Nhu Lan Bakery

The sandwiches are sometime hard like they been sitting in the back for awhile. Let’s just say they gave me a couple bad bread a few times. And that’s why I gave it 3 stars including I just had a number 1 banh mi and found a piece of hair in it! I was disgusted and grossed out. I didn’t even finish my banh mi and I was half way done when I notice a hair sticking out my banh mi. I’ve eating their banh mi plenty of times and never had a problem beside them giving me hard bread most of the time but after this time I won’t be going back here frequently. Everything else is fine but they need to stop serving customers with hard bread.

Just when I thought this place couldn’t get any better, they added a Chinese style BBQ. $ 7 for a killer Sunday afternoon lunch.

I’ve been here a few times and always find something new to inquire about. Its a deli style restaurant where you order at the counter. There are places to sit, but it’s more of a carryout place. The sandwiches area amazing here! Freshly baked bread and the ingredients are fresh and bountiful! The sandwiches are cheap and large! I always have leftovers.
The ladies are nice and helpful. Check out their drinks and desserts! I really love the pork, but not the Chinese pork. I haven’t tried that one, but there are two different kinds on the menu.
I love this place for banh mis and highly recommend it to everyone!

Had their Lemongrass Chicken Sub sandwich and Phở Chay (vegan), tofu, mushroom, chinese vegetable phở — the latter was a mistake as I had ordered Phở Thai. (They offered to correct the error and switch the soup but I said that I was ok with the alternative.)
What a lucky mistake it was — I absolutely LOVED the Phở Chay and will be ordering that from now on. It was delicious and the lemongrass chicken sandwich also first class.

I love this place. I go here before my Harvestime foods run. The Sandwiches are just amazing. I’ve eaten many of them but I always come back to the vegan ginger tofu. It’s just fabulous. But the meatballs are and sugarcane shrimp and pork is good too. I haven’t tried their phở, but the sandwiches are amazing. Weekends, it’s busy — just know that.

Warning on ordering new bbq items per pound… nhu lan has tendency of going well over the amount you think you are ordering.
We just wanted a pound and they went over by almost ¾ lb and without even mentioning it.
The food is good but just a warning to keep and eye out it you think your bill is higher than expected.

Fabulous tiny café. This place is an awesome find! Thanks to fellow Unilocalers for helping us find a fantastic lunch today. We were in the area and looked up lunch and up popped this little gem. From the outside you would not think there was much to write home about nor the inside either. The place is tiny and unassuming with three plastic tables and 2 – 3 chair per table, a couple of fridges with homemade food and a counter to order.
The place was mobbed from the minute we walked in to the moment we left. People ordering lunch one after the other. We ordered two Bahn Mi sandwiches, one grilled pork and one roasted pork both $ 4.95 they were scrumtious, the warm crispy bread was fantastic and they were HUGE! We also ordered a Ga Chicken Phở to go $ 8.50 massive portion and also so delicious. Amazing value in this place. Service was a little frantic but they were so busy and as I mentioned the tiny place was accomodating coontinous lines of customers constantly ordering. We also took home some steamed pork dish and sticky rice that we will try tomorrow.
If you are in the area and like Vietnamese or have not tried but would like to, go here, run here, eat here!

Love that place
I love the chicken sandwich
Thay are always nice and i am going back always for more :-)

This place is fantastic for quick sandwich stop.
The good:
— I always get the grilled pork and it’s amazing, especially for the price.
— Veggies always seem fresh.
— Service is quick and friendly.
— Place is clean enough.
— Pretty easy parking for picking up food.
The bad:
— Definitely more of a to-​go place, but there are 2 small tables inside.
Have to check this one out, great value as well!

Stopped in to pick up some lunch to go before a long drive home in the snow storm and now that I’m home I find that they gave me the wrong order. I ordered 4 sandwiches and received one order of chicken phở. The lady looked at me while saying something incomparable and with me being the only one waiting for food I took it and was good to go or so I thought. Once I found the error, called the place back and they were fully aware that I took the wrong order. The two ladies on the phone kept turning it around on me for the mistake. Kept asking me if I was gonna keep the soup or bring it back. No lady I will not drive an hour back in the snow to bring back your chicken soup. And because I’m not going to come back you decide that you will give be credit for two sandwiches. I ask for it to be returned on my card and you said you don’t know how. You can’t even meet a customer half way and this makes me never want to come back. I came out of convenience and now i’d rather make a longer drive elsewhere to get better food. You can keep the sandwiches and I will be sure to let people know how you handle your customer service.

My coworker told me that this is the best bahn mi sandwich in the city. From the outside I was skeptical, but when I took my first bite, I knew he was right. The bread was soft but crunchy. Tons to choose from, so can be overwhelming. I enjoy the lemongrass chicken and the BBQ pork. Great sandwiches to take to parties, just slice and serve. I did that and it was a hit! Also don’t forget about the egg rolls and sesame balls that they also serve on the side. This is definitely one of the must try sandwiches in Chicago!

I’ve had their sandwiches many times and they’ve always been excellent. I finally tried the phở (beef noodle soup) and was amazed how good it was. The broth was one of the best I’ve had. So good that I didn’t add any of the usual sauces to it. I now prefer Nhu Lan’s phở over restaurants that specialize in it. Who would have thought that a bakery would have one of the best phở in Chicago?
FYI, they also carry Chinese BBQ, like the stuff you see in Chinatown. Also, seating is limited. Maybe 10 seats. Since sandwiches are their most popular items, most people carry out.

