Lee's Sandwiches
Categories: Vietnamese, Sandwiches [Edit]
939 W El Camino RealSte 108
Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408) 774-0595
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: None
125 reviews
Los Altos, CA
"SHORT & SWEET: The best Pho this reviewer has ever consumed; clean; fast; friendly; comfortable; great interior; busy at lunch; wonderful…" read more »
76 Reviews for Lee's Sandwiches
Sandwiches= overpriced and small. Will never come here again after trying their food. Try CAM HUNG on Wolfe and Old San Francisco Road in Sunnyvale.
i dont get why this place get's good reviews. the sandwiches are small, over priced, and its only good if you cant think of anything else and dont really have a lot of money. rather go to cam hung down the road for some better larger sandwiches
I remember I use to work right next to them "papa Murphy's" There prices are cheap, well I don't know about now it's been over 3 years since I ate at this place. The only reason why I would come in is because they always have a hot Asian girl working the register. I mean I can't just go in look around and leave. So i always ordered the roast beef on croissant bread. And a soy bean drink yeah im a real fob.
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Good Vietnamese sandwiches. They're also very cheap, but very small. I can usually eat 1.5 to 2 on a typical day. Maybe it's just me, but the garish McDonalds-esque decor kind of puts me off. For my money, I think I prefer Cam Hung.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
For me lee's sandwiches is pretty consistent all around. Almost any location you go to you normally get the same quality food, service, and price. I like the consistency and I like knowing that no matter what I always have somewhere to go if I don't have a lot of cash on me.
This location gets 3 stars from me because I really dislike the lady who heckles you to buy more stuff laid out on the counter in front of you. I order my sandwich, hand her a 5, and she goes on to ask me:
Her: "Do you want fried rice?"
Me: "No, thanks."
Her: "How about small egg roll?"
Me: "Nah, I think I'm good. Just the sandwich will be good."
Her: "Any bread?"
Me: "No bread."
Her: "Would you like pearl tea?"
Me: "Nope, I just want my sandwich."
I almost laugh when I think about it. I don't dislike it, it's almost fun to see what she'll offer me every time I go in.
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I don't know what you guys are all talking about, but I think the sandwiches are fucking awesome, alright?
Geez, giving harsh reviews over the littlest things...
Although it took a bit of time to get my sandwiches (about 5-10 min), which isn't bad really, except I went alone (I'm such a loner, I guess) so time went by pretty slowly. They gave me my banh mi and I fucking ate it with pleasure and joy
And the sandwiches are CHEAP. like $2.75, and the pre-packed foods are like $1.25-2.50 maybe, still really cheap.
Yeah, I ate those motherfuckers, alright.
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Lee's is a chain so if you've been to one, you've been to all of them. However, this location is unique because it has chicken curry. I normally get the chicken curry with baguettes. The baguettes are cut up into small cubes and you dip it into the curry. It's only $5 including tax. It's great curry. I also like their pork buns and desserts. The red bean concoction they have with coconut milk on top is great on any given day.
My first time here & I guess that would be the last.... I don't know the problem of the woman who was taking our orders but she was really very rude, didn't even said HI, & most specially thank us.... NO customer service at all... NOT friendly either.
Well, I had the Turkey Club sandwich but it was nothing great... I really wanted to try their other sandwiches but after that experience, NO THANKS, it's not worth your "dough"... nothing wrong with the food, it's just the STAFF... so I rate it ONE STAR only! :(
Quick and affordable....I come here for the #5 Grilled Pork Sandwich. My wife likes #5 too except without the cilantro.
I think Lee's Sandwiches is great. Dirt cheap. Variety of Asian foods (Chinese BBQ pork buns, chang fen/long rice noodles, etc.), and of course, Vietnamese style sandwiches. I like the sandwiches, particularly the BBQ pork one. My only complaint is sometimes the baguettes are a bit hard, but otherwise, yum!
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I heart Lee's! Cheap, delicious, and fast. I always get either vegetarian baguette and the teriyaki chicken baguette with fried rice. I love the fact that I can get filled up on a sangwich for under $3.00. Yum!
I go here at least once a week, and discovered that sometimes the sandwich makers are generous with their fillings, and some of the sandwich makers are a little skimpy. I haven't figured out a pattern to this, but once I find out the secret formula, I'll let you know what days are the best ones for fuller sandwiches.
