I remember the first time my husband and I ate at this restaurant: it was freezing cold outside and we were starving. New to Canada at the time, we had no clue where to eat. We were at the Salvation Army Thrift store when we both thought, a nice hot steaming bowl of pho would be good right about now. Lo and behold, Pho Saigon happened to be in the same plaza.
Several months later and after a number of follow-up visits, I found myself having a quiet lunch alone. I looked around and I was surprised that I didn't notice the beautiful artwork and decor scattered throughout the restaurant. The owner told me that her branch in Pickering is even better and is a more formal sit down restaurant; however, this site is her "baby" (first restaurant) so you'll find her here most often.
Stellar customer service during the day (can't say the same for the night shift) when the owner is there! I grilled the younger female waitress about dishes I was unfamiliar with and she had an answer for everything. The waitresses would periodically check in on me; but if I needed something, all I had to do was look around (no waving your hand around or yelling "excuse me") and one of the waitresses would come to my table. One instance a waitress was in the kitchen and the other was with another customer; I happened to look at the owner (personable Portuguese woman with spiky blond hair who mans the cash register) and she knew to call one of the waitresses to check on me. A++ in my book!
As far as the food, the Pho and Vermicelli dishes are solid picks; I wouldn't recommend the shrimp paste in sugar cane (chewy and the sugar cane wasn't sweet), nor the meatballs (chewy and hard).