Bring cash unless you are spending less than $10.
My current favorite Banh Mi joint staffed by an army of smiling middle aged Vietnamese ladies. Good sized sandwiches with crunchy skinned mini baguettes and decently filled with very tasty and good quality meat and pickled veggies. Their calling card on the Banh Mi appears to be their abundant application of mayo which leaks out as you're eating. At first I didn't like how much they used, but have grown to appreciate and now actually prefer their wet version.
They also have for sale a variety of Vietnamese delicacies prepackaged that look quite good, although I've only ever picked up the sandwiches.
No question, one of the best Banh Mi spots in NOVA.
There's no need to get wordy here, so let me just say this is the best bahn mi you'll eat in DC. Â The roasted pork bahn mi is not just bahn mi perfection, it is as good a sandwich as you may ever eat. Â The secret lies in the bread, which is (here's that word again) perfection. Â Wonderfully fresh and bready aroma, crisp on the outside and pillow soft inside...it's just a thing of beauty. Â The sandwiches are more than filling, and quite cheap. Â They also pour a great cup of Vietnamese iced coffee. Â It's places like this that make eating in the suburbs such a pleasure of budget-friendly diversity, and it's the lack of places like this in DC proper that make the city such an over-rated dining area.
Review Source:We took a detour to get sandwiches here based on Yelp recommendations. Â All I can say is PLEASE PLEASE open one in the Chantilly or Centreville area! Â We ordered one chicken sandwich and one veggie mix sandwich. Â They were adequate for the family. Â The kids loved the sandwich also. Â Each sandwich was 8 - 10 inches. Â The prices ($3.50 - $3.75 per sandwich) were very reasonable. Â In addition, we got one of those packages of the veggie summer rolls, which we liked. Â Total bill was around $11. Â Note that they have a $10 minimum to use a credit card.
My only complaints are 1) there is no seating area, and 2) there is no bathroom in case your child needs one. Â There were people beating drums and setting off fireworks when we were there, which added to the character to the place, but it made it a bit hard to hear when the order was ready.
The staff were friendly and answered our questions about the sandwiches adequately. Â This is definitely a place to stop in again!
First, I have to say that I would have given this place 4.5 for the banh mi but this last time I had it, the bread was hard and not as filled as in the past. Â I don't like the other wrapped/prepared foods, in general, in terms of taste, as much as at some other similar Vietnamese bakery/cafes, so I would not recommend this place for those items anyways. Â They have a selection of dried, salted prunes that other places don't typically have, though, if you're into those.
I was always in it for their banh mi's, though, so if they don't return to the soft, fresh bread and flavorful, fairly generous fillings as before, I won't have anything special to say about this place in comparison to ones in Eden or Springfield. Â That, and without the other foods here being a bit sub-par in quality, I probably would elect to go elsewhere. Â Will try a few more times and update.
Very good, and excellent value.  I had the chicken Banh Mi & "Egg Roll".  Bread was fresh, shredded chicken was moist with good flavor.  Enough veggies.  The "Egg Roll" was more like a Filipino Lumpia than what I continue to look for, the perfect  Egg Roll!  This is a sandwich shop with a deli, not a sit down eatery..
Review Source:In my opinion, the best banh mi you can get around this area. I adore this place, the bread is so fragrant and made on site, and is that authentic french bread that is perfectly flaky on the outside and soft on the inside. Their bread is so delicious and toasted perfectly, even after a 15 minute drive home. The pickled carrot and daikon is perfect, and the cilantro/jalapeno is never skimped on.
You can also get a range of asian favorites, like pocky sticks, vietnamese desserts (those homemade kind), and even boba.
If you buy 5, you get 1 free, which meets the credit card minimum and is good for two people who want to keep eating banh mi sandwiches for the next two days (which is the case for hubby and me) haha.. I usually end up eating 1.5 in each sitting, holding myself back from eating 2 whole sandwiches because they are so freaking good.
I always get the same thing: pate sandwich with no mayo, with lots of the veggies and  mmmm... I used to order the vegetable sandwich with pate and no mayo (with my goal being to get pate and veggies) but it comes with a fried tofu mix... Jeff gets either the combination or bbq pork, both with no pate.
The place seems family-owned and never fails to be a tasty tasty experience. I wish this place was closer so I could eat banh mi every other day, I would if I could! haha... each sandwich is $3.25-$3.50 and comes rolled up in a paper wrapper and secured with rubber band. Each sandwich is stamped on the wrapper to identify each one, with both the viet and english translations.
No seating, just take-out and standing area (while waiting for food).
