Saigon Cafe

New to Livermore and I'm on the hunt to find my new food haunts. Stopped in on unseasonably warm winter day, craving shrimp vermicelli. It was a weekday late afternoon, an awkwardly late lunch/early dinner time. At the counter, I ordered vermicelli with prawns + pork, as well as an order of shrimp spring rolls. Looking around, this is a secret local spot to dine solo and get some work done. All patrons were eating alone, most working on their laptops with a finished plate pushed to the side. The restaurant is split into two rooms- one large dining space, with a side room so patrons are politely spread out. I'm making a mental note to bring my work down here when I need to be productive in a new atmosphere. I waited about 10-15 minutes for my take out order. THE PORTIONS, PEOPLE!!! The portions! Are! Huge! My vermicelli was enough to feed two, and the "three spring rolls" were equivalent to the size of 9 spring rolls elsewhere. The vermicelli was flavorful with fresh noodles and veggies, and but what stood out the most vs others was the oil- many restaurants use a cheap oil that is greasy and throws off the flavor. Here, they use a very light oil that adds to the flavor of the dish vs overpower. Super refreshing. Besides being huge, the spring rolls were very fresh and appeared to have just been made instead of being pulled out of the fridge. My only negative were that the shrimp were visibly not well deveined.

This is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in all of the Bay Area, amazing value, generous portions, delicious taste. Perfect little no frills hole in the wall.Clear soup accompanying the chicken rice dish- 5/5 I don't know what it was but I could get drink this all day everyday. Probably great for weight loss!Lemongrass chicken- 4/5 slightly powerful lemongrass flavorCurry chicken- 4.5/5 yummy, slightly sweetChicken pho- 4.5/5 yummyBeef pho- 4.5/5 yummyThe rice items come with salad and a yellow ginger dressing which can make any veggie delicious. They should sell it by the bottle. Want to return to try all the other items!

3 words. Spicy. Veggie. Soup. 10/10 good for the soul Located downtown livermore. Indoor seating. Very relaxing environment and good vibes. Hot good and fast! Kind staff.

This was one of the worst pho I've ever had... Its honestly kind of rare for pho to be bad, and this pho... Was bad. The broth was bland, the meat portion was miniscule, and when I hoped to add more flavor with their siracha or hoisen sauce, oh man, it turned out that even their sauces were bland. Their siracha was noticably different than the standard one. It tasted as if it was a weird knockoff that was then further diluted. So disappointed.

There's nothing better than getting rice plates at pho spots! We ordered the grilled pork chop plate and sautéed shrimp plate at Saigon Cafe which is nestled in downtown Livermore. Both plates came with beef broth so that's a plus since I love having soup with my rice plate!Saigon cafe has lots of seating and the service was fine. Actually at first I think the lady forgot about us and didn't give us any menus but that's alright as the food made up for it! I would definitely come back to try their other dishes.

Loved, loved, loved the Bahn Xeo Chay! It's packed with sprouts and tofu. Too often (most places I order this from) it's soggy or too thin and falls apart. This one is perfect! Incredibly large menu for the vegetarians :)Interior of the restaurant needs some TLC and deep cleaning (this the deduct of 1 star). Service was quick. Prices are moderate-high. Parking easily accessible any where downtown.

Bay Area pho snob here. Saigon Cafe took us by surprise because one would never suspect to find a good pho restaurant in downtown Livermore.We both had the Pho Dac Biet which is described on the menu as '#15. Rare Steak, Brisket, Tendon, & Tripe' -- and I made it a combo for another $3 which came with an order of Shrimp Rolls and a soda of mychoice. That's a steal and a deal.The broth was clear and very well seasoned. Not too sweet or salty -- just simmered with the right aromatics and beef bones for extra packed flavors. I did taste a slight hint of MSG but that can be common at Pho restaurants. The noodles were not overly cooked and still had a nice bounce in texture. We were surprised by how much meat was piled into each bowl. It was so filling (and I'm not a big meat eater by default) that I packed a lot of the meat leftover from our bowls to take home to my furry kid. Inside was spacious and could accommodate groups of almost all sizes. I'm willing to bet that the chefs are from San Jose. I'm a bit biased but I know the best cooks for Pho live or work in SJ :)Impressed all around for food, service, and prices. Bravo!

stopped by here on a very cold day with my friend after going out, and I would say that the service were amazing and attentive - however, the food we had ordered was a little bit disappointing for me. i had ordered pho but the soup wasn't really flavored in the way im used to/enjoy as it had a pretty sweet taste attached to it. my friend had ordered bun bo hue and it wasn't too bad but it also wasnt the best either. maybe it was an off day/it was later on in the evening. if you are in the area and youre craving pho/noodle soup still stop by and check them out as they also have a pretty extensive menu (lots of vegetarian options) and yall might find your experience differently!

Came for lunch on a Monday afternoon and we got to sit anywhere we want! We got a regular and large pho dac biet and we were pleasantly surprised! First of all, the portions are HUGE!! We've never gotten a bowl of pho that was so big! They're also very generous with the meats! Reasonably priced. Ive noticed other pho restaurants around the area only have sriracha and hoisin, but Saigon Cafe has sriracha, hoisin, AND chili oil!! I like making my pho spicy so i was happy they had chili oil here! You can also order nuoc beo which my bf loved because not many places know what it is. It makes the pho more rich and flavorful!!! Would definitely come back because this place meets all of the requirements that we typically look for when we go out to eat pho. Come eat here!! You won't regret it!

If you live in Dublin or Pleasanton make to drive to Livermore to get your Pho here. . I've been to every Pho place around and this is the one. Some places have that oily broth from the day before and if you got hangover you need that fresh batch to get you back to Square one. lot of places, Mr. Mark on the peanut sauce too, but this place has the best peanut sauce for your spring rolls.- Johanna V door dash