Excellent service, cocktails and food. Food may be a bit expensive but I've been here multiple times with Bloomspot or Gilt City deals so my bill has been very affordable. Shaken beef is excellent, and I absolutely love the green papaya salad with beef. The ambience of this place is great, but sadly, it's never crowded--regardless of what time or day of the week. It turns into an all-black club on Friday nights after 10pm...or at least it has on both times that I've been there on a Friday.
Would be a blast to come back here in the summer and take advantage of their outdoor patio seating.
I bought a LivingSocial deal here, and came to redeem. From the outside the restaurant seemed like it would be a lot larger than it actually was inside. The restaurant has a modern trendy vibe to it, and I have to admit that it felt somewhat pretentious. Our waiter was just ok. He seemed young and maybe impatient with us. We were seated quickly, and though we were ready to order and eat the food seemed to take a little longer to get to us. It was nice to warm up to hot tea, and I had the Vietnamese Spring Rolls, the Chicken Pho, and I ordered the Bunh Rice Vermicelli Noodle dish to take home. I have to say the pho was disappointing. I got the large and it was the smallest large bowl dish I have ever gotten for pho. The pieces of chicken looked like they were picked off the bone like shreds of it, and I felt like it might have amounted to 1/4 cup of actual chicken if not less. The broth was okay, not as flavorful as I would like. It was a disappointment for sure - size/portion, taste, and cost. My cousin had ordered the Bunh and asked for no bean sprouts but still got them anyways. This was probably the best choice for the meal as I had it for leftovers the next day. The fish sauce was good. The ratio of vegetables to noodles was a bit excessive though. There was definitely a lot more cucumbers than anything else. I have had upscale at Le Colonial to the small and dingy pho restaurants in Little Saigon, but this would definitely not make it to the top of my lists for Vietnamese spots to go to any time soon.
Review Source:Not the biggest fan. I grew up on vietnames food and I like american/vietnamese places like Hien Yien and Simply It. However, this was a bit of a disappointment.
Price) Way too expensive for what you get. Small bowl of pho was $7 and catfish in claypot was $15. In addition to those we got the salmon eggrolls and passion fruit torte. Total was about $60.
Quality) The crispy salmon eggrolls were my favorite, but the other stuff I would say you could find better on Argyle.
Quantity) Very tiny portions for the amount you pay
Atmosphere) If anything, this is what you are paying for. I personally don't like shelling out money for "ambiance".
Staff) Had to wait a bit to get the waitress's attention.
I don't think I'd go back...no pho-king way
We went to an early bird dinner last night before catching a show at the Bank of America theater. Â Based on previous reviews complaining about long wait times for food and drinks (even when the restaurant is empty), I was worried we might put our show time in jeopardy.
I had nothing to worry about. Â We were seated immediately for our 5pm reservation, and our server wasted no time coming by to get our drink orders. Â Service was friendly and prompt all evening.
The cocktail selection was a little too tropical and summery for a cold snowy day, so we opted for a bottle of wine. Â The wine list isn't extensive, but that's to be expected at a Vietnamese restaurant. Â Since the place is kind of Vietnamese fusion, I had hoped they might have a sake list, but other than just listing the word "Sake" on the drink menu, there were no bottles to choose from.
We mentioned our LivingSocial deal to the waiter right away and he said it was no problem at all. Â We started with the calamari appetizer and while many previous reviewers complained that there was nothing special about it, I still found it delicious. Â The cuts of calamari was generous, it was lightly fried and not over battered. Â And the best part was the accompanying scallions and garlic bits that it was sauteed in. Â We left no crunchy piece uneaten on that plate, and the flavor was excellent. Â The only downfall is that they just serve it with a side of Siracha sauce, rather than a sauce they made themselves. Â I think a chili ponzu or even a spicy mayo type of sauce would go great with this dish and add a bit of originality.
For our entrees, my fiance took the overwhelming Yelp response and ordered the Shaking Beef and I took our server's recommendation and went with the Crispy Egg Noodles with seafood. Â The shaking beef was every bit as tender and flavorful as everyone else has described. Â The sauce is perfect and the lime salt/pepper mixture added a touch of Vietnamese flavor that kept this dish from passing for any type of Asian cuisine.
My crispy noodles had a lovely presentation - the vegetables and seafood packed into a bowl made out of the noodles, with the sauce on the bottom. Â Very light and tasty without the heaviness from too much soy sauce, but still full of flavor. Â The vegetables were fresh and crisp and the seafood was cooked well and tasty. Â Nothing we had was greasy or oily, as I had read other reviewers complain about. Â And I'm very sensitive to oily food, so this was a pleasant surprise.