You can't get any better on the east coast! Back in Cali (san diego or los angeles), these sandwiches were about $2.50, but that's where you have a gigantic Asian and viet population. This is the best banh mi you can get for your money in these neck of the woods!
Warning - they do take credit card but its a minimum of $10 (avg sandwich is only $3.75). Â So if its just you eating bring cash.
You know you are walking into a solid Vietnamese place when you are greeted with the smells of cilantro, fresh bread, sweet coffee and meat. Â The crowd was diverse (awesome) which is also another very good sign that the food is appreciated by many. Â Getting into the place is a pain in the butt and requires patience - this should be noted.
I ordered the Veggie Banh Mi with extra jalapeños and 1 sesame ball.  The veggie banh mi had to be the best veggie one that I have ever had.  The bread was perfect it flaked under pressure, had solid bite to it and was very warm (so fresh!).  The banh mi had the normal suspects of cucumber, cilantro, carrots and jalapeños.  What was different was for the veggie banh mi they took the pickled diakon and carrots and they were fried!  This added a whole different dimension to the flavor not to mentioned it added texture to the sandwich.  I had to do a double take to make sure I was snuck in meat on my banh mi!  Great veggie bang mi. Â
Next time I am in NoVA this will be a must go for my Banh Mi itch.
This place has become my standard for banh mi sandwiches on the east coast. I always try new places nearby and in other cities and they just can't compare. The bread is made in house so it's as fresh as it gets. The outside is flaky, and the inside is soft and fluffy. Their menu consists of like 15 or so different types of meats/fillings (grilled pork, beef, cold cuts, fishcake, tofu, etc) you can get on the inside but I tend to stick to the usual - grilled pork, and sometimes I'll go for the #1 combination. Also inside the sandwich is cucumber strips, pickled carrots/daikon, mayo, cilantro, and fresh slices of jalepenos - caution if you're not a fan of spiciness! Their iced coffee is always on point - nice and strong. It definitely does the job and at times I feel like I'll start shaking after from all that caffeine, but it's just so good.
The place also has a nice selection of prepared snacks and foods to choose from, like che desserts in individual cups, and a few different types of beef jerky sold by weight. They also offer large trays of sticky rice, egg rolls, etc for catering if you call ahead.
Unfortunately there are no tables so it's a grab and go place, but well worth the stop.
I've been going to BA LE for my Bahn Mi fix but thought I would give this place a go since it seems to be getting great reviews on Yelp and it's just up the road from BA LE anyhow. This place is huge!! You could put on roller skates and take a few turns in here. Lots of snacks and other goodies. I ordered the Combo #1 sandwich and a Coconut bubble tea. Hhhmm, I'm thinking not as good as BA LE (PLEASE DON'T THROW ROTTEN TOMATOES AT ME!!). The French crusty roll was a little on the dry side and something was missing in the filling .... maybe it's the sliced Jalapenos? or the special mayo? or the cilantro? I'm not quite sure but I wasn't getting the "Mmmm!!" reaction when eating this sandwich. BUT the coconut bubble tea was YUMMY!! Not too sweet! The bubble were nice and soft (believe me I've come across tough and chewy bubbles before).
Review Source:I honestly don't know if there could be a place with better value when it comes to what you get for your money. Â I went here for the first time today and bought lunch for myself and two others for under $20.
We picked up four combination sandwiches, two egg rolls, and a pork roll. Â The egg roll was really tasty and the sandwich was extremely delicious. Â We were in a rush so I didn't have time to check the whole place out but it seemed to be full of all sorts of stuff that I wouldn't mind trying.
One sandwich is pretty filling, so you could go easy and just get one without a problem.
Pretty decent Vietnamese Banh Mi in the area. Not sure why they are called DC Banh Mi when they are clearly located in Falls Church, VA.
My husband normally gets the banh mi thit nuong (grilled pork) and I like their banh mi thit nguoi (various cold cuts). Vietnamese Banh mi is made of a light, crispy baguette that is filled with pate and homemade mayonnaise, cilantro, cucumber, jalapeño pepper, a sweet and sour carrot pickle and a choice of meat.
The thit nuong has okay flavor but also looks odd like it isn't cooked fully. I'm used to a dark browned grilled pork. However, the red/pink food coloring at DC Banh Mi makes it look like nem chua (raw cured pork). Despite this, hubby says it's good but could be better. Â The color of the meat just looks unappetizing. Â Â
The thit nguoi is very good and one of the best you can get in this area. I could probably eat a sandwich weekly. Â We always ordered to go and they keep the pickled veggies separate so that the sandwich doesn't get soggy! Â We like it enough to keep ordering here.
hella good. Reminds me of Lee's Sandwiches in San Jose, CA. Love this place. Love the azn snacks lining shelves and tabletops.. love the saran-wrapped desserts and entrees, love the cafe sua da. Â When I get a little homesick, one trip here and inhaling a #1 combination always does the trick.
