Roostar — Restaurant in Houston

I bragged about this place all the time!!! I would take my friends and family. I would do a lot of take out orders!!! I stopped in for take out one evening since I was too tired to cook. I got home was eating then all of a sudden excruciating pain in my throat behind my tonsils and in my palate area of my mouth with bleeding!!! Very, very painful after several attempts and help from a friend I was able to dislodge what was a bristle brush stuck in my throat. I am glad I have worked in the dental field for 29 years so I knew how to help keep my airway open without closing and panicking to lodge it deeper. But I was close to calling 911 especially if my friend wasn’t there to help me struggle to remove it. The bristle cut my palate and tonsil before lodging in my throat. I knew what it was once I got it out my throat. I can’t explain how horrible and scary. Just by some of the tragic stories I have heard about wire brushes in the past which lead to a lot cities outlawing the use of wire brushes in restaurants (Photos Below)

I called the restaurant and told them what happened and the young lady told me someone would call me the prior morning. She stated the manager would call. But an hour later another lady called and took my information and details on what happened and apologized. The staff was kind to me as always. I was kind because it’s my demeanor. I was really calling because I wanted to make sure other people were protected from the same incident because they might not be as lucky as me.

The lady offered a refund and a $25 gift card. She asked me to text my mailing address so she could mail the card. It’s was very nice of the company. I wasn’t worried about it because I was just try to protect other customers by reporting what happened. I could deal with the pain and soreness for a week or so. I was focusing on salt water rinses etc. I forgot to text my address. The next day I received a text from the lady asking for my address again. I shared the address. Nevertheless, I NEVER received the gift card…………….but I did get my refund...

If you're looking for one of the top banh mi sandwiches in Houston for under $6, this is your best bet. Owners, Ronnie and Linda Nguyen, started their brand (initially Vietnam Poblano before it was Roostar) in 2013, and this is their 2nd location!

Roostar has been recognized many times since 2013. It was featured on Yelp's Top 100 List in 2015, was voted Best Banh Mi shop by the Houston Press in 2016, got a recent mention in My Table as one of the best banh mi restaurants, and was back-to-back People's Choice winners at the 2015 and 2016 Great Bánh Mì cookoffs!

Their new location in the Galleria is very clean and spacious. It has a lot more parking compared to their Gessner location. There is also a lot more seating indoors, and they even have patio seating outside. One big change at this location is that it has decided to go with Stubborn Soda over Coca-Cola products. This is because you can apparently mix this type of soda with the beer they are serving (if you're into that). I usually don't like people messing with my beloved Coke, but I tried the Agave Vanilla Cream Soda, and it was amazing!

We met with Linda, the owner, when we got there. She was very helpful and gave us some background information of their new location. She even gave us free cups to try out their new Stubborn Sodas. On top of that, she included an order of Taro Chips and Ranch Dip (a $4 value) on the house just so we can sample more things on the menu. They were definitely tasty.

I always order their grilled chicken banh mi sandwich for $4.69. This comes with garlic aioli, pickled carrots, cilantro, jalapeños, cucumbers, and soy sauce. I like to throw on an avocado ($1.50) and an egg ($1.29) for an additional fee as well. I only come here for their sandwiches, but they also have rice boxes, soup, chicken wings, egg and spring rolls if you're interested. Go check them out! You won't be...

Really nice people and great food. My wife got the grilled pork box which was very tasty and tender, it came with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, green onions, cilantro and fried onions and a pork eggroll. She also enjoyed a small and tasty bowl of beef alphabet soup. She got some housemade ranch dressing which made everything taste even better. I thoroughly enjoyed and destroyed a half banh combo, the chopped ribeye came with jalapenos, cucumbers, pickled carrots, cilantro, soy sauce and garlic aoli....I'm getting bad about forgetting to get a fried egg added but it was stellar even with the omission (on my part). Anytime I try a new place I have to get a Vietnamese iced coffee, their's was 5 stars. We''ll be back.

Our second visit was as great as our first. My wife enjoyed the grilled pork salad with fish sauce, the grilled pork, the salad and the fish sauce was amazing. This meal came with a fried eggroll...yum. She remembered how much she loved their alphabet soup so she ordered a couple 16 ounce bowls of it to go and some fried eggrolls...we had that for dinner and we were very happy. My lunch meal was even better than hers, I devoured a half banh mi combo, the banh mi was beef and it was tasty and tender, the side I got was the beef curry, more yum.....I think i'll get this again on my next visit!

We had some goodies delivered and they were amazing. My wife enjoyed her grilled chicken box and a fried eggroll. We got some massive and tasty curled french fries for our granddaughter...she loved them. I thoroughly enjoyed a chopped ribeye Banh Mi with a fried egg and a dash of sriracha sauce, the fried egg was amazing, fried over medium with yolk running all over the other goodies. Their banh mi beef is far superior to most other contenders, tender with over the top flavor....we'll be back in person soon. We ordered over 30 dollars so we got a free blonde...