Sandwich Pho Reel — Restaurant in Houston

"I may not be perfect, but I am Phở Reel"

NEW RESTAURANT ALERT Sandwich Phở Reel (9550 Kempwood Dr)

Hey duders! Another new place opened today that I have been DYING waiting for. It's Sandwich Phở Reel and it's in the old Tai Kee place on Kempwood near Campbell.

They really did a fantastic job renovating the inside. Opened up and modernized the space. It's a soft opening so the menu is super limited. Just Phở, Bahn Mis, Bun Bo Hue, Rice Plates and Vermicelli bowls.

We started off with Coconut Water, Salted Vietnamese Iced Coffee and grilled pork Summer Rolls. Drinks were great and the Summer Rolls were fresh and STUFFED with pork and a ton of fresh veggies. Great.

For our mains we got the Special Phở (with Meatballs, Tendon, Fatty Brisket, Lean Brisket, Moist Brisket, and Rib Eye. How was the Broth? Fan-f'n-tastic. Soooooo rich and unctious and it just coats your mouth with umami goodness like something out of the best romance novel. Wow. Of course I'm gonna go back and make sure it's that way every time, but SB - we may have a new contender for my favorite Phở.

We also ordered the Cheesesteak Bahn Mi. Straight up, y'all - you guys know how I feel about Cheesesteaks and you know how I feel about Bahn Mis. I swear I got light headed and swooned when I saw a Cheesesteak Bahn Mi on the menu. Even telling y'all about it is making me giddy, but, alas, they weren't ready to serve those when we came in. And I grant them all the grace in the world. They had only been soft opened for about 10 minutes when I got there.

I also got to meet the owners, Ruby and Tina. Total sweethearts, you guys. You just must go tell them I said Hi! I asked if the name was "Reel" because they were gonna be seafood forward. They'll said yes, but the seafood will be rolled out later. Right now they just needed to get open and up and running with a limited menu for awhile. I suggested it might also mean "movies" and they could show old pre-war black & white Vietnamese films on one of the walls. That would be pretty badass I think.

They wanted me to let tall know they are giving a 30% discount for the main entrees of people that come see them today.

They told me they weren't sure how to let the neighborhood know they were here. I promised them I would do my best to spread the word. So swing by soon or at least give them a follow on IG: @sandwichphoreel to find out about their specials and when their full menu roll out...

Nut allergy warning: Some of the dry dishes have nuts, as well as the spring roll sauce.

Parking: Pretty difficult at first glance. Some spots up front, some on the side. But there is a gravel lot in the back that has plenty of space.

Look on the shelf, see the Cafe du Monde coffee box. Nuoc mam on every table. Hell yeah, I'm home.

Time-to-Food: ~7 minutes

Plenty of space inside and we self-seated for a party of 3 with no issues on a Friday afternoon.

I ordered the "dirty matcha latte", which was a matcha latte with coffee milk infused. I asked to customize the sweetness and go with as light as they could, but I have no idea if they did anything different. It was a little sweet for me, but I still really enjoyed it (normally I really don't like sweet drinks). (5/5)

I sampled my table's salted lemonade and it was also delicious and not too sweet either (5/5).

They brought out standard accompaniments for pho and bun bo hue separately, which we appreciated (bun bo hue got cabbage for example; and I think the pho came with culantro which is pretty rare!).

The pho was definitely one of the best I've had in the area (5/5). I could've appreciated a little more protein, but I thought the portions were extremely reasonable for the price. The broth was rich and flavorful. Would compete with any of the shops on Bellaire easily.

The bun bo hue was a bit weaker. While it came with sate on the side to customize spice levels, it felt a little watery and there wasn't the complexity of flavor that I'm used to with a long infusion of lemongrass and spice. I think it's a very accessible bun bo hue for people that are new to the dish, so I appreciate their balance here. The noodles were perfectly cooked. (4/5)

The owner, Tina, came by and said hello - delighted to see her being active and involved!

Overall, totally deserves a visit and I'm delighted to see a great Vietnamese spot...

Updated review 7/25/2025: Finally got a chance to dine in:

Food: -Spring rolls: jam packed, did not skimp on filling. Dipping sauce was very good. -Chicken wings - got the fish sauce. Super hot and fresh, light crispy batter. -Cheesesteak banh mi: skeptical of the concept when ordering, but was pleasantly surprised. Bread was good, appropriate amount of veggies, and the meat was very tender. I was told they use ribeye. -Pho: The main event. Broth is spot on, no need to add any hoison (which to me is like doctoring a crappy steak with A1). Good amount of noodles, ample serving of meats, and served hot. No skimping on bean sprouts and herbs.

Drinks: Vietnamese coffee: 💪💪💪💪

Service: very friendly staff, level of attention was just right. Vibe: Clean interior, nice background music

Will return to try more dishes. Come out and support this local business!

7/20/2025 Didn't have have a chance to dine in today but we did place an order for food to go.

Pho: excellent. Tasty broth, fresh ingredients. Bun bo hue: Same as above. Very flavorful Cafe sua da: probably going to keep me up tonight.

Service was friendly. Hope to be back soon for...