#1!
I'm giving this place 5 stars because I've never had any other Banh Mi better than the ones from this place in DC area. Â
I'm a semi-vegetarian so I usually eat either their vegetarian or Tofu and both are awesome. Â I also highly recommend their spring roll (deep fried and tofu skinned with meat/vegi inside - around $.80 per) and sesame ball. Â These spring rolls are dangerous since they are perfect finger food that packs a lot of calories/fat =) Â Their sesame ball is hands down the best one I ever had. Â They are crispy outside and so chewy inside... perfect.
This place is a standard banh-mi & miscellaneous Vietnamese goodies shop that you would find anywhere with a decent Vietnamese population but BMDC does the classic Vietnamese sandwiches pretty right. Â They bake their own bread throughout the day and are very generous with the meats!
We took advantage of the buy 5 get 1 free deal so we got a bit of everything.
I'm usually a traditional banh mi thit nguoi (combo) kinda girl, I actually found myself liking their banh mi thit nuong (grilled pork) more! Â The "thit nuong" wasn't really thit nuong but more like Chinese roast pork. Â It really didn't matter what that stuff was because it was freaking delicious!
The banh mi nem nuong (grilled meatball) was also really good but it didn't taste as good as the others when we reheated it in the oven. Â This one is definitely an 'enjoy immediately' kind of treat!
A great Vietnamese housewife trick for reheating the sandwiches the next day (thanks mom!): take all of the veggies out of the sandwich and put it on a cookie sheet. Â Run your hands under some water and with your hands still wet, run them over the outside of the bread just to get them slightly moist. Â Bake your sandwiches in the oven at 350 F for about 6 minutes. Â It crisps the outside of the bread without burning it and keeps the inside soft like the day you bought it! Â Works for sandwiches stored at room temp or refrigerated.
First off I dislike this shopping center but I suppose it is better than fighting the crazed traffic in the Eden Center. Â The staff was fairly friendly and the banh mi is decently priced. Â
In my opinion, you can't really go wrong with banh mi as long as the ingredients and the bread are fresh. This place isn't any more spectacular than any other place. Â However, the other goods that they sell in the store such as chips, etc are a little over priced. Â It's a good place to stop into if you're passing by. Â But if you're in a hurry, I'd rather go down a little further down the road to Ba Le.
Crusty and flaky on the outside, warm and tasty on the inside. Oh, and the sandwiches are good too.
This place is one in a string of recent gems I've found in the greater Arlington area that, from the outside, don't look all that appealing but boast some of the best food in town. Concealed in one of our many run-down ethnic shopping centers this little shop is fantastic and expertly crafts what is, without question, the best Bahn Mi around. For me, any sandwich is all about the bread and the delicate baguettes here are a home run. Stuff it with fresh and tasty ingredients and you've got a winner. Price it under $4 and I'm weak in the knees.
This is a grab and go establishment so don't plan on finding a place to sit and enjoy your sandwich. If you're new to Bahn Mi don't be intimidated by the confusing menu or the plethora of goodies between you and the counter just get the number 2 and enjoy. You'll have plenty of time to try other things because you'll be coming back again and again.
Cheers.
I was in the mood for a Banh Mi for lunch today, so I decided to try out Banh Mi DC Sandwich. This place is really good! Location is easy to find: on the corner of Rt. 50 and Graham Rd., across from the Loehmann's shopping center. Parking is plentiful. Inside of the store is very clean, and the staff that I dealt with spoke English and was easy to understand. Â Note -- this is not an eat-in restaurant, it's a Vietnamese deli and grocery, so no tables to sit at inside.
I ordered the Combination (Banh Mi #1) and the Roasted Pork (Banh Mi #2). Â Both were excellent. the baguettes were clearly fresh (baked on the premises) and very crispy outside with soft insides. The meats were great on both sandwiches, although I'm not sure why, but the roasted pork had a red color. I checked to make sure it was cooked all the way through, and it was, so I suspect that there is some kind of marinade that is used on the roasted pork that gives it the reddish color. Vegetables on both sandwiches were fresh, crispy, and tasty. Overall, two excellent sandwiches for $3.70 each -- far cheaper than you would spend at Subway! Â
I also ordered a Cafe Sua Da (Vietnamese iced coffee, made with condensed milk) that was also excellent. Not as sweet as the iced coffee that you get at Starbucks, and a richer consistency (owing to the condensed milk, I guess).
