Sao Mai Vietnamese Cuisine Reviews

Not the best pho I had. the brought was salty and I missed actual real chillies. Instead, they served green jalapenos of some sort. Had better pho. Good service. Quick.

We always enjoy a meal here when we visit NYC. This time we just stopped in for lunch and had the fresh summer rolls and the spring rolls. I had forgotten how much I enjoy those when wrapped in salad and dipped in the delicious sauce. The waiters were a little too busy talking amongst themselves, otherwise it would have been 5* again.

Friendly staff, greeted us with hot tea, on the house. Stopped in for lunch, and we had spring rolls and the house special pho. Huge portions, great flavors and well priced. It was a great reprieve from the cold winds outside and we left feeling a bit rejuvenated.

One big plus about this East Village casual sit down restaurant is that in warm/pleasant weather they open the front glass doors to be completely open to the sidewalk, which is lovely if you are sitting towards the front or middle. The food is good. I ate pho tai. 3 different herbs - nice & fresh, tasty broth, good meat. My husband ordered the friend spring rolls, they were tasty, wrapped in lettuce and mint and pickles and dipped in fish sauce. The Vietnamese Iced Coffee was freshly made and decent. Prices are good. Pho was $8 a bowl. Excellent value, pleasant dining experience, nice wait staff, decent bathrooms (men and womens separate). This would make a great venue to have a casual birthday dinner party or event dinner where you want a cute space, good food, invite a dozen or more people and not have to stress about the check. You could all drink and eat up a storm in a cute space and probably only spend $25/head. Excellent for a festive, stress free, delicious, casual group meal.

Not only is the best phở I've had in NYC, the menu is extensive and offers many vegetarian options. We usually go for brunch on Sundays, and the place is busy but we haven't had to wait. The staff is friendly and the price is right. I have recommended it so many times.

This little treasure opens early, a real find when you get tired of American breakfasts. Very authentic and you can't go past the $10/ 2 course lunch special. We had the fresh spring rolls and a beef pho to share and it was plenty for two. Also very friendly service.

Sao Mai is average. Service is good and prices are reasonable. However the food was relatively pedestrian. Noodles were cold.

Maybe the only one left, actually. Japanese has taken over! No Gluten Free noodles available anywhere! Sao Mai is small, charming, quiet, quick service.

This place is serving incredible authentic vietnamese food. The service is good and the restaurant is very nice and cozy. All in all a great place!

Excellent menu with a variety of options (vegetarian and otherwise), really excellent food, nice friendly service, and a great value! I will be back and I wholeheartedly suggest Sao Mai for anyone looking for casual Vietnamese in NYC!

Why wasn't this place in the East Village when I lived there?! What a find for high quality, beautifully prepared Vietnamese food. The mussel curry was so good that I really wanted to just order another bowl of it, despite the appetizers downed first.

Wandering the East Village - the hungries struck and visions of Pho danced in our heads. Popping into a few shops we were pointed in the direction of Sao Mai. A small, cozy restaurant - warm smiles and vibes welcomed us. We had the beef Pho which was delicious! The beef was lean, veggies fresh and broth just the right balance of light and savory. Even better was the speed of delivery - in less than 10 mins - two nights in a row. Yes, it was sooo good we came back the next night for a take 2. Also the summer rolls were g r e a t - with shrimp or pork. Highly recommended if you're on the lower East side. YUM.

This restaurant has always been a neighborhood gem. The Vietnamese food is fantastic in an adequate small well - appointed location. Over the last few years, it has become extremely popular with the NYU crowd. They take no reservations and very hard to get a seat between 6 to 8 PM on any night. The young service staff has been a little lacking recently and the prices have gone up more than most restaurants;however, still the best Vietnamese venue for a few miles around!

This is a small well run restaurant that delivers good quality Vietnamese food at a very reasonable price. The place is always busy and justifiably so. Nothing is overpriced and the kitchen is consistent. The staff is friendly nod accommodating.

My first experience with Vietnamese food was wonderful. Mario was so attentive and made our selection easy when helping with some recommendations. The Vietnamese pancakes were outstanding, flavorful and to my surprise better than tasting homemade potato latkes. Be sure to order them, they are not on the menu. House special pho soup with all the sauces for the meat were fresh and delicious. Can't wait to return with friends.

