Banh Mi Unwrapped

I ordered 2 hum boas: sausage, egg, pork and 2 banh mis: 1 pâté’ & 1 fish. The food was served warm and wrapped. The boas were great and the sandwiches hit the spot. The service was informative, pleasant, and friendly. Price is great!!!

The only bánh mì I’ve had on the Ave so far, but seeing as how their bánh mì are good and authentic, I’m not sure I have to go to other places.
For the two times I’ve gone, I got the bánh mì tht ngui, aka cold cut sandwich. Tastes as good as it should! The bread is toasted just right; not too crunchy nor too soft. All the meat, veggies, and condiments are in perfect proportions. Nothing to complain about here!
My first time, I also got a strawberry smoothie, too. I didn’t quite see how they made it, but it looked like real fruit. Yummy, sweet, but a little too runny. I would prefer it to be a tad thicker.
I’ve done pickup orders so far, but there are lots of seating along the wall and regular tables at the back. Seems pretty clean as well.
My only complaint would be that the prices are quite high for bánh mì. It seems they’ve increased the prices a couple of times, so hopefully they stop now while it’s at $ 5. If they go any higher, not sure I would make this a regular lunch spot.
Overall, great bánh mì! Their bánh mì version of a French dip wit ph broth looks pretty good, so I might give that a try next time.

Quick, relatively well priced, and good tasting. Can’t go wrong with the tried and true traditional banh mi’s. Got the meatball bahn mi. Baguette was warm and toasted well, meat was flavorful. Added fried egg was a good addition, adding to the flavor profile and texture of the banh mi. Very satisfying.

Banh mi’s here are pretty good! The bread is soft, unlike some other places. Fresh frilled meat and veggies. You can also add an egg if you want. I strongly recommend this place if you are craving a banh mi sandwich!

I got the cold cut with an egg white. It was pretty good. However compared to other Vietnamese sandwiches there wasn’t much filling (meat, veggies, etc). I love Vietnamese sandwiches because of the freshness the veggies and meat but I didn’t really get that from this sandwich. Overall good customer service and food. I’m not mad at it.

Not bad, the lady’s that worked here were friendly and the banh mi was ok. It had the basics of a banh mi and the option to add an egg but I wish they gave more veggies, it just wasn’t as full of flavor as I hoped.
But this is a banh mi I could settle for.

Pricey for banh mi and I think there are more authentic places to get these sandwiches in the U-​District. Plain bread and cold meat. Maybe it was just the one time I was there, but it was poor enough that I’ve never had the desire to try it again.

Best Banh Mi’s on the Ave. Love that they have fresh baked bread (the bread is long baguette and easy to chew). They give you a good balanced amount of meat and veggies. Try their chive oil tofu banh mi! The sauce is amazing.
Not a lot of sitting areas as this is a small shop but a great place as any for a cheap and delicious lunch.

MEH! Just a regular Banh Mi. What stands out? Its just a little bit longer than your traditional banh mi. So a little bit more bang for your buck, but its $ 4. you can get some banh mi’s on the ave for about $ 2!!!
I paid an extra $ 1 for extra meat. But what I got look like less than what I usually get at yeh yeh’s. Flavors are standard (Got the traditional pork), nothing amazing that will make me crave to go running back.
All in all average banh mi. Still good, but most banh mi’s are good: P Solid 3 stars.

If they have the Paseo on the menu, I urge you to try it!
It’s their riff on a classic Cuban sandwich mixed with the freshness of Vietnamese veggies that come on a Bahn Mi.
Even with a long line, it’s not too long of a wait. I’m not a huge fan of their summer rolls, but I won’t count that against my review because I love everything else so much: thus the 5 star rating.
It is closed on Sundays.

