Saigon Cafe, located along the same strip of shops as Mediterranean Grill, is a nice little surprise. Whereas the inside of Mediterranean Grill is equal to the shabbiness of the outside, the inside of Saigon Cafe compared to the outside is a bit like night and day. Siagon Cafe isn't just a vietnamese/thai joint, it's a restaurant. Dark wood and bamboo cover the floors and walls, with seemingly all new furniture pieces. There is even much more seating than you'd expect.
The food - while it may not be as authentic as some off of Buford Highway, that doesn't mean that it's not good. Of course if you're looking for the type of down home peasant authentic quality that you would only find from a side vendor in the food markets of actual Saigon... look elsewhere. They've cleaned up the food a bit and while that wild street vendor food chi is missing, there's enough of everything else good to make up for it - if you don't mind americanized dishes.
The heat. Unlike other asian restaurants which loose a bit of their flavor and spicyness in translation (appealing more to petty weak palates!), Saigon Cafe doesn't back off. Their Panang is one of the hottest I've tried in a while, definitely hottest in all of Decatur (does that say much? Probably not.) However, you wouldn't be able to tell from their menu since all of their spicy dishes are only identified by the same identical, single image of a chili. The spicyness of their panang is much more than the thai kung pao.
If you like the Vietnamese dish of Pho and all it's variations, you should be well taken care of at Saigon Cafe. They dedicate an entire page of their menu to Pho dishes, totalling roughly fifteen or more variations. If you've never had Pho before, I'd say this is a good place to start exploring and trying some out (before you make it over to pho dai loi). Bring a friend or two to share because it comes in a big bowl meant for serving from, rather than eating individually.
The service... unfortunately is as quick and abrupt as is common in many restaurants of this type. That's too bad. While I understand there is some amount of a language barrier, there are small things that can overcome such walls. However, your water/drinks will be refilled in a regular timely manner, and you won't have to wait for your check.
Saigon Cafe is like a hole-in-the-wall family restaurant that upgraded. Unfortunately, with the nicer decor and overall presentation, some of the heart, the essence of the food and people who care about it, is lost. I'll probably try this place again just to see if I'm wrong. Because as our dinner went on, the restaurant filled up. Not with single, lonely, or rushed diners, but with families and groups of friends out for a casual dining experience. If that many people seem to enjoy eating at Saigon Cafe, maybe I'm missing something, or they just don't know any better. read more