Banh Mi Shop

This small Vietnamese restaurant is well worth the wait. Clearly it gets crowded around dinner time, with dozens of people coming in to pick up their orders to go. We did wait about 20 minutes, which was pure torture given how good everything smelled.
But after getting our food we quickly discovered what makes this restaurant so popular. The namesake sandwiches are freshly prepared to order. A generous serving of meat is topped with shredded veggies and sauce on a crusty French roll. I got a grilled chicken banh mi to go for tomorrow’s breakfast!
You can order combos, I choose the banh mi with a mini phở which was a great option, two of my favorite foods. The fresh rolls, stuffed with lettuce, fresh herbs, slivers of sweet red pepper, bean sprouts, and tofu, inside a spicy sweet peanut sauce.
Marie and I stopped here for dinner while driving from Detroit to Buffalo. We briefly contemplated eating at the Burger King on 401 E., but decided that 3 mile drive off the highway was worth it for a decent meal. And we didn’t regret it.
Marie got the pad Thai which was full of sliced fried tofu and hunks of bell pepper. With a light sauce and fresh squeezed lime, Marie said it was «perfect.» We finished the meal with traditional Vietnamese filtered coffee.
This restaurant is a hidden gem, yet one more reason to be jealous of Canadians!

I dropped in for a take out sandwich and was pleasantly surprised.
The $ 6.50 banh mi had three types of pork, and took 10 minutes to prepare.
It was well worth the wait, as opposed to me doing a fast burn at McDuffus or Tim’s.
The pork was a bit dry, but well lubricated with a semi sweet soy based sauce.
A bit bland, but then this is S.W. Ontario, where the bland are leading the bland.
Next time, I’d ask for liberal use of fish sauce and hot sauce.
Other reviews say the phở and its broth are good, so I’ll try that ($ 9.50) another time.

Unless the owners are cooking, the food is great!
I’ve been disappointed the last 3 times I’ve eaten here. My first disappointment was with the chicken Pad Thai, the taste of the tofu got really bad, fast. Not to mention it was dry hard. The red curry chicken had coconut flavour that quickly lost its delectable taste, and worse as it cooled off. And the last straw was the «dependable» sandwiches, the chicken sandwich no longer has taste, pretty bland and the pulled pork leaves you with a horrible bitter after taste as if it was left too long cooking.
This type of food requires finesse, please get rid of the teens preparing it.

I’ve tried all the menu items and I have a hard time deciding which is my favourite; they’re all that good!

After reading the reviews on TripAdvisor (
) during my first trip to Strathroy, I decided to drop by this place. GREAT DECISION!
1. The food was not expensive, reasonably priced.
2. The Phở is made with a focus on the broth and good amounts of beef brisket.
3. The owners are very nice and hospitable.
I read on TripAdvisor reviews that the homemade lemon ice tea is $ 1 — turns out to be $ 2 and is still a good deal.
Try their Phở!
Will be returning for their Pad Thai the next time I visit this little town!