Banh Mi & Co

I’ve been to other locations of this chain and had better experiences. Had this location a couple times and was ok. But this last experience will not send me back. The bread wasn’t that great. And we asked for avocado and they said they didn’t have any «extras» prepared. And they didn’t have any soups for my kids. They were just not prepared to be open even though it was 1:30 in the afternoon.
The lemongrass chicken and curry chicken both tasted the same.

Ordered seitan banh mi and shrimp spring rolls for pick up and was very disappointed. As others have noted when picking up, the bread was soggy and not the crisp on the outside one expects with banh mi. I’ve had delivery by other shops making banh mi so I know it’s possible for the bread to hold up under those conditions, just not here.
The shrimp spring rolls were okay flavor wise, but they were so loosely wrapped that they completely fell apart after one bite. The result of sloppy preparation was peanut sauce all down my ivory shirt at work from noodles dipped in sauce falling out as I tried to take a bite.
The second star is for the flavor of the seitan, but that’s all I can give due to missing jalapeños in my sandwich (I asked for extra), soggy bread, and poorly rolled spring rolls. Overall I am unlikely to return and can’t recommend this place.

So I thought I’d give the neighborhood phở a chance instead of driving to argyle & broadway. Let’s say when I got my bean sprout they were half rotten. When I asked for better /​fresh ones they said they don’t have any. I mean seriously? Bean sprouts is such a cheap ingredient?!? I don’t even want to know what everything else looks like or if ID EVER COME BACK!

Got their beef banh mi. Given the lack of authentic vietnamese places in wicker I was really hoping I would like this place. Bread reminded me of Jewel Italian bread. There was also too much bread and meat was not good either. Sad :(

Slightly fills the craving, but if you want a quality vietnamese sandwich that will mKe your mouth water on the thought of it and haunt all of your dreams, head Nhu lan.
The ingredients on the sandwiches alone should help sway you, if you’re looking for authentic deliciousness.

Man cmon, lets try to do better. Price point is low, but flavor is low also. I didn’t like the bread on the sand which is the whole point of the bahn mi. They didn’t slice the carrots on the bahn mi, or put mayo, but that bread just didnt cut it for me. Phở was alright, nothing special, but I liked how they had the take out spoon which is made for heavy soup. Papaya salad was not very good either. Spring rolls followed suit. I liked how they separated all the ingredients for the phở to go.
I should never stray too far from bon bon on North, i had to try this place cuz its right here. Seems like they should pay less attention to the gimmicky Vietnamese theme and try investing in quality ingredients.

Quick, cheap and tasty.
Although I usually like a crustier roll on my bahn mi, this softer roll was pretty good.
Try the bbq pork.

For my drive home back to the Twin Cities, I stopped in here for a «snack» (a big sub) for the road. Well when I walked in, I had a fun time playing that Wait Until the Cashier Gives A Sh*t game while I stood right in front of her waiting to order. I ordered the Saigon Classic Special, and I was relieved that the thoroughly unhappy employee did not suck my soul out of my mouth as I spoke.
I was given my banh mi, or rather, I noticed that it was wrapped up and placed on the counter. The whole reason I got a banh mi for the road was because 1) they’re f’ing delicious, and 2) they’re convenient and easy to eat while driving. When I opened this up, it was a mess. Super sloppily made and falling apart. It was way too over-​sauced, which was of course messy and not very appetizing. And I obviously enjoy fresh baked bread, but this bread was so hot that it wilted the cucumber and cilantro, and all of the condensation that formed quickly in the bag made the bread soggy.
Sadly I had to stop again in bumf*ck nowhere WI for more food, and I’m sure you can guess how that went.

Vegetarian review:
This place is an insult to the wicker park neighborhood. The quality of food here is garbage. Stop calling yourself a bahn mi shop, it’s anything but.
Ordered a vegetarian bahn mi and fried vegetarian spring rolls. The girl at the register appeared new, so I double clarified my order with her. It was apparent she didn’t know anything about the menu. The food was so bad I took one bite and had to fight the urge to spit it back out. That was the last bite I’ll ever take here.
Also, check out the photo of the «fried vegetarian spring rolls» below. The girl taking the order and delivering the food confirmed three times that the spring rolls were fried and vegetarian. She was so oblivious it wasn’t even worth trying to get a refund. We left the uneaten food and went somewhere else to eat.

