V-Nam Cafe

Absolutely, hands down, the best banh mi in NYC. A lot of other places have the word «banh mi» in their name, and trust me I’ve tried them all, but have always regretted that I didn’t come to V-​Nam Café instead. I’ve been here dozens of times and have brought friends and co-​workers and everyone ends up raving about them too.
What makes them so good? Everything inside the sandwich is fresh, delicious and well-​portioned, but the real key is the bread — the baguette is always perfectly soft and fresh. BONUS POINTS for the optional fried egg on top, and the fact that this place is BYOB!

Spring rolls are amazing, the sandwich was a little dry. Service is fast.

pickup order of Crispy Sunfish Sandwich $ 7.75 (Thai Chilies, Extra Sriracha and Jalapenos (Very Spicy)) involved a smile upon arrival and a tasty sandwich, but not quite as spicy as I’d hoped.

Reliable and expedient! Ever since Baoguette closed, I’ve been surviving on Num Pang sandwiches, so what a relief when I finally found Unilocalworthy traditional banh mi. As for their other offerings, the phở has a spice/​flavor to it that is slightly strange for my palette, but everything else from the curry and vermicelli sections are all V-​good.
The cozy space seats ~15 people at a time, but I wouldn’t hesitate to order take-​out if you live near by. V-​Nam Café has a $ 10 credit card minimum, so if you were only planning to order one $ 8 banh mi, make it two so you don’t have to come back again when you realize you want more.

Veggie phở with tofu is outstanding, get it spicy! It’s a huge portion so good to share or save for leftovers. The phở, tofu and noodles are stored separate.

FOOD POISONING FROM SEAMLESS ORDER!!! I was insanely hungry and looking for something cheap to order from seamless. The Banh Mi looked good. I got the pork one with the fried egg, and a Vietnamese iced coffee. I ate it really fast and before I could even get to the second half of the sandwhich there was a sharp pain in my lower stomach. I felt like someone was stabbing me like crazy. At first I thought nothing of it so I continued slowly eating but then it got to the point where I couldn’t even stand up it hurt so bad. I immediately threw away the food and lay down in my bed. Later that night, I was getting fever and feeling very dizzy and nauseas. Nothing seemed to help.
I don’t know if it was the iced coffee with bad milk or the Banh mi just was very dirty but I FELT HORRIBLE. I will never order from here again and be aware!!! I do not know what restaurant grade it has but I’m praying it was not lower than an A.
If this place has lower than an A, it definitely makes sense. I felt incredibly sick. I would recommend not coming in to eat here, or ordering from seamless. I will leave them a seamless review too.
The Banh mi wasn’t even that good either. The bread was really soft (totally wrong texture)
YUCK I don’t want to imagine what that kitchen looks like…

After the comedy show, we were a bit hungry so I look on Unilocal for cheap eats and came across V-​Nam Café and popped my best friend’s cherry as she never try Vietnamese food. I shared a Mild Banh Mi Bo with my best friend and my brother’s girlfriend ordered a Mild Banh Mi with Vietnamese Iced Coffee. The décor is a little rundown but its really about the food sometimes in these mom and pop shops. I believe the owner might be the old man who took our orders and he was friendly. Good thing I was sharing my other half of the sandwich because it was too fulfilling for all by myself. The baguette was toasted and crunchy which I love. I forgot that Vietnamese sandwiches always are topped with cilantro so I pulled it off my sandwich. Mmmmm there were a lot of beef and woah baby so delicious than the other Vietnamese spots. I need to come back and try the Phở =)
There’s a bathroom but only for customers towards the back of the kitchen!

I am Unilocaling from this place now.
I stumbled on in here because the line at Katz’s Deli was 50 miles long. I was looking for some good meat on a bun. I found this hole in a wall place (which always has the best food!) great friendly staff (they let me use their iPhone charger to charge me phone!).
The best part was the quality per price ratio (great quality, low price!)
Just come here, you won’t regret it!

I ordered the traditional Banh-​mi, and the sunfish vermicelli. Both were super delicious!
What I didn’t like:
–The wait time inside the restaurant is just way too long. I waited 20 minutes after ordering before my food finally came.
–I think they use a lot of MSG in their foods, because after a couple of hours after eating, I couldn’t drink enough water! That’s problematic for me.
All in all, if I’m in the neighborhood, and I was craving Viet, I would not hesitate to come here, but the prices are cheaper in Chinatown, and they don’t make me thirsty hours after eating.

Order takeout from here all the time!
Love their vegetarian banh mi and their vegetarian vermicelli noodles!
Truly delicious! Their soy protein is actually quite scrumdillyumptious!
If you like it spicy, that they can do!

I’m very upset that I’m not in the East Village that often anymore. I would eat here ALL THE TIME. It’s the best Phở in NYC. I hope they stay in that cramped space. It feels like home!
The vegetables are fresh, the seafood is excellent. All are prepared wonderfully. Nothing under or over cooked. This place gives me immense joy!

