Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches

The place is closed due to health department violations. This info should be made available as soon as possible.

***UPDATE*** I walked by this place today looking to nourish my hungover self and it’s PERMANENTLY CLOSED. sad. Hanco’s phở tastes as bland as cardboard.

I get lunch here Phở sho. That steaming bowl of noodles, pork, cilantro, sprouts and jalapeño kept me going and warm during a winter that wanted to crush my spirit.
The Banh Mi sandwiches are also great and just as good as the location in FiDi. Super glad Nicky & jumped the river and established this outpost near downtown Brooklyn, giving us all another great option for lunch. Cuz sometimes its hard trying to find good food downtown Phở real.

I have been eating here since the shop opened up years ago.
So I will say I have always enjoyed the quality of the classic bahn mi.
I recently went since I was in the area and ordered my regular. The store was empty because it was after the busy lunch hour. The preparer made my sandwich while eating his own food!
The sandwich was ok, not quite as fresh as it used to be, but I am very turned off by seeing a food worker eat food.
That is not hygienic.

After a workout at the gym, my boyfriend and I decided to grab lunch at Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches since we were already in the area.
A very small sandwich shop filled with approximately 7 – 9 tables and limited seating. When Will and I arrived it was empty so we sat down and had our lunch at Nicky’s.
We ordered two Vietnamese iced coffees. It had a little bitterness to it and tasted as though there was a little alcohol in it too. The Vietnamese iced coffee was very much needed since the day we went was warm outside.
My boyfriend and I ordered two Vietnamese sandwiches and I like that you have an option of having a plain Banh Mi or whole wheat Banh Mi. The boyfriend ordered a whole wheat classic banh mi, served with pickled carrots, cucmber, mayo pâté, Vietnamese ham, and roasted ground pork.
In my opinion, the sandwiches were rather small in size. I was hesitant in trying the whole wheat banh mi at first because I’ve never had a whole wheat banh mi, but I enjoyed the sandwich. The baguette was toasted and had a nice crunchiness to it. There was lots and lots of meat.
As for myself, I decided to go original with just plain toasted banh mi and grilled chicken. My sandwich was served with the same ingredients as the boyfriend’s sandwich, but less meaty. There were a few bits and pieces of the chicken that was charred and black that made part of the chicken inedible. The sandwich was tasty and had a nice crunchiness to it too.
I would Nicky’s an extra star if I had not seen what I saw while I was eating lunch with my boyfriend. A customer had ordered a bowl of phở and we saw possibly the boss/​manager with a bowl of just phở being reheated in a… microwave? Yep it’s true, it’s true. I mean reheating a bowl of noodles in a microwave? There are other ways to reheat food. And if things couldn’t get worse, he picked up a few pieces of pork chop, threw it in a bowl and popped it in the microwave. And, it’s kind of bad if you have your microwave in a place where you customers can see it.
So, the question is will we be returning to Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches? I think if we’re in the area, but I do like Hanco’s a little better. If we do return, we will definitely not order the phở.
Tip: Tips are not required.

Since I was battling a cold, I figured a nice hot bowl of phở might make me feel better. I decided on the Pork Chop Phở from Nicky’s and was not disappointed. Nice crispy bean sprouts, cilantro, jalapeño and a juicy lime wedge came on the side of a nice sized bowl of phở. The noodles were cooked nicely and the broth was flavorful. I added some hoisin for that extra umami and it was perfect. The pork chop that came on the side was nicely tender and full of flavor. I preferred to eat it seperately and it was a wonderful accompaniment to my phở.
Price: $ 8.75
Service: Fairly quick
Seating: Half full on a Monday at 12:05pm. Limited seating. Come around opening time to guarantee a seat if you are eating in.

Found this place via Unilocal.I have been looking for a decent phở in the nyc area– past places I found in the nyc area were too shady and/​or very weak in flavor, and/​or not too much beef/​noodle for the price.
The environment isn’t the cleanest and organized, but it is alright. We were here at a weekend lunchtime, but I would imagine that this place will get full quick.
My wife and I had the phở beef, and from my standard, it was excellent. Very deep in flavor, with the hoisin and sriracha sauce bottles on the side– just like how it was when I first had the phở from seattle over 15 years ago haha.
It is actually 8.75 per dish, but the ample amount of beef and noodles for the price was great.
If available I will give 4.5– maybe the old classic Vietnamese environment and/​or the size mightttt be a negative for some, but not in any way factors to hold someone back who loves phở. Heard sandwiches were quite great as well– planning to try it next time.
I will definitely be coming back here when I have an uncontrollable desire for dat phở soup.

