Saigon Pearl Vietnamese Restaurant

Coming from Richmond B.C., I’m no stranger to asian food. Most phở places use beef that I would consider sub-​par. However, the folks at Saigon Pearl use such amazingly tender beef that it simply melts in your mouth. The service is excellent and the staff are very attentive to your needs. I personally have gone here a few times and tried many different items off the menu and have not come across one that I did not enjoy. The dumplings, chicken wings, bo la lot (my favourite) satay beef noodle soup were all delicious.

Greeted by friendly servers and seated in a huge booth where it was obvious we could while away the afternoon in unhurried conversation like the table of snowboarders and «ladies who lunch» seated nearby.
Then…we all had colds and there was a charge for tea. My Sister is from Taiwan and literally CANNOT pay for tea at Asian restaurants so we were off to a bad start.
Then…we had the crispy pork skin spring rolls which we found dry and not very flavourful. Ra Roh :(
BUT (insert ‘save the day’ music here) then came a dish so splendoriffic that ALL was right in the food universe again! I don’t actually know what it’s called (sheepish apologies) as it was ordered for me but it is basically curry chicken+deep fried potatoes.
A friend called it «Curry Poutine without the Cheese». I call it «Heaven on a Plate»!
Get some and put it in your belly.
Soda=free refills. T&T is conveniently located 2 doors down.

The service is usually pretty good, everyone is very friendly and efficient. Normally at Vietnamese restaurants we eat shrimp salad rolls and the beef sate soups. The shrimp rolls here are decent, don’t seem to be the freshest thiugh. The soup is the best soup I have had in the area, but there are many other restaurants that I prefer. Four stars because the service is good, but food itself would only be three. The restaurant itself is very nice and in a big plaza with lots of parking, always very clean.

Came here on a recommendation from a friend who lives in Calgary. We were just driving through from Banff, on our way home. My go to is always Phở Dac Biet (#10). We ordered a #11 for my wife and kids, and spring rolls.
The food and service were great! You can tell that they care a lot for the ingredients as the bean sprouts were super fresh and crispy. Can’t tell you how often I get the bean sprouts that look like there’s no more life in it.
The only thing I had an issue with was the portions. I would have liked a bit more. I would still definitely go here again.

Dinner review
Ordered #10 deluxe phở 3 Unilocal
Service 3.5 Unilocal
Sure I would go back not a lot of options for Vietnamese food.
A good selection on the menu and reasonable priced.

I was looking for something open near the airport after watching hockey on a Saturday night. This place came up, only about 7 minutes from my hotel. Glad I gave it a try.
I had the spring rolls (#2) and my standard go to Phở (rare & well beef, tripe and tendon… #16). The shrimp and chicken spring rolls were tasty, well formed and the three were just the right size as an appetizer for a rather hungry person. The Phở was also tasty. The broth wasn’t as clear as some that I’ve had, but the flavour and mouth feel helped me overlook that. I felt that it could have contained more tripe, but maybe that’s just me. Also, a bit more basil would have been nice, but again I also like it basil heavy.
I’ve had better, but not in a while of looking. Both were good enough for me to return. Not tomorrow as I plan to try a shawarma place in the same area. But definitely another time before I fly out.

4 stars for décor, ambience, friendly customer service and cleanliness. It’s your typical hole in the wall; in fact, this whole plaza feels upper-​class with what appears to be monster homes and townhomes up in the hills.
3 stars for value: I’ve never seen a $ 15 vermicelli bowl, i’m sure it’s got all the works judging from the pics in the menu.
Ordered the ice coffee @ $ 4.50! It may sound like Starbucks pricing but usually one can get this for $ 3.50. Passes the test.
Next time in the hood, worth repeating.
a few stores over from T&T Supermarket.

Standard menu for Vietnamese cuisine. Visited a number of times, it’s a friends favourite place.
I always finish my entire bowl of bun, and I can’t say that from most of the Vietnamese restaurants I visit.
It fills up here most evenings. Come early, we arrive at 6:30 on a Thursday and got a table, but it got quite busy between 7 & 8 as we dined.

Phở sate gets a ⁵⁄₅ for amazing taste and heat. Vermicelli bowl was rather bland for ³⁄₅ and small portion. This reflects in the price as its very cheap compared to some.
We’ll be back for soup.

It’s the local joint: close to home and close to work. With the recent snow, I’ve ventured for phở twice this week.
On my first visit, I ordered a spicy noodle soup, which nearly burned my face. It was too intense for my palate. Today, I ordered phở with sliced beef and beef balls. The sliced beef was quite good; the balls tasted like cheap sausage. The service on both occasions was satisfactory: servers were polite and efficient.
It’s a solid place for a quick bite, but I wouldn’t drive across town to visit.

