Omi Omy — Restaurant in Amherst

Great banh mi. High rating for kind service, and one of few decent Asian places to eat in Amherst (especially as "healthier" fast food). Slightly pricey, but I'd say it's worth it.

As an American sammich (if I were to place it in front of you without your cognizance of it being what it is), it's awesome. As banh mi, if you're expecting it to be authentic to the T, you're going to give yourself a headache writing all the nuanced differences out. But it's still pretty good and authentic ingredients. Just slightly tweaked to be more American-tasting.

I've been here twice so far, where the first visit was not as satisfying as the second, due to soft opening hurdles and training staff. I tried the pork twice, cold cut once, and the vermicelli bowl. My preference is for the pork banh mi, even though all were pretty decent.

If your reference for banh mi is a shred-my-mouth, tough, skinny baguette stuffed with cold cuts and pickled veggies, it is quite a relief that you won't be destroying your hard palate biting into this one. The bread has a springy fluffiness to it, and (upon second visit--food was much better) had a nice, light buttery flavor. The pork was cooked and chopped perfectly, and although I prefer more pickled carrots+daikon, it was a yummy balance with the sauciness and cilantro. It's not often that the juice from one of these is plentiful enough to drip down to your elbow (most banh mi are more "conservative" about that). I'm actually craving it right now at 4 am.

I love cold cut banh mi, but they were really outshined by the pork here. I wasn't a fan of their cold cut, but I can give it another try.

The vermicelli was decent although the sauces are a little diluted/light in flavor for my preference. Available choices are fish vinaigrette, soy vinaigrette, and peanut sauce. The container was packed quite full and had a yummy balance between the veggies, noodles (I would prefer them to be more springy, but they were still good), and my choice of pork. This would be a versatile dish to switch among its proteins (tofu and vegetarian options are available, yet I'd double-check for fish sauce for any food item if I were restricted), but I love eating pork for broken rice, vermicelli, etc. for the contrasts. Normally, I'd also stash hoisin and sriracha, but I didn't choose to on this trip.

Boba here is like typical SEA preparation. It's soft and will get stuck in the straw. I do like their jasmine milk tea-- it has a nice fragrance and sweetened just right but would prefer it flat instead of frothy (I know; I'm really picky). The Vietnamese coffee is good too, but don't compare it to any past cups if your preference is the really milky, full-bodied kind. It's good for the aroma and strength, but if you're a (Vietnamese) coffee aficionado.. I really don't want to debate you on its (expected) flavor profile.

Prices are arguably high but just-right. If I were in an Asian-dense area, I wouldn't pay $7 for banh mi, but I do have to consider the location, lack of competition (which, shouldn't even be bothered-- they're kind of the authority for it around here), and recent inflation. So it is justified, but tell that to younger me and I'd fly into a raging fit.

I don't know how they accommodate restrictions but if you don't prefer cilantro, definitely mention it. Same with peanuts, fish sauce, and other staple ingredients in the cuisine.

Plenty of parking. Easy to find. Next-door to the Goodwill....

cant believe we waited so long to try this place, we are going to come back for sure! we each had a banh mi (pork and chicken), egg rolls, sesame balls, and cream buns. thats why our per person was so high, we ordered a ton haha XD

the banh mi were fresh and tasty with a good ratio of filling to bread, although next time we will get them made spicy basil style because i like a bit of kick to mine. the egg rolls were unique to me since they had sweet potato in them which we really enjoyed, and the dipping sauce was a good pairing. i was thrilled with the sesame balls, its been so long since ive had them! they were super full of filling, fried up all crunchy and hot, definitely try them if you havent before. theyre lightly sweet, mostly a savory thing from the toasty sesame, and sooooo good. the cream buns were a nice way to finish off the meal since they were sweet, but light, the filling reminds me of vanilla pudding almost.

i understand where folks are coming from with the prices seeming higher than you expect for this type of food elsewhere, but it was worth the cost to me and its not like it was super expensive compared to other options locally. food is expensive everywhere now, so thats something to just get used to. and its not cheap to run a business in amherst, so im not expecting to get a $4 banh mi anywhere here to be honest. it was fresh, delicious, and made to order, we will definitely be...

I had been interested in trying pho after watching an Australian cooking show, I was fascinated. I saw this place and pho on the menu and I knew I had to try it, to my excitement I saw the spicy option! Well.... I was hooked straight away, the broth flavors are just perfect. I love the fresh items on the side to add once you are ready to eat it. I have had this at least once a week since and can't stop telling everyone who will listen about it. I have not been able to try anything else because I just can't not order pho... and I have tried. My husband has had the banh mi sandwich and loved it too. The restaurant is clean and the staff are very friendly. It makes me look forward to going to work since it is right around the corner from it! One of these days I am going to try those fries! Omi Omy lives up...