Bodard Express

5 stars! Quick & delicious! I was staying in downtown Houston at the Lancaster Hotel for my dietetic orientation and hopped over 2 blocks to the Penzoil building to head to the underground tunnels & found Bodard Express right there! Ordered the Tofu & Veggie dumplings & Bodard fresh spring rolls with pork… absolutely amazing! And their «Bodard sauce» was to die for! I lived in Taiwan for 5 months & this was incredibly authentic Chinese & Vietnamese of course! Thanks! — @mrsnutritionista

Be sure to check your order before you walk away. My vermicelli bowl was missing half of the ingredients. After super slow food prep, I sat down to eat and noticed there were no spring rolls in my vermicelli, which, honestly, was the part I was looking forward to the most. I went back and was told they had run out of spring rolls. It would have been nice if they shared that little tidbit with their customers. After sitting back down to eat for a second time, I noticed there were no sprouts or cucumbers. So back to the counter I went. After a bit of time I was provided said sprouts and cucumbers. Which means they had these ingredients and didn’t bother to include them as advertised. I’m not sure if they were trying to cut corners or made an honest mistake, but I don’t think I’ll return to find out. I hate to speak unkindly because it seems this might be a little family-​run joint, but they need to get their stuff together.

If you were to ask me to pay $ 4 for a banh mi, I would laugh in your face. But somehow, add $ 3 to throw in a chips and drink, I’m suddenly okay with it.
Bodard Express is a good option if you work Downtown — they’re generous with the meat, the bread is crusty and crunchy, and overall the flavors are balanced — savory, spicy, creamy (they’re a little heavyhanded with the mayo).
Their Bodard rolls are quite addictive — it’s a spring roll with pork and fried wrappers inside, so it’s crunchy, chewy, and all sorts of nice textures in it. The dipping sauce reminds me of eggdrop soup, but hey… it’s good!
While I would never come to Bodard Express if I’m craving Vietnamese outside of work, during work, it’s definitely not bad at all — much better than paying the same amount (or more!) for other sandwich spots in the tunnels.

If you need a quick, flavorful lunch in downtown Houston, you can’t go wrong here, especially with the bahn mi sandwich. $ 7 gets you a 10 inch sandwich, chips and a drink. The pork’s flavor was robust, the French bread had a nice crunch and it was not too spicy to turn off neophytes.
2 spring rolls = $ 3.50 and a singular banh mi sandwich is only $ 4. Plentiful free seating in the courtyard area, you could also visit Starbucks, Chick-​fil-​a, Treebeards, a bakery or other options, but why hesitate? Stick with the place that has a limited menu, as by staying with the basics you can’t mess up.

They weren’t kidding when people said this place was small. This place is located under the Pennzoil Place building and it’s a small walk up food court style establishment. No dine in options available but there are nearby tables for you to eat at. I’m a huge a fan of their Bodard rolls from their location on Bellaire and wanted to see how these stacked up. Fortunately, they do and I’m glad I can get my fix at my new job just like I did at my old one. Prices are a higher but that’s expected in downtown.

Hot bowls of phở for $ 7, served up in about 5 minutes (or less)? Hell yes.
Love that this place is located under my building. Good quality, fair prices and decent order turnaround time.

One should never have to pay $ 7 for a banh mi, especially if it’s not toasted properly or too thin. Honestly, every time I’ve given these guys a chance, it’s always been a disappointment. The food is bland, the service is slow, and the portion size is definitely too small for the price.

I am happy to have another Vietnamese option near my work. The food taste great and it is super fast. It is to go only, unless you want to use the food court tables. The only thing I would change so far is that when you order phở, they put the meat in the broth when you order. So if it takes you 10 minutes to walk back to your office, it cooks for 10 min. Someone stops you to chat and it cooks for 15 minutes. The broth tastes great, I would just change the packaging technique.

The Bodard rolls are a great twist on spring rolls. And the vermicelli is great too. Great service, delicious food. I’m so happy to see this new tunnel spot doing so well.
Try the Thai iced tea!

Aw, not sure why I forgot to rate this awesome place! If you are familiar with Bodard Restaurant, then you know about their spring rolls with the crispy stick inside and the sweet dipping sauce. You can get that here at this tunnel location. Cost is $ 7 for 4 Bodard yummy rolls. You can get the regular spring rolls too. I have had the beef phở, which is packed with meat! And the banh mi thit nuong (grilled pork banh mi) is packed as well. The sandwich costs $ 4 itself but you can get the combo that comes with drink and chips for $ 7. Phở is $ 7. Actually the entire menu is pretty much $ 7
They also café some tapicoa drinks and thai tea as well. :) I like to make a nice long walk here to get my Vietnamese food fix. And since I am Vietnamese, this place really is up their in quality of food.

This tunnel delight is a must if you’re downtown for a quick lunch. Danny the owner is such a nice man and more times than not present behind the cash register. Everything is really good. It’s quick, cheap and delicious. I’ve waited no longer than 6 minutes for my food.
Probably the best sticky rice I’ve ever tasted even at non-​tunnel restaurants, so succulent and fresh.
Their «Bodard rolls» are really good too, made with rice paper and grilled pork and fresh veggies.
They have freshly streamed veggie, chicken or pork dumplings and downtown dumplings are always so competitively great! Ban mi sandwiches, are good but bread is a bit tough and watch out for the jalapeños!
Their ice coffee is amazing! A bit on the sweet side but it’s so refreshing and yummy during the hot Houston summer.
My favorite is the sticky rice and pork but I also love the vermicelli and chicken. Both are outstanding. Only thing holding back from a 5-​star review is that their menu is limited but I wouldn’t be able to make up my mind if it were longer.
Bodard is a new downtown Houston lunch staple!

First time checking it out and the 9 block walk above ground… eh…I wouldn’t do that again– now tunnelling back was fine. So had the pork vermicelli and it was ok, but the noodles were over done… I may check it again if I am in the area but not the 5 star place that the reviews attest to. Coffee was ok-​again not the 5 star «best coffee» that is around… if you want overly sweet then it’s «you’re cup of tea»…see what I did there. But the positives are very clean and courteous counter staff, and was quick.

First time here. Friendly service. I ordered the Beef Noodle Soup. It was fantastic. The brisket was a tad drier than I typically prefer but at least it wasn’t too fatty. Overall this Phở is better than others that I’ve had downtown. I will definitely be back.

Hands down BEST Vietnamese coffee in the area!!! I have given up Starbucks for this place! The food is excellent. Very fresh and authentic. My favorites are the bodard rolls, dumplings and beef phở. Everything tastes amazing and they give you large portions for the prices. The family that runs this location is so nice and friendly! They always remember my name and what I like to order.