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It just dawned on me...this is the first time that I've ever written a really bad review of a place. I don't like to write a bad review unless the place really really tried to kill me, otherwise I try to find the silver lining but explain most of what had happened in my diatribes and recommendations. However I will make an exception this mostly because I had to deal with the aftermath first hand....well mostly on accident since it was happening as I was walking into the men's room. :(
I've been to the one in Milpitas before only because Dakao was closed....RAGE!!!!! I was sadly disappointed....I thought that perhaps it could be at least a fraction o the goodness that I'm used to.....no, they aren't. But perhaps if I wasn't so used to greatness then maybe I'd like the place. The place looks pretty flashy though with all the neon lights.....
sorry, back to the why I'm posting at this particular branch....my boss had ordered something from there, but as soon as he came back from lunch he had gotten sick.....twice......and then called it a day.....actually he called in 2 days but who's counting right? Anyways, that's all I have to say about it since he's to embarrassed to write about it himself since he doesn't want to admit that he apparently has a weak stomach. LMAO! Of course I do not hesitate to remind of this every time he gets mad at me for breaking the network....;D
Cheap
Tasty and decent sandwiches.
I like the speedy service. A bit cramped to sit and dine in. Outdoor seating? Hmm. I guess a chair and table or two outside nest to the front grills of parked cars is err outdoor seating....
Key to liking this place...Eat there once in a blue moon!
Good deal overall.
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Cheap $2.50-$4 sandwiches on buttery french baguettes. Huge variety of choices but the meat is rather cheap - tried the pork sandwich and it was just bits of hard roast pork. However, the bread is tasty and I like the pickled vegetables and jalapeno that gives a super hot kick.
Also tried one of the colorful-looking Vietnamese desserts in the refrigerated case. Thought it was like one of those delicious coconut milk drinks with slivers of colorful jellies that you get at many Vietnamese places. It was...except that there was a nasty egg yolk mixed in it. Yuck.
Bottom line: You can't beat a $3 sandwich. Don't expect greatness - you get what you pay for. Stay away from that nasty coconut milk egg yolk drink.
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Food tastes good... but the girls that work there are bitchy and rude.. OHH and beware you get a drink with no ice... they will only fill the cup half way.. I usually get the thai tea.. but since i dont want ice i have to buy 2 in order to make one cup...
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I go to this location frequently as I work near it. When I want some cheap, tasty, fast food I go here. I usually get the BBQ pork sandwich which is my favorite, but I've also tried some of the others like the ham and cheese croissant sandwich and steak sandwich. For what you pay it is pretty darn good. They have a variety of desserts too, but specifically I go for the french creamy bread :)
Cheap yummy sandwiches. The jalapenos in the sandwiches can get pretty hot though, so watch out! Their fast with their orders too!
Am reviewing this place just so I can remind myself it is an acceptable place to get lunch fast on a weekend for about 3 bucks without any component of the meal being deep-fried. Why yes, I do use my Yelp lists as my personal lunch decision tree.
The folks here probably hate me because I have so many customizations on my order -- BBQ pork sandwich, no mayo, no cilantro, no onions, no peppers. Hey, at least I leave on the pickled veggies...
Anyway, a place where I can get a cheap, decent sandwich in a size that doesn't make me waste food is good to remember on days when I have no idea what I want for lunch and there's nothing in the house.
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Ever since I first came across them in the 80's I've been addicted to those tasty and *inexpensive* Vietnamese skinny sour-dough baugette sandwiches (bahn mi) wherever I come across them.
That much abused and overused phrase, "less is more," truly applies in this case. Whereas *other* types of sandwiches are assembled to appeal to our gluttony, served up as they are with multiple slices of meat, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and layers of cheese and mayonnaise to force by their sheer volume a semblance of customer satisfaction, the bahn mi consists merely of a skinny sourdough baugette sliced lengthwise, and thin small slices of meat, bits of chopped carrots and turnips, a few sprigs of cilantro, small slices of potent green pepper, and a light spread of indeterminate origin. Still it manages to fill one's mouth with more taste and sensation than any other type of sandwich I know of.
