Caphe Banh Mi

Excellent guoi cuon and bun ca! Visiting from Oregon and discovered this outstanding restaurant. As travelers, this was a perfect dining spot – relaxing, nutritious and tasty. We’ll be back!

Great food ! The house phở and the imperial rolls = AMAZING!
Our waitress was very mean that’s why is 4 stars.

This place was excellent. I absolutely love banh mi and where I live it is hard to get so I was happy to try this place when I was visiting Alexandria. The service was fast and friendly and the banh mi was excellent. My husband and I both ordered different banh mi and enjoyed them both. They have the usual sauces available on the table. The place was also packed, which is usually a good sign, and the service was still fast.

A cute small Phở restaurant in Old Town Alexandria.
I’m from SoCAL where there are phở restaurants EVERYWHERE. It was nice to find a phở restaurant a block away from our hotel. Especially on the mornings when we were hungover. LOL. We came here on a Saturday morning exactly when it opened at 11 AM to get a head start on our day. Since it just opened, it was quite empty. They sat us down and took our order.
Summer Roll (Spring Rolls) — Generic spring rolls. Can’t go wrong with spring rolls. It’s served with peanut sauce but you can ask for fish sauce on the side if you have different taste buds. I prefer to eat them with fish sauce and mix it with the chili sauce.
House Beef Phở — I’m not sure if the eastcoast phở has a different taste but the broth sure tastes different from SoCAL. The Phở here tastes similar to a Korean soup called Galbi-​Taang. Nonetheless, the Phở here was amazing. The broth was so good and cured my stomach from the night before.
**Had a massive hangover the next day. My girlfriend came here to order take out and brought it back to the hotel. The takeout containers are nice and they provided everything inside.** God Bless Her.
Service here was nice. They continuously checked up on us to see if we needed anything and if everything was good. By the time we left the restaurant was packed and noticed that a lot of people came in for take out orders.
Great Phở Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria.

Food was very good and not too pricey. cute little restaurant in old town Alexandria. Service was a little slow and they weren’t even busy when a friend and I dined on a early Saturday evening. I really enjoys my meal at this place and recommend to other Unilocalers

A small and efficient operation right off the main drag of Old Town, Caphe Banh Mi was worth the short wait at about six on a Friday night. They do not take reservations. The summer and imperial rolls and house phở were excellent. I hesitate to give it a five only because it’s not a must-​do in DC, but I was quite pleased with the experience.

This is our second time in the area. Love the rustic old America feel to old town Alexandria. We weren’t looking to eat Phở, but ended up here. A quaint little place in the middle of a neighborhood. The restaurant is small and filled with tables and seats, a bit crowded yet comfortable.
The food was great. If in the area and craving Phở, my wife and I would definitely come back.
We had:
Two orders of spring rolls, the shrimp version and tofu version. Both were tasty. The wrap was a bit tough though, unlike the freshly prepared ones where the wrap tears with ease, almost like soft rice cake.
Phở was awesome. 5 STARS for the phở. Rich, beefy, hearty, but not too oily broth. The broth, to me, makes or breaks the phở.
Grilled Pork Vermicelli bowl was alright. The grilled pork was mediocre in flavor, overcooked and dry.
Next time must have: The Bahn Mi… Hell thats in their name! The bread looked fresh baked and the ingredients looked farm fresh. Look forward to trying one of these delicious looking sandwiches.

It’s a good thing that this place is good, because it’s the only phở spot in Old Town proper. (If I’m not mistaken.)
Vegetarians, rejoice: the veggie phở tastes amazing. The way they make the broth is spot-​on. I don’t even use any hoisin sauce. Only thing I ask of them is to not put any fried onion garnish; if that’s your thing then all the power to you.
A decent amount of seating for such a small space.

Finally discovered a great Vietnamese spot in Old town Alex. I had the Grilled Garlic Beef noodle followed by iced coffee. Both were great and tasty. Small hidden treasure so go off hours if you want to find seat quick. Very clean and service is exceptional!

So, this place looks like a closet when you’re walking by, and then when you walk in you are kind of sad that it isn’t like a Tardis inside, because I think most diners would agree with me that it needs to be way bigger!
I went on a Saturday night and all the tables were full. They do not take reservations and they do not seat incomplete parties, so make sure everyone is there before you go in and ask to be seated. We saw so many people go in and ask for a table, only to be turned away due to long waits. You know you’ve found a good place when all the chairs are taken!
I had a noodle bowl with lemongrass chicken, and it came with a vegan imperial roll (you can also order these as an appetizer). The serving size isn’t so large, but was enough for me. My boyfriend and I met a friend who lives in Alexandria and she admitted she had never heard of nor dined here before, and that she would definitely be back now that she had tried the goods! The noodle bowls are full of veggies, the noodles were perfect, and really the only way I can articulate how awesome it was is to recommend that you just blindly go there and try it for yourself. I have not tried the banh mi (sandwiches), but that is the next thing on my list to try there when I return to Alexandria.
Oh, be forewarned: they only allow one credit card to be used per table, so if you’re meeting up with friends, tell them to bring cash!