Little place, with just a few items on the menu. The
Banh Mi, was average for my taste, I think the our was to fatty, or perhaps to much mayonnaise. .
The spring roll was good, it was a tiny and not like in most places you get two rolls per order, this was only one.
The staff was nice and working quick

This is the kind of place I wish I would have known about for years! I ordered a pork banh mi and shrimp spring roll and both were unbelievably delicious. The prices are very decent compared to other places on the ave! You get the bang for your buck. Can’t get over the green sauce. Overall, will be back!

–1 star for this recent incident…
I brought my vegan friend and he asked if he could get a vegan tofu sandwich. Was cashiered by this strange vegan hippie dude who believed in breatharianism and a deity called ahama-​mama. Hippie dude took his order.
…I ordered the cold cuts as usual.
Sandwiches were brought out, and my friend took a bite into his sandwich. He suspected that his sandwich wasn’t vegan due to the sauce. He went to the sandwich artists and they confirmed that IT. WAS. NOT. VEGAN.
They apologized let him keep his sandwich to give to his gf (girlfriend, not gluten free), and he got a new sandwich that was vegan and gf (gluten free, not girlfriend).
Hope the vegan police don’t go after him…
Light 4 outta 5

Pretty disappointing! Got a grilled pork Bahn Mi through the Peachd delivery service to my office. I liked the meat very much it was fatty and flavorful in big chunks. The bahn mi veggies were so very sad! It was 80% julienned carrots with a slight vinegar taste. No jalapenos as promised either. Yeh Yeh’s pickled veggies are WAY better and makes the sandwich to me.
The bread was soft and tasted good but did not have the crunch a bahn mi requires IMO. Will I order again? Definitely, since it beats hospital cafeteria food but it made me crave a Yeh Yeh’s sandwich instead honestly. Their basil spring roll was big and had several juicy shrimp in it. The peanut sauce it came with was excellent. I really enjoyed my spring roll. It was a great deal for lunch.

Whenever I’m in the U District, this is my go to place. I really like the quality of the food. It isn’t expensive, is family run and nice, and a tip isn’t required, but I usually leave a buck or two because they are so nice. The prices recently went up, and sandwiches start at $ 5, so that is still pretty reasonable in my book.
The thing that sets this place apart is that they have real crusty French-​style rolls that the sandwiches are made on. They aren’t chewy hockey pucks like you get at most places. The veggies and meats are lovingly crafted and have a nice, fresh, flavor.
Dinner for 2 for less than $ 15. How can you go wrong?

Soft and flaky baguette filled with delicious sweet grilled pork and pickled vegetable goodness.
Banh Mi Unwrapped has an easy-​to-​find location on the Ave. I called in a to-​go order and stopped by on a Monday around lunchtime to grab sandwiches for a group. Street parking is available, where you pay the meter to park.
The pork banh mi overall was well made. The bread was crispy and tasted fresh. It seemed to me that there was a lot of pickled carrots compared to the ratio of meat. The meat was cut thin and was lacking the barbecue taste from the grill.
Prices were also little higher than average Vietnamese banh mi.
Service was friendly and convenient. I called in my order, and they told me it would be about 15 minutes for 5 sandwiches. When I arrived, the order was ready to go.
Overall, banh mi sandwiches are okay. There are other Vietnamese restaurants in the area that offer the same item but tastes better and for a cheaper price.

I am new to Seattle so I cannot draw any comparisons to other banh mi joints in the area (except Curbside in Fremont – which I will say is much better than Unwrapped), but I will say that this place was a letdown for me. I was hoping to find banh mi of the caliber I eat in Houston, the mecca for Vietnamese food, or even Atlanta, but sadly left disappointed.
Overall, the banh mi was one big meh. Bread: not crusty enough. Meat: grilled pork was very low quality, lacked that nice grilled flavor, and had significant chewy fat stripping (sounds kinda dirty). It wasn’t quite as bad as the meat in the bibimbap from Yak’s in Fremont that ended up being. wait for it… ground beef, but was definitely the weakest part of the sandwich. The vegetables weren’t bad but could have used a little longer pickling. In terms of heat, I didn’t get any of the promised jalapeño bites. Perhaps it was so mild that I just didn’t notice them?
Having said all that, if these sandwiches were 3 bucks a pop, this would be a 3 star review. However, seeing as this resto gouges its customers by charging $ 5 – 6 per banh mi ($ 1.50−2.00 more than what I expect to pay), I can’t recommend this joint.
That said, if you’re craving banh mi, this place isn’t the worst choice. I will probably be back to try some of their other offerings and will update this review as needed.

