Banh Mi Bar

Super good, quick and easy, and how can you beat the price!

Sadly, the days of delicious bahn mi sandwhiches in Marina are over. Bahn Mi Bar has closed its doors. My bahn mi sandwich hunger shall persist unsated.

It’s a little late to do this but I guess since I am sitting here unfulfilled I will do this now. You may ask why I am giving such a low rating to a restaurant that I am the Duke of. Well, I can tell you my friend, while the sandwiches at Banh Mi are delicious (and incredibly cheap I might add), they have no idea how to run a business. Even though they have a sign with their business hours on it, that is merely a tease, a joke they apparently enjoy playing on anyone who finds themselves with a craving for a Lemongrass Beef sandwich and a Vietnamese Iced Coffee. They rarely are open for their full hours of operation, deciding on a whim (or using cold calculating skill, just to destroy the hopes of some poor Banh Mi loving soul) to close up shop, sometimes four and a half hours before the stated closing time.
While I understand that sometimes business is slow, that is no reason to leave your customers out in the cold. This is when, as an owner, you should step back and reexamine your business. See when your busiest hours are (my guess, since it is a sandwich shop, would be lunch time) and change your hours. See? Easy huh? Everyone will be happy. You, as a business owner, won’t be wasting money on staff and utilities during extra hours. Me (and many others) as the customer will benefit from knowing that when I take the time to stop and get cash out of the ATM, I will ACTUALLY be able to get the yummy, spicy, juicy sandwich on crisp bread that I have been thinking about all day.
Unfortunately this was never done and now they have closed. For good. Alas, at least I know that when I crave Banh Mi and I can’t have it, it won’t be because of poor business practice but because it no longer exists.

first time trying their sandwiches or vietnamese sandwiches in general… so good!
i dunno if it’s worth the drive over just to pick on up but if i’m in town during lunchtime– def will!

Super bummed that when I asked for extra jalapeño slices on my BBQ pork banh mi, they instead gave me .no jalapeño slices. Turns out that the jalapeño is a pretty important ingredient for banh mi deliciousness.
There was someone different at the register, but I saw her writing down the order and everything was written correctly. I’d assume that the kitchen was just harried, but there was one other person there before me; that’s not exactly a rush leading to missed ingredients. I’d have happily waited five-​ten more minutes to get the actual sandwich I requested!

Finally after a week of trying to get in during business hours (closed for the holiday and NYE), I enjoyed the BBQ pork sandwich. It was kind of weird that they didn’t make the traditional combination Vietnamese sandwich. But the BBQ pork def was Delish. Soft yet crispy French bread with lots of pork and juicy cucumber, lettuce, carrots. I ordered a strawberry and pineapple smoothie with coconut jelly, my friend ordered a Viet ice coffee (very yum). The service from the guy and gal was friendly, fast, and efficient.
I hate to drive to San Jo to lee’s sandwiches to get the combination Banh mi, but for local, I will def come here!
4 stars due to cash only, limited flavors of boba drinks and jelly flavors.

My initial experience with this sammy bar was a little off, mostly because I had a favorite place on Bellaire in Houston. Although that street is PACKED with Vietnamese food places, there’s none like my old reliable. I should probably write that review next, instead of making no sense in this one.
Anyway. I agree that the register guy is very polite and cash only doesn’t bother me. (At least when I have some.) I have gone back because I get boba milk tea cravings like nobody’s business, and this place is beyond convenient for me.
Their sandwiches are good, although I felt the BBQ meat/​pork could have been a bit more generous. The flavor I like, so I will not hesitate to take a quick trip to Bahn Mi Bar any time I need a quick bite and scratch the milk tea itch.

