food here was pretty solid! they serve both banh mi & pho which is not what our place back home does. it was nice to have both options. service was fine. they were polite and kind, though clearly more interested in watching TV than checking up on guests. i appreciate their efforts nonetheless! there are no extra silverware or sauce cups provided at the tables; you have to request them for some. same goes with napkins. as for the food itself, the pho was REALLY generous. i was surprised to find so much tendon, tripe, and meat. i finished my noodles before i could get through all the protein, which is never the case for me! the broth was excellent, though we noticed it wasn't clear like traditional pho is served. while it did not affect the flavor, it was interesting. the building is relatively small but still big enough to maintain privacy at each table. overall, it is a decent restaurant. it has its hiccups, but the food is very good. a little pricier than what we're used to, but it all delivered! read more

Saigon City - pho & banh mi - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I am usually all about supporting local mom and pop shops but not when they are this horrible to their customers. I've seen sheer lingerie pieces that are thicker than the slice of pork they put in their banh mi and you only get one slice...a handful of veggies. The banh mi is basically just a flavored baguette. They are very shady in that they will give you your to go order and rush you out so you don't check that everything you ordered. They tried to skimp out on my Thai tea and got annoyed when I asked about it in which they finally made one for me....like bro I paid for it why you trying to not give it to me...this has happened twice. Just go somewhere else. read more

This place was really great. The employees are super friendly and the pho was wonderful. I got the extra large and it was huge! Ambience was nice enough but mainly the food was really good and they made me feel welcome. Great experience! read more

Saigon City - Window - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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This is my go to pho spot in San Mateo... I recently moved here earlier this year and I've been coming here ever since!!! I get the #29 dac biet w beef ball it's my absolute fave... I love eating while sick it's like a doctors appt... my son also loves the noodles and broth so I always make sure to bring him and the owner is so nice he always make sure we are tended to not to mention he memorized my order!!! Great place to eat pho in the peninsula area I highly recommend!!! read more

It's a small little in Viet restaurant that had a little charm. Nothing too special or crazy with the food. It was reasonably priced and it was easy to get seated. read more

The bf has been wanting to try this place out but they were always closed. Decided to try our luck after work, and finally got to try out their imperial roll and beef plate. We ordered to go as we were both tired. Imperial rolls were nice and crunchy, beef was a little dry but used the sauce for rolls and it was fine. The bf got their beef pho and killed it! Service was quick, took about 10 minutes to get our order. Looks like the place has been for years, nothing too fancy. Overall good. read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Honestly this spot has gone kinda downhill over the years. I used to come here for lunch when I worked in downtown San Mateo and the food was solid so when I was back and craving some pho I thought I'd pop by. They took our order quickly and got our food out quickly as well so no issues there. Inside it's a no frills restaurant with plenty of chairs and tables and a big tv that plays random Asian videos on YouTube. The one that was playing when I was eating was this girl fishing in between rice paddy fields. Inside it was empty on a Saturday night which should have been a warning sign but I ignored it. Second was that there were absolutely no Asian people inside other than the workers which again I should have noticed but it's ok. Anyway the food came out and it was decent but nowhere near as how I remember it tasting pre-covid. Will definitely be retiring this place from my food roster. read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Saigon City is a downtown San Mateo favorite. The owners are local and absolutely wonderful. The service is warm and friendly and always right on top of anything you need. There is a large menu from which to choose, from smaller plates to large meals. It's all delicious with lots of food, enough to take home for leftovers the next day! The dining room is small and can get very busy and loud. It's very much a family-favorite. read more

It was cold this morning and I had a craving for hot soup. We decided that the most fresh tasty soup would lbe Vietnamese so we went to our go to place. We ordered number 19 and number 38 and they were both delicious. The soup was served steaming hot, with the traditional sides of lime, basil, bean spouts and hot chilis. My wife had the egg rolls over rice noodles with a side of broth. The egg rolls were crisp, fresh, and cut into bit size pieces. The broth tasted like it would be fantastic to help a head cold, it was smooth, fresh, chicken broth with a hint of spices. Great lunch at a very reasonable price and the service was outstanding. Quick and to the point. Small family restaurant with an old school charm and the owner was our waiter. read more

