I loved this place for the basil pork & rice. I'm not sure about all of the bad reviews but it's sad that people find the need to be so critical on reviews but prob never talked to the owners at that time in person. It was nice, clean and accommodating. My coworker and I are sad they are closed.:-(
Rom H.
I'm being nice here for 2 stars. 1. My pho cost $16 for meatballs and beefs only. I thought to myself wow so pricy. 2. There were only 2 orders the whole time I was there waiting for almost 20 mins. 3. Got my plate, broth so plain. Taste nothing like a pho. Noodle too soft. Why did I go there? well it was the closet pho near work so I figured oh this looks good enough....wrong. The good news is Mess Hall have other food to try out.
Michael L.
Thought the pork and food was overtly too salty. The fried egg was good but hmm just tasted like it was seasoned with salt only! I don't think I would recommend this location for the food. Just was too mushy in consistency and yea.
Andrea A.
I am slowly making my way through the shops at the new Mess Hall at Flight, and finally got to try Saigon Kitchen! Because I had been craving noodles, I ordered the Vermicelli Bowl with chicken for takeout. Honestly, for $12 and for being in a cafeteria-style food hall, I didn't have high expectations. However, when I opened my box, I was surprised by how much fresh veggies were included! My order had lots of shredded carrot and cucumber on top of lettuce leaves, and there was a LOT of noodles included (duh, right!). The bowl was filling while not making you feel heavy, and it didn't leave me hungry. The chicken had a good seasoning to it too. Overall, it was a good lunch option, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to stop by here. If you do stop by, parking is pretty abundant since there are a number of other shops here. Since it is cafeteria-style, they offer both indoor and outdoor seating options.
Stuart C.
My wife and I ordered the Basil Pork rice and Red Curry. The basil pork came without basil. They curry can't without basil out eggplant. When I went to ask them about it, the chef just said that they ran out. No apology, no forewarning, just deal with it. The pork was bland, as you would expect since they didn't have herbs in it. The curry had very little actual curry in it - maybe a 1/4" in the bottom. They apparently had a ton of carrots, and it tasted like carrots with a little spice. The portion (of mostly carrots) was big, and the egg was cooked perfectly. But I will not be going back.
T. V.
Food is definitely NOT as good as any other Vietnamese restaurant. But the price is muuuch more. My bowl of vermicelli has almost no meat in it. I just ate noodles and some veggies. Egg rolls are so small for the price
Malanga F.
The WORST Vietnamese ice tea ever. Literally just orange water. I dont even want to imagine how awful their pho is.
Nhi T.
Ugh. I've here twice and both times I've been very disappointed. I gave it a second chance but it only made me more dissatisfied. Pricey for a plate of plain Costco lettuce. They don't seem to care too much about food taste or quality that they put out for customers. It just seems too inauthentic to be called "Saigon kitchen". They don't even have any of the fresh herbs which makes up the Vietnamese flavors. Look at my plate, less than a cup of rice. To be fair the pork was ok, not chargrilled enough. But everything else was so bland. It's just a pile of lettuce with some carrots and cucumber on top. Please don't come here if you're looking for Vietnamese food. This is just a place where they throw plain and boring ingredients together with no Vietnamese flavors at all (besides the fish sauce they gave). I finished this plate to fill the void of my stomach and because I didn't want to waste food and my $12, and then I got two more slices of pizza from Big Parm for $1 each in order to feel full for lunch. This is just sad, I wouldn't even pay to eat this again at half the price.
Julia F.
i am very disappointed... the spring rolls were 90% dough & 10% filling, & smaller than my pinky finger. :( we were very sad - they were clearly frozen spring rolls that you would get at Costco, but not as tasty. $10 for them ... :(
Melanie Fisher
I had the red chicken curry and shrimp spring rolls. The portions were big. The food was good but not wow.
The best restaurant in the Mess Hall! Friendly staff. Their Thai tea, basil pork rice bowl and beef pho are amazing! I highly recommend their red curry bowl. The curry sauce is rich in coconut milk taste, and it’s not too spicy also?
Gigi Y.
