Banh Mi

I think this place is now called Broken Rice.
I stopped in for a Chicken Banh Mi recently. I was happy with the value, as it was a pretty good sized sandwich for $ 6. The chicken was flavorful, if not a little dry, and the extras were good. I was happy with the cilantro and pickled vegetables, but there didn’t seem to be any jalapeños, so it wasn’t spicy enough until I added some Sriracha. I also thought that overall, the sandwich was a bit dry. At the place I used to get Banh Mi in San Francisco, they always put mayo on the sandwich, but I guess they don’t do that here unless you ask and I didn’t know to ask.
If I was in the neighborhood, I’d come back, but I wouldn’t make a special trip for this particular Banh Mi joint.

Had lunch here. Got the summer spring roll, grilled chicken, and grilled pork chop. Flavorful, but small portions. Slightly pricey for this neighborhood.

Banh Mi? Again? You know it.
When the restaurant itself is called Banh Mi, you know it has to be good. So I went with the vegan with soy meat and the usuals, but then made it non-​vegan when I requested mayo. I asked for spicy and the super-​friendly waitress said I can put siracha on it to make it spicy. When my sandwich came, it looked very pretty… and promising.
Upon first bite, I noticed there were NO jalapeños at all :(. Maybe they ran out that day and that’s why she said to add the siracha. The soy meat was nice and chewy and the veggies were crisp. All the flavors were there and It was almost balanced, considering the lack of spicyness. Bread was good too – almost perfectly toasted.
So overall, decently sized, moderately priced at $ 6, not a terrible banh mi… not an exceptional one. It satisfies the fix… but my fix NEEDS SPICE.
3 stars for the sandwich, and ½ a star for super-​friendly service… rounds up to 4 stars.

The ONLY reason I order from here is because it’s the only Vietnamese restaurant in our neighborhood when you have a craving.
They guys who work there are aloof and unfriendly, the food is mediocre at best and they’ve messed up the delivery of my order 3 times. I live a a block and half and I had to wait 45 min for parts of the order to be redelivered. Yes, I know… a block and half and I order, but it’s freaking freezing outside. Yes, I know… sucks for the delivery guy, but it’s what he chooses to do and I tip him well.
Hears to hoping there will be a new GREAT new Vietnamese restaurant opening in our neighborhood soon!

Within the last couple of weeks, my girlfriend and I have been trying Vietnamese food more often. We have seen Banh Mi for a while now, but never actually stopped in and ordered something. Yesterday, we finally did and I’m very happy (like I did the first time I ordered Vietnamese) that we did.
Banh Mi is tiny. There is no room for a table, no chairs, and basically no anything. You might be able to fit four people in the ordering area. It doesn’t matter though because their menu consists of about 7 sandwiches and another 7 spring rolls.
I chose the Original, which has pork, pâté, cilantro, and carrots on nice roll. I asked for it spicy, but I wasn’t really getting the spice kick I thought I was going to. Besides that, it was good but it needed some kind of kick to it. I would probably choose something else on the menu next time. My girlfriend ordered one of the vegetarian sandwiches, but I was unable to grab a bite. She enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed my Original.
In the end, we spent $ 11 for two nicely sized sandwiches that filled our appetites enough to give Banh Mi a second chance.

Maybe It’s just take-​out, but I have found this restaurant to be inconsistent. The last time I ordered from here, I ordered delivery as I was ill and wanted their delicious Chicken Phở. What I got was bland broth and noodles and most atrociously to me, no fresh herbs, in their place, iceberg lettuce. Bleh. It was edible, but not enjoyable. Not worthy of the phở moniker in the slightest.
Also if you order Banh Mi, better tell them to go easy on the mayo as it can be spread too thick and cause your whole sandwich to take on a «spoogy» element, for lack of a better term.

so happy to have a local vietnamese in the williamsburg neighbourhood.
friendly service,
my favourite dish is the spring roll rice vermicelli.
and the taro bubble tea.
also great for delivery
it’s café style — casual.

An extra star for their friendly service, but this place took too long to give us the classic sandwich for $ 5.50 (a high price considering how much I can get these from anywhere in Southern California).
Not much put into it, just some measly scraps thrown in. The bread wasn’t as hard as I’m used to either, which was nice. Other than that, a pricey sandwich that isn’t brimming over with flavor or ingredients.

No, I’m not Vietnamese, but I am vegetarian, and their veggie banh mi and phở are top notch. I am totally addicted to the sammich and would eat it every day and it’s cheap enough that I totally could. Only thing is that I’m still a little hungry when I’m done. Is that normal? So if I’m feeling really hungry, I’ll get the phở which is pricier but much more filling.
Seriously, I have to stop eating here EVERY time I walk by, otherwise I’m going to get phở fat!

