Saigon Restaurant & Bar

Review by Chris West

2061 E. 4th
Cleveland Ohio, 44115
(216) 344 2020

http://www.saigoncleveland.com/

The Atmosphere

The weather is cooperating in Cleveland for once, and we knew we had to utilize patio-time while we had the chance. The E. 4^th neighborhood is bustling with a variety of business professionals during this time of day, making for great people watching. Tucked into E. 4^th street, you’ll find a small Vietnamese restaurant called Saigon. The interior of Saigon gives you a clean and classy Asian feel, yet fits perfectly in its E. 4^th home. As the sun slowly crept over the buildings we were able to enjoy our lunch while basking in the sun. We were quickly greeted by our waitress who was very friendly.

The Menu

Saigon has two menus; a lunch menu and a dinner menu. At Eating Around Town, we are huge suckers for any establishment brave enough to supply us with a menu solely for lunch, and this was no exception. Each item on the menu is listed in its native tongue followed by the parenthesized English version, and if that’s not enough, they break down the appetizers and entrees by ingredients. However, if you are still feeling like a rookie, all you have to do is shout out B6 in your best Bingo voice since every dish is also labeled with a letter/number combination.

The Food

We started off with the Chả giò tôm (Crispy Shrimp Spring Rolls). The Spring Rolls consisted of shrimp and onions served with delicious sweet and sour sauce. The piping hot Spring Rolls were great with and without the sweet and sour sauce. Even our innocent bystander, who doesn’t typically eat seafood, thoroughly enjoyed each bite.

For our main courses we ordered the Gỏi gà (Chicken Cabbage Salad), and the Cơm tôm nướng (Grilled Shrimp over Rice). The contemporary presentation on all dishes fit the atmosphere of Saigon, and made us more intrigued with each dish that came out. Most dishes are served with a side of carrot, onion, cucumber, and selected sauce for that dish.

The Gỏi gà (Chicken Cabbage Salad), which is actually located in the appetizer section, is a monster of a salad that our innocent bystander easily took care of. The Chicken Cabbage Salad, or A8, consists of shredded chicken and cabbage tossed with onions, cilantro, scallions and crushed peanuts. You can smell the aroma of the warm peanuts as soon as the dish hits the table. The dish appeared to be almost creamy but that was hardly the case. The cabbage salad turned out to be very light, and won’t have you feeling like you just ate a thanksgiving meal as you head back to work.

I had the Cơm tôm nướng (Grilled Shrimp over Rice) which is a healthy portion of charbroiled shrimp served with rice, fresh lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and radishes. The entrée is also served with the sweet and sour sauce with makes the perfect accompaniment. The shrimp were grilled to perfection and seasoned with just a bit of a kick. After adding the sweet and sour sauce to both the shrimp and rice, I found myself enjoying the meal a bit more with each bite. It seems something strange is going on at EAT; both entrees were healthy choices and no grease. Must be the weather!

Departing

The service at Saigon is very quick and thorough. They make sure to get you in and out quickly, yet still deliver a quality product. We will definitely return to Saigon to utilize the patio and Vietnamese cuisine. If you are in the E. 4^th district and hungry for Pho or Spring Rolls, this place is for you.

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