Le Banh Mi Bistro — Restaurant in Clovis

I've been here twice. Overall, the food is good for the price, but the beverage definitely needs improvement.

The first time, it was packed. It was during the weekend at lunchtime. We ordered the Saigon special and the roast beef for the sandwiches and a taro boba and thai tea for beverage. Got our drinks first. Waited 15 min for our sandwiches. The drinks are $4 each. They are already pre-mixed drinks that are poured over ice, so they taste more watered down, and the flavors are not that strong. They do have vietnamese coffee, which is not on the menu, so you have to ask for it. The Saigon special was delicious, had pork belly, ham, head cheese, and pork loaf. The mayo, pate, and sauce were a good combo. The veggies were a good amt. The roast beef was really good also. Loaded with beef, cheese, and sauce, very flavorful beef also. This experience was a 5 for the food and 2 for the drinks. Did not get a chance to take pictures of the sandwiches this time because they were that good, and we ate them fast. Lol.

The second time around, it was during a weekday lunchtime, and the store was empty, I ordered to go. I ordered two of the Saigon special sandwiches, one with no pate for the hubs and one regular. For drinks, I got the mixed butterfly with Lychee jelly and the vietnamese coffee. Drinks were a disappointment again. Hardly any flavor, the only thing I tasted was the lychee jelly in the mixed drink. The coffee was not good, no creamer and still tasted watered down, not at all like the famously strong vietnamese coffee I had in mind but then the price was $4 only so my expectations of the flavor disappointment was not a suprise, LOL. The sandwiches this time had no pork belly. Just the pork loaf, ham, and head cheese. Veggies were less than last time also. Honest opinion, they were still decently good for the price in comparison to many other places in town. This time, the food was a 3.5, for lack of consistency and amount of meat and veggies, and the drinks were a 1, good price but very poor quality.

I would definitely continue to support this store because the sandwiches are good for the price, in my opinion, but I wouldn't buy the drinks anymore. Both times were disappointing, I wouldn't mind paying more for better tasting drinks. Quality and flavor are everything, and if it's not present, it's not worth paying even $4 for.

On a side note, on the second time around, I did get a chance to meet the owner, named DJ, owner's mother, and the staff that day. They are great people, and the owner was genuine about listening and getting feedback so he could improve, and that is why I will continue to support his business. Give them a try and give them your...

In my personal opinion, the bread in a banh mi is at least half of the whole package. If you don't execute well on that component, it doesn't really matter how good your other ingredients are. After all, the bread is the first thing to hit your palate. I don't know what happened in the last few months, but their bread has become extremely dry, crumbly, and tough when it should have a thin, crispy crust that doesn't cut the roof of your mouth and a soft, fluffy interior. I suspect that this is due to a combination of their chosen bread vendor and their method of storage, which at the moment is just stacking them above the counter, exposed to the hot open air that's being recirculated by the large fan in the dining area. This has to be rapidly drying out what little moisture was left in the loaves.

Also, some of the fillings generate way too much liquid to the point that it's literally dribbling out the bottom of the sandwich in a pool of dilute mayo slurry on the table (yuck!). I suspect they're just pulling the pickled carrot and daikon wet, straight out of the jar, and stuffing it inside without letting them drip dry first.

Finally, if they're gonna charge extra for the boba in the drinks, they should make an effort not to serve overcooked pearls that have fused into a solid mass that clog up their straws. That's a terrible disappointment on a hot summer day. And it would be nice if they offered varying levels of sweetness. My drink was unbearably cloying, but at least they've got some free ice water in the corner to bring that down to a reasonable level after a few sips.

I implore Le Banh Mi to pay heed to these details because they are what makes the difference between an mid restaurant and a great one. I really want this place to succeed, but they...

Picked up dinner on our way home. Greeted as we entered. The lady at the register was very kind. My husband and I ordered 2 sandwiches (#1 Saigon Special & #2 Grilled bbq pork) and chow mein all to go. They were quick to make our order. Portions were large. The chow mein was delicious it had so much flavor though my husband said he saw it was frozen... not sure how they made it but it tasted pretty good. I also enjoyed my bbq pork though I felt there was a bit too much mayo and the meat was alittle salty for my taste. But I thought the sandwich was huge and great for the price compared to competitors. The bread was hard but since we took it home we threw it in the toaster oven and it wasn't too bad after. My husband thought his sandwich was just okay. The restaurant was really warm idk if it was just really hot or their ac wasn't working but they did have a huge fan on so that helped cooled us down from the triple digit weather. They have self serve silverware and complimentary water cups. I would definitely come back to try the other sandwiches and...