This place was a nice surprise to find in Alexandria! My brother had come into town and went to Alexandria for donuts and got hungry. Naturally, being Asian and it being a chilly day in December, we craved some kind of broth and, through Unilocal,found this gem of a place! It was pretty busy as it was a Saturday and the inside is kind of small but so glad we waited. We order a banh mi, summer rolls, Phở, a chicken dish, and a Vermicelli bowl and everything was so good!
I imagine the waits are normally long on weekends as the restaurant was small but the service was great and the food was good so I can’t complain.

Despite the high Unilocal ratings, I thought the phở was just okay. Their phở is pricier than most Vietnamese restaurants. A regular bowl of house phở (eye of round and brisket) is about $ 8 – 9. You can customize your bowl with three different meat toppings for $ 10. I created my own bowl with tendon, well-​done flank, and fat brisket. The fat brisket was really just fat. The well-​done flank, however, was really good and tender. They are generous with the portions of meat, spring onions, and cilantro. I didn’t care for the broth. It was really light in flavor and lacked aroma. It was also really brown in color, reminding me of a powdered soup base.
It’s a small restaurant. I think it fits about 20 people. Definitely, not good for big groups.

Not entirely sure how this restaurant has such a high rating, but I’ve been here twice and won’t be back.
First the service. Seating was a waiter vaguely pointing at an open table and telling me «sit there». Then the two parties who arrived after me had their orders taken before we even got water. Refills on the water were slow and we had to wait at least 10 minutes for our check because our waiter sat at a table in front and started eating and texting.
Some service woes can be forgiven if the food is great, but sadly that wasn’t the case either. I had the bun which was under flavored and the meat was tough. My friend’s house phở was equally lacking in seasoning and tasted like microwave soup.
And finally, as shown in the attached photo they just don’t care about service. No split checks, minimum on credit cards. With the amazing food options in the area, no reason to stop in here.

Who would’ve thought that you would be able to find a pretty authentic Vietnamese restaurant in Old Town Alexandria? We stopped here for banh mi (the traditional Vietnamese sandwich) on our way to the airport. The atmosphere and delicious aromas drew us in for a quick early dinner instead.
Caphe Banh Mi (which is very punny since Ca Phe is Vietnamese for coffee) is located on Cameron Street, a block away from the busier King Street. This works to their advantage since there is ample street parking on this side in comparison. The décor was very modern, with a chic white on white mural on one side depicting the outline of Vietnam and the various cities. The tabletops were adorned with a very unique copper leaf print. The walls are quite hip with the exposed brick. Overall, it is not your typical Vietnamese hole in the wall. This place has style.
I ordered the Phở Ga (chicken phở) and my parents each got the Phở Tai (phở with sliced beef) and the Meatball Phở. All of our phở’s were very flavorful. They did an exquisite job at concocting the perfect traditional broth, with no fat on the surface. They provided a substantial amount of herbs and bean sprouts which is always something you should look for. The only con I had for this place were the portions. For around $ 10, these bowls were a little on the pricey side, but I don’t blame them. They have a phở monopoly in the Old Town, so I would take advantage as well. Their menu is also kind of small for a Vietnamese restaurant. They had noodle bowls, rice platters, phở, and banh mi. They’re missing the bun soups!
The banh mi was also very pricey at $ 6 a pop. They don’t make their own bread which is very surprisingly for a Vietnamese establishment. The banh mi was good, but not amazing.
Overall, this place is great! The prices are still super low compared to everything else in the area, but pricey for typical Vietnamese food. If you’re looking for some authentic Vietnamese cooking in Old Town Alexandria, Caphe Banh Mi is definitely the place to go!

I don’t know how I didn’t drop a review on this place earlier. If I had to pick one thing to say I’ll miss about living in DC, this is it, by far.
I think I came here at least once a month on average, with about three visits over the last few weeks I was in town. I love the small size of the place with the sole exception of when I was eating alone. I hate taking up a table when people are waiting. The staff are incredibly patient and attentive however, so you aren’t left feeling like you’re holding up someone else’s dinner.
From the top down:
Rolls — I like the summer and imperial rolls the best. Mostly because I exercise my right to eat meat, whether it is fried or not. Between the two, the summer rolls seemed to be the most consistent as the fried imperials were sometimes too greasy (use hotter oil maybe?)
Salads — No.
Sandwiches — I loved all three that I’ve tried, including the classic, pork and catfish. Get the jalapenos if you like spicy. They’re a little sharper than what you’d expect, but they pick up so well with the daikon and cilantro.
Vermicelli/​Rice — I’ve done both styles with both chicken and beef and liked them both, but the preference goes to the rice plate. I’m not a fan of peanuts, so I don’t mind giving those up to have the rice soak up all that flavor.
Lastly, the Phở. It’s kinda standard, but pretty quality. Get the works (because it’s $ 13 and still cheaper than anything matching in DC) and season/​spice to taste. It’s simple and good, like phở should be. I can’t make that little symbol over the o. I’m thinking there should be an autocorrect for that.
Also lastly, desserts… which I’ve never tried. I remedy that with thai iced tea. I am so addicted to this stuff that I now make it at home.
Go here often, and give them money. I’m sure they’re not in any sort of danger, but I would love to be able to come back on my return visits to the area.