I have only been to Saigon Pearl once. It is out of my neck of the woods, but definitely not a place I would come back to if I were eating out in the NE. The food came fast enough, but had no flavor. It took a long time for us to pay with debit/​credit, as they made us wait to pay while first helping anyone who was getting food to go. I’ve definitely had better!

I go here very often for phở tai, it makes me full and happy and that is all that matters. Other than the one or two napkins they give you but that is my only complaint. ⁸⁄₁₀.

Usually Vietnamese restaurants in the NW are hard to come by (the best ones are clustered in the NE) I tried this place on a recommendation and now it’s a staple place for me!
It’s always a toss up between the spring rolls and the dumplings for a starter (both delicious!), and for a main I switch it up between the phở sate, the beef & spring rolls with noodles or the pork chop with rice. The prices aren’t bad either — you’re looking at about $ 10 or so for an entrée. So if you don’t wanna make the venture out of the NW for Vietnamese food, come here! You won’t be disappointed.

Quick and clean. Normally head here on the occasional dinner, first time for lunch. Steady amount of people here no matter when we arrive but practically no waite time.

Boy, Calgary reviewers are stingy with the stars! I have been to the Saigon Pearl twice during visits and it is excellent. Not fine dining, certainly, but the food is very good. The prices are decent. Everything is clean, and the service seems super quick and helpful to me. Both times I have visited with young nieces who have required separate bowls of things, cups of ice, forks, spring rolls cut up, etc. All requests have been cheerfully fulfilled.
Hue’s spicy phở is excellent, and fried dumplings are habit forming. Also, conveniently located next to T&T asian supermarket.

We went on a Sunday (Father’s Day) at 150pm, first timers here and got a booth right away.
Service here was very good, I can say that, very friendly, although the food took longer than usual for Vietnamese cuisine.
The restaurant was clean although the walls next to our booth could have used a wipe-​down.
Ordered a Vietnamese cold coffee, got it right away but I could not drink it until my meal was done as I had to wait for the drip on the espresso to finish. :(Took soooo long as it sat in front of me, teasing me and I was not warned that it would take 45 min for a $ 5 coffee.
The fresh spring rolls were OK (best with some hot sauce on them), I have never seen them with a piece of turkey slice rolled up in there against the wonton wrapper — maybe this is to keep them firmer? No idea.
Also ordered was chicken phở with sautee sauce on the side and spicy seafood phở. Both were also OK. The texture of the noodles were really good and for me that is King. My one scallop in the seafood phở was very tasty, shrimp and faux crab were good, squid I gave away to my dining partner and he also got my chunks of tomato. For the chicken phở, do not expect the sliced chicken to have any seasoning whatsoever, but I guess this is how they cook, which is cool. He liked it.
I have had better phở and I wish they had served tea with the meal as many other comparable restaurants do.
May return, just not dying to rush back.

Stopped here for dinner after a late day of shopping, as I figured there would be something vegetarian available on the menu.
The waitress was very friendly and mentioned she is Buddhist and should be vegetarian but she’s not so she admired us. lol
We got Bun with vermicelli rice noodles and spring rolls. It was quite a lot of spring rolls, I believe 4 each, so it was suuuuper filling. It’s also very affordable.
Nice, clean, friendly place. If I’m ever up that far north again I would go back.

Food isn’t terrible but it isn’t fantastic either. The service however is terrible but on a scale of Asian restaurant service it is acceptable. They tend to forget you’re even there, don’t see you when you are waving to get their attention and screw up your orders.

You know, last night’s visit was a little disappointing. I’ve been here a few times before and it has been better. We ordered crispy shrimp which was good but a tad overdone, I think. I didn’t have nearly enough sauce for my vermicelli bowl, but otherwise everything tasted fine.
We were seated near the restrooms. There’s a booth right beside the entrance to it and a couple was seated there, who were not pleased. I wouldn’t be either. My spouse and I were in the booth next to theirs, so just one away from the door. Not ideal. I don’t want to know the comings and goings of staff and clientele. One server left the restroom and while walking past us, grabbed an empty plate. Also, I thought the ladies’ room appeared neglected.
I’ll continue to return because I prefer this atmosphere to other Vietnamese restaurants in my neighborhood. It’s an inexpensive meal and service is respectable.
April Challenge: The Underdog ²⁸⁄₃₀

Newer business, with good food. The décor is modern, and the music was trance so I believe trying to be a little more hip. The food was quite good, better than other Vietnamese I’ve had.
Location could use a bit more upkeep but generally clean. Service staff was friendly though not particularly attentive. Reasonably busy at early supper time, which I believe is the biggest indicator of success and quality.
The food was surprisingly inexpensive, and they were not chintzy on the quality or quantity of food. I was unable to finish my dinner which almost never happens.