We found Sao Mai by looking up "best pho in NYC," and we were not disappointed! We were greeting warmly and seated quickly in this popular Vietnamese restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The menu was expansive, with lots of great food on offer. We went with the seafood pho and the grilled beef with vermicelli noodles. Both were delicious, with portions too big to finish. The starter, a vegetarian spring roll (four rolls in all), were crispy and tasty. My seafood pho had a nice assortment and good portion of shrimp, squid, fish cakes, and crab sticks, with perfectly cooked rice noodles and veggies. The broth was absolutely delicious. My boyfriend loved the marinated and grilled beef over noodles as well. The service was fast and friendly, and Billy went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed and tell us about some of the other dishes on the menu. Can't wait to return. Highly recommend Sao Mai!

If you are looking for the best Pho in NYC, look no further than Sao Mai. The House Special Pho is filled with 3 different meats, noodles and veggies.

Good morning yummy Vietnam!” That was exactly what my tummy was rumbling when I stepped into Sao Mai, a cosy Vietnamese restaurant tucked away in the lower east side of the city. I was delighted to find out Sao Mai means morning star in Vietnamese. I was feeling nostalgic in November for my student days in Paris where the warmth of a Vietnamese meal around my college campus had seen me through my first few winters at university in France. Our student papers staff would round off late nights of editing and closing a publication with a hearty pho (traditional Vietnamese noodle soup) bowl. I was happy to hear that this restaurant was run by recent Vietnamese immigrants to the United States - adding up to the authenticity of dishes and menu for sure. The restaurant has been around for 13 - 14 years now. My favourite thing about this restaurant is the excellent warm hearted service and fresh food and ingredients. I’ve done quite some traveling through Vietnam as a journalist over the past 15 years and I know my Vietnamese food pretty well. Sao Mae’s cuisine is the real delicious Vietnamese deal in New York and oh so fresh. My favourite dishes and recommendations to you are: the fried rice which is flavourful plus the bun bo hue which is a light delicious soup broth with rice noodles and oh so nourishing - the perfect Asian meal on a NY winters day. The nems or spring rolls with fish sauce are one of my favourites too! I love the chilli paste at this restaurant so authentic to my South East Asian roots. If you like spicy food you must try it. I highly recommend this restaurant for vegetarians and vegans. They have a great selection of soups, noodles, sandwiches and spring rolls prepared for the vegan/ vegetarian palate. To round off your meal the traditional Vietnamese coffee (brewed in a special Vietnamese way) which is tasty. The portions at this restaurant are enormous so I’d recommend sharing dishes. The prices are quite reasonable (less than 20 dollars per person for a meal) and very good value for money indeed. It’s a relatively small restaurant that’s down to earth and just perfect for a casual lunch or dinner gathering for easy going ethnic food lovers like me! Xin Moi to you - meaning Bon appetite in Vietnamese!

Great Vietnamese food especially the Pho. We shared a summer roll, Pho soup, papaya salad and a rice dish. Everything was delicious. I am looking forward to returning.

We went here first time 2 years ago and had to come back (we live in Denmark). The food and the service was excellent again and we talked at lenght with Billy who said that they again this time gladly would cook us a Banh Xeo like they did last time even though it is not on the menu. So we ate there twice in the 5 days we had in NYC, and we did not regret it. It is cheap, healthy, tasty and a great service - we will be back :-)

On Mother's day we went there for dinner because that is what my wife wanted. The place is small but nice. You know the food is really Vietnamese because everyone who works there speaks the language among themselves, never English. As appetizer for both, I ordered fried calamari with an avocado based sauce. I had never had calamari with anything but tomato based or tartar sauce so I was apprehensive. It is delicious and better than either sauce I mentioned. For main course, grilled pork chops with white rice and a side sauce which was very good. My wife ordered pork with rice noodles which I tried and was also pretty good and more than what she could eat. All three dishes came with very good salads as part of the dish. With one beer and no dessert, the tab was $34.84 (before tip) which for the amount of food, quality and this being Manhattan, NY City, I thought was very reasonable. The service was fine.

Most people go there for the pho, which is quite good, but the tamarind soup (a bit spicy) is even better. The summer rolls are not bad, either. Service is excellent.