I’ve been getting the vegetarian sandwich here. Recently I’ve been taking out the tofu & it tastes great. The sandwiches are prepared neatly. I went to a chain restaurant in the Monterey area to get the same sandwich & it was very messy dripping with sauce— not to mention the sandwich wasn’t wrapped all the way.
Banh Mi Bar tops the chain restaurant, due to:
— fresh bread
— neatness of the sandwich
— taste of the sandwich
— neatness of the to-​go packaging
— consistent product
— friendly employees

Seriously, this place is delicious and the folks who work here are really friendly.
All of the sandwiches were around $ 3.50−4 and with a boba milk or a boba smoothie added, like $ 6 – 7 total.
I’ve been here a few times now, each time it’s good. I’ve been getting the «Specialty» which is just everything they have on a tasty crusty roll.
I haven’t tried any of the soups yet, but I will soon.
Definitely worth checking out.

the guys at the register is a cutie pie, I mean he is polite and is always smiling.
I really like this place and they are quick! I love thier veggie (vegan) sandwich i get it all the time.
They also have good milk and boba teas.
Take cash, only cash.

I woke up with a craving for a bahn bao similar to what I had in Vietnam. I did a quick google search and discovered Bahn Mi Bar. It was Sunday morning and I did an extensive search for business hours but only found one old post on Unilocal that said that Bahn Mi opens at 9am (but didn’t say what days). So, I decided to jump in the car and drive to Marina and find out. I was happy to find Bahn Mi open (they do open at 9am daily although I think they are closed on Wednesdays).
I ordered a Bahn Bao (bbq pork) and it was enormous and tasty. I also got the Bahn Mi & Soup for $ 6. What a deal! The veggie sandwich is delicious and the soup was also a huge portion. I highly recommend giving this place a try if you want tastily unique food at bargain prices.

So I finally got my hands on a vegetarian sandwich and, my goodness, it was delicious.
I’m just sure to call before heading over so I can be sure it won’t be closed. :-/

1. Fresh & crispy French Roll? Check…
2. Juicy & Tender BBQ with fresh veggies? Check…
3. Hearty Soup? Check…
4. Friendly Service? Check…
5. Reasonable Prices? Check…
6. Funky Disposable Soup Spoon? Really? Now you’re just showing off…
Banh Mi & a Soup for $ 6 AND they give you a funky asian-​style disposable soup spoon? F*** yeah I’m there!

Came here on a Sunday with my better half after browsing the Farmers Market. She had never been here before and thought it would be good to introduce her to one of Marina’s dinning options.
We both ordered the Specialty which comes with bacon, egg, sausage, and steamed pork. The bread is great as always, but the steamed pork seemed exactly the same as the BBQ pork I have ordered in the past. The pork overpowered the flavor of the sausage so I wouldn’t have missed it if it wasn’t in the sandwich. Also I didn’t even see or taste any bacon. I was disappointed that I didn’t taste any bacon, part of the reason I ordered this sandwich.
I ordered my usual avocado smoothie and my girlfriend got the mango milk tea which was good and not overly sweet like some other places. Next time I will try a new flavor of smoothie I haven’t had before.
Overall: disappointed by this sandwich, but will not keep me from coming here again as other sandwiches are yummy in my tummy for a great price!

It seems like Vietnamese food really exploded onto the Monterey Peninsula’s food scene in 2011. Despite the large number of Vietnamese shops in town now – Chopstix, Taste of Vietnam, Mon Chay – nothing beats Seaside’s Noodle Bar. Over the last two years, the Noodle Bar empire has expanded to include a second restaurant in Marina and most recently the Banh Mi Bar sandwich shop in Marina.
Banh Mi Bar specializes in Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. Inspired by the blending of Vietnamese and French cultures, the banh mi includes the best of both worlds – flavorful veggies paired with French pâté on a baguette.
The Banh Mi Bar’s signature banh mi sandwiches are mighty tasty. The menu includes about a dozen different combinations, including BBQ pork, bacon and egg, chicken, tuna and more.
Despite the wealth of options, I always seem to gravitate towards the BBQ pork. The pork is so flavorful with sweet and smoky flavors. I usually get mine without the cucumber and with extra pâté and extra jalapeños. (I like mine spicy!) The crisp baguette cradles the rich and exotic flavors of carrots, daikon and cilantro inside make for a unique sandwich.
Even better, the sandwiches are so cheap! $ 3.50 gets you a great sandwich. I can’t recall anywhere else you can get such a great, filling meal for so few pennies! And you can pair a banh mi with a drink for just a couple bucks more. I usually snag an avocado smoothie because, well, why the hell not?
I tried the banh bao – steamed Vietnamese buns, stuffed with Chinese sausage and a hard-​boiled egg – once. Sadly, it wasn’t as tasty as the sandwiches. The bun was a little too doughy for me, though the filling was generous and flavorful.
I haven’t tried the soups here, but I’ve heard good things from friends who have.
My only complaints about the Banh Mi Bar would be the atmosphere and the wait. The wicker chairs aren’t all that conducive to eating in. (Though I was happy to see more tables added inside during a recent visit.) And even without a line, there’s always a wait for food. I got a tip the other day that you can call ahead to have your order ready – this might be a good strategy for anyone who’s here on their lunch hour and need to get food in a hurry.
With the Noodle Bar right across the way, this shipping center is your one-​stop shop for great Vietnamese fare and both offer some great food that’s easy on the wallet. Just remember to bring cash – like the Noodle Bar, Banh Mi Bar is strictly cash only!

