Saigon Yokocho

What was supposed to be a much anticipated boyz' night unfortunately turned into a disappointing experience due to repeated service issues. Let's start with the food. The portions were significantly smaller than what was shown on the menu photos. While presentation was decent, the servings felt underwhelming for the price and most dishes were overly salty without anything particularly memorable. Now, onto the service. I ordered a 720ml bottle of sake and the server confirmed it was available. I noticed she was taking our order on her phone rather than entering it into the POS system, so I asked about it. She explained that their ordering system was down and she had to take notes manually. That immediately raised some concerns. A few minutes later, another staff member came over to tell us they had actually run out of the sake we ordered. The 2 staff members then had a brief disagreement in front of our table about whether the bottle was still in stock. Eventually, they confirmed it wasn't available and I had to order a more expensive alternative instead. It wasn't a huge issue, we were there to have a good time but it was the first of many avoidable mistakes. Things only went downhill from there. When our first round of beers arrived, the server accidentally spilled an entire glass over 2 of us. At that point, I genuinely questioned whether the restaurant was capable of serving us properly and asked to speak with the manager. A gentleman, who introduced himself as the manager, came over and sincerely apologized before offering us 50% off the bill, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, the service problems continued. We ordered a sake bomb setup, but the staff couldn't set it up correctly, so we ended up doing it ourselves. Later, after 3 rounds of beers, we had to point out that every glass had been poured differently, 1 glass was nearly half foam while the others had noticeably different amounts. Another gentleman later introduced himself as the manager and apologized again, explaining that the restaurant had only been open for 7 months. Personally, I don't think that's a reasonable explanation anymore. After 7 months, staff training, inventory management and service procedures should already be well established. Customers shouldn't have to experience repeated mistakes or hear internal discussions happening in front of their table. As for the atmosphere, the restaurant is spacious and beautifully designed, but it lacks the lively, connected feeling I normally associate with an izakaya. The seating feels isolated rather than communal and despite occupying an entire block, there were only about 5 occupied tables when we visited. To their credit, both managers remained polite throughout the evening and handled the situation professionally by offering a 50% discount. Without that gesture, this would have been an easy 1-star review. They earned an extra star for making a genuine effort to recover the situation. Overall verdict: - Food: Small portions, overly salty, and nothing particularly memorable. - Service: 1 mistake can happen. A series of mistakes throughout the evening points to deeper operational issues. - Atmosphere: Beautiful space, but it lacks the warm, energetic izakaya vibe. Sadly, this was my first visit and it will most likely be my last.

Me and my wife had high expectations but turned out to be extremely disappointed. I hate to give them bad reviews but I had to in order to improve. I give food flavors, tastes 5 stars 2. Staff nice and friendly but completely under trained, clueless, slow, have zero idea what they’re doing. They missed our orders but billed us for until we confronted them “mistake maybe”. Ordered 3 beers, they billed us 4, the raw shrimp never came but they billed us too lol bruhhh!!! We Ordered Japanese fried chicken balls with mayonnaise they said kitchen ran out but we were the first one in and first order.. I don’t mind giving them a second chance but their staff needs to be trained and be more intensive to serve their customers. People Should try this place. Food is excellent just service is TERRIBLE -1 star :)

Amazing food, great atmosphere, and excellent service. D. Khoa was amazing, and one of the lovely ladies also took pictures for me, which was such a thoughtful touch. Thank you for making my visit so enjoyable!

A last-minute dinner that turned into a little Japanese escape in Saigon We walked in with zero expectations. It was a spontaneous Saturday night decision, the kind where you just want something simple, not too loud, not too heavy… and somehow, it turned into one of those evenings that quietly recharge you. Saigon Yokocho feels like stepping into a calm pocket of Japan in the middle of the city. Soft lantern lights, warm wood, gentle background noise, the smell of grilled fish and skewers: everything invites you to slow down. No rush. No pressure. Just a comfortable place to breathe and enjoy the moment. The food was exactly what we needed. Perfectly grilled fish, juicy yakitori, simple vegetables done right, cold beer, honest flavours. Nothing overcomplicated, just well-executed, comforting Japanese dishes that make you eat more than planned (we definitely did 😅). We ended up ordering “just one more” several times… and finally looked at the bill smiling: around 1,000,000 VND for two people, after truly eating too much. And it felt worth it. The kind of place you come back to when you want your evening to feel gentle, warm, and quietly happy. 🐼🐼

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Yokocho Saigon is a must-visit! The location is super strategic, very easy to find and convenient. The food is delicious, the prices are affordable, and the place itself is wide and airy with a nice cool breeze. The staff are incredibly friendly and can speak English, which makes the experience even better. It’s definitely a spot worth visiting again. Highly recommended!