Nón Lá — Restaurant in Federal Way

I work as a volunteer to an organization called Helping Link. We recently had an open house event with local politicians and other local state dignitaries alongside the local Pierce and King County Vietnamese-American community attending. My task was food service and setup for the reception as well as decorating. I am a huge supporter of small local businesses, especially Vietnamese owned and operated. So, being a Vietnamese-American myself, and living in the Federal Way area, I sought out Nón Lá to seek their support and donation of their delicious bánh mì for our event so that I can also promote their business with others. Not only did they graciously agreed to support me and the organization but they did it in such a short suspense timeline. I asked for 50 bánh mình (cut in half), two different kinds (BBQ Pork, BBQ Chicken), and it was late Wednesday evening before they closed when I was able to stop in to ask. Additionally, I needed it by early Saturday morning for the open house at 2 PM Saturday. 50 is a lot to request on short notice when they are busy running a business and serving the regular customers but they were amazing and came through for me and my organization. Everything at open house was a success, everyone loved their bánh mì and it was the first dish to have ran out! I was so happy and proud! Even my volunteer director commented that the bánh mì was really delicious! I definitely and highly recommend going to Hi Bánh Mì! They are a small shop, but they have a big heart, and even greater smiles, with the kindest service. Most of all, really delicious tasting Bánh Mì and other very tasty options besides bánh mì too. Thank you so much for being a wonderful place for me to go to and share it with others at Helping Link and those involved with our volunteer...

I was looking forward to this place as I found them on Instagram and I liked their story of how they came to be. I have visited this location throughout the first banh mi and bubble tea location and to the current Non La and it's always been just okay.

However, I have to admit that I won't be visiting much as the banh mis were just the saddest that I have seen so far of the several businesses. We got the chicken teriyaki banh mi and combimation banh mi. There was no flavor for their chicken teriyaki and I feel like there was barely any pate? They barely have any vegetables in the banh mi (see images) and arrangement of it was just sad. It took several minutes to get our banh mi but I am not docking off stars for that as I understand we stopped by during their soft opening. But I assure you that in Federal Way, Tacoma, and Auburn where there are amazing banh mi locations, Non La has to set up their banh mi game. We haven't tried their drinks either cause it looked really expensive when other bubble tea, tea, or coffee places charge less. It seems some other reviews, people complain about the drinks too so probably a good thing we didn't get them.

The main reason for the low rating is that they don't have an ambiance at all. They have a beautiful story but the place lacks soul or personality, as the only thing that really pops out is their adorable mural. There is no music playing either. The service was also lacking as we were acknowledged but there was again no hospitality or urgency. The person who gave us a smile was the male employee who was making our banh mis who did thank us for the wait.

I wish them luck and hope they make some changes as it would be nice to see them thrive but at the moment it seems they are still working out how they want to run...

1st- Delicious banh mi sandwiches! The ingredients for such a simple sandwich need to be fresh to stand out and this place, Hello Banh Mi, understands that & they have foot long sandwiches! (Also options) Pork belly is always my go-to and I'm telling you, it's good enough to write a review for. 2nd- the spring rolls were so big and tasty that my brother and I individually questioned/inspired ourselves to learn how to make ourselves spring rolls in order to eat them everyday. Those spring rolls brought us to a better way to live. Lol If you like dark meat- I tasted something dark/fatty and it was subtly the best thing I've eaten recently. Such great food and experience. 3rd- I fell in love with the interior decorating and thoughtfulness of aesthetics meets problem solving as soon as I walked in! They love wood detailing, interesting and skilled DIY, natural light, plants/flowers and I actually really liked the music too, plus they had a pretty strong AC/air circulation system- a bonus. I wish I could have sat for a coffee or tea but was pressed to eat on the go.

3 reasons why I'll pop in every time I'm in...