So walk into Lee's, ignore their large-bunned, over-stuffed European sandwich monstrosity selections, and order one of their ten inch Vietnamese baugette sandwiches (items 1-10). I love chomping into them, feeling the toasty hard baugette crust collapse as I bite thru it and into the soft spun bread, then reaching the fixings. The sprigs of cilantro, chopped carrot the thin slices of BBQ pork hit my tongue's taste buds. Then I masticate the crust, the white bread, and the fixings all together, chewing, chewing, to draw out and savor the last bits of flavor before my tongue flips those chewings down my gullet to make room in my mouth for the next bite.
At some point, usually the second or third bite, I hit the hot green pepper slices and feel bits of fire on the tongue and the sides of my mouth. It doesn't stop me, just spurs me on. After I down the last of my bahn mi, my stomach may or may not be satisfied, but my mouth sure is happy and fulfilled.
The reason I'm writing up Lee's Sandwich Shops rather than some other Vietnamese Deli is simply because Lee's Sandwich Shops, being the largest, widest spread, most organized, most commercially-successful purveyor of this culinary pleasure, has located one of their franchises within lunch-break range of my work. So they get my stars...
NOTE: So first Togo's (back in the 60's) and then Lee's (in the 80's) have become successful sandwich shop franchises after opening as popular single shops within a block of San Jose State University.
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I had a grilled pork sandwich, which was ok, but the pork tasted more like pork jerky than grilled pork, maybe I ordered wrong.
They have a variety of sandwich so I'll probably go back to try something else.
A craving for banh mi and a streak of laziness led me to Lee's a mile or so down the road instead of driving out to Milpitas to one of the places that does banh mi very well. Lee's version is not bad; price is decent, baguette is good as are the fillings. There's something missing however. A good banh mi erupts with a riotous cacophony of flavors in every bite. The Lee's version is tasty but makes you want to have a really good one. If the banh mi jones is hitting hard, Lee's is ok. If you want one that really satisfies, go out to Milpitas or San Jose to get one of the better renditions.
OK, for the people who love this place because it's good and VERY in-expensive, I have no beef with you. For the people who bashed it and wanted to give negative stars because it's not like the sandwich you ate on a street corner in Vietnam well I don't know what to tell you. Vietnam is a little far for me to fly during my lunch hour. I grew up in the Bay Area and personally I would rather eat 100 of their BBQ pork sandwiches than suffer through one more Big Mac. The sandwiches are made fresh when you order then, they taste great and you can't beat the price. The sides are not too bad either. If they sucked so bad, how come there is a line out the door during lunch every day. I follow the crowds; they usually know what's good.
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two words..."food poisoning"
Lee Sandwiches is great for cheap fast Vietnamese food. However, please do not forget that this is not authentic; its very watered down. Lee Sandwiches focuses on how fast they can make their food; and how much they can produce (mass production). Because of this, their food is not made to please; more as only to please your wallet. You get what you pay for - with this I highly recommend Huong Lan Sandwiches. Of course, service won't be superb but what will be satisfied will be your Taste Buds and your wallet.
affordable, convenient 'n' fast...vietnamese banh mi...sandard under $five complete fillin' meals....expected of a lee's....just sandwich mostly under $three...pre-packed dishes..noodles, spring rolls, jello drinks and such..although eggrolls no good..."number 31" in familiar lee's automated number call...but, a thing lacking at this location...size being small...rack of chips 'n' nothing more...no celebrity luncheon meats 'n' such.....just meals 'n' chips 'n' nothing more...
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The best place in sunnyvale to grab vietnamese sandwiches, but you can find better ones in San Jose. They do have the best bbq pork sandwiches. If you like vietnamese sandwiches, you should go to Saigon Bakery in San Jose.
This place has a nice selection of food, their prices have steadily increased, but is still cheap compared to many other places. I remember when a sandwich here used to only cost $1.25.
You can find me there about 2 times a month during lunch.
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Not the best place to be getting authentic vietnamese sandwiches!
I dont reccomend the spring roll either -- the wrap was stale. You can easily make your own.
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Lee's Sandwiches is tight. Cheap and good food. You can't go wrong here, pretty much anything you order will be yummy. Might I suggest the Avocado smoothie, hey, don't knock it till you try it!
