Banh's Cuisine — Restaurant in Durham

Beyond wonderful. A Durham institution. Everyone who passes through the city should eat here at least twice– once, to get the sesame chicken and once to try some of their Vietnamese specials (served on Wednesdays and Saturdays).

The sesame chicken is so good. By so good, I mean a religious experience. They also do sesame tofu, if you're vegetarian. The sesame chicken is shatteringly crispy, super juicy, and flavored wonderfully. They don't list sesame chicken on the menu on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but if you ask, they'll make it (as long as they aren't too busy). It comes with carrots and broccoli stir-fried in the same sauce as the chicken and they're always cooked to perfection– tender with a crisp bite. The chicken itself is always large chunks of high quality chicken. The portions are generous as well– I always have left over sesame chicken. When I'm too lazy to transfer it to another container and microwave it, I'll eat it straight out of the fridge and it's still perfect and crispy.

If you have to order only one Vietnamese item, I'd recommend the banh mi (only on Saturdays) or the hu tieu. Their noodle soups use the same broth, which is the type to cool to a jelly when you refrigerate the leftovers. Naturally, the gel texture indicates a wonderful, heartwarming broth. Of course, the hu tieu reheats wonderfully. It comes with ample toppings, like duck, ground pork, shrimp, caramelized onions (a wonderful touch), celery, scallions, and peanuts. Don't expect the meats to be the most succulent, tender, and high quality pieces, though I don't mind it at all. Even though it's a steaming bowl of noodle soup, it's perfect for all weather. There must be some sort of argument to make with fighting hot weather with hot foods, right?

The banh mi is vegetarian and always served overflowing with tofu and eggplant. Be warned that they sell out by lunch! I understand that some people have an aversion to eggplant, but depending on what culture you're from, you probably haven't tried eggplant like this! The only downside is that they're hard to eat from being so generously stuffed. The includes shredded pickled carrots and sprigs of cilantro. The bread is perfect.

The line does get pretty long when groups come in and all order sesame chicken, but the food comes out quickly. I think they only have three or four workers, but they're all very nice.

100%...

I have lived in Durham for 6 years and I cannot believe that I hadn’t been to Banh’s until this week. We decided to try it after seeing good reviews. Trust those reviews because I regret not trying it before. We got greeted by a sweet lady who took our orders and brought us our drinks. She was very nice and the service was 10/10! The food prep was quick because it wasn’t crowded but many people came to get takeout in the meantime. I got sweet and sour soup and Kung Pao chicken with white rice, it was out of this world!! My husband got the sesame chicken, it was delicious. Btw, all this food cost under $25. She also didn’t let us put the tip in our credit card swipe, so we tipped in cash - so I recommend carrying cash for tipping here. Please go try it, I am sure you won’t be...

I have been eating at Banh's for over a decade. In all that time, the 100+ of times I've surely been there, the food is always made to order fresh, delicious and consistent.

I haven't been out much during the pandemic (only gotten takeout a very few times), and yesterday after not having been to Banh's in months we picked up some take out. The food tasted exactly as I remembered.

The staff, which I'm pretty certain are mostly family members that own the place, are always friendly and just awesome. I love Banh's and I love them too. I am happy to know they are still open, and I hope they are able to continue to remain that way. These are good people sharing wonderful food.

Dont take my word for it. Try it for yourself. Order off the handwritten menu, and everything will...