The only reason that I'm giving 3 stars instead of 4 is because I thought they were a little shady with how they cancelled my OpenTable reservation. Â I had made the online reservation a few days earlier, and when we arrived, the host asked if I was Amoli and seated us based on the reservation.
it wasn't until we were seated that I noticed the LivingSocial coupon said no OpenTable reservations. Â I told the waiter immediately that he had a voucher and he indicated it was no problem. Â Upon leaving the restaurant 90 minutes later, I received an email from OpenTable saying Sawtooth had cancelled my reservation. Â If that's the rule and they don't want to honor OpenTable reservations when you use a voucher, that's fine. Â But the restaurant was totally empty except for one other party of 2, so it's not like we were taking up someone else's spot. Â And more importantly, they didn't say anything to us about it. Â The manager could have simply walked up and said "By the way, based on our rule, we will need to cancel the OpenTable reservation since you're using the voucher." Â No problem. Â But instead the manager said nothing and waited until we left before going back and putting a cancellation in behind our backs. Â Not enough to ruin the dining experience, but just a little bit shady and kind of annoying.
Overall, the food is tasty, the ambiance is fine (trendy but nothing original), and it's definitely worth giving a try. Â I don't know if it's a place we'll feel the need to go back to with all the other dining options in Chicago, but I wouldn't be opposed to a return trip either.
I had a lovely dinner here. First let me say going in, I was slightly concerned that we would be rushed b/c the other guest in my party didn't arrive until 9 and the dinner hours ends at 10 but the staff was delightful, I didn't feel rushed in any way.
I started with a most lovely drink...can't recall the name but it was first on the cocktail menu. I could have had 5 of them easily were I not driving! Â
We both had soup for an appetizer, I had the pho bo and he had the canh chua. Both DELIGHTFUL. Â The beef in my soup was so tender it was falling apart.
I was unsure of what to order so I went with the server's suggestion which was seafood glass noodles, I dont eat shrimp and he gave me no problems about subsitituting another item which I appreciated. Â Saying I loved it would be an understatement! Â Aside from the fact that the presentation was adorable, it was delicious. Â My date had the egg noodles and he enjoyed as well.
It's low lit and sexy, the music was really chill. I just give it two thumbs up all the way around. I will definitely be back.
More of a 3.5. I enjoyed the decor, especially the wall of various vases of bamboo and the hanging umbrella lights. Service was great. Food was good too. Had veggie spring rolls and spicy lemongrass chicken. Felt the menu could have been more specific about the dishes because I didn't know mine came with rice, which was a nice surprise, but there were also giant lettuce leaves, that I thought maybe I was supposed to make wraps with the chicken? Pretty decent portions for a place like this. And they do have a considerable amount of veggie options. While the food itself were pretty good, it was nothing outstanding and while my spicy lemongrass chicken had good equal flavor of lemongrass and spice, it was a tad on the oily side. I did appreciate the abundance of scallions though. My sister had the veggie clay pot rice and it had fresh mushrooms, along with canned ones which is very annoying. This place def is more of a Viet-fusion place rather than authentic as it claims.
Review Source:I enjoy my Vietnamese food b/c the cuisine mainly uses fresh ingredients and it's healthy. Â I've tried my fair share and Sawtooth just didn't do it for me or the lady.
Service: Great  even though we used a voucher.  We went on a Wed evening and the restaurant was 33% full.  Our waitress (we guessed she was Spanish) was very nice and even the other waiters were helpful & courteous.
Ambiance: Trendy. Â Floor to ceiling windows and concrete floors. Â This likely works well in the summer months. Â We went in January and it was ~10 degrees (F) outside. Â I'm a GAM (Grown A.. Man) and don't mind things a bit chilly. Â I've never been cold like this before at a restaurant.
15 minutes after ordering and getting our drinks, we asked a waiter (not the Spanish lady) what could be done to increase the temperature. Â He asked if we wanted to move away from the windows. Â Sounded like a good idea, but didn't do much to help. Â I then realized the concrete floors were the main problem and kept the place like an ice box. Â My feet were freezing.
And we weren't crazy. Â Many people were 'enjoying' dinner with their coats on. Â The Spanish waitress put on a sweater while we were there. Â My lady friend ate while sitting on her jacket and with my jacket across her lap.
On to the food:
Lotus Stem Salad - Very nice. This is the dish that most resembled a Viet dish that we had. Â Surprisingly had a lot of shrimp and calamari.
Seafood Claypot Rice - Good flavor but too oily for our taste. Â I've had better claypot rice at Golden Bullin Chinatown. Â If you ask Golden Bull nicely, they'll actually cook the rice a bit longer and you'll find a crunchy, rice texture in the pot...
Crispy Egg Noodles - Nice presentation and seafood was good but way too salty. Â Again, another dish you can find in Chinatown.
There are authentic Vietnamese dishes on the menu that we didn't choose. Â Why you ask? Â B/c I can ring up Mom, drop by over the weekend, and enjoy those same dishes (no one cooks better than your own mother, right?) so we largely decided to go with Yelp recommendations. Â
Cocktails were ok - nothing to write home about. Â Didn't have dessert b/c I've heard frostbite could become a serious issue. Â I couldn't wait any longer to leave the place.
To the Asians: If you looking for true Vietnamese food, it'll be easier and cheaper on the wallet to go to Argyle or even a few Viet places in Chinatown.