Saigon City - Egg rolls over rice noodles and side of broth. Chicken and sea food pho with bean spouts, lime, and chilis. - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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my family and I have been coming to saigon city for years now- and can definitely say their imperial rolls are the best! besides the filling being delicious, the crispy skin is so unique and goes perfectly wrapped in the lettuce, pickled veg, and noodles with the dipping sauce. as for food, we always order some variation of the beef pho. I love getting just the rare steak since I prefer a thin tender beef, but my parents love adding the tripe and tendon too. the soup is delicious and the rice noodles aren't too mushy which I like! the restaurant is very casual and cozy, and the service is always so quick. overall, definitely recommend stopping by for the spring rolls and a hot bowl of pho read more

Saigon City - Imperial Rolls (5) - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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First time in central San Mateo and realize there's so many Asian food around. Stumbled across this shop and decided to give their rice dishes a try. The pork chop was flavorful and sweet. Good mix is lean and fat meat on the bone. Though the meat was a little on the drier side the further away it was from the bone. The salad on the side came with some mayo creamy sauce. I wish it was placed on the side and not directly on the dish. Otherwise the service was attentive and quick. Overall enjoy my dinner with my partner read more

Saigon City - Grilled Pork Chop Over Rice - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I came here a year ago and I ate at the restaurant and got the pho and chicken and rice. It was really good and I especially love the imperial rolls! They were crispy and filled with flavors. Also the portion were really good for the price. However I ordered take out yesterday and got the pork and rice with imperial rolls and the rolls were soggy but the pork was pretty good. So I recommend getting the imperial rolls there when it's fresh but overall I really enjoy this place! read more

Saigon City - Lemongrass Grilled Chicken Or Pork Or Beef W/rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Freakin' yummy Vietnamese pork sandwich. I added sliced jalapeño peppers. Customer-service: good: read more

We ordered Beef Pho and the Veggie hot spring rolls (which was good! I also havent tried spring rolls like that with egg inside). Our guests ordered Five Spice Chicken and he finished the whole plate! And our other guest ordered the one where you dip the roll in hot water and create your own wrap and that was good. I would definitely come back here again and try other things on their menu. They had one nice art piece which helped the ambience better. read more

We went on a Saturday for lunch and it was crowded, we had to wait a few minutes for a table. The restaurant decor is simple and seats 35 people. They have a lot of options on their menu for such a small restaurant and great value. The Vietnamese crepe was very good. We ordered other dishes as well, pho, chicken basil over rice, and garlicky noodles. We also ordered takeout for a weekday lunch recently. It wasn't as crowded and service was quick. The staff are very nice every time. The food is good. I rate them 4 stars because their chicken dishes are just OK. read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Crepe - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

No major issues, just didn't love the food or experience. I'm not an expert but the pho seemed "meh", the beef pho didn't have tendons or tripe despite the description, and the kitchen seemed to forget our order so we had to wait while multiple tables who came in after us got served first until the server checked in for us. It was busy throughout our dinner though, so maybe we just don't have the right palette! read more

Saigon City - Large chicken pho vs medium beef pho - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Had dinner my sister last Thursday night at Saigon City. Didn't know about this place and only discovered after realizing Ben Tre was gone. It was a good replacement--although Ben Tre was better--and I was craving some 5-spice chicken. My sister ordered the fresh spring rolls and ordered the fried spring rolls. Everything was very good--fresh, delicious and plentiful. Saigon City might be by Go-To spot in Maddy-O as their food is good for an affordable price. That is right up this guy's alley. Service was also good-- no complaints. Check the pics. read more

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Fresh outta SFO I located this tasty spot. Grilled pork Bun vermicelli bowl, grilled pork banh mi. Rice noodle bowl has limited amount of veggies, heavy of the noodles, Good amount of meat. Fish sauce was a bit sweeter than average. Banh mi was a nice combo of light pickled veg, grilled pork, w a sweet tangy marinade. Quick service. Pretty busy inside restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. Yes, I would return. read more