There are over 20 different types of Banh Mi available on the menu, including several vegetarian options, several seafood (tuna and sardines) options, and sandwiches with several varieties of pork, beef, and chicken. I will definitely go back again and try something else the next time.
BAHN MI!
I always get the roast pork which is my favorite, but I like the shredded pork too. And at $3.70?! What a steal! If you buy 5 sandwiches, the sixth is free.
They also have a lot of grocery items here. I picked up a bottle of fish sauce that's usually $10 for $8.
If this place wasn't so far out in Arlington, I would eat here multiple times a week. SO delish.
Favorite banh mi. I frequent this place about once a week and the sandwiches and service is consistently great. Â I call ahead about 10 minutes and pick them up hot. Â They charge for extra vegetables (pickled carrots, radishes, jalapenos + cilantro), but I find it worth it. Â I love the classic (#1) and also the roasted pork (#2) banh mi and they don't skimp on the pork. Â The baguette is always fresh, as is all other ingredients.
I tried their summer rolls and incomparable to that of a pho restaurant's. Â Semi warm and not very tasty.
After trying various Banh Mi sandwiches around the area, this place is still my favorite.
I always get the grilled pork. I love this place because everything is tasty and they get the texture just right for me. The grilled pork is just pork flesh, not an amalgamation of pork parts. The sandwiches have excellent mayo that blends really well with the meat and the bread, without the bread ever getting soggy (YAY!). The bread is just the right texture - fluffy, soft, and not too chewy (I'm looking at you, Song Que). Parking is really easy and service is reasonably fast.
Plus, at $3.70 per sandwich, it's a little more expensive than the average banh mi around the area, but hey, it's DC and this is dirt cheap anyways so I'll take it. You need cash for everything under $10 and it closes at 8PM.
It IS possible to spend less than $10 on lunch! I can get a sandwich, garden rolls, and a canned drink from here for $9 dollars and some change. **FYI: They don't accept credit card for purchases under $10 -- so bring cash or plan to stock up on Asian snacks like Pocky, assorted desserts and/or meats, or get a bubble tea on the side!
Banh mi is a Vietnamese style sub sandwich that consists of your choice of meat, cilantro, pickled radishes and carrots, hot peppers, and mayo laid on top of French bread.
Banh Mi DC has a variety of different meats that range from chicken, egg, grilled pork, beef, chicken and pate, and so much more that you can choose from. My personal favorite is grilled pork (#2) but sometimes I'm in the mood for chicken and pate. (#8) This place is one of my favorite places to get banh mi because: 1) Their bread is fresh, crisp, and soft all at the same time, 2) They put just the right amount of mayo on the sandwich, 3) If you buy 5 sandwiches, you get 1 for free, 4) You can ask them to put the veggies outside of the sandwich so it won't get soggy on your way back to the office or on the ride back home, 5) I don't have to venture down the street to Eden and fight for parking spots.
I love how this banh mi shop is right next to Pho 75. Â So I basically have lunch at Pho 75 and grab sandwiches for later at Banh Mi DC. Â
Out of all of the banh mi shops in the area, this is one of my favorites because of the bread. Â The bread can make or break a banh mi, and they have the best soft crusty bread. Â The cold cuts are excellent. Â The headcheese has the right amount of fat and the bologna's peppercorns are not too strong. Â The pate is flavorful but my only issue is that it's not as course as the pates you'll find in a traditional banh mi. Â
I also love the assorted meals they have packaged and ready for you to take home. Â My favorites are the steamed pork & egg bun, and I love love love their chicken or pork friands. Â The friands are amazing!! Â Flakey phyllo stuffed with chicken or pork. Â It's like eating an awesome pot pie. Â Jeez, I'm getting hungry just thinking about this place... Â I guess I'll be going there for lunch today ;)
First and second Bahn Mi experience occured within in 1 week and that was because I loved it so much the first time I had to go back.
Bubble tea and a veggie bahn mi (no mayo) and I was a happy camper! Â The bread itself was amazing!! Â I tried the egg roll based on other yelper reviews and they didn't steer me wrong!
Can't wait to go back
DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE especially during the next week or so. I got a sandwich today and realized that the meat has gone really bad. I guess this is due to the power outage. What upset me the most is the meat is VERY smelly. I could smell it before my first bite. A lot of restaurants suffer the loss after the power outage but selling rotten meat is NOT acceptable.
Normally the sandwiches from here are good but I would advise not to visit until they have sold out or thrown out their rotten meat.