To the Westerner: This place reminds me more of Chinese than Vietnamese. Â It's a bit salty for my taste but my experience tells me most Westerners like food a bit saltier so you may be able to overlook that.
To Everyone: Bring boots, a scarf, and light jacket if you're dining at Sawtooth when it's cold outside.
2nd time we were here and I accidentally ordered the same thing. Â LOL! Â It was great both times.
The service is fantastic. Â Very friendly and everyone there will help you, not just your main server. Â At first glance of the cocktail menu I thought it was too summery but then we got the spicy food and it made total sense. Â Quite yummy actually! Â I had the gin drink and my boyfriend got the fruity mixture. Â Sorry I can't remember the names.
We started with the calamari which I usually don't like fried but this was fantastic. Â Large hunks of meat cooked to perfection with this onion and garlic outside. Â No fried bits were left on the plate.
They will adjust spiciness for you so my boyfriend got the lemon chicken. Â I didn't get to try it but he loved it. Â I got the fried egg noodles with seafood and it was so flavorful and fun to look at. Â
The vibe is nice in here. Â Its Saturday night but not too loud or trendy.
I would def come back and this time try something new.
Sawtooth seems like it should be a really great experience. Â The atmosphere, decor, and even the menu all primed my expectations for a positive experience. Â
Unfortunately, it failed to deliver. Â The seats although cool looking were plastic and not very comfortable, the cocktails were weak, and the food was hardly noteworteworthy. Â
Maybe an off night, but given their prices and how great the area is for dinning, I wont be trying them again.
I must admit, I didn't have high expectations of Sawtooth. I've been invited several times to dine here and I've passed on each occasion. For Vietnamese food fix, I always go up to Argyle. However, on a Saturday, my boyfriend took me out to dinner and I obliged.
He made reservations for 7:00PM, although they weren't necessary at all. There were plenty of open tables. They sat us at the table furthest north, which was possibly the worst table in the restaurant. It's located in front of the entrance and also next to a large side door. I didn't know what was going on, but it seemed like they were setting up an event upstairs and people had to enter from the side door. During our time at Sawtooth, I was pretty cold from people coming in and out from both doors.
Yes, the restaurant is very swanky. I loved the sleek, minimalist decor. No doubt Sawtooth is a date destination with its dim lighting, low to medium noise level, and hip vibe.
However, if you expect to get you and your date drunk, don't. The drinks, while yummy, were very weak. I had a muddled strawberry cocktail and David an Asian pina colada-like concoction, both very good drinks but with almost no alcohol. We had three appetizers: banh xeo (seafood crepe), chicken salad (with tofu instead of chicken), and bun thit nuong cha gio (tofu instead chicken with vermicelli). David ate his dish right up, but I thought my appetizers were average. The bun thit nuong was the tastier of the two appetizers, but the accompanying dipping sauce had no flavor. The tofu had the most amazing texture. It was chewy with a light, crispy crust. So good. The tofu salad reminded me of Thai larb gai, but the flavors were just not there. It was quite bland.
The entrees came around, and David had the shaking beef (cubed filet mignon with lime sauce) and I had the smoked eggplant. Nay on the eggplant. Don't bother ordering it. It was so bland that I couldn't finish it. David enjoyed his dish. It looked and smelled good for having meat. Yeah, I'm skeptical about the other vegetarian entrees. The very few vegetarian entrees that they have. We skipped on dessert, as they didn't seem all that appealing. I agree that prices are a bit inflated for my tastes, but it's Randolph Street.
I would not return to Sawtooth, unless someone invited me. I would say that I would go there for drinks because of the atmosphere, but the location is not very convenient and the drinks are not strong. I would give it a try but not expect too much.
This place is really great, It just sucks that it doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic since all the hot "big wigs" are less than 5 blocks away.
Anyway the service was great (we were 2 of 10 people dining on a Friday night). The food was even better. To start we had the salmon rolls (delicious) and the bo la lot (nice herb-y grilled goodness). Â As an entree I had the shaking beef, super tender beef cubes in a tasty sauce. My friend had the egg basket or egg nest (something with egg in the name) which was also tasty and overflowing with fresh seafood. Â We were so full after the apps and entrees that there was no room for dessert. Â Which was some sort of chocolate cake. I don't like chocolate so I cant't comment on that.
Would I go back? Probably for a special occasion. I got a GILT city dinner so I think it was $75 for 2 people to dine. Â The full tab was close to $130 which, I'm sorry, is a bit pricey for Vietnamese food when you can probably get the same thing on argyle street for 50 bones. Though I do have to say they have what seems like an amazing patio/ deck so summertime eating would be a blast with out of towners or a sexy date.
exceptionally bad experience...
30 minute wait to order drinks ( full-priced and watered down)
45 minute wait to order food
1 hour and 20 minute wait to get food. (We didn't have anything to eat, so we kept time to stay entertained.)
Food was mediocre and the waiter walked away in the middle of taking our order. And the restaurant was really really cold.
please please please please please  DO NOT GO TO SAWTOOTH!
we got fucked over on so many accounts. I have never written a yelp review and I have taken the time to specifically protect future patrons from wasting their money at this business.
