Cancel

Open app

Search

Saigon Express

3.8 (522 reviews)
Open • 9:30 am - 7:30 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

SAIGON EXPRESS · YELP ASSISTANT

Ask Yelp Assistant

Saigon Express Photos

SAIGON EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Classy
Good for groups

You might also consider

More like Saigon Express

Recommended Reviews - Saigon Express

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

BBQ Pork Banh Mi

The employees were super friendly and enthusiastic. Service speed was ok. Sandwich was ok, but a bit dry, but still good and super good prices.

beef vermicelli
Barry W.

One line review: Solid. This place was a no-frills experience: just a reasonable portion of good food at a decent price. The decor is nothing to speak of. The customer service is a cashier who takes your order and cashes you out. But the food was satisfying. Having been here once, next time I would skip the spring rolls and just order the meat over vermicelli. It looked like my friend got a slightly better portion of meat, and while the spring rolls were fine, I would have preferred that. Customer service was minimal but adequate. Parking stinks in downtown Berkeley, but I parked for free blocks away (near McKinley) and took a walk on a pleasant, sunny day. Bottom line: I would eat here again.

Number 29 spicy chili pho

Customer service was great and the spicy pho was absolutely amazing. I order the spring rollls and a Banh mi to go but the pho was the star of this meal

James B.

I really enjoy eating here and the experience overall each time I come. I've decided that this is my favorite pho shop in downtown Berkeley.

Food so good I had to draw it. Got the #44 grilled beef + egg roll vermicelli bowl with the thai iced tea
yunha k.

My date got cancelled tonight so I treated myself to some good ol saigon express. Never had the vermicelli bowl here before but it hit just right. Tender grilled beef, fresh veg, soft noodles, and crispy egg rolls. Finished off with some thai iced tea and my day's already made better. Def recommend

Bánh mì
Angela W.

Came in for early lunch at around 11am on a Monday - ordering was quick and easy, service was fast! Plenty of seating inside for dine-in, not super busy at the time that I went. I got the Fish ball Bánh mì, and my sister got the tofu vermicelli noodle salad bowl. I enjoyed the Bánh mì - it's affordable, you get what you pay for. The bread was crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, I do wish there was slightly more protein inside. A perfect light lunch, albeit not super filling. My sister's vermicelli noodle salad had a good balance of vegetable, protein, and noodles. The vermicelli noodles were cooked well, tender and springy. Overall, I've had better, but this place will do if you're craving Vietnamese food or a quick meal that isn't super heavy!

Banh mi sandwiches
Sabrina M.

Probably the best tofu banh mi I've had in Berkeley! Service was great, food was super yummy, and was very affordable. I would 100% go back to reorder. They also have rice plates and noodles with good veggie and tofu options for vegans.

Pho
Lainey C.

I love this place, it's recently become my new favorite in Berkeley! The food is delicious, the prices are great, and the service is friendly and awesome. They're also super fast! Everyone here is super nice, especially the man who usually takes your order. I've tried the spring rolls, banh mi, Thai tea, pho, everything! Super tasty, and my roommates and friends love it too. We come here numerous times throughout the week, and it's one of my go-to's. The restaurant is also always clean, spotless.

Veggie shredded tofu banh mi
Sydney J.

This review is quite late, sorry about that - please note that the price info listed is as of May 2022. I placed an order ahead via phone, and I think at first the staff were a little confused where to find my order when I showed up for pickup, but didn't take long for them to find my order and hand it to me. Prices have definitely gone up over the years so at the time it was $13.75 for the lemongrass tofu, $6.25 for a veggie shredded tofu banh mi, and $4.25 for Thai iced tea (not including tip and tax). The lemongrass tofu was quite salty and slightly spicy, but overall delicious and flavorful. I felt the huge quantity of rice was actually good to help balance out the strong taste and it was a pretty generous portion even if the cost isn't so cheap anymore. The banh mi was also yummy and I felt that was a good portion for the price so it's still a good place to get banh mi in Berkeley. The Thai iced tea was fine, nothing particularly remarkable. It's too bad they're not open on weekends at the moment, but you can stop by for a weekday lunch or dinner.

