This place was fantastic and the staff phenomenal! Im deeply saddened to have discovered they have shut their doors. Seemingly overnight. I wish the staff and owners the best going forward. This is a gem that will truly be missed by many.
Robert B.
I have dined at Saiwalks for many years and never posted a review which I regret. This establishment is truly a well run business with an excellent choice in menu items. I enjoy the fact they pride themselves with lower sodium choices and NO MSG in any of the foods. The Pho recipe puts most other San Francisco Vietnamese restaurants to shame. Try the barbecued pork chops with garlic noodles and you will be a lifetime customer.I don't want to leave out the staff as they have always been pleasant and accommodating.
Chris N.
The springs rolls are amazing. We got both the fried and spring rolls. Both excellent
Jxx X
The sense of humor of this place has a pleasant levity and charm. From the name of the place to the check cup that says, in reference to tips, ”we love you long time”. It was quite funny. I had bbq chicken bahn mi with extra chicken. The latter ended up being a good sized bowl of chicken, as opposed to being added to the sandwich. Unexpected, but I ate it (duh) and it was tasty. The staff was friendly with good humor, and attentive. I’ll definitely be back!
InterpreterCat White
Updated: 2/17/23- the Food was just as amazing as it was the first time (4/2022) Had the rib-eye steak BUN- wish I could order and take it back to LA with me. I will be thinking about this dish for a while. It was delicious!Brought 2 French exchange students along with my partner and I, and in family style, tried 3 other dishes besides my own and each order was just as amazing. Can’t go wrong no matter which you choose.Saiwalks, you did it again! Instead of leaving my heart in San Francisco, I am leaving it in your restaurant. Can’t wait to eat here again soon!Food was excellent! Highly recommend this restaurant. Everything was packaged for easy transport to our hotel. Can’t wait to eat there again! I had the beef Pho.
Sarah K.
Really yummy vermicelli bowl + bbq chicken. A bit on the spency side- $17. Nice outdoor seating.
Katarina Stein
Love the pho from this place. I always get the comfort style to get extra veggies which are perfectly cooked (not too mushy, not too hard). Broth is tasty, the five spice chicken is super flavorful with a crispy skin. The beef pho is also great. We’ve ordered the fresh spring rolls before but they weren’t my favorite because the rice paper was a little thick/tough. But the filling and sauce were tasty. Love coming here!
Saliev Sardorbek
Very awful staff especially old Chinese lady. She prohibited me to speak in the restaurant but no one can prohibit to speak with someone inside the restaurant. I told her that she has right to serve me but not prohibiting to speak. Next time i will ask restaurant to call supervisor in order to tell them freedom of speaking
psmithpalliser
On our last night at Cow Hollow Inn we decided to have an early dinner and out of the vast variety of restaurants in the nearby area, we decided we wanted to go for asian food so we tried Saiwalks and were no disappointed. The server greeted us warmly and was very friendly. We started with the spring rolls (amazing) and I had the Beef Pho and my wife had the 9-spice chicken . Everything was good and the portions were very generous. Would return.
Katy W.
I've been to this place before for their rib eye garlic noodles and it was good. I came back last night because I wanted to try their pho. What caught my attention was that their menu stated that their broth was boiled for 10 hours. I decided to get their beef pho and their 9 spice chicken noodle soup. Beef pho $18 (4.5/5) - the broth alone was great, but definitely not the top 3 I've had. It came with A LOT of meat and this was the most meat I've ever received on my pho. It was more meat than noodles (yay!). Downside was the meat was a bit chewy.9 Spice Chicken noodle soup $19 (5/5) - best chicken noodle soup I've had !! The broth was delicious and flavorful like the menu stated ! The chicken had a nice crisp but chewy. The soup also came with a lot of vegetables. This bowl was very hearty and comforting. Sad thing was the chicken was a bit chewy as well. Both noodle soups came with a plate of lime, jalapeños, bean sprouts, cilantro and a giant piece of basil, sirchaha, and hoisin. They gave traditional shrimp chips as the appetizer. I would definitely come back for the 9 spice chicken pho !
Went with a group of friends for lunch. We ordered 2 orders of the sweet potato fries for the table. They were just okay. For mains we ordered pho 9-spice, beef pho, veggie banhmi, BBQ pork vermicelli and portabello rice. I had the BBQ pork vermicelli and thought it was the best of all the food we ordered. The other dishes were not highly flavored and were a bit bland for my taste. The service was slow and the restaurant was quite chilly, so plan to eat fast before your food gets cold.