I went there last weekend for my good friends 22nd birthday and we had a "VIP" list which was supposed to include a no-charge entry and a wrist band if we got there before 11:30. when we got the location the bounces and workers were EXTREMELY RUDE and uninviting. We still tried to have fun by paying the entrance charge (that was unexpected) and purchasing drinks and a bottle. LITTLE DID WE KNOW they charged ALL of our accounts with extra fraudulent charges.
How dare a business make fake transactions in order to gain more funds!!!!!!!!!!! Â
We are filing claims with the city and speaking with the managers shortly.
DO NOT GO TO SAWTOOTH NIGHT CLUB! ITS BAD PLACE TO BE.
I rented the 3rd floor private room for a work function. The best Vietnamese meal I have ever eaten in Chicago.....and I have eaten on Argyle many many times and have been shopping at Tai Nam for years so I know a bit about Vietnamese cuisine. Â I thought it was way better than Pasteur's menu. I highly recommend the Shaking Beef and the seafood glass noodles. Â Dzuy (the owner) is wonderful to work with. I have already committed to several more dinners there. Yum.
Review Source:Will definitely return! It's so great to get great authentic Vietnamese food not on Argyle! Much better than Le Colonial in the Gold Coast, but just as pricey. It's a beautiful restaurant... The portions are a good size too. My friend and I had Bun thit nuong cha gio, bo la lot, pho ga, salty prawns, shaken beef, and the passionfruit torte.... the only thing I wouldn't get again would be the pho - the broth was weak and for the same price, you can get a big bowl up on Argyle. Fish sauce is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine, and if you don't like it - better to order something else since the dish is likely to be dry and bland with out it. Their mojito and Dalat Love (with muddled strawberry) cocktails were delicious.
Apparently it turns into a swanky lounge in the evenings - we left before that crowd appeared.
Been here once on a Tuesday night, made a reservation for 7:30 and the place was dead until about 8:30 when we were getting ready to leave.
Pros: The patio is super cute and protected from wind due to the way it's set up. Â Our server was awesome and the manager was also very nice, greeted us and thanked us for coming. Most importantly the food was YUMMY!
Cons: overpriced...WAY over priced in my book. Â We did drink a few glasses of wine each (2 of us) and order 4 plates (all meant to share) but our bill was $170?! Â I guess the sea bass was $35 and I was not paying attention. Â It was my favorite thing we had but not worth $35! Â The seafood clay pot was so good and I also like that they offer brown rice (another up charge though). Â
Overall it was ok, for the cost there are many other similar places I would rather go.
I had been wanting to check out Sawtooth for awhile now. Imagine my surprise when Bloomspot had a deal for $50 three course meal. I jumped on it. My BFF and I decided to partake in a Vietnamese adventure. It was well worth it!.
12.00 for parking...meh thinks not! We found a park right across the street and we did not have to pay for parking...yay!!!
Once inside the decor is swank and super modern. We were seated and began to examine menu. We decided on the Bo La Lot I asked the server how is this dish..."Well its good but it may be out of your comfort zone because its a traditional Vietnamese dish" Uhhhhh OK. (Side Bar- How would she know its out of my comfort zone? Judging us) The Bo La Lot Pork wrapped in Vine Leaves it was divine.
Moving on I decided for the Shaking Beef and my BFF the Catfish Clay Pot. My friend was torn so she inquired about the items on the menu...our servers response..."I have only been here two weeks" Uh...Ok. She walked away and we both looked like WTF...Next to us another server was explaining all the items on the menu so we were able to ask her to stop our table and give the same overview.
Once our entree came we were glad we asked the other server for advice her recommendations were outstanding.
The Shaking Beef was absolutely tender as she explained and out of this world.
My friend did indeed go with the Catfish and after trying it...it was a winner for sure!
On to the dessert we settled on something other chocolate and went with the Passion Fruit Torte. OMG So delish.
Overall we both enjoyed the decor, atmosphere, and food. Definitely going back however note to owner. When hiring someone new let them sample the foods so they can properly explain your menu.
PS. The Sand and Sea drink was very nice
Had dinner tonight and it was AMAZING!! Christine our waitress was very nice and attentive.
The Salmon Rolls are the Bomb!! I can't remember the names of our dishes, I think one was the shaky beef and seafood glass noodles!!! Oh yeah we had the rue la la voucher and had no problem!!!
Highly Recommend this place!!!
Loved this place. Food and drinks were great. It reminded me a bit like Slanted Door in SFO.
The only reason I take a staff off is that I went with my wife on a Friday night at 7:00 and it was DEAD. The location is not bad, but very west. It is across the street from the tasting room and that is how we discovered it in the first place.
I'd love to go again with a bigger group of people. I really felt bad for them b/c it seems like such a great place, but no traffic.
