Bites Nearby: Saigon Village in San Rafael
Downtown Vietnamese restaurant loses a step.
You could stand on a corner and look around until a restaurant sign draws you in. But we have a better idea. Each week, Patch picks a restaurant in Petaluma, Novato or San Rafael that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:
Saigon Village
(www.saigonvillagerestaurant.com)
720 B St., San Rafael, CA 94901, (415) 453-3505
Overview: Occasionally people in Marin whine to me about the dearth of restaurants, specifically ethnic places, here in the county. People need to realize our population is a bit over 250,000, while San Francisco has more than triple that number plus 17 million visitors a year.
It’s not surprising that we have only two Vietnamese restaurants in all of Marin, La Maison De La Reine in Corte Madera and the other in San Rafael, Saigon Village.
For more than seven years I’ve been patronizing Saigon Village in downtown San Rafael. For me, it has always been a solid go-to place for delicious food, especially the beef soup or pho (pronounced phuh, not foe). Given my history with Saigon Village, two recent visits were doubly disappointing.
The usual rich beef pho broth, on a recent visit, was weak and had pools of fat floating on top. The brisket was tough and the some of the elements of the inclusions: bean sprouts, jalapeño, lemon and the missing sprigs of cilantro. I usually order it with sliced raw eye of round, which is cooked in the broth.
I also had the fried fish cakes that were covered in grease. I complained about them to the manager, but nothing was done. I didn’t eat them.
Surprised at the slip in the pho, fish cakes and lack of customer service, I returned the next day and ordered the fresh spring rolls, goi cuon. Wrapped in rice "paper" they should contain rice noodles, mint and cilantro, lettuce, a slice of thin roasted pork and sliced prawns.
Theirs had rice noodles, lettuce and prawns. No pork and no herbs. Disappointing.
Décor: Scruffy.
The Drinks: Beer, iced coffee, iced tea and sodas.
Appetizers: See above.
Entrees: See above.
Service: Robotic and not always customer friendly.
Cost: $6-$13
Handicap accessible: No. Steps must be negotiated to get in.
Noise level: Comfortable to speak.
Marshall West
11:07 pm on Thursday, March 31, 2011
I guess you need to leave Marin and make a short trip north to Sonoma county. We are blessed with many many Vietnamese restaurants, most are good to excellent. Maybe Marin has too many expensive hoity-toity "American" restaurants. BTW, Sonoma county has other ethnicities that are represented too - Korean, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, etc. I guess we are the melting pot, and have enriched lives to show for it.
Abe
6:09 am on Friday, April 1, 2011
Yes, I continue to envy the Vietnamese scene in Sonoma county.
sheri
10:49 am on Friday, April 1, 2011
We love Vietnamese food and for years we've been driving from Novato all the way to SF to 19th Ave to go to PPQ. I've tried dozens of Vietnamese restaurants and even though PPQ is anything but fancy, their food is amazing and consistently good (been going for 11 years)
But we have been looking for a place closer to home in either Marin or Sonoma counties. I was excited to read this article because I had never heard of this restaurant, but no I am glad I didn't
If anyone has recommendations to other Vietnamese restaurants around here, I would love to give them a try.
A lot of you wrote that Sonoma has good Vietamese but which city and what are the names? Korean too! We stay faithful to Jennie Lows our local Chinese. They are fabulous but would like to try other good Asian restaurants if there are any in the area.
Marshall West
12:49 pm on Friday, April 1, 2011
Sheri: Since you asked, I will offer you my own personal "best of" list of favorite ethnic restaurants in Sonoma county - I am sure others have their own opinions, and I too would be interested in knowing about other good places to eat around the county.
Thai: Lemongrass Thai (Petaluma), or SEA (Petaluma)
Korean: Korean Bear (Cotati)
Turkish: Afendi (Petaluma), or Real Doner (Petaluma)
Japanese: Fuji (Petaluma)
Vietnamese: Thang Long (Petaluma)
Latin (Central American); Zocalos Latin Grill (Petaluma)
I especially like the Korean Bear. It is on the 116 in Cotati just off the 101 and it is a surprising dining experience. Great prices too.
sheri
1:18 pm on Friday, April 1, 2011
Thank you so much, Marshall! I am going to copy and paste your list to my email so I can go back to it. My family and I are always in a conundrum when we want to go out and eat. Here in Marin, it's either a fancy (but not so great) restaurant or a tasteless chain. We usually end up back at Jennie Lows. But how much Chinese can you eat, lol? I know there are a lot of good restaurants in Sonoma County but don't know where to go.
So thanks again for the references, they sound great and can't wait to try them...especially the Korean one. Bon Apetit!
Abe
5:51 pm on Friday, April 1, 2011
Marshall - great list! Thank you for sharing!
Sheri - we should carpool sometime - hah! - that is exactly what we like to do too - Novato trip to PPQ on 19th - love that place!!!
In Novato, our favorite Chinese place (we've tried them all) is China Village on Redwood. Costs a little more than most others, but worth it to us...
Bon appetit everyone!