Banh Mi Bar & Bistro

This is my go-​to place for Thai iced tea and afternoon lunch breaks.
My only complaint is that they don’t have Sunday hours.

I love it here! Ordered delivery once, now eating in. The vibe of the restaurant is very hip and trendy. The food is absolutely delicious, I had the steak Bahn mi and my husband had the special. there is no where else in the area that is similar. We will definitely be back.

I came in for lunch today. I ordered the bahn mi special and because of previous reviews, the Wasabi fries.
The bread on the bahn mi was crispy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside. I’m a sucker for anything with cilantro since i feel it gives dishes a fresh taste. The sandwich also has a kick of jalapeño.
The Wasabi fries were tasty and surprisingly needed a pairing condimemt which came with it-​mayo.
Overall, very happy with my dishes and would come back to try more.

Second favorite banh mi place after Hanco’s in Brooklyn!

OK, so Norristown by the Courthouse is a bit of a food desert. This place, Banh Mi Bar, is a true diamond in the rough. Truly outstanding food at reasonable prices. Their banh mi sandwiches are packed with fresh flavor and great texture. Be sure to try the Special. If you’re not in the mood for a sandwich, try the vermicelli noodles. The meat is deliciously flavored and served in a big portion. During the winter they serve traditional Vietnamese soups and congee. I had the curry soup today and it was to die for.
Be sure to order an avocado smoothie. Sounds strange, I know, but you’ve gotta trust me!
I’d love to see this wonderful restaurant full of customers every day. The food is really something special.

Not impressed…
I went out of my way to try this place with a friend for lunch. The inside was interesting with patio umbrellas that make you feel like you’re outdoors. The service was good, but the food (most importantly) was not that great. It was okay, but I’ve had better in the area (Phở Thai Nam and Phở Kitch’n) for general Vietnamese food (can’t speak to the Banh Mi since I don’t et them).
We also were surprised at the pricing, due to the location of the restaurant and that it was lunch. Maybe we ordered wrong or they had an off day, but nothing inspired us to want to come back.

Great food and really great customer service. We got the wings, steak Bahn mi, and the beef phở. All in all 5 star experience.

The carpaccio and small chicken sandwich with a carafe of water was easilly the best $ 10 lunch I’ve had in some time.

This place is great. We had the pork & rice, a special banh mi and pork tacos. Everything was delicious. The meat are marinated very well. The portion size is a bit smaller than what you’d find at other vietnamese restaurants, but the flavor makes up for it. The service was also great. They were super attentive. If I had one comment, it would be that there was more meat and veggies in the rice platter. I understand if the meat is too expensive to put more in, but maybe add more veggies.

We have visited, had delivery and take out on several occasions. I have always been impressed with the quality of the food and the friendliness of the staff.

What a cute little gem in the middle of Norristown. Great sandwiches. While the server was kind they were very understaffed. Hoping for better service on our next visit cause the food was worth it

doesn’t look like much from the outside, but once you get in you are introduced to a clean and spacious little restaurant. the server was kind, friendly, and knowledgeable of the menu as well as giving popular recommendations. he also provided attentive service that is always a good thing as a server.
we ordered: steak and kimchee summer rolls that were fresh, tasty, and different. we also ordered their popular deluxe/​shrimp bahn mi sandwiches that were delicious. this place also basic phở soup. it was nothing spectacular, but it was still good considering this place is more of a café than an actual phở spot. they also have Asian style tacos that was amazing. highly recommended trying those out. enjoy!

After hearing about this place for a year or two I finally made it today! I live close by and have no excuse for not getting here sooner, but I had to pay property taxes around the corner so I figured why not now?
I walked in, it’s clean, well decorated but hot! Their AC went out this morning. Per used the menu and ordered the marinated steak kimchi bahn mi, the marinated shrimp bah mi and sweet potato fries. No problem. Then the health inspector walked in and announced a surprise inspection. I don’t know about everyone else but I’ve never been in a restaurant for that?
Naively I thought my food would come out and I would be gone… turns out he has to do his job first. So I waited wondering what I would do if he had a sad face when he came out? This went on for about twenty/​thirty minutes during which I was offered chilled water and really fun conversation by the waitress and owner. I had already checked their reviews with the county health department so I felt pretty good.
The health inspector came out and said all is well and sat down to prepare his report. my order came out and I brought it home for my wasps family… it was outstanding! The beef was tender and beautifully spiced, the shrimp was sliced and expertly spicy spicy spicy and the fries, well maybe I would order them fresh when the health inspector isn’t there! The county owes me fresh fries
I give Bahn Mi B&B five stars, I can’t believe how well they did under so much pressure and the food was excellent. I will definitely be back.

Hadn’t been here in a year and craving a Bahn Mi …
This place NEVER disappoints and, in fact, surprises …
Like what I had to accompany my pork bahn mi … wait for it
WASABI fries !
Where have they been all my life ?
Outrageous.
Cooked crispy, just enough wasabi to clear out your sinuses while still enjoying the potato crunchiness. I would like to lay in these and just roll over with my mouth open and bite as I am moved to …
I cannot wait this long to return.
Plus, the owners are just so welcoming and kind.
GET HERE!!!