Ordered the Bahn mi here through delivery and I was absolutely floored, one of the best Bahn mi’s I’ve tasted and at 6.50 plus an additional dollar for the egg for a behemoth sized sandwich it truly is one of the more spectacular deals you can find in the les. Meat was tender and succulent, bread was crispy yet soft on the inside. Delivery was extremely prompt even though they told me the wait would be an hour (a just in case measure maybe?) anyway mouth is watering thinking about it, that’s how good it is

I love this little hole in a wall place. I live really close and most of the time it’s this place and Chinese food…
I recommend that you try there fried spring rolls. Forsure one of the best in the city. It’s $ 5 and delicious.
Few things I had was the chicken Phở. Yeah I ordered that… Lol it was surprisingly really amazing. More lighter/​herby taste than the regular phở.
My favorite thing to get is the fish rice dish. I can eat that all day! Super good and just hits the spot of comfort food for me.

Best vegetarian phở I’ve found in NYC! And I’ve tried tons of places. This one actually has flavor. I eat here at least 1−2x a week…
Their delivery is super fast which I appreciate however once they forgot to put siracha in the bag and this last time I picked up from them
I realized my soy protein was missing…
Not the end of the world, just something to keep in mind.
Great neighborhood staple.

One of those hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurants you’d probably overlook if you were walking on that block. Definitely one of those places where you can get a nice homemade Vietnamese meal in just like how grandma would make it.
Seating is a little unconventional and there is actually not a waiter, although there is someone who will refill your glass of water/​tea upon request. They’re really good catering too, so perfect for large scale school events, office parties, and more.
Also, the chicken phở does wonders for hangovers.

What’s the perfect finger food for an office party? Vietnamese spring rolls of course! I was so delighted to hear that they do party trays/​catering! 100 delicious meaty spring rolls for $ 75. Picking up the trays would be difficult since I wouldn’t be home till 9pm, but they were so accommodating. They were able to deliver with no extra charge, and delivery was prompt and as promised. Everything was neatly packaged. They even included small paper trays, pack of napkins, and little packets of Sriracha sauce.
The spring rolls were a hit at the office party. I love that they use rice paper as the wrap, as opposed to the standard flour paper wrap. Each roll was generous with its fillings of minced shrimp, pork, and earwood mushrooms. Pickled carrots and daikon were included, as well as 2 tubes of garlicky fish sauce. The lettuce and mints provided were not enough for the 100 rolls, but that was not a problem as majority of the people ate the spring rolls alone. Either way, everything worked out great– the easy phone ordering, the no charge delivery, and delicious food.
I will definitely be ordering from them again!

Great quality Vietnamese sandwiches especially for the price! If you’re looking for cheap eats of good quality and great quantity I highly recommend this little shop!
you can also get a fried egg with the sandwich for a couple cents extra and it’s totally worth it.
My friends and I stopped by here and we were greeted nicely by our waitress who was very patient with us. I think my ideal match up was the sand which and a nice cup of the phở beef broth. Together it was heavenly!!!

If I didn’t find the term «Je né sais quoi» so distasteful, that’s exactly how I’d describe their banh mis. Authenticity has never been a subject to broach my mind when considering any food, but in every savory bite there’s a fire lighting up in the part of my brain that takes pride in being Vietnamese. One of the very few times you’ll ever see me express any fulfillment to my pedigree, so here’s a gift to you, lovely Unilocalers. Take it and relish.
The service and quality control of the food has yet to catch up to modern American etiquette; which is a good thing. Because again… authenticity. So, when they say hot, they mean hot. My faithful staple is the Banh Mi Bo (Bo is beef in Vietnamese). Get the Banh Mi Bo! And get it spicy… Or mild, I’m not really judging. What gives me visions of living in a straw hut cultivating rice for a living, is how succulent the meat is. The bread is lathered in the lingering juices to make one cohesive bite and I can’t get over the fact that lovely meat oils are drip from the sandwich. A good sandwich should have a taste so potent, you forego hygiene dining etiquette. Kinda like a good procreating sess gets primal. This sandwich is some good procreatin’.
I promise I’ll try the phở one day… but the banh mis are so good, I can’t resist.

I came here because I’ve heard way too many friends raving about Vietnamese sandwiches and phở for too long, so I looked up places with vegan options and V-​Nam Café popped up.
The store is a typical hole in the wall. There isn’t tons of room, you could probably bring a few people, but if they are crowded they also do take-​out.
I got veggie phở, and my fiancé got the vegetarian sandwich medium spice, we both got them with soy protein. We both agreed that if we weren’t paying too much attention to the mock meat, we would have thought it was real. It almost reminded me of chicken teriyaki. Definitely some of the best mock meat I’ve ever had, in terms of it being close to actual meat. I had a bite of my fiancé’s sandwich, which was a mistake on my part because my spice tolerance isn’t as high as his, (and because I accidentally got a chili pepper). Other than that it was delicious, I’ll just order mild spice when I get one. My phở was also delicious and a very large portion. I can’t wait until I get the chance to go back!

Wow! I came here with my roommate after an S&M themed aerial show (bc what else would you want to eat after a show except delicious unpretentious affordable Vietnamese food), and it was phenomenal! (Both the show and the food).
She ordered the beef phở and I ordered the chicken curry with salad and rice. Both dishes were under $ 9. The portions were generous, easily a filling meal. The phở soup was perfectly balanced in terms of its taste. There was a nice amount of mint or basil that made it extra refreshing.
The chicken in the curry was tender and well spiced. The sauce was fantastic with rice.
All in all I would love to return and try everything on the menu.
Oh and the service was great: attentive but not overbearing, friendly, and fast.