West loop! I am impressed. Located in the trendy West Loop I was invited to an event here. I of course being a faithful yelper, yelped it. I looked at the mixed bag of reviews and decided to do this myself. Being a lover of Vietnamese food and fancy things, Sawtooth fits the bill to a T. Glass everything-doors-windows-bar + innovative lighting= food for the eyes. The place was clean and very crisp looking and multileveled too! We sat at the bar and I left my night in the hands of the bartender. He worked wonders and made me a champagne gin martini that I have never even heard of before...and trust me I have drank my fair share of gin martinis. AMAZING! His creativity and friendliness drew me in and bravo to him for making me a tasty drink.
I had the rice paper spring rolls with some siracha and hoisin on top was so fresh and tasted like there was a little party in my mouth. The steak with bell beppers and bacon wrapped shrimp were also a hit. I was impressed with thier Banh Mi sandwiches as well.
I got the honor of meeting the owners and they were so inviting and friendly that they made me feel like family. So helpful tips: leave it to the bartender to invent you a drink, eat it all, check out the whole restaurant, and enjoy!
Amazing food. Bad location. Even worse service.
It's unfortunate that this place is in such a bad location so far west from all the other Randolph bars and restaurants. Otherwise I imagine it would be much busier. There were 3 people at the bar when we got there otherwise the entire place was empty at 7:30 on a Thursday night. It got a bit busier by the time we left to maybe 4 or 5 tables but that's about it.
The food was so good that it is the reason for 3 stars - honestly i would have given it 1 just based on location and service alone. We were seated and no one even came to bring us water for maybe 10 minutes. Our server finally set waters down for us then immediately left before we could even put a drink order in. Maybe 10 minutes later he finally stopped over and we put our drink order and made sure to get our appetizer order in as well because who knew when we'd see our waiter again (at this point we were the ONLY seated table).
Our drinks took another 10 minutes or so (I ordered a glass of wine and my husband ordered a bottle of beer - nothing that takes much time or really requires any preparation). Â For an appetizer, we ordered the spring rolls which were light and delicious. It came with a warm peanut sauce that was amazing.
When ordering my entree, I made the bad decision to ask our server's recommendation for something, which he of course didn't even know what the dish was - go figures. I was hoping the chef at least knew what the dish was. I ordered the seafood clay pot and my husband ordered the shaking beef. My dish was great - I was so impressed and surprised. My husband's shaking beef was AMAZING. Order this if you go. It was the most tender, perfectly cooked beef I have really even had in a long, long time. Â
For dessert we ordered the chocolate lava cake and it was just ok. Nothing great, nothing bad.
Overall, the appetizers and entrees were great and probably the thing that keeps this place in business. The service on the other hand needs some work.
So I had a Travelzoo coupon to this place for a while but never got around to using it. I finally decided to use it and much to my surprise it says on the coupon, reservations are required 24 hours in advance. Wow what a place. It must be really busy. So we make a reservation for the same night and they say they can accomodate us because we're only two people.
The decor is very nice. Everything is pretty tastefully done. As for the food we were able to sample the calamari, shaking beef, chilean sea bass and fruit torte. The dishes were not bad, especially the shaking beef. My chilean sea bass could have been a bit firmer as it seemed a little too mushy for me.
The service is where everything gets interesting. Our waiter was friendly enough. But the staff is completely disorganized. It took 1 hour and 40 minutes to have a meal three courses for two people. Seems a bit excessive. It took nearly 20 minutes for us to place our orders and receive our drinks. They have one bus boy that clear plates that comes around every 25 minutes, maybe. The rest of the staff, just walks around tidying the empty tables (there were a lot). They see our empty dirty plates on the table and ignore it because I guess they're above that? Our waiter was pretty much nowhere to be found for most of the night, hence the extremely long dinner.
I propose a vicious cycle of service and coupons/Groupon. Once they know you have a groupon, they give you bad service. Once you get bad service, you leave a standard tip. And so it continues. The wait staff at this restaurant need to learn that you need to give good service to break this cycle.
Will not be returning because I could probably have a 10 course meal in the 2 hours that it took to have three at this place.
Well, what a pleasant experience! Highly, highly recommend.
Started with the "bo la lot". Get it. No matter what. Delicious, and interestingly different for someone who has never really experienced Vietnamese food before.
Then I had the "shaking beef" which was salty but delicious once you hit it up with the lime and salt/pepper mixture. Get that too. It is like the smarter, better stepbrother to getting Chinese beef delivery. The lady got the "crispy egg noodles" which was so unique and she LOVED. The shrimps were out of this world delicious.
Polished it all off with the chocolate lava cake which was clearly pre-made but warm and gooey like it should be, with a nice selection of complementing fresh fruit around it to bump it up.
I forgot to mention two things: the service and the cocktails. Service was outstanding. Cocktails were DELICIOUS. Go to the bar and ease yourself in.
Also in full disclosure, we used the Travelzoo certificate as an entry-point to try this place. It was fairly empty on a Wednesday night but NOTHING lagged or lacked being maybe 15% full and using a coupon. I would go back, although a little off the beaten path and a couple dollars more than typical, because it was so tasty and so pleasant!
Only complaint: chugging water through the night afterwards because of the salt. But I am sensitive to salt so there you have it.