Nhu Lan is my jam!!! I live down the street and it is absolutely the only place I bother to get Banh Mhi. They have a wide selection of about 15 different versions of the sandwich ranging from lemongrass chicken to tofu to pâté. My favorite is the #16-​eggs, ham, and pâté YUUUM! The prices can’t be beat with about 5 bucks for a sandwich. They also have vietnamese soups, fresh fruit smoothies they make in house (never tried but every time I’m there someone is ordering one), packaged Vietnamese specialties like salads and spring rolls and some fried options like eggrolls. Honestly, give me a sammy with a Coke and some pickled veggies to-​go and I am happy!

This is a small little bakery/​café. The food is good at a decent price. They have ready made food to go also. The bah mi sandwiches are flavorful. They have vegan options for sandwiches too. I tried the ginger tofu and it was really good. I normally go for the grilled, BBQ or chinese pork sandwiches. Those are my favorites. They also have phở and other plates available that I have not tried yet. The sandwiches are great for a group of 6 because they are buy 5 get 1 free! I’ve taken them to work and had people try them for their first time and they love them and ask when I’m going to bring more. Great little spot that no one knows that well except for the locals.

As far as banh mi sandwich places go, this is still my fav one I’ve tried in Chicago by far. I’d even put them a little ahead of Ba Le, my 2^nd fav banh mi sandwich place. Such a great tasting sandwich, and I wouldn’t mind trying some of the other things on a future visit.
I can even overlook the fact that I’m nearly positive one of the workers (in their native language) snickered at me (and poorly covered it up), for my request of no cilantro on my banh mi sandwich. Ah well, no place is 100% perfect.

I just added a photo, and it’s so beautiful it should sum up my entire experience.
The delivery guys are always super sweet, always there in under 45 minutes, and always have the correct order.
The last time I ordered (I always go through Grubhub), they were out of some things I ordered so they called, asked what I would like as a substitute, and included a free egg roll and sesame ball! (Which I had avoided because it always seemed like a weird concept… Until I tried a bite of theirs when my friend took a nibble and raves for 10 minutes about a darn sesame ball. Then I obviously had to try it.) Now I’m hooked, and my friend and I have literally made a pact to get together once a week and gossip and order from here.
Yay being in your 20s.
Their noodle soup is fine and delicious and fresh, but it’s the sandwiches that will make you moan.

It was my first time here. I was super irritated because it took me much longer to get here and drive back home (Lawrence can get some pretty horrible traffic…) I got a little more irritated when I got home and the husband joked about how hard the bread looked. He picked up my sandwich and «knocked» it on the table like it was a brick. (This part is really to vent and portray my mood going into this experience…)
But then that first bite… was terrific. The hard looking bread just sank into my teeth with no resistance. The inside was the soft, almost nonexistent bread. So thin that I could only taste the delicious innards of my sandwich. I don’t usually like the flaky bread but this one had me scooping the crumbs up and snacking on them like they were chips. The proportion of insides and bread were on point, in my opinion. Absolutely delicious.
I had asked for the toppings on the side so that my bread doesn’t become soggy and was expecting the usual experience I get at Bale (which is a dinky bag of pickled radish that doesn’t cover one sandwich even though I had purchased 5). But Nhu Lan provided more than I needed to drown my sandwiches in toppings.
I just ate there yesterday (Thurs) and I’m already contemplating going back this weekend.

Had the shrimp/​pork sandwich it was amazing (#13). Great flavor, fresh bread would get again in a heartbeat. But let’s talk about the lemongrass Tofu (#10). Bruh… As a meat-​eater who is dating a vegetarian I have tried many veggie substitutes and this is easily the best I’ve had. The tofu has a Jerky– like consistency but is packed with flavor, I highly recommend to vegetarians and those who are not.
Seating inside isn’t great so plan to take it to go, but this place is a gem!

I know people have been going nuts about this place, but it was my first time trying it out. Oh man, I’m now moaning how much I’ve missed out the whole time since moving to Chicago more than one (1) year ago.
The entire venue was even tinier than what I imagined; there were four (4) small tables and they didn’t seem comfortable whatsoever. Patrons were coming one after another. As a sensitive Chicago foodie, I knew this place wouldn’t disappoint me.
I picked out two (2) types of dessert and a bowl of shrimp salad from the open-​deli refrigerator before heading to the register to order our banh mi. All the banh mi selections are numbered, so if you really don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, just pick out your lucky number for the day. You will end up having a great sandwich regardless.
We chose #3 (lemongrass chicken) and #10 (lemongrass tofu). The lady behind the counter kindly inquired us if we wanted everything ingredient on the sandwich. Heck yeah, of course! If you don’t eat lemongrass, pickled horseradish, shredded carrots, and cucumbers, please re-​evaluate the level of happiness in your life because you appear to be very pathetic!
The banh mi were merely awesome. There are lots of vegetarian-​friendly menu items for those who adopted a vegetarian diet like my hubby. Really though, try the lemongrass tofu. They make it just as hearty as meat would. I personally thought that the tofu tasted better then the real meat. The baguette bread was also baked in house, and it was strong and crunchy, not wimpy at all.
While we were patiently waiting for our banh mi, one of the patrons who came right after us didn’t want to wait and started munching something he bought from the deli section. I know, friend. The food is excellent here. I get it!

Love it! It’s a great place to pick up food on the go especially on the way to work.
Their ca phe Sua da is quite rich. You will be tweaking in a sugar rush so sip slowly! My favorite sandwich is the grilled pork. It’s not really grilled. It’s stir fried, but it’s still good. I also like picking up a few snacks while there.
Soooo much better than Ba Le.