Stopped by here for lunch one day when I was home visiting. I ordered the BBQ Pork banh mi and the curry chicken soup, for both my total came to a whopping $ 6! (I was amazed at how inexpensive this place is, 3.50 for a sandwich by itself.)
When I ordered I was not given the option to eat it «here» they wrapped my order to go. They don’t really have tables to eat at, there are a lot of places to sit, but no tables to eat at, it was a little strange. My friend and I ended up eating there but we had to use our laps as tables. There is a ton of space in there, I hope that they get tables eventually.
Anyway enough about the weird seating arrangements and on to the food!
Curry Chicken Soup: this was amazing. It was creamy and had lots of delicious vegetables and chicken inside, and was topped with bits of cilantro. I burned my mouth eating it, it was so hot, but it was delicious so it was worth the burned mouth.
BBQ Pork banh mi: was pretty standard for a banh mi, but it was delicious none the less. Served on a roll with mayo, pickled carrots, jalapenos, cilantro, and very thinly sliced pork.
I would definitely come back here for a quick and cheap lunch next time I find myself in Marina hungry.

Wow. How can you not enjoy a beautiful sandwich for $ 3.50. So many options… on our way to some hot springs we stopped in early the other morning… they open at 9am… LOVELY.
I chose bacon… why not and my gentleman friend the meatballs w/​pâté… I think you have to ask for the pâté but it is included if you’d like a spread of it. My bacon wasn’t the typical Oscar Meyer like I hoped. It still tasted fabulous, a bit too much of the white fatty part which was soft and not fried crisp for my liking but it went very well with the rest of the sando. Pickled daikon radish, carrots, jalapenos, mayo etc… heavenly combo. The Meatball & Pâté was a very delicious combo and I highly recommend it. Especially if you are a foodies… the texture might me too soft for some.
I opted for the soup & sando combo for $ 6… how could I not and «today’s soup» was a chicken curry soup which had huge chunk of potatoes and a couple pieces of roasted chicken. Delicious and we devoured it within minutes… it was kept nice and hot in styrofoam … a no no in Monterey & PG but I don’t think the ban has hit Marina, styrofoam is not lovely for the environment but if you are a foodie you would understand that it does keep the food very hot so I don’t hate like some.
The steamed pork buns were a little disappointing which was surprising since I’ve never really been not happy with anything served by the Noodle Bar empire. We couldn’t tell if they made them in house or not, the buns had an off flavor in them… not the usually buns that you find in San Jose, the city or the frozen aisle at specialty stores for that matter. Maybe it was because the steamed buns sat in the cellophane wrap for hours before we ate them… maybe that is why they smelled funny. Regardless, it doesn’t matter… we were stoked with everything else and I love their work.
Thank you guys for offering such solid Vietnamese fare for cheap and for educating the 831 that their is more to Asian food than chowmein, eggrolls, sushi and pad thai.
Oh and who cares if it is a cash only place… the IRS doesn’t seem to care, more power to them!