If you are reading this, you should definitely ignore those nonsense, nasty one-star comments here. Saigon Kitchen is the best restaurant in the Mess Hall! The staff is very friendly. The beef pho is amazing, even though I can't say it is the best pho compared to other Vietnamese restaurants. I highly recommend their pork basil rice bowl and red curry bowl! I can't find that pork basil rice bowl anywhere else! For the red curry bowl, the curry sauce is rich in coconut milk flavor, and it is not too spicy also. It is suitable for people who can't take more than mild spiciness.
Lela A.
I wasn't expecting much from this place considering it's in Tustin and in a food hall.. but I had the saddest bowl of pho here. For $12, I was taken aback when I read the menu, and it said I could only choose one meat for that price. When the bowl came out, it was maybe 5 bites.. and 4 briskets.
OC Nola
July 1, 2019 - Sai Gon Kitchen: Zero Stars! (For the pho) Why? Because you're ten minutes away from other great pho places and this place makes pho like if it was located in North Dakota. Tastes nothing like pho and costs $12 dollars for a little bit of pho in a small bowl with no side garnish. I was so disappointed.I don't mind paying $12 for a bowl of pho, but you have to atleast have some premium broth that was stewing for 16 hours with some premium meat like ox tail or bone marrow. This pho taste like sweet chicken broth with dry chicken meat and below standard tasting noodles that were broken into little pieces.When I received my pho, they just handed to me and didn't prepare the meal, like placing a spoon, chopsticks, sriracha, hoisin sauce, napkins, or some garnishes on the tray. I had to do all by myself. But I let that slide because it was a soft opening.I didn't try anything else, maybe the pho is not their specialty and should probably take it off the menu. I hate to write a bad review on this place I really wanted to like it. But I just felt fooled out of $12 dollars and didn't want this to happen to anyone else.Grand opening is on July 21, 2019. I hope things changes and I'll give them another shot because they're pretty close to my place.
Willie F.
Been going here regularly for about 3-4 months now since my first time. It's quite amazing as always and i just had to write another review so for those who did not get to try will give this place a chance. The food is AMAZINGLY fresh! The guys up in the front are very attentive and very nice!
I loved this place for the basil pork & rice. I'm not sure about all of the bad reviews but it's sad that people find the need to be so critical on reviews but prob never talked to the owners at that time in person. It was nice, clean and accommodating. My coworker and I are sad they are closed.:-(
I'm being nice here for 2 stars. 1. My pho cost $16 for meatballs and beefs only. I thought to myself wow so pricy. 2. There were only 2 orders the whole time I was there waiting for almost 20 mins. 3. Got my plate, broth so plain. Taste nothing like a pho. Noodle too soft. Why did I go there? well it was the closet pho near work so I figured oh this looks good enough....wrong. The good news is Mess Hall have other food to try out.
Thought the pork and food was overtly too salty. The fried egg was good but hmm just tasted like it was seasoned with salt only! I don't think I would recommend this location for the food. Just was too mushy in consistency and yea.
I am slowly making my way through the shops at the new Mess Hall at Flight, and finally got to try Saigon Kitchen! Because I had been craving noodles, I ordered the Vermicelli Bowl with chicken for takeout. Honestly, for $12 and for being in a cafeteria-style food hall, I didn't have high expectations. However, when I opened my box, I was surprised by how much fresh veggies were included! My order had lots of shredded carrot and cucumber on top of lettuce leaves, and there was a LOT of noodles included (duh, right!). The bowl was filling while not making you feel heavy, and it didn't leave me hungry. The chicken had a good seasoning to it too. Overall, it was a good lunch option, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to stop by here. If you do stop by, parking is pretty abundant since there are a number of other shops here. Since it is cafeteria-style, they offer both indoor and outdoor seating options.
My wife and I ordered the Basil Pork rice and Red Curry. The basil pork came without basil. They curry can't without basil out eggplant. When I went to ask them about it, the chef just said that they ran out. No apology, no forewarning, just deal with it. The pork was bland, as you would expect since they didn't have herbs in it. The curry had very little actual curry in it - maybe a 1/4" in the bottom. They apparently had a ton of carrots, and it tasted like carrots with a little spice. The portion (of mostly carrots) was big, and the egg was cooked perfectly. But I will not be going back.
