BANH MI OI - West Roxbury

The lemongrass banh mi was good, but the vegan pho tasted off. The broth was very sweet.

Had the beef noodle soup. Absolutely delicious, very bold and intense flavor. Very good on a chilly day. The dining area was very cold. It looked very plain , no pictures , nothing on the tables. Needs character if you want people to dine in. It reminded me of a cold deli counter.

Edit: 1/11/2023 (over 2 years later): I haven't been back to this place, but lowering my rating from 2 stars to 1 star. When they respond to a negative review 2 years after-the-fact, with a generic copy-paste message, you know that the restaurant is more interested in maintaining public image than it is in actual customer satisfaction. Please at least be competent enough to customize the text fields in your copy-pasted response. Leaving an unfilled ..."reach out to us directly at [your contact information] so that we can address your concerns..." is not exactly a good look. Hate to think that this shop's technology skills are on par with their cooking abilities. --- Ok, sorry, but this place is not that good, and definitely does not deserve the 4.6 rating it currently has. It might be good "for the area" (considering that I couldn't seem to find any other decent food options around), but absolutely lacks when you compare it to any Vietnamese restaurant in/around the city. My biggest complaint would be portion size for the price. The portions that they give you are abysmal. I paid $29 for an order of beef pho and lemongrass steak vermicelli. 1.) The Pho - If you go to a more authentic spot, such as Le's in Cambridge, Pho88 in Malden, Pho Pasteur in Chinatown, etc., they all have a similar menu. You can get an *extra large* bowl with sirloin, flank steak, brisket, tripe, tendon, etc. for around $13. At BANH MI OI, I paid $14 for a tiny bowl, around 1/3 the portion of any of the other restaurants, with about only 4 or 5 small slices of just brisket -- no other cuts of meat. Furthermore, the broth here tasted of pure sodium; would not be surprised if it were made from pre-packaged broth powder. 2.) The Vermicelli - I wish I could rate this, except somehow, in an order of only 2 items, the restaurant got my order wrong and gave me a rice bowl instead of a vermicelli bowl. Very annoyed, as I'm a huge noodle fan, and not that keen on rice. I did notice that the beef in the rice bowl has very large slabs of fat (see pic). Unfortunately, this place is about 45 mins from my house, otherwise, I 100% would have complained to the restaurant. In conclusion, BANH MI OI is mediocre in terms of taste and quality of food, very poor in terms of portion size and value. There also isn't really much of an area to eat-in, so keep in mind this is mostly a take-out or delivery spot.

Omg best banh mi I've ever had!!! Five spice tofu is DELISH, even if you are t a vegetarian!! Havent found anything bad one menu. 10/10 Vegetarian options: Five spice tofu ...cannot get enough!!!

Yoooo these bahn mis are fire! I also got the crispy rolls. High quality ingredients, well done! Small eating area by windows, maybe seats 8 total

Fantastic. Worth the trip over from Somerville!!