Banh mi dac biet
Katherine G.

I came here for the banh mi, since I heard this was a great spot for an affordable and delicious meal! I love banh mi, and haven't really found any good ones in the Berkeley area so I was super excited to give this a try. I came around noon on a Wednesday, and there was a good number of people inside. You order at the counter and then pick up your food at the end, and then go sit down. My friend and I both got the #1 banh mi dac biet (combo) which came with a variety of different meats and pickled veggies, all in a nicely toasted bun. The bread was crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside which is the perfect texture. All of the meats inside, which I honestly cannot name, came together deliciously. For only around $7-8 after tax and tip, this definitely makes a great lunch! If you need something quick and are close by, definitely give this spot a try!

August 2021 menu
Karen C.

Saigon Express is a locally owned vietnamese restaurant serving up a variety of noodle plates, phos, banh mis, and more. They are currently open for indoor dining and have a surprisingly spacious seating area towards the back. There are extra squeeze bottles of sriracha and hoisin(?) sauce to season your food to taste, not that it's needed - I just like my food spicy enough to clear my sinuses for the rest of the week. I always get the beef ball pho here because that's my go-to at any restaurant that serves pho. The servings are plenty generous and last me a minimum of 1.5 meals. I wish I had my own rice noodles so I could reheat the leftover broth for a full second meal. The people who run the restaurant are so kind and grateful every time I patronize their business. Although you pay when you order at the front, if you specify that you're dining in, they will take note of where you sit and bring your food to you. The pho isn't the best I've ever had but it hits the spot when I'm craving some piping hot noodle soup. I look forward to trying their banh mi someday!

Beef Stew Pho with Egg Noodle

See all

12 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

11 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Page 14 of 14

Ask the Community - Saigon Express

You might also consider

Verify this business for free

People searched for Vietnamese 107,381 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

Crave Subs - Pikachu ($15.99)

Crave Subs

4.3(290 reviews)
0.1 mi•Downtown Berkeley
•$$

great server and service. took my partner there and it was a great first time experience for themread more

San Francisco has lots of places to grab a sandwich. It's seems I ate at the majority of delis in…read moreSF. Sometimes it's good to try something different and a place with some interesting character and characters. I usually get deli sandwiches which have deli meats but this place has fried chicken sandwiches . So I was craving a sandwich so I headed to Crave Subs in Downtown Berkeley next to BART station. They have lots of sandwiches available on the menu. On a Summer stroll getting some sun in Downtown Berkeley I landed at Crave Subs. Inside it's like you stepped into an ice cream parlor with a comic book shop and arcade and a deli all at the same time. You will see sandwiches on the menu called the Pikachu, Ned Flanders, and Bart Simpson. You will see Chewbacca fries along with the Spider-Man fries and the vegan Sailormoon fries. I got the Captain Boom Halal Fried Chicken, Boom Boom Sauce, Cheddar Cheese and Crave Sauce on a roll. It was tasty and a bit crunchy and had lots of flavor. It's one of the best Halal chicken sandwiches I had. If you crave a fried chicken sandwich then Crave Subs is the spot. It will "cost "you an extra 50 cents if you want to "floss" with extra drip "sauce" to show off on social media and during OSL my social media feed was stuck in the" Land of OZ" If you want great fried chicken sandwich you don't need to visit KFC or meet the chicken"commanders" like the late "Colonel Sanders" just get a Captain Boom with "Halal chicken standards" or grab a Pikachu sandwich or a turkey sandwich called the "Ned Flanders "

Photos
Crave Subs - 2 arcade video game

2 arcade video game

Crave Subs - Steak Storm Fries ($16.99- weekend special!)

Steak Storm Fries ($16.99- weekend special!)

Crave Subs - Patrick Star ($14.99)

See all

Patrick Star ($14.99)

Heroic Italian

Heroic Italian

4.4(167 reviews)
0.3 mi•Downtown Berkeley
•$$

This is my family and my favorite Italian restaurant! Everything on the menu is delicious,…read moreflavorful, and refreshing without being overly heavy like Italian food often is. Their bread is especially amazing- perfect texture. The Calabrian shrimp is another highlight- juicy and tender. Finally, the tiramisu is light with just the right amount of moistness- a perfect end to the meal. The owners are friendly and service is quick. Ample patio seating with a few tables indoors. We can't wait to come back again!

