Saigon On Brant - Burlington

It's hard to find good pho out in the suburbs, but Saigon came highly recommended, so I decided to give it a try.

I've only eaten at 2 Pho restaurants thus far in Burlington, and I can tell you this will not be one of the two I ever plan to re-visit.

The soups are good but the atmosphere and old decor are a turn off. It is an eat and run type of diner. Couldn't wait to get out of there.

I've been to Saigon on Brant a single time and after my first experience I plan to go back. I ordered an A01, 213 and 503. The egg noodle based soup that I ate had a much more rustic and generally vietnamese flavor profile which is something Pho Mi T&T is missing. The stock at Saigon on Brant is richer in flavor, I taste what I assume is the result of slowly simmering chicken bones in the stock with a deeper flavor that is present throughout the whole dish as opposed to just in the stock.I believe that for stock based dishes they are superior to the other alternatives I have tried in Burlington. Their decor is a little bit dated and could use with some dusting but I can overlook this as dust isn't a huge issue to me. The service I got was also terrific, my brother ate a spicy pepper which made him hiccup (which hasn't happened with spicy peppers before) and the chef (I assume owner) brought us over some water and laughed and handed us some more peppers and said spicy huh?. The overall feel of this place is more authentic to what I expect of a vietnamese restaurant, next time I need to try their Saigon Special which I assume is just the Beef Noodle Soup they advertise.

I used to eat at Saigon on Brant several times a week for many years. It was reliably good and quick, but over time it started to become dirty and dingy and I started going to other restaurants for pho. The last time I ate at the restaurant I decided I would not return for dine-in, and I only occasionally took take-out home. I picked up take out yesterday and ordered one of my long standing favourite meals; I really wish I hadn't. Not only has the dining atmosphere deteriorated, but so has the food. The portion size was still quite large, but I didn't come close to finishing it because it wasn't good. In my opinion this restaurant needs to shut its doors for several weeks and undergo a major overhaul both in terms of cleanliness and decor. If they don't they can't survive which would be a shame because at one time it was a nice place and the owners were pleasant. I now don't think of Saigon on Brant when I crave pho, there are much better options near by.