The Naked Onion

I really wanted to love this place… Was running around like crazy at work, got a chance to stop here for a late lunch takeout order. Ordered a Cuban sandwich & was baffled at lack of beverage options. Got some slightly smart ass response about that. Really needed to use the bathroom, and they would not let me use theirs. Gee, thanks. Staff seemed confused despite only one other customer waiting aside from me. Waited almost 15 minutes. Cuban sandwich was dry, very bland. Mustard was overpowering. A few hours later, I had a slight case of food poisoning. I suspect the pulled pork was the culprit as that was what came back up. Doubtful I would ever stop here again. Disappointing.

Delicious vegetarian bi mah. Make sure it’s piping hot when you eat it! I tried the fresh mozz for lunch, unfortunately it was a bit cold when I picked it up, never making that mistake again! Always get there before your order is done. The bread they use is very unique, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Yummy

The banh mi here are not bad. I’m giving 3 stars because I didn’t feel it was worth the price, but nothing was bad tasting here.
I tried both the pork belly and pork tenderloin banh mi. I think they ingredients were pretty fresh, had a kick with the peppers, and pork belly was yummy. Tenderloin was a little bit hard, but doesn’t take away from the taste.
Banh mi are usually ~$ 3 at vietnamese restaurants, for equally fresh (or fresher, even) ingredients, and equal or better meats. So… hard to justify dishing out $ 10/​sandwich for the exact same thing here.

Excellent sandwiches and friendly staff. My daughter and I wanted something unique and fast between soccer games. It was perfect! We had the Fresh Mozzarella with side salad and Reuben with potato salad. They make their own 1000 Island in house as well as pickle everything on site. Both sandwiches were tasty! Loved the potato salad. If you are a foode and need something fast… This place will not disappoint. You can call in your order too. If you have time, take a stroll towards the murals. Love Carytown! #nomnom

«The Godhands of Sandwiches» as my boyfriend describes was definitely the best part of the day. This super quaint, 3 man-​staff, short order restaurant met us with great hospitality and an AMAZING meal. Don’t be basic, try one of their pork sandwiches. Its worth every calorie!

It’s definitely what I would call a small pop up shop, and the sandwiches are amazing. On the inside there are a few seats, with the only table being outside. It’s more of a place to pick up your meal and head out.
The owner really cares that you like your meal and everything is fresh! I ordered a ruben and my friend order the ruben and bread pudding. The sandwich was full of flavor, nice and hot, and the pickled jalapeños made the sandwich even better.

Great twist on a traditional bahn mi. Of course, nothing can beat a traditional bahn mi but their version is almost just a good. The sub rolls are on a baguette with great meat and veggie portions. We also tried their soups and delicious as expected. Give their cuban sandwhich a try, promise it won’t let you down.

Be ready to keep it moving. While you won’t sit down you’ll appreciate the food. The Cuban is amazing! The bread pudding is amazing. The price is just right. I’m from close to Seattle and this place would fit in well back home. A little on the cluttered side, but look away and wait for the mouth magic as you enjoy this sandwich.

Quick. Cheap. Great service. Highly recommend.
The pork belly bang mi was excellent. Bread was on the crunchier end but still of high quality. Loved that they use Kim Kim. Cuban also very good.
Only complaints are minor ones:
— seating can be a challenge so plan to take out
— hours seem limited, checked a number of times when the place has been closed at surprising times

First stop here and definitely will be back. Best Cuban I have ever had. Better than Kuba Kuba in my opinion. This is a take out sandwich shop and you leave with that old fashioned paper bag and it took me way back. Great service, very friendly atmosphere and the owners interaction with the customers is huge in my book. Makes you want to go back.

Everything is great about this place. Owner is sweet and nice as well as they do their sandwiches perfect — worth the wait. Take your food to the park and enjoy the fresh air. I only get the tenderloin and it hasn’t disappointed me yet. I’ll be back again and again

I would dig this place… If it were ever open. I’ve tried to eat here 4 separate times, all during their «normal» business hours, which are already abysmal.

Solid lunch fare, but I don’t know if I’ll be willing to shell over $ 10 for a «banh mi» again anytime soon. Being Vietnamese, I thought that overall, the concept was cool, but I wouldn’t necessarily label this a banh mi just because it has pickled veggies and cilantro included in it. The pork belly itself was cooked nicely and was super juicy and tender. The bagette they serve everything in is really crusty and super dense, which I enjoyed, though it’s much different from the thin, light, and airy loaves traditionally used for banh mi. Overall, this was a nice and filling take-​out lunch.

