Le Saigon

Le Saigon offers quality, local Vietnamese food--often a rare find on the West Side. The restaurant itself is humble and quiet--but offers a cozy escape for those looking to quench their cravings. The owner and main host, Catherine welcomes each customer as warmly as her regulars (myself included). If you're looking for a warm bowl of pho or a refreshing Vietnamese noodle bowl, then I recommend Le Saigon for those searching.

What I Got: The Pho Saigon Dac Biet--a classic pho, with a mix of tender slow-cooked beef, topped with slices of raw brisket which cook as they are added to the hot broth.

If you're vegetarian, no worries! Their vegetarian pho, with firm tofu is beautifully balanced and soothing.

Worth Your Money? For the quality and quantity, yes this place is worth it! (~$11-13 per person).

Score (Out of 10): 10/10

Solid place to kill the Vietnamese craving if you're in the Westside (and are too lazy to drive to Mama Hong's).

I live around the corner from here and was craving vermicelli, but wanted to be in walking distance. I had the pork and imperial roll vermicelli, which came with a decent (but not generous) portion for ~$15. Yes, it's quite pricey but it's the Westside, so I can't complain too much.

The vermicelli was good but not great. Pork was a bit tough and not flavorful enough, but the imperial roll was crispy and tasty, and the vegetables and noodles were on point! Unfortunately, sometimes the meat does make the dish, and in this case, it didn't.

I would return if I was craving as this is a pretty decent spot!

Ordered vegetable Pho .
Got the water with noodles and tofu. No vegetables whatsoever.
Oh yes, and when I asked, the gave me broccoli and charged additionally 2.50 for that. So $15 total...
If I knew I would def pic another Pho place nearby..........

I have been going to Le Saigon for almost 13 years. It's a little restaurant located on Santa Monica Boulevard. This last visit, I ordered the Pho Dac Biet (combination special). The soup is always the telling part of the broth. I found that it was pretty authentic tasting, albeit a bit tamed down (probably for the Western palate). The dish contained cooked flank steak, a few meat balls, and rare steak (which I got on the side). Served with fresh veggies - bean sprouts, Thai Basil, Jalapenos, and limes. The pho was good, but not spectacular. The serving was a bit small for $8-9 a bowl.

I also got one order each of the Spring Rolls (rice paper wrapped with lettuce, shrimp, herbs. The spring rolls were decent. The peanut sauce was good. I also got the Spring Rolls with Grilled pork sausage (Neng Num? Spelling?). This dish was rice paper wrapped with lettuce, pork sausage, and served with a fish sauce dipping sauce. Again here, it was okay.

You ask why the four stars? Because of the customer service. This restaurant appears to be run by a very humble family. They were super friendly and courteous. Everyone looked like they tried hard to please the customer, and that kind of service makes my food taste extra good!

Food Grade: B
Service Grade: A
Worth the Money Grade: B+
Overall Impression Grade: B+

Absolutely love this place. It has been our favorite restaurant for over 15 years! It seems like the ownership changed a couple years ago and the new owner is very sweet and somehow the food tastes even better than before!!

Will continue coming here for years and years to come as its our go to place for yummy Vietnamese food!!

Pho should be served steaming hot in a large bowl with tons of rice noodle, sliced beef, and a generous plate of bean sprouts and basil on the side. This bowl was like a mini portion compared to every pho restaurant I've ever had in my life.. and I'm Vietnamese. This portion was basically what we portion out for children when the aunties cook homemade pho.

I ordered the "special/dac biet", which came with a few slices of rare and cooked beef. Not so special! A combination bowl typically comes with brisket, rare beef, tendon, tripe, etc.. this was pretty lacking.

I have never finished a size small bowl at other places but was left hungry after finishing my portion here. Also the side veggies were more like garnishes than sides. No no no! I'm probably being dramatic but this shop would be laughed out of San Jose within a week.

Otherwise, the prices are higher than standard but fair for the area. The egg rolls were yummy and my favorite part of the meal. Service was attentive and nice. I would recommend to go elsewhere for a pho fix, but it would do in a pinch.