When I learned that they deliver, I nearly had a stroke. Not because they make the best ever phở and bahn mi. I just love knowing that I don’t have to leave my apt for a decent-​ish bowl of phở, a tepid cup of bubble tea w/​soggy bubbles, and whatever else i’m feigning for. The food is sufficient, and sufficient is all you’re deserving of if you’re as lazy as me anyway.
Btw, Hanco’s also delivers but they cut off my area early in the evening. Apparently, after 7PM is too late. Weird, but that’s cool. I do prefer their bahn mi, so I’ll try to get hungrier, earlier from now on.

Didn’t know what to expect from the Classic Vietnamese Sandwich, but absolutely loved it! Bread was toasted perfectly, meat was tasty and was overall delicious. Phở was great too. Prices were great and service was good. Major win.

Nom Nom Nom.
Who knew Id love Vietnamese food this much. Came here after my friend and I ducked out of a party at the NuHotel. I was hesitant to try the options but OMG! The Phở was phenomenal. It converted me into a Phở fiend. I also love their sandwiches and would order them when I worked around the corner. No frill dining. The staff was really patient as i made my decision, despite being near closing time.
I miss working near this place but now that its cold, i will be dropping in for Phở. I’m partial to the beef. With a little bit of Siracha and Hoisin sauce mixed in :)

On a visit to Brooklyn, stopped by this place to grab a quick bite. It happened to be right around the corner from my hotel and well, I love Vietnamese food.
We ended up getting the phở and pork chop sandwich. I must say, both turned out better than expected. I’m so used to getting these sandwiches in California where there are so many options and my parents used to make these all the time so I can be pretty picky with them. Anyways, the bread was toasted to perfection. The meats and veggies was also well balanced.
As for the phở, the broth was deep and flavorful and there was plenty of meat and noodles.

After having been relocated to Metrotech for work, all sense of lunch normalcy had been ruined. The first few weeks no one really wanted to venture out, but as we quickly realized there really wasn’t anything special in the immediate vicinity, we started branching out.
For the price and location, Nicky’s should be a solid staple of anyone’s lunch diet when possible. I had the classic Vietnamese banh mi, and while it may not have been the best I’ve ever had, for a lunch — a respite from the office — it was damn good!
Even better… they deliver to Metrotech as well. so on a super stressful day I know I’ll have the comfort of Nicky’s… a simple phone call away! (ps. though their menu says $ 10 min for delivery, one of my friends was told a minimum of $ 12 to deliver to Metrotech… not sure if it’s the distance, a permanent change, or just a fluke…)

This place is phở-​real. There are many great places to eat in the area but Nickys has stood the test of time in their family run, MacGuyver style oasis. This is no Brooklyn Fare or Dean and Deluca but they do three things here with just as much finesse. Banh-​mi, Phở and Sweet Drinks. Simple and very old school. Perhaps even a little jenky, in a charming way.
The sandwiches are top notch but the Phở is what I usually come for. The Tofu Phở is remarkable. The broth is fantastic (not vegetarian) and the garnishes are always fresh.
I hope they stay around forever.

I’m used to West coast phở, so my phở expectations for NY are naturally low. That’s how it was when I first came here about a year ago. BUT I went in here the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see some improvements in their phở. They still don’t have the chili garlic sauce but that’s minor, they had hoisin and rooster juice. All the other fixings: basil, bean sprouts, lime, cilantro and peppers were good and fresh.
Broth was 4/​5, nice and hearty, balanced flavor
Noodles ³⁄₅ pretty good
Meat ⁴⁄₅ great cuts of meat, better than most phở spots, barely any tough or discardable parts.
Darn good for a place specializing in sandwiches.
Some Tips for Eating Phở:
–Always order the beef phở if you can, it’s the OG recipe and the broth is always the best. You can’t really judge a phở place for anything other than beef phở, always assume the chicken/​tofu will be less flavorful.
–Ask for a little sauce dish to put your hoisin/​chili sauces on and spread them on the noodles with your chopsticks. This keeps the broth from getting too sauced-​out.
–AND NEVER EVER EVER ORDER PHO TO GO! OR FOR DELIVERY! The noodles get all clumpy and gross, the broth gets cold, AND the most important process of phở: slightly raw meet being cooked in your broth when it comes to your table is lost.
Just eat in, it’s easy and quick!