I had my best quality Vietnamese Pho bowl here...after 3 decades! Well, since I have had so many, many Vietnamese Pho bowls, I didn't expect much despite of the great recommendation from a food-expert NYU junior. We got lucked out with a table by the sidewalk. The menu came and it was slightly higher than other Pho restaurants in NYC. So I was even more less-impressed despite of its clean, well-managed interior conditions, and typical cordial serving style. I ordered my Pho Tai Rieng, a medium-rare-beef noodle where the beef is served separately on a dish then get pre-cooked by generously marinated with a 50/50 mixture lemon juice and red pepper sauce. You submerge the marinated beef slice into boiling hot soup. That is how to get its best. Notes: this “Tai Rieng” is the only way that I will have my Vietnamese Pho. Trust me, once you triy it you may not want to come back to the usual. Evidence: a Harvard freshman student got a taste of this “Tai Rieng” the first time and she said “Do they serve this style in every Vietnamese Pho restaurant? I’ll have this next time.” ;-) But here is where my perception turned positive: the very generous portion of good quality beef. I had asked for plenty of lemon to meet my 50/50 mixture lemon juice and red pepper sauce requirement. Though I was given plenty of sliced lemon, my beef portion was not thoroughly marinated by all squeezed lemon juice. I love how my $8-Pho-bowl turned out to be. It was by far the very best Pho bowl of all my eating-out decades. Well, obviously I won’t put our homemade Pho into this comparison ;-) Strongly recommended!

The food here is pretty good , and reminded me when I was eating street food in Saigon Vietnam. I did their take on my favorite Vietnamese dish Bun Bo Hue. It’s a beef broth with noodle that will you leave taste buds craving for more. Good customer service , and good food with excellent music in the back round.

Lovely fresh food. Warm welcome and attentive service. Pork spring rolls were very tasty, as was the pho and bun Sao mai. Good price. Money taken off if paying with cash.

We had a great meal at Sao Mai. Its a nice restaurant and the service was good. The young gentlemen hosting was super friendly and took the time to talk about the food he was serving. The beef in my dish was great and had a delicious taste. They offer many authentic vietnamese dishes. I recommend a stop in at Sao Mai next time you are in NY!

This is my second review of this restaurant. On the last occasion, which was over a year ago, we had visited the restaurant in person. For a change, this time we ordered a takeaway dinner. The order consisted of Bun Thit Nuong, Ga Mi Xao Dzon, Com Ga Sa Ot and Goi Cuon. I am delighted to report that the taste and the quality of the takeaway meal was simply as good as the dining-in-restaurant experience. A superb takeaway meal!

My boyfriend and I stumbled upon this place by chance, just walking around the neighborhood. We both ordered the house special pho, which had two different cuts of meat and meatballs. The plate was HUGE, and prices are very reasonable. The pho was delicious! We loved the taste of the broth and the tenderness of the meat (the meatballs were the ones we enjoyed the least, since they were a bit hard, but they were also good). A very pleasant experience for our last meal in New York.

I've tried the bahn mi and the beef special pho and both were very good.....the pho in fact was delicious. I ordered online so I cannot comment on the atmosphere of the restaurant but the food was authentic and arrived hot and fresh and delicious, especially the soup.

I really enjoyed the veggie pho I got from this place. The broth was tasty and the vegetables were great and generous.

Rather amusingly ran out of glasses when we were there! But we didn't care. Chili squid was delicious... And the Pho Ga was also excellent.

Tasty noodle dishes in a no-frills dining room. I love the Bun Sao Mai (pork and shrimp over vermicelli noodles). Service could be friendlier, but water glass is continually replenished (you'll need it). Inexpensive.

Been going to this restaurant for the last 10 years. The food is a few of the excellent Vietnamese cuisine offered in Manhattan. Really great food and service. Ambience is what you would expect for 12th and 1st Avenue. Has gotten a little expensive after COVID, but still worth it!

I came here because of the previous reviews, but nothing like that. Staff was extremely rude, food wasn't that good. Not recommend.

Our son and his girlfriend are forever talking about this restaurant and my husband and I are very picky. We went last night and were blown away. We did not realize traditional Vietnamese food could be so flavorful and diverse. Tammy then came over to encourage us to put the fresh mint leaves in our lettuce wrapped rolls. Who knew how delicious that combination is? I never like summer rolls but I loved these. Pho heaven!! I ate various foods and was not disappointed. I can’t wait to take friends and our other son. Food, service and atmosphere are unforgettable. Loved Tammy.