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Needlessly long review here but I feel like rambling. tl;dr food was good and the price was good I was hungover today so I spent 3 hours trying to figure out what to eat. Nothing really sounded that good and I had heartburn from last night, which made me wary of getting something spicy. I remembered that when I was drunk last night, a friend mentioned how I got them onto catfish dishes at Thai places, sometimes curries, sometime just a saute. Unfortunately, both the Thai places I liked that served these dishes closed, so I spent a significant amount of time looking through spots that might serve catfish. All the Thai places that had it nearby looked a bit overpriced, and I saw Saigon City has a catfish claypot. I used to have a friend who just loved this restaurant, and I never really wanted to go because he loved the pho, which isn't my favorite dish. I went once, got some meat and rice plate, was fine but forgettable. My mom disliked this restaurant but never bothered to explain why. So I figured today would be the day to go and try it with a fresh mindset. I walked in knowing I wanted to get that catfish claypot. It hit the spot. I can't say that it was perfect, like I think it could use some more ginger, green onions, maybe yellow onions too. But to get a meal of catfish and rice for 20$ including tip is a steal in 2025. For sure satisfied my craving for catfish, which I haven't had in 3-4 years. I'll be back, and it'll be soon. read more

Saigon City - catfish claypot and rice - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

The food here was absolutely delicious! I had the beef and imperial roll rice noodle bowl and a fresh lemonade and I absolutely loved it. The beef was perfectly cooked in my opinion and the roll was crispy and flavorful. The portion was very large in my opinion and I ate every last bite. Also very nice service as well. Will definitely be visiting again. read more

Saigon City - Beef and imperial roll bowl and fresh lemonade - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

This place is a hidden gem. It's a landmark as long as I'm living in San Mateo 35+ years. Good food good prices good service, friendly no nonsense Vietnamese restaurant. read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I hadn't been here in awhile but my wife was in the mood for pho without going too far so we came here on a Tuesday for lunch. Luckily there was minimal wait since almost all the tables were full. I had forgotten what a good value this place was. The food is very good and they give a really good quantity! We shared the big bowl of pho and grilled pork, fried spring roll and fried egg over rice. We only ate half of the rice dish. Both dishes had a lot of protein which is good. They also do bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) here as well. Parking was more difficult than I thought it would be but we got a spot a few blocks away. We'll be back again in the near future! read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I just ordered 1 grilled pork banh mi for take away so the review will just be for that. Overall pretty good! Especially for San Mateo where it's not as easy to find a good banh mi. I still prefer the ones in san jose but this will do the job since it's nearby. I've had banh mi from other places in the area that aren't good. Would come back here to try other dishes read more

I haven't been here in some time. The food is always great, not too salty tasting, and you can spice it as you like. Tonight I had the five-spice chicken soup and veggie spring rolls. Such a treat. read more

Casual restaurant with reasonable prices and good service. Everything was clean and tasty. We tried the beef soup with carrots, chicken pho and fried shrimp appetizer. The chicken pho came with barbecue chicken on the side that was very good. read more

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I was particularly looking for Vietnamese Claypot rice. Found it there, which is very hard to find.

I have come here several times. Today I think will be my last visit. My party of 2 was seated fast, so that was great. There were 2 servers, later on a 3rd server, lots of customers around a lunch time. It took 5-10 minutes for our order to be taken. Drinks came out several minutes later. They were excellent. 1 Thai iced tea and 1 Vietnamese iced tea. We received small plates for the appetizer, one of which was dirty with some kind of thick brown sauce and a few dried up grains of rice on it. We received clean plates after requesting them and an apology. We ordered the imperial roll. One roll had a very long black hair in it. It was hard to pull out of the roll, it was in there pretty good. My party member was the one who bit into it and I was the one who suggested the place and dish in the first place. I felt bad, as hair found in food happens sometimes. But they understandably lost their appetite. Next I got the wrong order. I was served beef pho instead of chicken. It took some time to get the correct order and my other party members food. I got my pho ga, it was good, but since we ended up waiting about 25 minutes + to receive everything, we took a few bites and had to ask for to-go boxes and the check. We were probably there for 50 minutes total, almost an hour. Also, I asked for a glass of water and there was a black fleck of something in it. Maybe it was a crumb of something burnt or charcoal. I'm not sure. I fished it out with my chopstick. No big deal... I was extremely thirsty. Still, that's a lot of strike outs. When paying, we received another apology regarding receiving the wrong order. So service was okay but really really slow today! I was wondering if they only had 1 cook. I don't remember the service being so slow. Anyway, I had been coming here from time to time since the late 90s. I think the food is good. Maybe we were extremely unlucky today, but in any case, I'm done. read more