When this place first opened, I loved to sit and just watch some of the white people come in, read the menu, look at the person that they were with, and leave cause they didn't quite "get" Vietnamese sandwiches. I was addicted to Lee's for a while, actually. Sandwiches with nice, crunchy bread, a little salad of daikon and stuff inside, with some good meat. All for $2.50. I'm not so big a fan anymore since I find that the sandwiches aren't all that fulfilling.
The nice thing here is that they have fresh bread all the time, some tasty Vietnamese snacks and meals which aren't too bad, either.
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I am a big fan of Lee's Sandwiches. It's one of the few places where you can get jalapaneos and cilantro on a grilled pork sandwich. I would say they're the best sandwiches in this area, far ahead of Togo's, Subway, Quiznos, etc.
Ham and cheese croissant --A+++. Toasted. $1.50 each.
I usually get the chicken with pate (extra 50 cents).
Extra bag of veggies $1.00
Baguette $1.00
Great seafood eggrolls. A
Curry chicken stew C+
Amazing Iced Coffee $2.75, strong and creamy
horrible banh cuon, dried out and skimpy on the fillings, mediocre sauce
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#5 is my favorite. (pork sandwich)
I tend to add some spring rolls and sometimes noodles.
It is a good cheap place to eat.
Banh Mi is my second favorite food, and when in Mountain View, I always hit Lee's for lunch a couple times a week. Where else can you get 2 subs for $5.98? One is plenty and I have the other one when working late. The BBQ Pork and the chicken subs are good.
The most fun is playing Russian roulette with the chili peppers inside. Most are nicely spicy but every now and then you will hit a live one that turns the side of your mouth numb.
As other reviewers have commented, the bread quality here does seem to vary quite a bit. Sometimes the bread is fresh and eatable and other times the bread ends are so hard they have to be discarded.
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Excellent. Sandwiches are very tasty, and the more Asian ones (Bahn Mi, Chinese BBQ Pork) are insanely cheap ($2.25- $2.75). Coffee is also strong and good and there are lots of munchies to be had (Asian style desserts, cut fruit, shrimp rolls, pork buns, etc).
A great place to go to be satisfied cheaply and quickly. My hands still smell like garlic 4 hrs later! :)
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Good, cheap, quick.
Good service, short wait times, good value for the money... just gotta deal with the sometimes rude people.
the food there is no-frills... you can get some somewhat interesting foods there from the experimental standpoint from the fridge section.. I'll stick to stuff like the flan.
Beware some of the other patrons... we were enjoying the nice day outside and right next to us plopped down a couple dudes who proceeded to light up a couple of cigarettes... booo...
Since this location is convenient for me to get a Vietnamese sandwich it gets 1 star just for that. From my experience I believe that each store is very different and it all depends on who is working behind the counter. The different times I've come to the Sunnyvale location, the bread was never at it's freshest and that also goes for the fillings. Also they seem to close really early.
I'd rather go to the Milpitas location since the bread seems to be a lot more fresh and I haven't been disappointed with my sandwich there. I have yet to see the difference in the other locations in San Jose, but I fear of some kind of out-of-the-blue altercation leading into shootings or stabbings that may occur. I hear lots of stories which are surprisingly true so I'm overly cautious. You just never know! HAHA!
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This is my first time going to Lee's in years. They have a convenient location near the Chaat House, Blockbuster, and Baskin-Robbins. I was impressed by my tasty sandwich for only $2.75. They have an extensive menu and I'm looking forward to trying more of their items. It was pretty busy at lunch time, and I think that's a good sign, but parking and seating are limited.
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I was pleasantly surprised, I went in for a healthy, sandwich with their light bagettes and came out with chicken and rice, $3.50 and cream puffs, $1.50.
There is a cold case with freshly cut up tropical fruit, like papaya and mangoes and puddings with tapioca balls and jellos. Then a hot case with BBQ skewered meats. Then a counter covered with prepared foods, like meat over rice, fried rice, spring rolls, and chow mein from $1.50-$4. Then there are the sandwiches with their light freshly baked bagettes.
They also have a special of the day, posted on the register, today was beef stir fry over rice or vermicelli noodles for $4.95.
So a great deal if you are in the area.
I like the bread, the sandwiches are tasty and well priced. If I lived in Cupertino, I might go here once in a while for lunch.
Don't get the drinks there.. I brought 3 drinks, and one of them is sour.
The spring roll was dry.
The sandwitches aren't all that either. Agree with other postings, you can easily make your own.
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