We went to the East Village to have lunch at a S'Mac but it was so crowded that we changed our mind. We had already parked our car and we looked for another restaurant nearby. We saw Sao Mai and we decided to give it a change. It is certainly worth going. The restaurant is small and cozy. The employees are very kind. They serve tea when they seat you at the table.We have two children and I can say that this place is also children friendly. We had spring rolls and summer spring rolls and a soup to start. Delicious. We all love those dishes. Then I a clay pot tofu, noodles with grilled chicken and spicy flank beef. Really good. At the end they took as decorated apple (shaped as a duckie) to my little girl that needless to say, was very happy. The last nice surprise is the check. Not expensive at all. . My only regret: it's not exactly in our neighborhood. But we certainly plan to come here again. It is really worth the travel

I’ve been here a few times and service is good and fast. The food is good quality. The prices can’t be beat. It’s also not usually super crowded.

Delicious and inexpensive Vietamese in the East Village. A pitty that they made us hurry (more than an hour before closing time), otherwise we would have ordered more. We ordered salmon and tofu clay pot, and Noodles with beef - all very yummy. Pho a little disappointing. But would go back any time!

I literally stumbled upon this hidden gem in the East Village after buying drain stuff at Crest Hardware on 1st Avenue. The weather finally cooperated with my craving for pho - was too hot the days before. They have a great $10 lunch special with the choice of an appetizer (I got the summer spring rolls), entrée (pho, duh) and a drink. The rolls were good but thank god I only ate one cuz the pho showed up, steaming hot. The broth was perfect because as we all know, it is all in the soup. They need to clone themselves and open up in Williamsburg. Nothing comes close to this in the 11211 area.

Best spring rolls we have had. Chicken Curry was delicious. Great service for how busy restaurant was. My wife got chicken mushrooms and loved it.

We came across this little place after a full day in Central Park. You have to try the omlette, it's not on the menu but certainly worth asking for. Highly recommend the papaya salad as well. Great food, okay service and great value. Casual but worth a visit.

My only other exposure to Vietnamese Food was at an Asian Fusion restaurant and I was happy to try an authentic Vietnamese restaurant to see how different the experience would be. I was very pleased with the food and the service and Tommy was kind enough to explain to us some of the differences between Vietnamese and other Asian cuisines. I will happily go to Sao Mai again.

We dined here for a quick dinner. Two of the party ordered the pho-- vegetarian and steak pho. I ordered the lemon grass chicken rice plate. The prices were very reasonable-- for three people about $30 (no beverages). My chicken dish was below average compared to other Vietnamese restaurants with the same dish, mainly because of the quality of the chicken. Very thin pieces- not sure it was fresh chicken- The place if popular but the service is good. Stick with the pho.

We dropped by for Pho and summer rolls. Great priced menu, good food, good value for money overall. Would come back.

My boyfriend found this small place in Thrillist as one of the top 10 best Pho in the city. Service was fast. Appetizer came out within 5 minutes. Their house special Pho was awesome. It cured my hangover. 😜

We ended up in Sao Mai by accident as it turned our targeted restaurant was closed but we were very pleasantly surprised! The Tom shrimp soup was fantastic and my wife loved it. Sandwich very good and the fried noodles were ok. Actually the fried noodles would be the only thing that was subpar as the noodles were actually served dry and covered with chicken.. I suppose they were supposed to get soft from the warmth of the chicken and sauce but it was failed idea as it would take too much time and you would spend most time looking at it. In my opinion they should just cook it and fry it as it's done everywhere else.

Great soups and lunch specials. Cozy, very casual atmosphere. The wait staff is okay, not overly attentive, but responsive, even if somewhat aloof. Excellent prices for the portions, and the flavors are just delightful. Their Canh Chua is so deep and layered... Love it. With a nice pot of hot Jasmine Tea, you can't go wrong for a place to hunker down for a nice lunch break with a book.

Such a gem #vietnamesefood in #eastvillage #eastvillagenyc 🥢 The food is #delicious with #reasonableprice 💓 We had such a good meal and plenty #leftovers for later 💓

The food is above average. The service is unfathomably, comically terrible. An item I ordered from the menu didn't come out, so I nicely informed the manager who started screaming and cursing at me, asking how I expected to get that item for $2 (it was on his own menu and for a higher price, which was never an issue in the first place). I have no idea where the $2 came from or why he started screaming and cursing. I would've been angry except I started to suspect in all seriousness that this guy may be mentally unstable. Nothing he said made any sense and he continued to scream and curse at us.

