Banh Meee — Restaurant in Hartford

So good. I ordered the Pho Bo and it was delectable. The beef was so tender, the cilantro and bean sprouts were so fresh. And the broth itself was weirdly refreshing. It was 80 degrees outside and all I wanted was more hot broth. The inside is adorable. You can see right into the kitchen, which is cool. It has the kind of vibe that you'd want to sit there and chill, chat with friends, and slurp some soup. Also, it was so cheap. My huge bowl of pho was $10 - a very reasonable lunch or dinner.

Another huge plus for me, and another reason I'm absolutely going to be back here again: I have an allergy to nuts and sesame seeds, and ordering food from a new restaurant can be a bit touch and go. I called before placing my order online, and owner, Dung, answered the phone. It was so, so comforting to be able to speak with the owner of the restaurant who knows exactly what's going into the food they're about to prepare for you; I ordered and ate with confidence, and when you've been to the hospital a couple of times, that experience is priceless. If you have an allergy, you have set of restaurants in your pocket that you know are both safe and delicious. Banh Meee just made it into mine. Seriously, check...

Amazing food Great people LOVE LOVE LOVE their habanera garlic chili crisp I add it to almost everything on the menu and bought the jars home to add to my own dishes as well. Great to cook with, add to dipping sauces (especially bbq sauce ) and just directly on dishes themselves. They have vegetarian options too!

What I usually would order: •Pho noodles or mi noodles (same broth) with pulled beef, mushroooms, pork fat, all veggies, Thai chili & habanera chili crisp •spicy garlic noodles with dumplings & mushrooms with habanera chili crisp (or I opt for steak & mushrooms) •bun bo hue(spicy beef noodles) with cha ga chien- you can ask them to not fry cha ga or have it fried depending on my mood, pulled beef, thai chili & habanera chili crisp •dumplings with infused habanera sauce •pork eggrolls •crab eggrolls •Chicken tenders with bbq habanera sauce with seasoned fries •Banh mi cha ga chien with Thai chili •Banh mi salmon with Thai chili •mango, taro or honeydew milk tea with boba •raspberry hibiscus lime made •regular limeade •Vietnamese iced coffee with boba & coffee...

Had Pho with flank steak. First visit, and it was unusual to walk in and just order on the tablet on the wall and pay but it was nice to be able to just get up and walk out when finished without having to wait for a check.

Pho is usually served with thinly sliced meat that's raw and then cooked in the hot broth. The flank steak served here was cubed and and seared which isn't traditional.

Additionally, the accoutrements are normally served on the side to allow for individual tastes. While you can select to have items omitted, what ever items you do want is put into the Pho in the kitchen and then brought out. There is no varying of those items. (Also, no jalapeños)

Finally, the atmosphere is not great. There are holes in the ground, weird raised area that doesn't seem to be set up for anything, no color on the walls, a random handwashing station in the middle of the dinning area and feels univiting.

If the restaurant can fix those issues then it would be a great Vietnamese spot. Until then, I'll probably check out other places to eat...