or 3 dollars added onto my meal because they have to pay for a debit machine. This place is just as good as any other in the valley. I have been going here the last year or so and never had a problem.

Yesterday was my birthday so wanting to celebrate I decide to order out, choosing Saigon, remembering its good and tasty food. Phoned. When I got in the restaurant, I asked for additional Salad Rolls. No problem. Paid. Tipped. Rushed home, 15 minutes later. No Salad rolls. Pork dish, A4, has no pork. QF from now on, I can see what I pay for.

Ordered food for pick up drove across the city to find out they didn’t even make it. Something so simple is really tough for these folks. Never tried it never will. Garbage service.

Great service for a great price. #9 hot and spicy soup never fails.

Prices are much higher in the restaurant than on this web site.  When I asked the owner about it he claimed that this web site was not his. he said a customer much have posted it????  Sounds like a typical "Bait & Switch".<br/>Other than that the food was ok.

I love this place! The food is always delicious (especially their spring rolls) and they are affordable and fast. The customer service is great as well. The restaurant can be a little crowded at times, but most often I order my food to go anyways and go eat at the beach or something.

Hidden gem in the valley! I eat here 3 times a week, it's affordable, fast and so good! Love the service and environment. Always get exactly what I want, and they have yet to make a mistake. Just remember to bring cash...

Poor service and not a good food. We order 3 bowl of noodles and spring roll. Waiter has reconfirm all items to us but end up The spring roll order is missing. We decide not to wait and pay the bill. Cashier said we never order any spring roll and it is not wrote down!! Beef in my noodle soup is too tough and I cannot able to chew at all. They give you drink menu and no drink available except pop soda. Very bad experience And will never return.

What a disappointment. Let me begin with the fact that I have never been so disappointed by a restaurant to feel the need to write a review on the internet. Perhaps the fact that I have a deep appreciation for food, flavor and the subtle nuances invoked by just the right flavor combinations that set my mouth and mind into a feeding frenzy, creates an unreasonable expectation for other people who prepare my food. <br/><br/>Perhaps being a Professional Cook who also happens to be dating a lovely man from India (also a Professional Cook) and who also happens to have introduced me to the world of authentic Indian cooking (nothing like what you get here in North American on wholesale, trust me) also sets up Saigon for an unfair comparison. However, it is my opinion that this is simply not the case, as I have enjoyed all types of cuisine from many different restaurants and this is the first time I have been so disturbed by an experience at one, as to bother to take this much time at 1:30 in the morning to write a comprehensive essay on a review site. Keeping in mind that I am aware 95% of the people who visit Saigon's page on Urban Spoon to take a look at their menu, don't even look at the comments section, much less bother reading this far. <br/><br/>Over the past couple years, after many surprised looks and "oh my god, you have to go there"'s from friends and colleagues, my boyfriend and I decided to finally try out Saigon Noodle House. I might also add, that it took so long for me to finally cave in because my gut instincts kept screaming "no" at the very idea of eating there. It appears those gut instincts were right. <br/><br/>Let us start at the beginning. <br/><br/>The service:<br/><br/>We phone in for takeout, after spending 15 minutes of looking at pictures of the menu that were clearly taken on someone's phone (I'm willing to forgive this because a lot of good restaurants I have eaten at, have done the same). The voice on the other end seems less than interested in taking out order, asking my boyfriend <br/>is that all?"" when he is halfway through speaking out his next food item order. We finally finish ordering and the voice is more than happy to hang up before asking us for any information as to identify us when we come in to pick up the food (you know, to make the whole process of picking up and paying a lot smoother and easier for everyone...no wait....is that silly?). <br/><br/>So after 20 minutes we set out to our destination. As we approach the restaurant, which has glass walls for the front facade, we are immediately filled with relief that we decided to get take-out...the reason? Well aside from the hideous, almost fluorescent green that covers all of the walls and ceiling, the fake trellis hanging from the ceiling that also contains a bunch of fake grapes and other fruits (because this is also an italian restaurant?), but the server who happened to be cleaning chairs right up front, looks at us with a face that says "oh god, please no, not more customers". He greets us and asks if we came to pick up, we say "yes" and he looks visibly relieved. We follow the server through the cramped small restaurant that has been over-filled with tables...we had to do a half side-step to move between said tables without bumping into them, hurray. Then the server proceeds to ask us questions about what we ordered before grabbing the sticky-note with the order and our phone number (which I'm sure he grabbed from the call display after hanging up) which is barely legible. <br/><br/>The food:<br/><br/>Low and behold! What's this? Food that reflects our service? How uncanny! I almost have to get them points for that....at least, as some of the previous reviews say, they're consistent. The number 16 is mostly rice with a few veggies, some raw cucumber (a palate refresher IN my food? GENIUS!), barely an ounce of what I think might be chicken and little to no sauce. Let me add that the rice is over-cooked and I'm pretty sure it was sushi rice. <br/><br/>I'm going to stop for a moment and describe their sauces. The chicken comes with a tablespoon of Sweet Thai Chili (thank goodness I have this already in my fridge, just I was so inclined to waste it on some crappy rice and veg) and the spring rolls come with soy sauce that has a clump of grated ginger in it. <br/><br/>Ah yes, the spring rolls....at first I thought maybe the sauce was just overpowering the subtle and delicate flavor the of the shrimp...so I tried it without..and found myself eating a bland, gooey, chewy log of disappointment. Apparently the sauce is supposed to be the flavor? <br/><br/>Finally, their "curry". To be fair, I eat real curry all the time, not just a bunch of vegetables seasoned with "curry powder". However, even the store-bought knock-off at least has the pretense to add more than one spice to its mix. Apparently Saigon's idea of curry is their usual over-cooked rice clump and under-cooked veg with a turmeric and oil sauce over it. <br/><br/>So there you have it. Mine and my boyfriend's experience with Saigon Noodle House. It ended with $40 almost literally in the trash-can, as we each had about two to three bites of each dish and decided it wasn't even worth trying to power through or season ourselves. We might as well have paid nothing and eaten some un-seasoned hard-cooked eggs over dry toast with a wedge of grapefruit. <br/><br/>0 out of 5

I eat here all the time. Always good. Always consistant.