It was busy on a Saturday evening. Most tables were taken which is an indicator of how popular the place was. So many people could not be wrong! Indeed, that was proved to us to be true, by the end of our meal! Staff were welcoming. We are promptly shown a table and a high chair provided for our 1+ year old. Service was excellent and the dishes came out of the kitchen in rapid succession. The crispy pancake rolled in fresh lettuce was an absolute delight. There were printed notices on the door that they accept only cards or cash; specifically not Apple Pay. And there was a hand written sign above the cashier’s desk saying a 5% discount was available for cash payment. We enjoyed the evening most thoroughly. Of course we are biased, being fans of Vietnamese cuisine. Yet the flavour and taste of the dishes we had that day was beyond compare, and far superior to any we’ve had even in Vietnam itself!

As we were in the area (13th street right on the corner of 1st ave) we looked around 1st ave to eat somewhere. One thing's for sure, there is no lack of restaurants in the area. We chose Sao Mai because we liked vietnamese, and it seemed like people were enjoying themselves and the food. We were brought to our table and got the menu's. I can easily call the food prices: cheap. On our whole US trip I think this was the cheapest place we've eaten for dinner. The waiter took our order and came back quickly with our drinks. Although the waiter had an asian accent (duh) we didn't have much trouble understanding him in English and he didn't have any issue understanding us. After 10-15 minutes our food was ready and the waiter brought it to our table. The portions you get are good, I think most people will have eaten enough after emptying their plate. I took the Suon Heo Nuong (Grilled Pork Chops) which were great with noodles, some sweet sauce, vegetables and of course the pork chops. If you like to spice up your food or sweeten it there are enough sauce choices on the table to your taste. All in all I really liked the food at Sao Mai, especially for the price they ask. Reserving might be necessary but while we were there, there were always a few tables free as people don't tend to stay for hours like in a fine dining restaurant. One more thing, don't let the outside of the building put you off, it might look like your average pizza place, asian restaurant, but it's worth going inside!

I'm addicted to Vietnamese food, and have been to many different places in the City seeking out good options. This one did not disappoint. I had pho, and the broth was wonderfully fragrant and tasty. I was with a friend who was new to Vietnamese cuisine, and she gave it a positive review as well. We were both pleased, too, with the prices-- very reasonable. If I find myself back in the East Village, I'd definitely return.

Great Vietnamese in E. Village/Alphabet City - E. 12 & 1st Ave (203 1st Ave). Came across this wonderful place (Sao Mai) though a write up in an email from Chowhound. It is a relatively new place and hopefully it will have a long & very successful run. We had to spend some time at the NY Eye & Ear Infirmary (E 14 & 2nd Ave), which is 2 blocks away and needed to find some good local food either for lunch or for Dinner. Lucky for us, our patient was released near dinner-time, and I went there as take-out to avoid having to deal with making dinner or first having to go hunting for it after heading home. I had picked up a menu earlier in the day and based on the desires/likes of 4 people, wound up getting 4 different Bun (rice vermicelli noodle) dishes (Bun Thit Nuong –Grilled sliced Pork, Bun Ga Nuong-Grilled Chicken, Bun Cha Gio Spring Roll, Bun Tom Nuong-Grilled shrimp) each came with chopped lettuce and a lime sauce. Added to the mix was an absolutely delightful house special Pho. With the Pho, the broth was lovely and the meat was rare (and packaged in a separate container, as were the bean sprouts and greens) so that it would finish cooking in the soup when we were ready to serve it. Every one of the dishes was tasty, fresh, and absolutely WONDERFUL! The food was all fresh and made while I waited. While I sat by the window, I was given complementary tea as I waited. Several other locals came in to place/pick up their take-out orders. It is not a large restaurant, but it should be able to seat at least 30-40 without a problem. The place has nice décor—very pleasant on the senses. It is very clean, and somewhat upscale in appearance. Would I go back? ABSOLUTELY. In fact we have to make a return follow-up visit to the hospital that is two blocks away, so guess what we will be doing? Bottom line: Win-Win-Win!!!!

Sao Mai Vietnamese Cuisine New York City Awful, Soulless Restaurant. Avoid This Place 1003728809 We went here because we were hoping it would be a good vegetarian take on Vietnamese food. The interior is nothing special, no ambiance to speak of, and the service was nothing special (all the servers kept going outside to vape). When the food arrived, it was really depressing how bad it was. It had not been made with love, it was mediocre at best. I had the com xao chay, it was watery and the sauce was flavorless, it was reminiscent of bad Chinese food. My son ordered a banh mi; he was so disgusted with it (and still hungry) that I had to get him another one afterwards at Love Mi Yogurt (which he said was much better). We could see through to the kitchen, where none of the staff were Vietnamese. This was a terrible, depressing meal. We will never go back.