Sao Mai
“The people who work here are all Viet and the food is much better then Chinatown.”
“beef eye round in beef noodle broth with bean sprouts, fresh lime, basil and jalapeño) and the Pho Sao Mai (house made noodle.”
“I usually eat at Saigon shack in the west village but this place is closer to everything I need, more delicious, and cheaper!”
Sao Mai
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Americanized vietnamese food is what i have to say. It was good though but i prefer the authentic places especially if i am paying manhattan prices. Vietnamese spring rolls are my favorite thing to eat but here they use a different spring roll paper. The same that the thai people use. The pho broth was good but i did not care for the pork chops over rice or beef cubes. They were definitely bland. Service was good. At least the young waiters spoke english. Nice change.
Best bang for your buck when it comes to Vietnamese food. It's a gem in the east village with quick delivery and some mean pho, DIY summer rolls, bahn mi and, most importantly, pork spring roll bun. If you've never had Vietnamese before, this is the perfect place to start–authentic, friendly staff and super clean.
Honestly, I hope this place never closes down. Or at least something better replaces it– because I believe in a free market and I'm going to tell my boys to trust in the constitution. But for the sake of convenience, let's just not let this place close down.
Aside from the pho, a friend and I decided to explore the appetizers and being lazy idiots, our fingers landed on the bo la lap. I'm Vietnamese and I've never heard of this, so it was new territory for both of us. To our surprise, we were given a diy station. Like, one of those challenges on cutthroat kitchen designed to humiliate you for somebody's entertainment. Luckily for me, I have no shame, and the girl I was with loooooooooooooooves arts n' crafts, so we both ended up having fun assembling our own dishes. In her exact words "I'm a better Asian than you." Great, lunch with a side of emasculation. But I'd really recommend this if you're with someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously. The taste… not my taste. It's fine, just too vegetably for me. What are grape leaves anyway?
And of course, the pho. What Vietnamese place is worth its salt if it doesn't serve good pho? I find myself a lot these days just shutting down my brain and letting my heart decide what to eat. And lo and behold, I'll find myself here. Maybe it's because the pho reminds me of a mother's hug. RIP Mother. But really, what truly satiates my appetite is that broth. Ugh, as I'm writing this, I can hear a little voice in my head "go tomorrow." "Also, remember to make a dentist appointment."
They lose a star for not charging less when I ask for no noodles. Come on man, we're all just trying to make it.
Turnover on the customers is high so you know the food is fresh and they have been around for years since this place always has a decent showing.
This was our go to viet spot since it was down the street from us. It is your standard go to spot if you were looking for Vietnamese spot and you are in the neighborhood.. Food is not bad but nothing too special.
I used to love going to Vietnamese restaurants when I lived in DC. There's nothing better than an order of light, refreshing summer rolls and a big bowl of Pho. I've ordered in from a highly rated Vietnamese spot in Chinatown, but getting Pho delivered isn't the best idea (noodles consolidate into one big clump of dough and broth isn't as hot as it should be). I also tried out Saigon Shack a couple of years ago which I remembered to be good. Sao Mai had come up on quite a food NYC foodie lists, so figured we'd try it out this past weekend when I was craving Pho.
We shared an order of the Summer rolls and Spring rolls – Summer rolls were quite small compared to the size I'm accustomed to and the Spring rolls didn't have the fluffy texture that a traditional Vietnamese fried roll would have. I had the Brisket Pho which was fine, but they definitely skimp on the noodles / the broth was a bit salty.
We tried it and we weren't huge fans – would recommend going to Saigon Shack over Sao Mai or try a Vietnamese spot in Chinatown.
I have been to Sao Mai many, many, many times for lunch and I can't say enough about the delicious pho! For $9.50 you get a massive bowl of flavorful broth, noodles, vegetables, chicken, bean sprouts, jalapeño, and herbs. Top it off with some hot sauce and good to go! The brisket pho is also superb. Of course there is a large menu with many other options but I have never strayed from the pho because it's just that good on a rainy week day. Good, fast service, too.
My husband and I went here based on a friend's recommendation (who I think orders here 3x a week).
We started with the shrimp summer rolls, which were solid (nothing special) and we both had the house special Sao Mai pho that had beef brisket, eye round, and beef balls. The pho was fantastic. Soup was flavorful and the meat was good quality. Our appetizer and pho came out in literally 5 minutes- talk about fast service!
We will definitely be returning here! Definitely one of the best pho places we've tried in NYC!
Upon coming in, I noticed a very clean and dim lit restaurant so it had a slight touch of romance if you are looking for that. Servers were busy even though there was only like 3 tables filled.
Eventually got seated and noticed that they didn't have very good AC. It was a hot day, but honestly, made it a more authentic experience considering in Vietnam, you'd be sitting outside in the heat slurping down some deliciousness.
I ordered the pho special with everything in it. As well as the pork spring rolls. Pork spring rolls was not worth the price. $5 for 2 rolls, that barely had any pork. Their fish sauce dip was overly sweet and did not compliment the rolls well at all. Onto the pho, bland, overly sweet and not enough to be constituted as even a regular sized bowl. It was $10.50 for one size that was tiny. Meat cuts were thin, tender, but not enough. The proportion of noodles to meat was bad. They could work on the flavors a bit more as well give enough protein for each bowl.
My friend got the vermicelli bowl and she also ended up with a ton of left over noodles and not enough protein to finish… Unfortunate cause meat is a big deal in Vietnamese cuisine. Will not be coming back. Best of luck to this establishment though.