Been curious about this place for a while…
Sadly, Im no longer curious.
I LOVE Vietnamese Food. Its top 3 one of my favorite cuisines. thats a huge deal.
My experiences with Vietnamese have been great so i wasnt sure it was possible to screw up vietnamese…
Now I know.
ITS POSSIBLE.
I started with the classic Banh Mi. It was actually decent. But they didnt have many to choose from (Im spoiled with abundance of choices at Paris Bakery… but we aint in paris right now)
I then ordered the chicken Phở for my mother who wasnt feeling well. Chicken Phở, in my opinion is magical in addition to being delicious.
the broth in this Phở was flavorful. It was fragrant. It was good. However. the chicken was rubbery. Weird tasting. And the noodles were served with large slices of pungent onions. I had a few tastes of the soup and right now my breath is RANK and pungent from all the onion.
If you want really good vietnamese food, hop on the J train for 10 mins to Canal Street and go to ThaiSon.
If this is your first vietnamese experience– You just lost your Vietnamese V card to the equivalent of the «Smelly Dude in the Marching Band»…and for that Im sorry.

We chose to go to this Banh Mi location because it is a sit down restaurant unlike the Banh Mi take out counter on Bedford.
Just reading the menu, I would pretty much order and eat anything from here. I’m glad I started with the lemongrass chicken banh mi. It was delicious and really hit the spot, a great first impression. The bread was warm and toasted golden brown. It scratched the roof of my mouth. The sandwich was stuffed with fresh vegetables and a hefty serving of really flavorful and juicy chicken. The sandwich was also pretty spicy. The heat was slow to take effect, but in the end the burn was there and like every other failed attempt to cool down, I reached for my glass of water.
Just as we had finished our sandwiches, I noticed a GIANT dragonfly on the wall behind my friend. It then flew back and forth and I took that as our cue to leave. Banh Mi is impeccably clean so there is no reason to fear bugs or vermin, this dragonfly was simply lost and trapped. I get skittish easily so we paid and left.
On any other day I would think Banh Mi is a good spot to linger.

This place is very clean, and service is efficient. The bahn mis are large and reasonable priced. The bread and vegetables were fresh, but the lemongrass chicken was very poor quality and unappealing.

The only banh mi place east of the BQE. Quite new, but they’re haven’t been any problems with my order any of the three times I visited. I twice sampled a pork banh mi, which was a classic example of the form. Nothing spectacular, but the basil was fresh and the roast meat correctly cooked. On my third visit I dug into the bún, a dish of rice vermicelli, bean sprouts and roast pork. Banh mi’s version was acceptable — I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but there’s nothing to complain about in the dish.
What I can complain about, however, is the prices. Everything on the menu is $ 2 higher than it needs to be for this largely take-​out establishment. $ 10 for a bowl of noodles (that do not include chopped up spring rolls)? That’s too high, especially since we’re east of the highway. Cut the prices 20% and you’ll have a perfect neighborhood spot.

The Hanoi catfish sandwich rocked my world. Meow.

After a nice skate session from Midtown to Williamsburg, I was pretty hungry! Banh Mi was the perfect solution. I had the classic Vietnamese sandwich with all the fixin’s: pork roll, brawn, roasted ground pork & pâté! It was pretty yummy. They also had my favorite Bruce Cost Ginger Brew too!
When winter comes, I need to try their Phở!

Unfortunately I did not try the food, so this review is strictly for the bubble tea.
I love bubble tea, but there very few places that serve it, so I rarely get to have it. So when I saw the Banh Mi bubble tea sign, I had to try it. I got the strawberry with tapioca and my friend got the taro with tapioca. The strawberry one was fantastic, but the taro was garbage.
I would go back for the strawberry one and to try other flavors, but I would definitely stay away from the taro!

Vietnamese in THIS part of the hood? it’s a miracle. the «Dirty South» of Willyburg has got it’s Saigon salvation. hooray.
honestly, i was getting a little antsy about the ZERO-​ness of Vietnamese food in Williamsburg. well, the SOUTH (east) side at least. opening up only a couple weeks ago, i was delighted to see that a banh mi shop has opened up on Grand St. not only do they serve banh mi– Phở, Bun, Bubble Tea and rice dishes are available as well.
the run down:
the Catfish banh mi was out of this world. the dill mayo sauce really finished the sandwich. the Pork was too fatty, but the Meatball banh mi was delicious! the sandwiches are made in front of your face… so no funny business.
the Bun (rice vermicelli bowls) was probably one of the worst ones i’ve ever had. it’s very bland, not a lot of veggies and the beef we ordered to go on top of it was just a fail.
the spring rolls have no flavor. the summer rolls are decent and the peanut sauce is pretty standard/​yummy.
WARNING!!!
i ordered a Taro flavored Bubble Tea the last time i was here. DO NOT ORDER THEM!!! i literally spit out all the tapioca balls and threw away my drink after a few sips. it was disgusting and there was NO milk used. like WTF???
i agree with the place needing major tweaking. the staff has changed within a few weeks of this place being opened. first, they were middle –aged asian ladies hustling and bustling all by their lonesome. very sweet and adorable. however, very slow in service. now, everyone who works there seems to be in their 20’s and even with more staff… they slack off (ie. check their phones, chat with their friends who visit the shop, goof off with each other behind the counter.) and remain on the slow side.
so why the three (3) stars? well, like i mentioned before… you will NOT find a Vietnamese joint within these neck of the woods unless you trek to the Bedford side of Williamsburg. i will just have to deal with it.