MaxTürck
The staff were exquisite; very friendly and informative. The vegan options were just one per option but tasty nonetheless
Ed U.
I'm hardly ever in the Marina. Nothing personal, just a logistical challenge when you live in another part of town. However, when I was taking a walk around the Presidio and making my way toward Van Ness, I strolled down Chestnut noting all the places I had not tried yet. Initially it was a bit odd for me to choose a Vietnamese spot to grab some dinner since I'm much closer to all the Little Saigon eateries in the Tenderloin.However, this one didn't have the same working class vibe of those places. They appear to be going for a travel adventure look with their decor, and a bit of humor in their descriptions of food categories ("Spring Rolls: Not Eye Rolls", "Early to Bed, Early to Rice"). After receiving some complimentary shrimp chips (photo: bit.ly/3Os7ycA), I went for their $13 Saigon Souvenir Spring Rolls (photo: bit.ly/3tTx4hs).They were fresh spring rolls optimally packed with not only the expected ingredients but also mango, carrot, and pork as well as shrimp. It came with a fish sauce instead of peanut, but it was a forgivable lapse given the variety of flavors. For my main, I decided on the $19 Pork Chop Rice which was anchored by a pair of grilled and marinated bone-in pork chops (photo: bit.ly/3tQaZQP). Good chops that I did gnaw with un-Marina-like abandon. FOOD - 4 stars...generous portions, pretty flavorful AMBIANCE - 4 stars...trendier vibe and more spacious than most Vietnamese restaurants SERVICE - 3.5 stars...pretty reasonable TOTAL - 4 stars...street food for a healthy appetite...wait, that's meRELATED - Exploring the Marina? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: bit.ly/2HyFdzC
::petite::vegan::
Nice vegan pho but I prefer wider noodles over the thin noodles they use.
Mario Mare
I am so sorry, but I am amused at how this place has any star at all. The beef pho soup was bland, no flavor, low quality tasting meat. I go to Pho a lot but consider myself NOT picky still, but this was really terrible. Hoisin sauce did not help and I hope the chef for the day was out or something? Because otherwise they do not deserve to be in business most likely just ripping off the fancy caucasians in this high foot traffic prime location. This was the first time in year I did not finish one third of the food and I just paid and walked out.Service is mediocre, which is fairly normal for a certain cultural cuisine so that’s no biggie, but the food. My gosh please people go try some other Pho and become aware first.
This place was fantastic and the staff phenomenal! Im deeply saddened to have discovered they have shut their doors. Seemingly overnight. I wish the staff and owners the best going forward. This is a gem that will truly be missed by many.
I have dined at Saiwalks for many years and never posted a review which I regret. This establishment is truly a well run business with an excellent choice in menu items. I enjoy the fact they pride themselves with lower sodium choices and NO MSG in any of the foods. The Pho recipe puts most other San Francisco Vietnamese restaurants to shame. Try the barbecued pork chops with garlic noodles and you will be a lifetime customer.I don't want to leave out the staff as they have always been pleasant and accommodating.
The springs rolls are amazing. We got both the fried and spring rolls. Both excellent
The sense of humor of this place has a pleasant levity and charm. From the name of the place to the check cup that says, in reference to tips, ”we love you long time”. It was quite funny. I had bbq chicken bahn mi with extra chicken. The latter ended up being a good sized bowl of chicken, as opposed to being added to the sandwich. Unexpected, but I ate it (duh) and it was tasty. The staff was friendly with good humor, and attentive. I’ll definitely be back!
Updated: 2/17/23- the Food was just as amazing as it was the first time (4/2022) Had the rib-eye steak BUN- wish I could order and take it back to LA with me. I will be thinking about this dish for a while. It was delicious!Brought 2 French exchange students along with my partner and I, and in family style, tried 3 other dishes besides my own and each order was just as amazing. Can’t go wrong no matter which you choose.Saiwalks, you did it again! Instead of leaving my heart in San Francisco, I am leaving it in your restaurant. Can’t wait to eat here again soon!Food was excellent! Highly recommend this restaurant. Everything was packaged for easy transport to our hotel. Can’t wait to eat there again! I had the beef Pho.
Really yummy vermicelli bowl + bbq chicken. A bit on the spency side- $17. Nice outdoor seating.
Love the pho from this place. I always get the comfort style to get extra veggies which are perfectly cooked (not too mushy, not too hard). Broth is tasty, the five spice chicken is super flavorful with a crispy skin. The beef pho is also great. We’ve ordered the fresh spring rolls before but they weren’t my favorite because the rice paper was a little thick/tough. But the filling and sauce were tasty. Love coming here!