When it comes to food, especially phở, I am very picky about the flavor/​broth/​meat quality/​quantity, etc. This is the second phở place that my husband and I tried since we’ve moved to the NOVA area. Of course, I’d give this place a good rating!
The location is not on the main road of King Street in Old Town Alexandria (which makes it nice to know that it doesn’t get too packed during dinner time). They do open at 5pm during dinner time and highly recommend that you get there close to 5 (do not accept reservations) if you want to catch dinner in time.
Once my husband and I got there, we were seated right away. Only thing I’d have to complain about is how close the seating is between customers. If you can touch the person’s shoulder next to you, you’re too close! The ambiance of the restaurant is nice. It’s very clean, decorations are nicely set up. There’s a wall that shows the Vietnam country and the cities listed, which looks pretty neat. The lighting is decent, not too bright or too dark. You’ll be able to see your food.
We ordered the summer rolls (oddly I’ve never heard spring rolls called «summer rolls» before). I asked the server if they have spring rolls and she looked at me weird and I told her the one with the clear wrappers and apparently they’re called summer rolls here (good to know). I got the House phở (small) and my husband created his own phone with 3 meats (forgot which meats he got). We got our appetizer right away. The filling of the summer roll was a good amount. There was an equal amount of meat, noodles, and veggies. The peanut sauce was a bit different from the ones I’ve tasted in the past. It had a sweet, tangy taste to it which wasn’t bad.
Onto the phở — the broth was very flavorful. The temperature was perfect, wasn’t too hot or too cold. There was a good amount of green onions and didn’t overpower the broth. Also, it seemed like there wasn’t that much MSG in the soup which was nice (no food coma after eating). There was an equal amount of the noodles (it looked like the noodles were cut up to smaller strands) and the meat was really tender and good.
Overall, I would definitely eat here again, hopefully try out the other appetizers that’s available along with the other dishes besides phở.

Perfect spot for Vietnamese take-​out. Not such a great place to dine in. My friends & I came here around 7 on a Saturday and the restaurant was packed. Because of that perhaps, the waiters were rude, not filling up water, giving us looks, and rushing us out eventhough the restaurant was almost empty when we finished our meal. They even tried to sweep the floor at other table when it was only 8pm and other patrons were dining.
Food: great flavor. We tried the vegetarian rice, rib rice, and pork vermicelli. Everything was authentic and well-​seasoned.

I recently just started to like Phở. I guess taking it out of the restaurant never did it justice. My friend raved about this place and I was crossing my fingers that they’d make me give Phở another chance. Every time I’ve visited this restaurant the food has ALWAYS been on point. I initially had the house Phở and recently tried the chicken Phở. Now I have a hard time deciding which one to order. If you ever visit you have to start out with the Imperial Rolls, they are Sooo yummy.
Although the food is bomb, the service is sub par. Also, the place is the size of a shoebox. For all of the customers that rave about the food you’d think they would have a larger establishment. If they ever offer you the seat in front of the register DO NOT TAKE IT. You will be subjected to staff and customers reaching over your head. If you have any leftovers be prepared for the $ 1 charge. As you can tell, the good outweighs the bad and I’ll definitely continue returning.

This is a Vietnamese restaurant with all the works. It is a small yet very cozy restaurant that offers a great range of food.
Their phở is on the super oily side. I would categorize their soup as one of the most oily soups I have eaten. However, the flavor of the phở is great. The rice noddles are bouncy and cooked to perfection. The broth is clean and crisp. The restaurant uses good quality meat. The meat is juicy and tender. They make sure the meat is sliced super thin. The thin slices of meat makes the meat that much more tender and soft. The hot broth cooks the thin meat quickly and deliciously. The soup infuses the meat with complex flavors of beef, fish oil and herbs.
The summer rolls are delicious. The one thing that stuck out to me is their peanut sauce. The peanut sauce is thicker and creamer than those of other phở restaurants. I really enjoyed the restaurant’s unique twist and take on the peanut sauce. Yummmmmm!

Nice cozy place to grab phở on a cold fall day. They have cute wine bar in the front of the restaurant and the place is very adorable. I got the works bowl of phở which had all types of meats in the soup. The soup was flavorful, but was very salty after a while. Still very good.
They had a lot of choices on their menu and the service was quick and friendly.
I would recommend this place if you are craving some soup.