What a happy surprise. Â
I had always wondered about Sawtooth, but it managed to fall off the list of to-go places quite some time ago. Â When Travelzoo sent out a dinner for two offer, I figured it was time to get over there. Â Admittedly, when we walked into an almost empty restaurant on a cold Monday night, I didn't feel tremendously confident. Â That feeling wasn't much helped by our waiter, who took a solid 20 mintues to come over, despite being one of two tables in the entire restaurant.
But service issues aside, the food was wonderful. Â We had a couple of appetizers: Â the charbroiled pork rolls, and the papaya salad. Â I love a good Thai papaya salad, but this was my first taste of the Vietnamese version. Â Completely different, but quite a stand out, especially with the dried beef. Â We couldn't stop talking about it.
For dinner, I had the seafood claypot. Â It was brimming with assorted seafood, all of which was cooked to perfection. Â The calamari, the scallops, the shrimp -- each was just right. Â My boyfriend had the porkchop, which was beautifully charred and flavored.
The atmosphere is clean and modern, but perhaps a bit cliche. Â It was wintery when we went, but the patio looks incredible. Â I would definitely come back to eat outside in the summer.
I really wanted to like this place. It would be so nice to have a nice Vietnamese restaurant so close. Sadly, this place was nothing memorable.
Every dish was too greasy, even the pho. Not sure how they managed to make the pho greasy, but they did.
I'd just come back from Palo Alto and had amazing upscale Vietnamese food. It was so good, it left me craving shaking beef and seafood glass noodles for days, sadly this place left me wanting and paled in comparison to my meal earlier that week.
I prefer Argyle both in terms of taste and cost.
BEWARE! Â Do NOT purchase any deals/vouchers for Sawtooth as they will NOT give you the FULL amount of unexpired voucher. Â Sawtooth will find ways to only give you food that is close to the amount you paid. Â SCAMMER!
The business method is deceitful. Â The voucher fails to mention NO SUBSTITUTION.
Sawtooth runs deals to get people IN, NOT good deals to purchasers.
First of all, four stars for Bobby! Bobby the bartender was friendly, made a mean drink and was so accommodating that my friend and I decided to stay seated at the bar for our meal.
Secondly, as other Yelpers mentioned, the cucumber/gin concoction is exceptional. Have one.
Thirdly, the calamari and shaking beef were very good. Have those too.
Will certainly be back to try more things on the menu.
Wow. Such a good experinece which is hard to come by when using a travelzoo coupon.
Had a great meal start to finish.
Had the a lot of love drink and man. One of the bests drinks I have ever had. Felt like I was in strawberry heaven.
Crispy egg  noodles with tofu and mixed vegetables for my main entree and that was totally great. I loved how the noodles were shaped into a bowl. The tofu was cooked to the perfect firmness.
My husband also loved his entree and drink. He had the cucumber gin drink and the cucumber tasted so fresh, making the drink amazing.
For dessert we had the chocolate cake and that was the perfect ending to the night. The service was superb. The food was amazing. We can't wait to go back. This place can get pricey, so thank you to travelzoo for allowing us to find this gem.
One star at a time! Â That is the theme for this review. Â So, I met a good friend tonight for drinks and dinner. Â From the time I sat down at the bar, I could tell that I liked the joint. Â Sawtooth has a lovely, soft, clean decor with classic crooners playing proudly in the background. Â For this, it earns one star.
Bobby, our friendly and attentive bartender served us royally. Â Knowing it was our first time (pun intended), Bobby provided us with delicious recommendations for each course we enjoyed, including appetizers and our main course. Â We tried the calamari and king salmon rolls, both of which were smartly prepared and nicely presented. Â My friend had the shaking beef and I had the grilled pork chop. Â She expressed great pleasure and satisfaction to her selection, and I had to stop myself from picking the bones clean. Â For this, Sawtooth earns another star.
When it came down to dessert, Bobby graciously allowed us to substitute a second appetizer in place of the sweet stuff. Â For the demonstration of flexibility and accommodation, Sawtooth ears a third star.
Lastly, and most importantly, our drinks were a treat. Â Mt friend is partial to gin and I whiskey. Â She was quite pleased with her cucumber-infused gin drinks. Â Although there were no whiskey options, Bobby recommended a wonderful grapefruit and vodka cocktail for me. Â I was sold. Â And for that, Sawtooth earns a fourth star.
With one star at a time as its philosophy, Sawtooth has earned itself a nice, fat 4-star Yelp rating
I went to Sawtooth on a nice Thursday evening to use a TravelZoo Voucher that I had purchased. Â I live in the neighborhood and have just never gotten the urge to go to Sawtooth even though it looks like a sleek, sexy and polished place to dine on some pretty exotic fare.
The atmosphere is pretty modern. Â Polished concrete floors, dark varnished wood, and a low lit clubby type atmoshpere. Â The drinks were really good, and that says a lot considering I'm a person who usually takes Maker's on the rocks and will not tolerate cocktails that are essentially sugar and booze. Â They did a nice job of lettting the booze shine through instead of masking it completely. Â They also pack a good punch!