I came back here today around 7 pm. It was a friendly experience. The owner was there talking about his days in Vietnam and how he ended up here in the states. He feels lucky to be here and to be the proud owner of two Nicky’s sandwich shops, one on Nassau St. and one on Atlantic Ave.
I think this was my third or fourth visit. I’ve tried the classic and the chicken banh mi. Both were tasty. The bread was toasted and crispy. It was $ 5.75 for the banh mi. I realize there is competition around the corner, but it is further from me, on Montague St., so I find myself bringing my friends here. There is not a ton of seating, about 4 tables and several single chairs. I noticed some people ordering to go and placing deliveries. I wished they were open later so I am able to come after work, but I understand that it is a family owned restaurant, so to have longer hours might be stressful.

On recommendation of a friend I bookmarked this place on my to try list. As it’s close to my rock climbing gym, I had a chance to stop in here on Sunday.
The service is fast and the sandwiches delicious! The place is clean, and the price is right. What more can you ask for?

I was pleasantly surprised to find this place after a failed attempt to find an invisible Bank of America in the area listed by Unilocal.I definitely like the set up, very hip and cool (basically, I belonged in there).
In any event, I went ahead and ordered the classic Vietnamese sandwich on wheat (basically a Banh Mi). It was serviceable. You can taste the freshness of the ingredients. Sadly, that’s all I could really taste. The spice wasn’t spicy (I got a spicy mind you), and the pâté just didn’t have that burst of flavor that we all love. It was basically missing one thing that could’ve made it an out of the park sandwich.
The small size of the sandwich didn’t do any favors for itself either, considering how some other Banh Mi joints pack ‘em up. I’d go back if I’m too lazy to walk to Hanco’s a few blocks down.

A pretty good banh mi. Not the best I’ve ever had (check my Unilocal list for my current rankings), but it definitely hit the spot. I had the spicy original. The spicy was actually very well distributed throughout the sandwich (not just random dabs of sriracha like other places do). I must say it was a little on the salty side though.
The people who work there are nice, and it was quick in-​and-​out on a Friday night. Also, they have wheat bread! Never thought I’d have a wheat banh mi. It’s worth coming here just to try one of those!

When…
1. It’s cold.
2. I’m hungover.
3. I’m hungry.
4. My girlfriend is harassing me about how the only way I deal with my problems is by running away and eating something.
…I run over and get a bowl of Nicky’s phở. It hits the spot. Pour in a little hoisin, a little sriracha and all the bean sprouts and jalopenos they give you and you have a big bowl of spicy, life-​giving broth. And a sizable portion of beef/​chicken/​tofu/​pork on the side. So far, I think I prefer the beef.
It’s not the best I’ve ever had, but it’s solidly tasty and it’ll warm you to the core.

I know that most people go to Nicky’s for their Vietnamese sandwiches, but I go to Nicky’s because it’s the closest restaurant to me that serves my favorite Vietnamese dish, phở. Sure, I was spoiled by the excellent Vietnamese noodle soup they serve at Phở Hien Vuong while living in Greensboro, NC, but Nicky’s offers an acceptable replacement– especially seeing that I don’t have to go very far to get there.
Nicky’s phở comes in several varieties– chicken, beef, pork, and vegetarian, but, so far, I’ve only had the chicken phở (ph gà). Their rendition is tasty, and the portion size is ample. The broth is well-​seasoned and comes stocked with plenty of rice noodles, and the chicken is spiced just right and grilled! Yep, you heard me… the chicken is grilled! In fact, the grilled meat is served along side the noodle soup bowl so that you can add the meat to the phở broth as needed (or, if you’re like me, all at once).
As with most Vietnamese restaurants, the phở broth is not very spicy when it comes from the kitchen. I add a fair amount of jalapeños (which Nicky’s provides) and hot sauce (they serve Sriracha), but I wish they had more options like dried chili peppers or Vietnamese chili paste. They do at least have Hoison sauce on the tables, which is a must for phở, and they also serve their phở with the typical accoutrements – a lime wedge, cilantro, and bean sprouts. However, I would prefer they provide a bit more cilantro and also offer Thai basil along side their phở.
At ~$ 8 to $ 9, Nicky’s phở is a bit pricey compared to the prices of the other items on their menu (their Vietnamese sandwiches are only $ 5), and the place is quite small (if it’s noon, you might have to wait for a table, or you could get your food to go). Nevertheless, the food is good, and it’s the closest Vietnamese restaurant near me… so I will continue to visit Nicky’s when I need a quick phix!