Banh Mi Ngon

Great service and very nice counter person I had the Classic Banh Mi he said I should try his favorite banh mi no. 3 with grilled pork made by him his way next time I promise. Come check these guys out.

I came all the way to West Roxbury for this?
Not the best, Banh Mi sandwich. Skimpy fillings. Dry.
The inside can use a re-do especially the small dining area which is sad looking.

This place is a little hidden gem in West Rox! The establishment is small but super clean and well stocked with all my favorite Vietnamese fast foods. The ice coffee is to die for and can rival the best of Starbucks any time! I had the spicy tofu Banh mi today and it was so yummy. Fresh ingredients, firm crispy touch, made to order, and bread nicely toasted, and which is essential in any street sandwich and yet so many places don't toast their bread. Lastly, the guy at the counter is super nice. My puppy was winning for me from the car window while I was placing my order and he was like, "oh is that your dog? I will take your food to your car. So he is not crying for you!" I was like, "aww, really?" And he was like, " no problem!" I this place!

I was looking for something cooling to the tongue so I stopped here to see if they had any of those fruit smoothies normally found in a Vietnamese establishment.

They did, and most of them are made with frozen fruit rather than powder, so I opted for the mango, no pearls, for $3 ($3.21 after tax).

I was the only one there at the time, so they whirled one up for me, and off I went.

Crunch, crunch, crunch. The ice specks were evident with every sip. I was hoping for something more smooth, rather than creamy with bits of crunchy ice. About a quarter of the way down, I sucked my straw and got nothing... I blew through the straw to discharge whatever was blocking the passageway, and sucked again. Repeated that twice, then finally was able to suck again, but I found something funny in my mouth - it was a piece of clear plastic wrapper. Yup, that's why a star got knocked off "A-OK" to a rating of "Meh. I've experienced better."

I'd be willing to give them another chance some day for their food, but so far, it is what it is.

We had the 5 spice tofu and the chicken banh mi. The best part of these sandwiches was the fresh warm bread! The vegetable filling was lacking, and the pickled carrots were lackluster. The limeaid was very sugary.

We will return to reevaluate ...dont skimp on the cheap stuff!

I stopped into this place for the first time today, so I got the classic banh mi sandwich to feel things out. I really liked it-- the different sliced cold meats were tasty, and the amount of toppings (hell yes fresh cilantro) was just right. I recommend getting chili sauce added, and raw jalapeños for an extra crunch.

I also got a hot Vietnamese coffee, wonderfully sweet with the condensed milk and just the right thing on a rainy day.

The guy at the counter is also really friendly and chill! I'm glad I finally stopped by. I'll definitely be back!

We came to this place looking for a good Bánh Mi in the area and it wasn't worthy. The bread was okay but everything else was off. Skimpy fillings, the iced coffee was off, we have to ask for jalapeños in our sandwiches and they were not even hot (how's that even posible) they were stale. It took forever to get our order and the place wasn't busy. I normally don't care about that if there's a line or if the food is good but none of that was the case. Bad service, slow service and the food is not good.

I ate Vietnamese food on a daily basis for 18 years of my life so I know what is good, what is alright, and what is terrible. This place is just terrible. I ordered a grilled beef banh mi and two orders of the grilled chicken over rice for to go. The beef banh mi was $6 (the most expensive banh mi I've ever purchased) and was not worth it. I like the bread they used but the meat was just so dry and the sauce was not a traditional one. The biggest disappointment was the grilled chicken over rice. I received three slice of chicken breast over rice with a side of lettuce, cucumber, and tomato. The grilled chicken breast is like the dry, precooked chicken breast you'd buy at the grocery store and heat up with your salad. Traditionally in Vietnamese cooking, the chicken breast is marinated in a lemongrass sauce and grilled so that there is a little char on it. This interpretation was dry and bland. The worst part was the nuoc mam (fish sauce) the dish came with didn't taste like fish sauce at all. The owners are Vietnamese so maybe they're trying to subdue traditional flavors so fit a wider range of people? Nevertheless, the food here is not every good. I would suggest driving another couple miles to Dorchester to get traditional Vietnamese cooking.

How in the YELP does this place have 4.5 stars?

The place is dumpy. And, by dumpy, I mean, almost appetite-losing dumpy. There's dust EVERYWHERE (just look under the stools on the magazine racks...and peek in corners). You're a food establishment!

The easter-egg colored stools are rock-hard. As in, I felt like I was sitting on an actual rock. My back was sore upon leaving.

I went in around 1:30pm and sat in the only seats that exist in the entire place, near the window. The sun was BLASTING my face. It felt like I was Hansel and Grettel being cooked in the witch's oven. Brutal. They put the "shades" down (quotes on shades because they were thin bamboo sticks that the light shone through), which made it bearable. Barely.

PHO REVIEW: I went up to the counter and asked for PHO. Her response was, "It's there (pointing to the menu on the wall) called Rice Noodle Soup." Okay, thanks for the correction. Anyway, I got beef "rice noodle soup" with extra meat. (**SEE PHOTOS**)

Here's what KILLED IT FOR ME: KILLLLLLLED IT!!! THEY GAVE ME A PLASTIC FORK TO EAT BUBBLING HOT PHO. And, a plastic Pho spoon! REALLLLLLY? No, it didn't work. Yes, it was just as awful as it sounds. The fork was TINY and it barely gave me enough food in one bite to enjoy it. The spoon kept falling into my soup. To clarify: this was NOT a to-go order. The pho was served in a regular ceramic bowl. Oh yes, and the napkins were the small appetizer napkins that are a completely pointless waste of trees. I needed like 50 to get a real clean going.

QUALITY OF FOOD:
The broth was very tasty, but had a hair in it. Yup, a tiny, thin black hair. Mmm.

The basil was mostly fresh and only a few were browning :sarcasm:.

The sprouts were a little limp, but edible :sarcasm again:.

The 1/10th cut of lime was perfection. It actually was. Nice and fresh. See, you've got potential!

The hoisin sauce was SPICY, which it never is at regular pho restaurants (I've been to many pho restaurants). The hoisin sauce also came in a to-go container, which sucks, because I like pouring my sauce on each bite. Instead, I was dipping hot pho into a tiny container to get a taste of sauce. That's a beautiful sight, let me tell you.

I left there with Pho spots on my shirt, because WHO the YELP can eat pho with a tiny plastic fork?

I dunno. I think all of the 5-star yelp reviews are a result of their sandwiches. Lawrd knows they must have ALL been to-go orders, cause aint' no one five-staring this place after a sit-down meal.

Get it together, guys.

Big fan of there Bahn Mi.
They do a great job of making it fresh and extra props for being in West Roxbury as they are the only show in town.
I always go for the grilled chicken.