A few weeks ago I went to the Farmers Market in Marina. As I browsed around, I decided to see if the Banh Mi Bar was open. The several times that I have tried to dine there they were not but that day I was lucky enough. I seriously urge them to post their hours… unless I somehow missed them as I write this review.
Moving on, I ordered the BBQ Pork sandwich for $ 3.50.
With such a simple sandwich, execution is key in order to deliver on this sandwich.
First off, the bread. It is the first thing you see, smell, feel and taste. The bread at Banh Mi Bar reminds me more of a fluffy-​pillowy french banquette rather than the firm crunch i have come to expect. While there was some bite to the bread it was way too soft for my taste.
The protein was filling and had good flavors but not your typical standard fare. I am more used to traditional cuts of dried meats w/​o any «sauce».
Last but not the least, the vegetables. The balance was lacking, on some ends no jalapenos while other parts were nothing but them. I say less on the peppers and keep it simple.
Overall Thoughts
Not the best Banh Mi I have ever had but for Marina standards it proves to be a quick and inexpensive meal for the college student on a budget, or anyone for that matter.

Marina doesn’t necessarily have a huge Asian population so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot coming here but wanted to give them a try due to positive Unilocal reviews. We came on a Saturday night.
The nice thing is that although it looks a little divey on the outside, it’s quite clean and nice inside. Because there was only one person working, it took 20 – 30 minutes to make our 6 sandwiches. The bread wasn’t super fresh, it was already going stale so when it was re-​toasted, it was way too hard. The meats all tasted older and reconstituted for our order… not fresh. My vegetarian meat (that’s what the person working there called it) was oddly flavored with what tasted like Chinese five spice seasoning.
The reason for the 2 star is that while I was eating what my son didn’t finish, I found a good sized white hair hidden in his meat. The funny thing is that the only person working there had black hair (again, a nod to not-​so-​fresh meat). We wanted to say something, but everyone had already finished their sandwiches and we’d already been there long enough so we figured it isn’t worth complaining about. We laughed about how many hairs were probably eaten that night since we were all so hungry when we got there and ate too fast. It was only a hair so needless to say we survived to Unilocal another tale, but sorry BMB, we won’t be back.

Ahhh, finally, a dedicated Vietnamese sandwich (Banh Mi) place in Marina. We could use more Vietnamese restaurants overall in Monterey county.
They opened up just 3 days ago. It is a «To Go Only» place — so don’t plan to go there to sit down and eat. They do have a large seating area while you wait for your sandwich. Cash Only (they have an ATM machine in shop, and there is a Wells Fargo across the street)
I had the #5 Lemongrass Beef sandwich and it was delicious. The bread was crunchy and fresh, and the beef was tender. The thing I like about Vietnamese style sandwiches are the addition of crunchy daikon and carrots, as well as cilantro, and large slices of cucumber, which taste so fresh and overall are not too filling.
Prices are super reasonable… $ 3.50 to $ 4.00 for a sandwich, and they have Meal Deals — from $ 5 to $ 6 to get Banh Mi /​Drink or Banh Mi /​Boba — Smoothie or soup and salad.
Had the Bahn Mi + Iced Coffee w/​Boba Meal Deal. Service was friendly, but it is odd that took more than say, 5 minutes to make the sandwich since there was no one in front of me. But it was good and worth the wait, and perhaps they are just getting their process going too, being so NEW.
The soup today was Black Bean — hmmm— I thought they would have a mini phở or something asian-​inspired like that. But no, if you want Phở, go walk out the side door and across to their sister restaurant, Noodle Bar.
They do have a hot tray bar area, and indicated they would also offer hot food to go soon — like fried rice, noodles, etc. (Vietnamese sandwich places in Oakland for example, typically have other hot food /​ready cooked to go, point and buy style like Filipino «turo-​turo» places).
And oh, I noticed a few days ago there is a new Vietnamese restaurant opening up on Fremont Blvd in Seaside, at the old location of Chili Chinese Restaurant, near the Orient.

So Monterey Bay area… even more choices coming soon.