After initially falling in love with the Cuban and not being able to stray from it on my biweekly orders, I have now tried the Banh Mi (w/​pork belly) 5/​5, the turkey 4.5÷5, and their seasonal special, the gobbler ¹⁰⁄₅.
Each one of these sandwiches leaves you disappointed choosing anything but The Naked Onion for lunchtime.
Everyone basically covers the Banh mi and how incredible it is (and they are right) BUT the Gobbler is the hidden gem. Don’t miss out on it, it’s seasonal.

I seriously book it home from work trying to get a sandwich from here before they close.
No joke, some of the most interesting, most delicious sandwiches in the city.
I cannot accurately convey the sadness I experience
when I call and get a voice mail telling me they’re sold out for the day.
Maybe it’s like making plans to go to a theme park just to wake up and realize it’s raining.
But sadder and unresolved.
I love their meatless options.
Even if I ate meat, I think I’d still order the fresh mozz every time.
The sweet potato banh mi is also extraordinary.
But that fresh mozz is all I want.
Go go go go go go go go.
Also, great owners.
They’re fun and helpful
and even gave me pickling advice.
How amazing is that?

The short version (out of 5):
Flavor: 5
Originality: 5
Presentation: 5
Service: 5
After seeing all of the raves about the pork belly banh mi sandwiches, it was calling for me.
It takes about 15 minutes for prep but it is worth it. Pretty much a two person operation but they know what they’re doing. I could see that they had a steady stream of customers (most of which were regulars). What struck me was the amount of care they put into their product and ensuring that the customer was satisfied.
We had an interesting conversation with another customer about the pork belly and how much attention was needed to make sure it was grilled properly. If the fat content of the pork belly was too high it would just flame and burn on the grill. The had few bad batches one day and actually changed purveyors to maintain the quality of their product.
Well how was the banh mi? It was glorious and all the raves were justified. I asked if I could get it on the spicier side and bam: extra jalapeños! The sandwich is served hot but I actually would recommend that you show some restraint and wait a little bit (I’ll explain shortly).
Decorated in a vibrant array of colors, the pork belly is nestled within the crunch of pickled daikon and carrots. The bountiful cilantro and jalapeños provide a nice spiciness. Remember how I said to wait? The baguettes are some of the crunchiest I have tasted in a while and you definitely need a suitable vehicle to hold up to the crunch of the vegetables and the smoothness of pork belly. Allow the fat of pork to marinate with the aioli while it penetrates the crunchiness of the baguette. By doing this, you’re rewarded with a succulent juiciness that gets better with each subsequent bite. You can best compare the sensation to the last bites of a nicely warmed Philly cheese steak.
I know I’ll come back for another helping of the banh mi but I’m tempted to try the secret sandwich which has now become a regular on the menu, the reuben.
So stop reading already. I know it’s calling your name too.

This place is DELICIOUS. The banh mi is still the only sandwich I’ve had here (but hey, really the only one I need!) The meat is so silky and so is the sauce, and just so full of so many spices and flavors and the veggies are all pickled to perfection and so crunchy and fresh and yummy. The bread is also crumbly and buttery, and tastes incredible. Cilantro also makes everything food-​oriented a more magical experience. God, I could eat a Naked Onion banh mi every day forever. To die for. Those pickled onions, man. Those pickled onions. Seriously, it’s better than banh mi sandwiches Vietnamese folk have made for me.
**Went back for the Cuban, and had an equally amazing experience. Everything just tastes so fresh and pleasing and it’s the perfect bread-​to-​ingredients ratio. The people are so nice and personable, and you just really feel like you’re eating a sandwich made with love and dedication. DO IT. DO IT NOW.**
They do pretty much the best of any sandwich they do.

