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2928 M St. NW
(202) 337-5588
Hours of Operation and Prices
Lunch: Daily 11-3; Entrees: $4-$9
Dinner: Sun-Th 3-11, F-Sat 3-midnight; Entrees: $8-$15
Other Information
• Credit Cards: All major
• Reservations: Recommended
• Dress: Casual
• Parking: Street
• Handicapped accessible
• A second Saigon Inn can be found at 2614 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 483-8400.
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When you think of a $4 lunch, you think of minuscule portions, limited choices, drab surroundings and waiters rushing to get you fed and out the door. None of that is the case at Saigon Inn. Its lunch is as generous as any that a $250-an-hour lawyer would proudly submit on his expense account. Even before you've spent any money you're treated like a most welcome guest. Your water is refilled promptly. Your tea - jasmine, the waitress notes proudly - is not only refilled, but immediately replaced if it's not to your liking. The waiters and waitresses are immensely good-natured.
What this bargain lunch consists of is a spring roll and a plate with samples of three entrees chosen from a long list. Rice comes along too, and tea, of course. Dinner isn't exactly expensive either. I have just one warning about this menu, and it's one worth keeping in mind at most inexpensive Asian restaurants: As a general rule, the more expensive dishes aren't worth the splurge.
Remember that at low-price restaurants like this, seafood is rarely a highlight. The ingredients are costly even when they are mediocre, and they are highly perishable. So a $10- to $20-a-person restaurant can't afford to stock top-quality, fresh seafood. Grilled meats, particularly pork, are what Vietnamese kitchens tend to do best. Unlike most Vietnamese restaurants, Saigon Inn makes its spicy dishes - those designated with a star on the menu - just short of explosive. If you like them tamed, say so.
But a dish-by-dish evaluation here of Saigon Inn isn't necessary. A $4 investment lets you sample three entrees at a time; then you return for a full portion of what you liked.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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