I’ve ordered from this location 3 times now; dined in, delivery, and take out. I really didn’t want to write this review because I hate having only negative things to say. But it needs to be said…
This location is just disappointing. I started my banh mi experience at the original on Broadway in Lakeview. Maybe that spoiled me but this place just can’t compare. I always order the BBQ pork banh mi and a cup of wonton soup. The flavor is just blah. Wontons are mushy, broth tastes like water with a dash of chicken bullion, and pork dry. And tonight, no jalapeño on the sandwich (no big deal, and every other time I’ve ordered the jalapenos have been present). However the bread is always delicious.
I’m a sucker for good service so this place could have had another star if someone would have «Wow’d» me in any of my encounters. But alas, the service has only caused me to be more disappointed.
Hopefully things turn around and this place will surpass the Lakeview location. Until then, I suppose it’s worth fighting the north side traffic for a banh mi craving.

It saddens me to write this review. I think they have good sandwiches and the bread is great (Thanks Artesian Bread Shoppe). I think they have decent phở. But tonight and other times I’ve been here the customer service has just been bad.
We called 25 minutes prior to them closing to order a couple of BBQ pork Banh Mi for pick up. The lady who answered the phone basically told us it was too late and that they close in 15 minutes. But then puts me on hold and comes back and states, «As long as you can get here before 8 you will be ok. Oh and we are out of Phở.»
So clearly she didn’t want to stay past the closing time of the restaurant. I’ve worked in food service, I get it. Nothing made me more upset when people walked into my restaurant 5 minutes prior to closing. But I was calling for a pick up, I wasn’t going to stick around. I was already in my car and on my way there. What would have happened had I shown up after 8? Would they have just thrown it away?
Yes, she was annoyed that someone was calling 25 minutes prior to closing for a pick up. I ordered 2 BBQ Pork Banh Mi sandwiches and 2 wonton soups. She sputtered something and said it will be ready when we get there. TRUE we didn’t check prior to leaving AND the price should have thrown us a hint, but we only got 1 sandwich and 1 soup. Another kicker was that the containers of sauce that we got were pretty much JUST containers with a splash of sauce. Seriously, I had to take a picture and post. Good thing I have Sriracha at home, and I need to find another place to get my Banh Mi fix.
PS the wonton souped sucked. Don’t get it.

This place needs to get checked for food safety ASAP!
I came in to get a beef phở to go. The guy who came out of the back had a bleeding cut on his hand. He took my payment and went to the kitchen to prepare my food. NO GLOVES! With the same hand he got my noodles and shredded beef. Needless to say I didn’t eat the food. Stay away!

Not good.
I ordered online and stopped in to pick up my order around 7 pm. I walk in and there was one other person waiting. The man behind the counter saw that I walked in and said one minute. Then he frantically continued putting together to go orders. He was sighing and mumbling to himself. A man walked in stepped ahead of me and said pick up abruptly. The man behind the counter rang him up. 10 minutes later he looks up at me and says, here or to go? I said pickup and he says… oh. Every time I walk in here it’s the same story, they are extremely disorganized. Also I paid for extra avocado which was not in my sandwich. I won’t be coming here again.

Decent phở in Wicker but not authentic. They only have two meat options, chicken or beef brisket… they should really add the traditional flank steak or meatball as options. The broth was good but a little salty. It’s overall a decent joint for the neighborhood.
I’m not sure why a bowl of phở took over 20 minutes though. You dip the noodles and add the broth. Simple.