Richmond, VA – Road Trip #4
After building up a huge appetite from my adventure, I wanted lunch – and not just any lunch, mind you. I had a hankerin’ for Bánh mì; specifically, I needed a Pork Belly Bánh mì, which I had never tried before. Lucky for me, The Naked Onion (TNO) was close-​by, had great reviews, and serves Pork Belly Bánh mì – can’t get any better than that!
Started back in 2013, TNO is chef owned and operated, and is located on West Cary Street. Street parking is available and I had no problem finding a spot. The cute store is a brick building, and the interior is adorned with bright green walls and a big logo of an onion. TNO is take-​out only, but there is one picnic table outside. When you go up to the counter, you give your order and wait on the bench. It’s easy to see they get a lot of business, both walk-​ins and phone orders. Their menu is small – sandwiches and soups. Personally, I prefer small menus because it allows them to concentrate on just a few items.
I received my Pork Belly Bánh mì in hand, along with potato salad on the side. (You can pick either potato salad or side salad with your sandwich.) I drove to the park and first dived into the potato salad. It’s a very small serving, but delicious! It tasted a lot like mine: diced potatoes wrapped with creamy mayo, egg, and some pickles. Then it was time to open up the wrapper of the beautiful Pork Belly Bánh mì. I had my first Bánh mì a few weeks ago but it was regular grilled pork. This pork belly was divine: grill marks, wonderful caramel color, and the flavor was a party in my mouth; the pickled veggies, jalapeño and cilantro along with the mayo on the inside of the fresh baguette made the package complete. This sandwich must be one of my top 5 food experiences ever, and I’m not a big sandwich lover so that tells you something. (OMG! Factor)
I hope to come back next time I visit Maymont, and hopefully, try something else on their menu. However, it would be difficult to stray away from TNO’s Pork Belly Bánh mì. If I lived here in Richmond, then I would try everything on the menu. If you’re a visitor from afar like me, then definitely try the Pork Belly Bánh mì. I haven’t been able to find it around here and I’m having a crave again. Can anyone say «road trip?»

A friend wanted to check out this place, so we met for lunch on Saturday. Apparently, they sometimes sell out, so I would recommend going earlier during the day. I showed up at 11:30AM, but my friend hadn’t arrived yet, so I started perusing the menu. I noticed bread pudding, which had a 15 – 20 minute prep time, so I decided to order that first and then place my savory order later when my friend arrived.
When placing my dessert order, the cashier lady recommended that I just order everything, since it was getting close to lunch time and they would probably be flooded with orders soon. I obliged and ordered the Banh Mi, picked potato salad as my side, and added a cup of the day’s soup (butternut squash).
My friend arrived shortly and ordered the Cuban and a cup of soup. We ended up sharing the sandwiches so that we could taste both of them.
The restaurant itself is tiny, and located in what appears to be a former house in a residential block of Cary St. It’s takeout only, but there is a single picnic table outside up for grabs.
One of the reason I enjoyed my dining experience so much was the service. The front lady is very sociable, and definitely is a small talk pro. She is very friendly, and at the end of my meal when she saw me walking in with our trash, she told me that there was a trash can behind her, all while taking orders and managing the much larger crowd that was in the store by that time. She asked me how the food was, which I said was excellent! The only other employee in the store was the cook in the open kitchen behind the register. It’s possible that these two workers are a couple and The Naked Onion’s proprietors.
Speaking of the food, it truly was delicious. The portions of the sandwiches were quite generous. The side salads were a bit small, but they are just sides after all. The soup was quite good; I would have preferred it a tad hotter, but then it would have been hard to store covered in the plastic container it came in. The bread for both sandwiches was nice and crunchy, and the pork was super flavorful. I probably enjoyed the Banh Mi slightly more than the Cuban, although as tasty as the Banh Mi was, it wasn’t completely authentic and I found myself missing some of the components that come in the classic Vietnamese version (fish sauce, head cheese, etc.). But it was still an amazing sandwich, and I would order it again; they weren’t really going for authentic Viet anyway.
The bread pudding was warm and tasty, and came with this thin milky sauce of deliciousness. Ideally, I would have liked some raisins and maybe some caramel in the bread pudding, but The Naked Onion’s version was still pretty good.
The Naked Onion reminded me a bit of good old Gregoire’s back in Berkeley (although perhaps a touch less rich/​gourmet). With reasonable prices and decent portions, I would definitely come back! It’s just a matter of making my way out to the Fan for lunch, which can be tricky due to work.

I’ve never had a Bánh mì sandwich and I wasn’t even going to consider eating one until Unilocal could properly vouch for a place. After reading all the reviews The Naked Onion seemed to fit the bill. My esteemed colleague Seong Kim and I ventured out at 11:00am when they opened. We were the first to arrive and placed two orders for the pork belly Bánh mì.
We sat outside on the little bench and patiently waited for our delicious food. We sipped back on our refreshing San Pellegrino sparkling fruit beverage while we waited. Perfection takes time is all I will say.
My Bánh mì sandwich exploded with flavor. The jalapeños were too powerful for me though. Some Mexican I am, I can’t even handle a little heat. Those little suckers must have been at the upper range of the scoville scale for a jalapeño. I flicked them off but still received a nice spicy kick from the sandwich. It was delicious!
We devoured our food and left feeling very satisfied. It’s raining today otherwise I would drive down there right now to try the Cuban sandwich. I’m pretty excited that this place exists. I like their philosophy and if they stick to it, I’m positive they’ll continue to do well.
Thanks Naked Onion! You’ll be seeing a lot more of me!