The pho here has never not been good! When I first moved to San Carlos and worked in San Mateo, some of my Asian coworkers introduced me to this spot during our lunch breaks and I've been coming back ever since. The owners are incredibly kind and always greet you with a smile. They've created a place that feels like home. This restaurant brings back memories of when I was just starting out here, and it means so much that they still remember me every time I walk in. Please support places like this places built on community, kindness, and genuine service. They're rare and so worth holding onto. read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Great food and great service have had many different things and they all have been good

Has been one of our favorite restaurants for the last 25 years. The food is consistently good, the pho is very tasty, the service is great. You will enjoy your meal here. read more

Very generous proportions, I got the imperial rolls and could only finish half of it before I was full read more

Saigon City - Imperial Rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

We're back with a big group my son's friends today for Lunch. It's really good and especially the price is the cheapest in SF Bay Area. The restaurant is a bit not bright but clean It's okay and enough for us to enjoy their family foods read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Great value! Big portions and reasonable prices! This is my dad's favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the area! No visit to us is a good one unless he gets his Saigon City fix! This is a pretty big compliment from the man who would happily eat Vietnamese food every single meal his entire life and be happy. After 70+years, including growing up in Vietnam, this is his favorite viet restaurant! The older gentlemen owner is always very kind and welcoming to my parents so they love interacting with him. I have to admit to menu is quite substantial and broad for outside of San Jose. Banh Xeo (Vietnamese crepe) is my moms favorite item and it's often hard to find outside of San Jose but she gets her fix here. The portions are large and I love that it properly comes with alot of lettuce and pickled veggies for wrapping, as we would get in Vietnam. There's plenty of street metered parking so easy. read more

Saigon City - Banh Xeo - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Happened to be in the area and was craving for some pho. We decided to try a different pho house this time and not the other over hyped and over priced pho restaurant down the street. The đặc biệt pho was really good in flavors with plenty of meats and my wife had the pho gà. The price was comparable to the south bay. The owner was nice and the service was good. Definitely will return here if in the area and craving for a good ole authentic bowl of pho. read more

Came here for dinner and was not impressed. I wanted to like this place since they are nearby and so many of the reviews were praising this restaurant. We ordered a bun Bo and banh xeo (bf got a vermicelli pork and imperial roll bowl). My dish arrived first and of course I have to try the soup. Unfortunately, the soup lacked flavor and I was so disappointed. The banh xeo (crepe) was clumpy and grainy , and their fish sauce was bland. I had a hard time eating this so we ended up taking out and only eating the shrimp. My bf said his was vermicelli bowl was decent. The service was so-so. Kinda hard to flag someone down and they did not refill our waters. read more

Saigon City - Bun Bo - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

This is my go to pho place I live in walking distance and it is hot and hits the spot every time. It's kinda a hole in the wall place. Not much too it. But it's delicious and honestly always sounds good in the colder months. read more

This is one of the places we like to go for Pho. We love the spring rolls and it's quick, easy and good

Delicious dinner. Amazing imperial rolls. Friendly staff. Very solid Vietnamese food. Always leave happy. Tried the lemonade soda today and it was delightful! read more

Saigon City - Vietnamese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Great food and even better service. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. Definitely a spot I'd come back to. I recommend the Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew) with a bread roll. read more

Another nice lunch with a friend. Two of us finished four dishes. Today we ordered spring rolls, imperial rolls, grilled pork Banh Mi and a Vietnamese crepe. We loved it so much. Every dish was so delicious!!! :) read more

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