Very awful staff especially old Chinese lady. She prohibited me to speak in the restaurant but no one can prohibit to speak with someone inside the restaurant. I told her that she has right to serve me but not prohibiting to speak. Next time i will ask restaurant to call supervisor in order to tell them freedom of speaking
On our last night at Cow Hollow Inn we decided to have an early dinner and out of the vast variety of restaurants in the nearby area, we decided we wanted to go for asian food so we tried Saiwalks and were no disappointed. The server greeted us warmly and was very friendly. We started with the spring rolls (amazing) and I had the Beef Pho and my wife had the 9-spice chicken . Everything was good and the portions were very generous. Would return.
I've been to this place before for their rib eye garlic noodles and it was good. I came back last night because I wanted to try their pho. What caught my attention was that their menu stated that their broth was boiled for 10 hours. I decided to get their beef pho and their 9 spice chicken noodle soup. Beef pho $18 (4.5/5) - the broth alone was great, but definitely not the top 3 I've had. It came with A LOT of meat and this was the most meat I've ever received on my pho. It was more meat than noodles (yay!). Downside was the meat was a bit chewy.9 Spice Chicken noodle soup $19 (5/5) - best chicken noodle soup I've had !! The broth was delicious and flavorful like the menu stated ! The chicken had a nice crisp but chewy. The soup also came with a lot of vegetables. This bowl was very hearty and comforting. Sad thing was the chicken was a bit chewy as well. Both noodle soups came with a plate of lime, jalapeños, bean sprouts, cilantro and a giant piece of basil, sirchaha, and hoisin. They gave traditional shrimp chips as the appetizer. I would definitely come back for the 9 spice chicken pho !
Restaurantji Recommends
Went with a group of friends for lunch. We ordered 2 orders of the sweet potato fries for the table. They were just okay. For mains we ordered pho 9-spice, beef pho, veggie banhmi, BBQ pork vermicelli and portabello rice. I had the BBQ pork vermicelli and thought it was the best of all the food we ordered. The other dishes were not highly flavored and were a bit bland for my taste. The service was slow and the restaurant was quite chilly, so plan to eat fast before your food gets cold.
The staff were exquisite; very friendly and informative. The vegan options were just one per option but tasty nonetheless
I'm hardly ever in the Marina. Nothing personal, just a logistical challenge when you live in another part of town. However, when I was taking a walk around the Presidio and making my way toward Van Ness, I strolled down Chestnut noting all the places I had not tried yet. Initially it was a bit odd for me to choose a Vietnamese spot to grab some dinner since I'm much closer to all the Little Saigon eateries in the Tenderloin.However, this one didn't have the same working class vibe of those places. They appear to be going for a travel adventure look with their decor, and a bit of humor in their descriptions of food categories ("Spring Rolls: Not Eye Rolls", "Early to Bed, Early to Rice"). After receiving some complimentary shrimp chips (photo: bit.ly/3Os7ycA), I went for their $13 Saigon Souvenir Spring Rolls (photo: bit.ly/3tTx4hs).They were fresh spring rolls optimally packed with not only the expected ingredients but also mango, carrot, and pork as well as shrimp. It came with a fish sauce instead of peanut, but it was a forgivable lapse given the variety of flavors. For my main, I decided on the $19 Pork Chop Rice which was anchored by a pair of grilled and marinated bone-in pork chops (photo: bit.ly/3tQaZQP). Good chops that I did gnaw with un-Marina-like abandon. FOOD - 4 stars...generous portions, pretty flavorful AMBIANCE - 4 stars...trendier vibe and more spacious than most Vietnamese restaurants SERVICE - 3.5 stars...pretty reasonable TOTAL - 4 stars...street food for a healthy appetite...wait, that's meRELATED - Exploring the Marina? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: bit.ly/2HyFdzC
Nice vegan pho but I prefer wider noodles over the thin noodles they use.
I am so sorry, but I am amused at how this place has any star at all. The beef pho soup was bland, no flavor, low quality tasting meat. I go to Pho a lot but consider myself NOT picky still, but this was really terrible. Hoisin sauce did not help and I hope the chef for the day was out or something? Because otherwise they do not deserve to be in business most likely just ripping off the fancy caucasians in this high foot traffic prime location. This was the first time in year I did not finish one third of the food and I just paid and walked out.Service is mediocre, which is fairly normal for a certain cultural cuisine so that’s no biggie, but the food. My gosh please people go try some other Pho and become aware first.