Guh! Such polarizing reviews for BMB. This review is for my first time dining here. Looks like I scored the A-​team on a dreary Monday night when my regular Norristown phở place was closed.
Interior is nothing special to look at, and the techno trance music left me confused. Is this a THING at Vietnamese places that serve bahn mi? Cue *ignorance*.
The beef phở was tasty. I wasn’t sure about the chunk like beef pieces, but enjoyed the thin sliced ones. Broth was on point and satisfying. Very good. I also agree with another reviewer that $ 10 for beef phở seems a bit much, but not a big deal since it’s tasty!
Shrimp summer rolls were moist and tightly wrapped. I enjoyed the tangy, delicate peanut sauce accompanying it. I was surprised that for 4 bucks I received 2 rolls.
I’d come back for sure now that I know they serve phở as part of their regular menu. No expert in bahn mi, but I’d be willing to try theirs here another time based on my experience today.

The banh mis were very fresh, but there were serious service problems which cannot be overlooked. The fries were supposed to be flavored, but I would challenge anyone to find more than a teaspoon of flavor in the whole bunch. We ordered wasabi fries and tamarind fries and it looked like they forgot the flavoring. We asked and the server swears they didn’t. Which leads me to my next point.
After I started eating my banh mi it dawned on me that I had not received the right sandwich. I ordered the Special Banh Mi (Dac Biet), but clearly received the Classic (Thit Nguoi) Banh Mi. I could tell this because there was no
Vietnamese sausage roll, pork belly, soy sauce, or chili paste on it, but there was Vietnamese cold cuts and pâté. After confronting the server she told me I was wrong (I was not, thanks to Unilocal pictures) and refused to listen to me. She then because slightly hostile.
Then, when a server uses an electronic device to place the order that’s fine, but it should be a tool that helps not hurts. The server used an ipad and it was slower, less efficient, more difficult to customize orders, and less friendly for us because she had her face buried in it and didn’t realize it. All around not better than pen and paper.
Final point, when we sat down the server went through the whole menu with us. Sounds great, right? Wrong. She read and described every single item like we couldn’t read. Very weird and never ending. She told us about eat drink and eat style of fries and everything.
We won’t be going back to Banh Mi Bar & Bistro again and I can’t recommend it to my friends. We tried it only because the chef at Almaz Café across the street was apparently on vacation. Next time we’ll go to KOP if Almaz isn’t serving food.

I’ve been here a couple of times and I definitely recommend this place. First, this place is very clean which is extremely important to me because I wouldn’t want to dine in an unsanitary establishment. Second, the service has always been great. Third, the food wait time is decent as in it doesn’t take long to get your food.
I’ve had the pork banh mi here, and it’s super tasty. The Asian spread in the banh mi is really fresh. This place makes their own spread so it’s always fresh.
I also really like the Thai tea here too.

Really cool Phở spot in the middle of Norristown. The bowl of Phở was absolutely enormous. I didn’t get any tendon (not sure if that is common in Phở) but I definitely enjoyed the meal.
The service was the best part. Someone took my order really quickly and within 15 minutes, I was noodle slurpin’. Also, someone came and asked me if I was okay the perfect amount of time. They even waited for me to finish what was in my mouth before Asking me questions. It’s the little things.
I think it may have been family owned. Cool spot to go for lunch. Not too fancy, but very clean.

Bread: bahn Mi bread is french baguette (usually), however, this placed serves their meat on sandwich breads. Sliced white bread. I was a bit taken aback because the reviews were so great. As soon as I saw the bread, I was let down a bit.
Meat: the waitress told us that the meat is great and recommended a few options. My husband who got their pork sandwich was not impressed at all. I got the korean bbq meat — with which i was confused. I am not sure which part was korean bbq — the marinade? or the kimchee in the sandwich?
portions: generous! this deserves a star. there was more than enough amount of meat.
service: we went on a saturday and was excellent. they were not busy — so we got a lot of attention. The waitress was very sweet and nice.
What is it missing?
almost everything that goes into a bahn mi — jalapenos, pickled veggies… the right kind of bread…
I don’t know if they call their sandwiches bahn mi — or just sandwiches. If they claim that they aren’t bahn mi’s then, it is my fault for thinking that they were going to be bahn mi — from their name. It’s an interesting take on asian and american sandwiches.

I would never think to come to Norristown for Vietnamese food, but I was in the mood to try somewhere new. I started out with a strawberry smoothie then had the ginger salad. Both were delicious. After I ate the egg rolls, which came with a spicy sauce which added to the flavor. For my entrée I decided to be a little adventurous and try the Seafood Vermicelli (soup). I have ordered Banh Mi way too many times, so I’m glad I was adventurous because the Seafood Vermicelli did not disappoint. If you never had Vietnamese food, you should start with the Banh Mi.
Also, what stood out at this place was the great customer service. The staff made us feel at home and they were very helpful on what to order.
If you’re ever in Norristown you have to stop off here.