I came to Le Saigon in search of an alternative to Nong La since the latter suffers from long lines during lunch and dinner times. My cousin had previously recommended Le Saigon, as she had enjoyed the food and spotted several celebrities dining here in the past. Being a star gazer, I was curious whether any bespectacled / incognito stars would make an appearance, but sadly I was disappointed. That disappointment, however, extended from the lack of famous people to the food, with which I had a terrible experience.

The restaurant itself is pretty casual with a cozy atmosphere. Parking is tough, but you can find street parking along the residential streets that intersect Santa Monica. There are a number of small tables in the restaurant lit by soft / dim lights. I didn't have to wait for a table on a weekday evening, but I've heard the restaurant can get busy. The servers were a little gruff / short, but I got the sense that they didn't speak English very well. Nevertheless, I was happy to find a restaurant that seemed, for all intents and purposes, decent.

HOWEVER, I suffered a delayed allergic reaction to the bun saigon dac biet (#8). Although the menu stated that the dish could be prepared without peanuts, I am pretty certain that something in the dish had been contaminated, as I ended up vomitting for the next several hours and having to take allergy medicine throughout the evening. If I had been able to enjoy the food, I probably would have rated it Le Saigon three stars based on the quality of the food, but this experience left me literarily and figuratively gagging. When restaurants make a special note about preparing food without certain ingredients, I expect them to avoid contamination.

Given this experience, I would NOT recommend coming to Le Saigon if you have a peanut allergy. (If you have a severe peanut allergy and are sensitive to vapors, then this place is obviously a no-go.) Some Vietnamese restaurants are good about accommodating peanut allergies, but this one is not one of them. Maybe the pho would have been minimized the risk of contamination, but rather than test my luck again, I think I'd rather stick to Nong La, where I've had a much better dining experience.

Although my dining experience was pretty good, my friend had a bad allergic reaction to their food thus I have to give a lower rating.

Sadly, the West Los Angeles area does not have many good Vietnamese food options. Given the decent reviews for this place, my friend and I decided to try this place out with the hopes of finding a go-to Vietnamese food place to eat. The place was pretty small and cramped, but we were able to be seated right away.

Besides the pho, a lot of people had raved about the Nem Nuong, or roll your own rolls plate, which I decided to try. Along with rice paper and assorted herbs, you have your choice of meat . The rice papers are individually separated by plates. You pull each off and stuff them with whatever portions you wish into the rice paper. I loved the mounds of fresh cilantro and basil and the sauce was a nice combination of salty and sweet. Unless you are a master roller (unlike me...), the stuff does manage to spill everywhere so be prepared for it to fall out!

There is parking on the street but it tends to get busy so it may be hard to find. The service was overall friendly and fast. When I was having difficulty with my food, my server offered tips on how to better wrap my food.

Although I did enjoy my dish and the service, I did have to take a star for poor preparation of food in the kitchen. My friend had specified that he had a peanut allergy and the server acknowledged that they could cook his food so he would not have to worry. However, after completing our meal, my friend had a pretty nasty reaction to the food. My gripe is that if you are going to serve food and make promises, you should be very forthcoming about the food that comes out. My trust in the restaurant has been lowered...

Overall, I would say that while I enjoyed my nem nuong, I could not -with full confidence- go back knowing that my friend had such a bad reaction to their food.

It is difficult to give Le Saigon the third star knowing how well they use to do things and of course the value.

Of course on the west side, it may be difficult to compare what you can get in other parts of our city for great Vietnamese dishes.

The portions are a bit small for a bowl of pho. The beef broth may be great on one evening and kind of average on another day. The noodles and vermicelli can also be inconsistent also.

All in all, the restaurant is clean and the service is okay. They certainly do cater to neighborhood at hand. I just think their execution can be a tad better like they use to be with the previous owners. Otherwise, this is still a good choice to make to get some Vietnamese cuisine.

Our must Viet resturant every time when back Home.

Good services and great food always.