Food is definitely NOT as good as any other Vietnamese restaurant. But the price is muuuch more. My bowl of vermicelli has almost no meat in it. I just ate noodles and some veggies. Egg rolls are so small for the price
The WORST Vietnamese ice tea ever. Literally just orange water. I dont even want to imagine how awful their pho is.
Ugh. I've here twice and both times I've been very disappointed. I gave it a second chance but it only made me more dissatisfied. Pricey for a plate of plain Costco lettuce. They don't seem to care too much about food taste or quality that they put out for customers. It just seems too inauthentic to be called "Saigon kitchen". They don't even have any of the fresh herbs which makes up the Vietnamese flavors. Look at my plate, less than a cup of rice. To be fair the pork was ok, not chargrilled enough. But everything else was so bland. It's just a pile of lettuce with some carrots and cucumber on top. Please don't come here if you're looking for Vietnamese food. This is just a place where they throw plain and boring ingredients together with no Vietnamese flavors at all (besides the fish sauce they gave). I finished this plate to fill the void of my stomach and because I didn't want to waste food and my $12, and then I got two more slices of pizza from Big Parm for $1 each in order to feel full for lunch. This is just sad, I wouldn't even pay to eat this again at half the price.
i am very disappointed... the spring rolls were 90% dough & 10% filling, & smaller than my pinky finger. :( we were very sad - they were clearly frozen spring rolls that you would get at Costco, but not as tasty. $10 for them ... :(
I had the red chicken curry and shrimp spring rolls. The portions were big. The food was good but not wow.
Restaurantji Recommends
The best restaurant in the Mess Hall! Friendly staff. Their Thai tea, basil pork rice bowl and beef pho are amazing! I highly recommend their red curry bowl. The curry sauce is rich in coconut milk taste, and it’s not too spicy also?
If you are reading this, you should definitely ignore those nonsense, nasty one-star comments here. Saigon Kitchen is the best restaurant in the Mess Hall! The staff is very friendly. The beef pho is amazing, even though I can't say it is the best pho compared to other Vietnamese restaurants. I highly recommend their pork basil rice bowl and red curry bowl! I can't find that pork basil rice bowl anywhere else! For the red curry bowl, the curry sauce is rich in coconut milk flavor, and it is not too spicy also. It is suitable for people who can't take more than mild spiciness.
I wasn't expecting much from this place considering it's in Tustin and in a food hall.. but I had the saddest bowl of pho here. For $12, I was taken aback when I read the menu, and it said I could only choose one meat for that price. When the bowl came out, it was maybe 5 bites.. and 4 briskets.
July 1, 2019 - Sai Gon Kitchen: Zero Stars! (For the pho) Why? Because you're ten minutes away from other great pho places and this place makes pho like if it was located in North Dakota. Tastes nothing like pho and costs $12 dollars for a little bit of pho in a small bowl with no side garnish. I was so disappointed.I don't mind paying $12 for a bowl of pho, but you have to atleast have some premium broth that was stewing for 16 hours with some premium meat like ox tail or bone marrow. This pho taste like sweet chicken broth with dry chicken meat and below standard tasting noodles that were broken into little pieces.When I received my pho, they just handed to me and didn't prepare the meal, like placing a spoon, chopsticks, sriracha, hoisin sauce, napkins, or some garnishes on the tray. I had to do all by myself. But I let that slide because it was a soft opening.I didn't try anything else, maybe the pho is not their specialty and should probably take it off the menu. I hate to write a bad review on this place I really wanted to like it. But I just felt fooled out of $12 dollars and didn't want this to happen to anyone else.Grand opening is on July 21, 2019. I hope things changes and I'll give them another shot because they're pretty close to my place.
Been going here regularly for about 3-4 months now since my first time. It's quite amazing as always and i just had to write another review so for those who did not get to try will give this place a chance. The food is AMAZINGLY fresh! The guys up in the front are very attentive and very nice!