Whoa, easy on the mayo. Â Replace the excess mayo with a more generous portion of veggies, and the sandwiches here are pretty good. Â We ordered six banh mi sandwiches with veggies on the side, and the veggies were largely inadequate for six sandwiches. Â The grilled pork is also not really grilled--more like roasted or braised. Â I wouldn't get the grilled pork one anyway (combination all the way!) so it doesn't affect me too much, but you have been alerted.
I like that they stamp the sandwich wrapper with the type of sandwich inside, avoiding mix-ups before you open them up. Â The meat on the combination is pretty good and I don't know how it would fare if we asked for more veggies and less mayo, but as it stands (and slightly more expensive than Ba Le Bakery close by), it's a little too sweet and just OK.
I would give this 2.5 if I could. Â To start off, I'm Vietnamese and have eating Banh Mi far too long than I care to remember and before they were trendy. Â Having said that- this is not "the best in DC"- they just aren't. Â
I got 2 banh mi ga (chicken- my standard), spring rolls, and pork pate chaud (puff pastry stuffed with ground meat filling. Â
Banh Mi- they were average and not spectacular- also I got a BIG chunk of cartilage in my sandwich was let's face it- unappetizing. The normal toppings, pickled radishes/carrots, cucumber, etc were fine.
Spring rolls: they were okay- small in size compared to the other two places I go.
Pate Chaud- very, very thin layer of filling in comparison to the amount of pastry and the filling was too paste-like.
I also got a steamed pork bun with quail egg but I haven't tried that yet.
I would recommend people to go to half a mile over to Ba Le Bakery (in shopping ctr at corner of Graham Rd and Rt 29) as they have the exact same thing, including the buy 5 get 1 deal, and they do it better. PLUS they are open 24 hours- for serious. Â They're spring rolls are larger but go quickly!
Song Que is good too but you have the parking headache of Eden Ctr- they're sammiches and spring rolls are better too. Â If chicken banh-mi is you're thing, they grill their chicken here and it's served warm on the bun!
I vote Banh Mi DC Sandwich to have the best looking and tastiest banh mi in the DC area. Why you ask? Their bread alone takes the cake. See pic.
I pretty much raided this place (after having missed out on the banh mi crawl) and stocked up on sandwiches, (Buy 5, Get 1 Free) cha gio, and pork buns. Hence, why I've gladly been eating banh mis for lunch two days in a row. YUMDELISH! They hold up really well, too!
The cha gio was good, but the wrapper tasted a little stale from sitting out too long underneath the heat lamp. The pork buns were deliciously sweet, plump, and soft on the outside and the filling was a nice surprise filled with pork, chopped water chestnuts, cilantro, and a whole quail egg. The water chestnuts added that nice crunch which I enjoyed very much. The pork buns were good warm, but I bet they are even more delicious when they are fresh.
We ordered a few #1 assorted or combination, #2 grilled pork, and #19 bbq pork banh mis. My favorite of the three was definitely the #1. I gladly let the passionately spicy jalapeños light my mouth on fire. The one thing about getting banh mis here is that none of them are served with raw onions! Personally, it's a total plus unless maybe they just ran out that day, or you have to ask for it? Either case, I was happy they came sans raw onions. I just find the taste too overpowering.
Overall, the parking situation and bad drivers are worth the trouble in obtaining these bad boys. Plus, it's like a small convenient store filled with Vietnamese goods and desserts.
The price range of the banh mis are between $3.50-$3.70 -- worth every affordable penny based on the superbly crusty French bread  AND cheaper and much much tastier than a $5 foot-long at Subway any day! They are open 8am-8pm every day.
My fellow Gentlemen,
You know that instinctual sandwich artist you all have dwelling in the deepest parts of your manliness?? You know, it's that little voice that tells you that your MANwich should have at least 2+ kinds of meat and that any condiment with "Light" at the end of it's name is for pussies? I've listened to that bastard for the better part of my 24 years of my life, and not once did he tell me to consider putting whole cilantro stalks or large carrot shreds in my sandwich. Then again he may have, which would have prompted the immediate response of me saying "THAT SHIT SOUNDS GROSS!"
Well I wish I listened sooner because BMDC has made a believer out of this man. All sandwiches include carrots, pickled cucumber, cilantro, radish, and seedless jalapeno that aid in giving the sandwich a unique and fresh taste. This random assortment of veg. combined with your choice of meat, and a fresh baguette makes for a cheap and tasty treat. If you want to take the training wheels off your sandwich though, ask for extra meat since the standard order leaves more to be desired.
NOTE: Newcomers to asian sandwiches should stick to the grilled pork. Why?? Because ordering a pâté, meatball, or fish sandwich is about as masculine as going to the gym and working out to "Wham."
Your fellow brother in dudeship,
Andrew M.
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