We ordered via DoorDash, and I wouldn't call our experience "heroic."…read more The pinsa was very good. We got the Calabrian shrimp. We found it very tasty, but paying over $25 for this on DoorDash--certainly not worth the price even though we really enjoyed it. The spicy chicken parm sandwiches were not good. The chicken breast was flabby, and came across like it was one of those frozen cooked Tyson jobs. I would be very surprised if they actually breaded chicken breast, fried it, and made the sandwich with that. It was mushy, and the breading was like paste on the chicken. Pretty awful. They charge extra for sauce, which is a little much, given that we paid $21 for each sandwich. But we figured out pretty quickly why they do this: there was hardly any sauce on the sandwiches. And precious little cheese. We each ate half of our sandwich and figured we doctor the leftovers up the next day with a jar of Rao's and a bag of shredded Italian cheese. That helped, but nothing could save that chicken. The meatballs. We paid $15 for four, and we had high hopes, but they were so mushy that they fell apart in the sauce, and I couldn't tell what was sauce and what was meatballs. The only flavor that came across was fennel. Why any meatball should be so fennel-forward strikes me as bizarre. We got what we thought were pretty basic things, and they were fails. If an Italian place can't make a decent chicken parm sandwich nor a decent meatball, that says something. If you go, try the pinsa.

Photos
Heroic Italian - Inside counter

Inside counter

Heroic Italian - Come enjoy an OMG on the patio in the sun before the next storm hits! An organic Italian soda pairs nicely as does a glass of wine.

Come enjoy an OMG on the patio in the sun before the next storm hits! An organic Italian soda pairs nicely as does a glass of wine.

Heroic Italian - Calabrian Shrimp! Wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp roasted with brown butter sage, garlic, lemon juice & Calabrian Chilies ..Comes with crostini

See all

Calabrian Shrimp! Wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp roasted with brown butter sage, garlic, lemon juice & Calabrian Chilies ..Comes with crostini

Mezzo

Mezzo

4.2(1.1k reviews)
0.6 mi•Telegraph Ave
•$$

Long time customer since my college days here. I was here the first week after they rebuilt after…read morethe fire, and so I've seen the quality start high and remain after all these years. Came for a dinner pickup to-go on a weekday evening. Things I love: - HUGE portions: all other considerations aside, I'd always default to splitting a meal or counting on leftovers. Their salads and sandwiches both are served in generous portions, which helps justify the cost, which itself is not that unreasonable to begin with. - Seating: nice areas inside, as well as an outdoor space that's shared with the neighboring bar. During the daytime when the bar is not open, the back space is a great area to spread out in, and even work in with a small group. - Staff: I read a few negative reviews about the staff here, but I have had nothing but positive experiences, especially given the high customizability of the meals here, they do a great job accommodating requests and making sure you have the meal that you're expecting. - Breakfast burritos: gotta shoutout my favorite breakfast burritos. These things literally sustained me all of junior year, and are a great value for what you're paying.

Like the other reviews state--portions are sizable! The Chef Salad is hefty and I love it. I…read moreespecially enjoyed the beans (garbanzo + kidney) and sprouts they add. Lots of fiber and protein. LOVED the thick side of sliced bread!! Lightly sweet and very earthy tasting. The menu isn't very intuitive--the "salad" menu sign doesn't show the protein options; the proteins are under the "sandwiches" sign. I admittedly stepped into the line underprepared, but the staff here could be so much kinder lol. Latte was alright. A tad too bitter for my taste. They have extensive indoor and patio seating. Great place to meet up with a friend or two and grab a quick/easy food.

Photos
Mezzo - Entrance

Entrance

Mezzo - Veggie delight salad

Veggie delight salad

Mezzo - Combination (Half Sandwich and Cup of Soup)

See all

Combination (Half Sandwich and Cup of Soup)

Saigon Express - vietnamese - Updated November 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...