We started with the Calamari. Â This was AWESOME. Â It was nicely and lightly tempura breaded and came with green onions mixed in. Â It had a fantastic flavor. Â My only complaint is that they really did not do anything fancy with the sauce...they simply served it with a side of Sriracha. Â Don't get me wrong, Sriracha is good, I was just expecting a little more creativity.
For dinner we went with the fish. Â One of us had Salmon, and one had Seabass. Â They were both terrific. Â The salmon had a nice crusty peppery crunch to it, while still being cooked perfectly inside. Â The seabass was served in a chili-esque type broth that really highlighted the natural flavor of the dish. Â
On the side we got Spicy Baby Bok Choy, and it was great....and spicy. Â
Wine list focuses on whites and is really well thought out.
Desert was pretty middle of the road. Â If you go here you should really focus on the apps, entrees, and sides. Â They really hit the mark in those departments.
And get the vietnamese coffee...
I have been wanting to check this place out for some time. I finally got around to it with some clients.
It has decent decor and food, but the service was pathetic.
It was a slow night, and yet the waiter couldn't keep up, or even appear to try. Half the table was done with their drinks before the others even got theirs. Even better, the waiter took away one of my client's plates while he was in the rest room. Instead of being conciliatory about the mistake or  offering to make any kind of amends he told my client that he had asked whether he was done. That didn't take place because he wasn't at the table. No one else told him to take the plate. It was really arrogant.
Since it was a party of eight gratuity was included, but the waiter didn't deserve the tip he got.
I'd consider giving it another try with a different waiter.
Sawtooth- an Americanized Asian joint with not Randolph Street worthy food.
Food
Being a huge restaurant goer, I have only sent back a dish under a handful of times. This was one of them. I ordered the Cha Ca La Vong. The texture, taste and flavors were just inedible. The fish was overcooked and tasteless; the accompaniments instead of complimenting the fish made the dish more unpleasant; just awful. I dined with several foodie friends who all agreed that the dishes are just simply disappointing. And no one could eat this fish.
If you must go for some reason I recommend:
Seafood Clay Pot RIce: Definitely not the greatest Asian seafood dish, but the best thing here out of more than 7 dishes tried.
Sawtooth Wings: Tasted very similar to Korean GhamPoongGee wings. Very good although in comparison a crappy version of Great Seas (best GhamPoongGee).
Service
I expect a certain caliber of service when dining in a restaurant like this. If I am unhappy with a dish, I expect for the dish to be replaced. Come to think about it, I think even Denny's would do that. In the end I will note that the server did comp the fish and brought me another dish, but this was not after first refusing b/c I had already eaten some of the dish. Um, you typically need to try something before you know you don't like it.
Ambiance
The restaurant is very beautiful & modern and for that is a great addition to Randolph's Restaurant Row. But the food and service need an overhaul before I would ever go back.
Nice decor, good layout, might be a "go-to" place for me but the Pho, although good, was a very small portion unless you "upsize" and then it is a very high price for what you get.
I really can't complain about the price 'cause we were using a Groupon. Â Speaking of that, the Groupon said "expires on July 21". Â We went on July 21. At 8:00pm. When we presented the Groupon, a manager came back and said "these expired at 6:00pm tonight but as an exception, we''ll take it." Â I said "Really? Â Where does it say 6:00pm on the Groupon?" I was told "Never mind, boy are we glad this Groupon promotion is over!"
If you didn't want customer to buy half-priced food (which is about the correct price for the portion you get) then you shouldn't have offered the Groupon.
I though for the ambiance, service, wine and food together. Â The place was great. Â We went on a quite Tuesday day with a groupon. Â When we arrived we were seated quickly and as soon as I pulled out my laptop since this was a working dinner, Â the manager ran out to offer the code. Â They admit they focus on white wines, but the ponot noir I had was fabulous.
We both had fish dishes that were succulent and tender. Â The after paying the bill following an hour of intense conversation and two glasses of wine realized I forgot my groupon my briefcase, Â the voided it out and reran it. Â Would go again when I want Vietnamese food.
This is the tale of three homigos (homo amigos) who gather at least once a month for boys night out.
Homigo #1 has been worked to the bone by the government. Homigo #2 has been worked to the bone by his museum. Homigo #3, on the other hand, has been wandering around with his man across different countries, eating a lot, and getting chubby... almost to the point of his "vain homo" card being revoked.
It just happens that Homigo #3 also had a birthday in May. So, homigo #1, being the generous friend that he is, decides to take #3 out for dinner. We finally find a date convenient to all three of us and decide to go to a place we have not visited before. Sawtooth with its allure of modern Vietnamese food and a trendy lounge-like space seemed attractive. Scored 8pm reservations for a Saturday night.
The cocktails are quite delightful, but they ran out of ingredients for the ones we were drinking. My Mekhong Mojito - made with splash of Mekhong liqueur is quite outstanding and deadly. Mekhong tastes light going down, but it can get you drunk pretty fast. I saw the effects next morning.
