Saigon Alley Happy Hour

Description and review of Saigon Alley Kitchen + Bar, an upscale Vietnamese restaurant and bar in the Midtown Sacramento Handle District.

I recently met a friend at Saigon Alley for Happy Hour.  This was my first visit and her second.  The 18^th and L Streets location of Saigon Alley was previously home to Saddle Rock and before that Capital Dime.  I can’t recall what it was before that – can you?

The downstairs bar and upstairs dining room is very attractive, an inviting modern space with clean lines.  In addition to several Vietnam- inspired decorative touches, the walls feature two large colorful murals of a Vietnamese woman.

Purists be warned – the Saigon Alley website describes its food and drink offerings as a “taste of Vietnam with an American flare”.

SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)

Happy Hour

We arrived at Saigon Alley around 5:30 p.m., and were seated at a table for two in the upstairs mezzanine dining area.

Saigon Alley’s Happy Hour is from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily.  Buy a beverage (one beverage per customer) and you qualify for $3 Happy Hour small plates.

There is also a “Reverse” Happy Hour from 9:00 p.m. to closing time.  Again, buy a beverage (one beverage per customer) to qualify for $3 Saigon Alley Pho.

After we ordered our drinks we looked over the $3 Happy Hour menu.  It has a nice selection of dishes to choose from – thirteen in all.

Note:  Happy Hour does not include reduced drink prices.

It was midweek and the dining area was about half-full.  Our waitress was pleasant, but the service was a bit off.  She seemed distracted – or perhaps it was overwhelmed.

We sat there for what seemed to be a long time without our beverages, unable to catch her eye.  When she served us the first installment of our small plates we had to remind her that we had not yet received our drinks before she rushed off.

I had dined at both Capital Dime and then Saddle Rock previously, and as the two of us chatted I was reminded of how uncomfortably loud that space can get when it gets busy.

See related blog post:  Saddle Rock – Sacramento Restaurants 

Regular Menu

The Saigon Alley regular menu is not extensive, but appeared to me to offer sufficient variety.

For example, menu items include:

• Billy’s Banh Mi (chicken, pork, beef ribeye)
• Rice Plates (chicken, pork, beef ribeye, combination)
• Pho Saigon Alley (combination of meats)
• Banh Mi Burger (beef ribeye)
• Vermicelli Salad (chicken, pork, beef ribeye, combination)

Also noteworthy, the menu includes five Vegan dishes made with fried tofu or Beyond Meat.

Returning in the near future to check out some of the regular menu items is now on my “to do” list.

See related blog posts:  2020 Restaurant Review Recap and  Sacramento Ethnic Restaurants

Comments on Saigon Alley?

What has been your experience at Saigon Alley?  Have you tried the Pho?

Saigon Alley Snapshot:

• 1801 L Street, #50, Sacramento, CA 95811
• (916) 758-6934
• Hours: Sunday – Thursday: Lunch (11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) Dinner (4:00 p.m. to Midnight
• Hours: Friday – Saturday:  Lunch (11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) Dinner (4:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.)
• Happy Hour: Daily (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.)  Reverse Happy Hour (9:00 p.m. to close)
• Outdoor Patio
• Metered Street Parking or nearby parking lots

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