New Saigon Restaurant in Denver, Colorado: Restaurant Review

This is my personal restaurant review for New Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant nestled cozily in Denver, Colorado.

Location:
630 S. Federal Blvd
Denver, CO 80219

Contact:
(303) 936-4954

Hours:
Tuesday - Sunday: 11am - 9:30pm
Closed on Monday

Notes:
-Reservations accepted, but only for a part of 6 or more.
-Has a lot of vegetarian substitutes.
-First restaurant to serve authentic Vietnamese food in Denver, CO. Established in 1987.
-Voted Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Denver in 2000, 2001, and 2004.
-Voted Best Taste of Old South Federal in 2007.

Prices:
New Saigon is reasonably priced, you can expect to pay $9 an entree, and a couple bucks more if that entree is seafood. Surprisingly, the appetizers are more expensive than the entrees, but that is because of the quantity of food.

Service:
The service at New Saigon, is.. well, amazing. You walk in, and are welcomed with smiling faces and cheery voices. You're seated promptly, and the staff is very attentive. If you say you need more time to order, they come back in 5-6 minutes, instead of forgetting about you. The food is served extremely fast, fresh, and delicious. There has never been a reason for me not to tip generously when I go to New Saigon.

Food & Menu:
The menu is written in both English and Vietnamese, and it is very extensive and appealing. The Cha Gio Tom Cua (Vietnamese egg rolls with crab and shrimp, served with lettuce) are a menu favorite, cooked the right way and seasoned the right way. VERY reasonably priced, as well.

The Mi Tom Cua soup (shrimp, imitation crap meat and pork in an egg noodle soup) is hot, hearty and delicious, and a size large will take you a lot further than you'd think. Usually, I don't like any kind of crab in soup, not even crab bisque, but it adds a delightful essence to this ethnic soup.

The Tom Thit Ram is a hot dish, shrimp and pork sauteed in a very spicy sauce. It's delicious, and cheap, but only partake in this dish if you're SURE you like spicy food!

They have 6 different varieties of frog legs. While I am not a big fan of frog legs, this is still pretty unique and interesting.

For lunch, I often find myself getting the Bun Dac Biet with peanuts. This dish consists of grilled shrimp, pork and beef and served with an egg roll on rice noodles, cucumbers, bean sprouts and lettuce. It's very cheap, and VERY filling!

The Ca Kho To, sauteed catfish in a very spicy sauce, is delicious. And this is very surprising, as I don't like catfish and I am not a big fan of fish that doesn't come in a shell!

Specialties and My Favorites:
One of New Saigon's most popular specialties is the Sup Vi Ca Cua. It's shark fin and crab meat soup! And it's only $5. I, myself, am not quite ambitious enough to try it, as I don't see the point in eating anything that comes off of a shark, but this is still very interesting.

Another popular special, and one of my favorites, is the Cu Lao Bai Bien. Costing a hefty $32, this is a HUGE dish consisting of fresh shrimp, lobster, catfish, clams, mussels, scallops and squid, and served fondue style. Anyone who likes sea food, served ethnically, would love this dish! It'd be easily split between two or three people, as well.

The one dish that is the most popular with my friends is the Do Bien Dac Biet. It is another hefty-sized meal! It is King crab legs, lobster, squid, mussels, scallops and shrimp sauteed in a home-made sauce (very yummy) and lemon grass. The lemon grass gives it a very Asian and ethnic flavor.

But, my all time favorite dish has to be the Ca Ri Tom Hoac Bo. It's only $15, and you can choose between shrimp, chicken, scallops or beef. The meat is served with chunky potatoes and carrots seared in curry and coconut milk. New Saigon serves this dish in a fire pot with rice noodles. It is amazing, utterly breath-taking. I love anything and everything curry, especially with coconut milk.

I give this restaurant an easy 5 stars.