The food: everything we ordered was excellent. The Banh Xeo - saigon style crepe with shrimp, pork, fresh mint, and lettuce has a great medley of flavors. We ordered another appetizer - ground beef wrapped in vine leaves and grilled. Both apps were excellent.
Homigo #1 ordered the clay pot catfish while homigo #2 ordered chicken curry. I ordered the Cha Ca La Vong - my test dish for Vietnamese cuisine. The clay pot catfish simmered in a deep caramel sauce and served in a clay pot with rice is a must-have dish if you like catfish and semi-sweet caramel sauce. The chicken curry was great as well. However, the winner is Cha Ca la Vong - Hanoi-style grilled catfish with turmeric, basil, and dill. Served with rice noodles and a salad, it is definitely my favorite of the lot.
Since I've given up on being skinny after all these travels and delicious food, I ordered a dessert. We split the mango mousse cake, which was more like a mango cheesecake. Perfect ending to our great meal.
Service was attentive even though it was a bit slow. We didn't mind because they were busy on a Saturday night, and we had a lot to catch up. Who did what in these two months, who "did" who in the past two months, etc. You know, the regular guy talk, only with a homo twist.
A great place for boys night out... or girls night out.
The husband and I walked over here on the third anniversary of living in our condo a couple blocks away. Â We sat outside on a nice summer night, there were a couple other tables out there and a DJ just setting up. Â We started off with some red wine and a fruity drink, it must have been good because I totally can't remember what it was made with. Â Fun glasses though, I only remember that because I took a picture of them. Â Total dork.
We asked our server for suggestions on an appetizer and he suggested the charbroiled pork rolls with peanut sauce. Â They were fresh and light but the flavor was really mild and I wish it had a little more going on.
For entrees, I got the seafood clay pot (in front) which was shrimp, calamari and scallops with mushrooms, broccoli, onions and baby corn cooked in a clay pot over rice and a very scalding broth. Â Everything was cooked perfectly, even the scallops which I was amazed at, but holy hell was that thing hot. Â It tasted good so all patience went out the window but my tongue was definitely not feeling well the next day.
Husband got the shaking beef dish which was filet mignon in a lime sauce. Â I stole a bite and the steak was really tender and the sauce was flavorful. Â Looking back on our choices, I'm not sure we were really that adventurous. Â Everything was good, nothing was bad, persay, and we were full but we didn't get any traditional dishes. Â However, from what I've read here, if you want traditional, you should go up to Argyle to get it.
Yes, you can get the same for cheaper on Argyle (or, in some corner of Uptown). Yes, you might have some service hiccups. Yes, the restaurants is still working out the kinks.
But.
The food is tasty. The drinks are interesting. The service is nice. And, the place is going to be hopping once it warms up. So, focus on the positives because there's no reason why Sawtooth shouldn't be sticking around for a while.
I enjoyed the Banh Xeo and grilled prawns to start with. The bx was delicious. The crepe had the perfect texture and the combo of pork, mint and any crunchy green is always a winner in my book. The portion size was nice as well. Prawns are prawns and I will eat them all the day long. These were nicely seasoned and generously portioned. Normally, I would have gone for the scallops entree, but after seeing what those ugly mfs look like in the wild, I am done with them. Horrible. I settled on the bun thit. The pork was nicely marinated and the noodles were well-cooked. Was I blown away by innovation? No. But, Sawtooth has atmosphere a'plenty and that's what you're paying for.
You're also paying for the inventive drinks. So as to hold on to my man card, I'll refrain from saying what I had but it probably wouldn't have been out of place in a Katy Perry song/video. Aaand, just like that, I probably lost my man card. Well, with that out of the way, I've gotta tell you to save room for a refreshing and healthy dessert of fresh fruit and orange mousse. The mousse was a surprise hit. It was delectable and I could have had another serving. It pairs well with fresh berries.
Check out Uptown for function, good and cheap Vietnamese food in the winter months. Wear your hoodie and forget the makeup. Once the thaw comes, put on your flyest gear and hop over to Randolph Street for good food, fun drinks, stylish atmosphere (the upstairs and the outside patio will be packed; it's a sure thing), and a good night out with your people. Trade-offs... but worthy ones.
3.5 stars, but I'll be nice and round up since they are brand spankin new.
They've still got some new restaurant kinks to work out like the slow service, order confusion (they seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the drink orders right) and simple things like including a pen with the check would be appreciated.
However, once they get these kinks worked out I have no doubt this will be a popular dining destination. The contemporary decor is gorgeous and I look forward to eating on their patio once it's warm again. The food is quite good. Since we were a rather large party we started with a bunch of their apps and I enjoyed it all...favorites being the crepes (they had a fancier name), calamari and spring rolls. For my entree I went with some more calamari, this time the sweet and sour calamari entree. Â The portion could have been a bit bigger, but may have just been that I'm"m very pregnant and always very hungry these days.
The dessert options were a bit sad...fruit plate or orange mousse, although have to admit that the mousse was way more appetizing than it sounds. Â
I'm a big fan of Vietnamese food so I'm definitely rooting for Sawtooth!
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