Pretty nice, welcoming décor, with lots of tables, a counter top with stools by the front window, a colorful mural in the main room, a nice, large mirror shaped as a window[1] in the second room.
However, quite a few things are off with the banh mi in general:
— the bread is fresh and soft, but not crunchy at all
— the pâté’ has a funky, ultra-​bright pink color
— the carrots and daikon, which supposedly are pickled, are very bland, with little flavor.
— we asked for spicy, but the spiciness was barely detectable; we had to make ample use of the hot sauce available on the table (god bless Sriracha!)
The classic banh mi ($ 6) was decidedly below par both for overall taste and single ingredients (see above). The Hanoi catfish banh mi, on the other hand (catfish marinated with ginger, Vietnamese spices & dill; $ 8), was a pleasant surprise: the fish was fried in a nice batter that was crisp and not oily at all, that kept the tasty fish on the inside moist and with the right flaky consistency. It also had a mayo dressing that, at least, was not overpowering (I’m not a big fan of mayo).
I’ll give this place the benefit of the doubt, since they opened just a few weeks ago.
Hanko’s is not going to lose patrons to this place any time soon.
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[1] Is this a Vietnamese thing? To have mirrors framed like a window, shutters included? I saw a similar thing at An Nhau

**2 stars for the food, 3 stars for the Vietnamese music**
I have become a banh mi expert. I carry my license proudly. I have been eating banh mis for over 10 years, and I can tell you that this place is just mediocre. As of late, weekend lunch has consisted of either a falafel or banh mi. So yea I also carry a falafel connosieur license.
This location has been open for about 2 weeks now on a not-​so scenic part of Grand St. From the exterior, it looks quite boring. But once you step inside, things get a little better. There is a nice painted mural with people wearing traditional Vietnamese garb. Everything inside looks brand new. The place had a nice, warm feel. I also enjoyed the Vietnamese music playing softly in the background.
We decided to try the Catfish and classic sandwich. The Catfish banh mi was excellent, the fish flavourful and tender. Unfortunately, the class needs some work. For one, the pâté was a strange bright red. Looked very artificial and very distasteful. It was really unsettling to stare at it while I was eating it. In addition, the pickled carrots and radishes were bland, not tasting like much. The bubble tea was good. Nothing to complain about.
I like banh mis and I am happy to see that there is a banh mi place on Grand St., but the place needs a bit of tweaking. Otherwise, a pretty good experience.
This could be something you would hear in the restaurant:

Good Morning (Viet)Nam Nom Nom!!!
I’m afraid my objectivity is lost due to my happiness of having Phở, Vermicelli and Banh Mi’s in walking distance to my place.
I was satisfied with everything I ate. My favorite was the catfish banh mi, I usually get a pork or chicken so this was a nice change-​up.
I loved that they make the banh mi’s in front of you and were hustling to get them out. I would describe the inside as a really nice fast food joint which suits me just fine. Excited for delivery, the ice coffee and phở when I’m sick.
All this talk about the place makes me want to head there now and I can, so maybe I will.

Decent banh mi, served up with a smile. I was so excited when I walked by on Saturday I ran in, had a Classic banh mi, went home, and then came back two hours later with my wife for a meatball banh mi, a BBQ pork banh mi, and a phở.
This is possibly the largest banh mi place I’ve ever been in. No hole in the wall, crowded, hidden kitchen here — the prep area is open and visible, and you can look at all the yummy ingredients as they go into your sammich. Actually kind of reminded me of a Subway. But in a good way. The girls behind the counter are super friendly and make your food really really fast. I was shocked at this both times.
They just opened their doors on Friday (props to Briana G for getting her review in the same day), so they’re still working out the kinks (no delivery yet, bubble tea is «coming soon»).
At the moment, the sizes are ok — just like their first store on Bedford, you really need about a sandwich and a half if you’re hungry, but totally worth the $ 5.50 most of them cost.
Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
Classic Banh Mi — Ok, didn’t have a ton of flavor to it.
Meatball Banh Mi — Really good, especially with all the hot sauce I put on it.
BBQ Pork Banh Mi — This got nommed before I could try it. So that implies it’s pretty good to me.
Phở — Disappointing