Three of my girlfriends and I walked town to have dinner and check out the new neighborhood place. We were excited to have a new type of cuisine on Division. It replaced a failed ice cream shop that I never made it to. It has a fresh coat of paint and cute minimal interior furniture.
The staff was very friendly and almost awkwardly wanted to help us go through the menu. I simply wanted the traditional phở and some water. I thought it was alright. Not amazing, but not terrible either. I think I will try a new place for phở instead of heading back here, but wouldn’t be super bummed if a friend wanted to give it another chance. My three friends kind of felt the same way. Not too impressed, but not over upset about it. One bonus is that they wrapped up my soup and added some more broth for lunch the next day. Thought that was nice of them.
Kind of a ‘meh’ on food but thumbs up for company.

My favorite place in the city for banh mis is Ba Le up North. I was pretty excited to see a Banh Mi & Co opening up right around the corner from my place. I figured it would save me the trek. Three friends I went there for dinner last Thursday night. It was pretty toasty out and equally as toasty inside. They could definitely benefit from some outdoor seating, especially as it is heating up in Chitown.
I ordered a small mushroom soup with noodles, and a tofu banh mi. We sat down inside and waited for our orders to slowly, very slowly come out one by one. I get that it probably is a takeout place first and foremost, but the lagtime in between entrees coming out was a little much. The soup portion was huge and decently flavorful, but probably not something I would order again. My sandwich took pretty long to come out. I wasn’t paying attention and bit into it, and immediately realized that it was chicken, not tofu. Yuck! I hate when this happens at places. It automatically takes it down a star.
The service, despite how long it took the food to come out, was great. The lady working behind the counter was super nice and apologetic about the mixup. When she wrapped up our food, she added extra broth to the phở that my friends ordered, which was really nice. The banh mi would do the trick if I had a craving, but Ba Le is still at the top of my list.

This place was a «Meh». Worst «Phở» ever, this is a new restaurant which located in wicker park. Beef brisket, dry, overdone meat noodles? Maybe it was too «americanized», which it was not my expectation. And they served you with a plastic spoon. Am I eating at a fast –food restaurant? The broth was not good, and not flavorful. I ordered «tofu» Banh Mi, it was average, however, the bread was not crispy enough, and it was kinda bland. I want more authentic.
ONE WORD: Overpriced with bad quality of FOOD.

Their Vietnamese phở has nothing in common with a real vietnamese phở, for $ 9 I got an everest of onions, noodles and water with a few pieces of boiled beef
Also my vegetarian friend got a tofu sandwich with chicken instead of tofu

Hungry and tired after work, my friends and I decided to get some food on Division Street. Turned out there’s a new Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood so we hurried there to get some Phở. Little did we know…
I should have known from the start that this was no place for authentic Vietnamese food. The description of Phở on the menu says: combination of beef and chicken stock… your choice of shredded chicken or beef brisket. I’m sorry, but I kind of expected meatballs, tripe, etc. But since I was hungry, I ordered one anyway for $ 10. When it came out, the portions were small, the spoon was cheap plastic, the side dish/​garnish were small as well and the soup consisted of large pieces of onion, chopped green onion and shredded beef — that’s it.
Overall the food was okay, but if you’re craving real, authentic — not to mention delicious — Phở, then hit up Little Saigon by Argyle stop on the red line.

So this is a new place in Wicker, and this may be just a seldom experience, but I was not impressed with my first visit to Banh Mi & Co. I guess when I got there, they were closing soon. When I got up to the counter to order, the guy pretty much yelled at me while saying that they were close to closing and that they only have chicken and tofu left. Not even like a hello or a smile, which being a new restaurant, you would think you would want some good pr with some of your first customers. Guess not.
Ended up getting the lemon grass chicken and the shredded chicken. They were out of spring rolls too by this time even though the person before me ordered them. So that means either A, they were too lazy to make some for me or B, they are premade and they actually didn’t have any, but I wouldn’t want the premade one anyway. The sandwiches I thought were definitely not the best of quality and didn’t look like the pictures. It may just be because it was the end of the day and they got lazy making it, who knows, but it looked like they just threw it together as fast as possible. Both sandwiches had pretty dry chicken. At least the lemongrass one had flavor. Bread was pretty good though.
Maybe I’ll go back during the day when they have enough food and the workers may be in a better mood. On the plus side, you get a rubber band with every sandwich you order.