Overlooked gem in an area full of great lunch spots.
Great selection of Vietnamese sandwiches, with Vietnamese espresso and some other goodies.
CHEAP! $ 4 sandwiches, $ 5 for specials and «deluxe» options and just a buck more of you want an egg on it.
Clean, good service, nice atmosphere. It’s a shame that not as visible due to the location but next time you’re looking for a sandwich try this place out! Sure as hell beats which wich across the street.

More like 3.5 stars. Our family of five walked in on a Monday afternoon, and although the menu is not extensive, we took a while deliberating over what to order. The person taking orders was very sweet and patient, which we appreciated. There are a few tables at the back of the restaurant, and there is a serving station with lemon water, napkins and condiments such as Sriracha and chili sauces. There is even a little table with toys/​puzzles to keep children occupied — a BIG hit with my 2-​year old.
We decided to try the shrimp spring roll, Chinese sausage spring roll, cold cut banh mi, lemongrass chicken banh mi and French dip banh mi. The spring rolls came out first, and they were served with a chive dipping sauce and the traditional peanut sauce. The peanut sauce was really tasty, one of the better I have tasted. The rolls were abundant with fresh lettuce and had French fried onions in the center — no fresh herbs, unfortunately. The rolls were a good size for the price ($ 1.50 each), but the shrimp was very small.
As for the banh mi, I really loved how they were served on baguettes. I appreciated the crispy exterior and soft, chewy interior of the bread. The homemade aioli on each was swoonworthy. As for the meats, I did find the cold cut and chicken banh mi to be skimpy on the meat. There was a good ratio of the pickled vegetables and cilantro, but we did have to hunt for the fresh jalapenos. My favorite was the French dip banh mi, which has roast beef, bean sprouts, onion, cilantro, jalapeño and spicy aioli served with phở broth for dipping. The broth is unnecessary, as the sandwich stands on its own without the bland soup. (My littlest did like dipping just baguette into the broth, though.)
I was all ready to give this place 4 – 5 stars, but we had a small issue that forces me to deduct from my rating. My 9-​year old commented the lemongrass chicken was salty, and when my husband tasted it, he found it to be inedible. The chicken was so salty, he spat it out. He was sure the kitchen staff had mistakenly overseasoned and did not know. On our way out, my husband mentioned to one of the workers behind the counter that perhaps they were not aware but the lemongrass chicken was very salty. She gave him an annoyed look and just waved him off. It’s too bad, because if we were to base our experience on that sandwich alone (it’s listed as a special on the front board), we would never give this place another chance. I guess it’s a good thing we tried the other food — it’s a solid banh mi option in the Seattle area.

Came to Seattle to seek out this spot, highly recommended through Unilocal.We ordered the banh mi xiu mai and the banh mi thit nuong along with two orders of goi cuon, one shrimp and one bo bia. (Edited due to wrong information)
On the positive, the banh mi was enjoyable. The bread was perfectly toasted and the meats well well seasoned. Though I enjoyed my banh mi xiu mai (meatballs), my companions did not enjoy their thit nuong (grilled pork). The goi cuon looked great but did not offer than same quality as the banh mi. There was way too much lettuce in there and barely any meats, shrimp or chinese sausage. The goi cuon flavor was all lettuce and not much else.
Lastly, I ordered the Viet Iced Coffee, of course. This iced coffee was too sweet in my opinion, I prefer it to be darker and a little more bitter. However, this is just a matter of personal taste.