Lu's Sandwiches — Restaurant in Minneapolis

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, (between 6:30pm and 7:00pm) I went to have a meal at the Lu's Sandwich Shop on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. I absolutely will not be going there again.

I ordered a noodle salad. I wanted the pork, but was told bluntly there was no pork. So, I settled for the beef. When the salad was ready, everything about it was terrible. The beef was dry, overcooked, poorly seasoned, and with there were quite a few pieces with large chunks of inedible gristle. My noodles were warm, but the beef and everything else was cold—which is pretty much the opposite of what I expect when I order Bún Thịt. Despite what Lu's menu suggests, my salad did NOT include peanuts, cilantro, mint, or green onions.

When ordering I was asked which sauce I wanted. When I asked what the options were (as they are not listed on the menu) the distracted server mumbled the options too quickly and quietly to be understood. When I asked her to repeat the options, she was visibly annoyed and impatient, but then she did not speak any louder or slower the second time around, so I just took a guess and asked for fish sauce.

It wasn't until after my order was rung up that I was told the accompanying egg roll would not be ready for three minutes—so I asked if she would bring it out, and she said she would. When the egg roll was ready TEN minutes later, she almost inaudibly called for me to come to the counter and get it. I went to get it, brought it to my table, and then realized I had to go back up and ask for dipping sauce.

Finally, I had ordered a fountain soda with my meal. But, there was no ice in the ice dispenser, so I had a cup of lukewarm root beer with no ice.

I made two attempts to contact the shop via the email form on the web page. I received no response to either message. Overall, I do not know how I could have a worse experience with a restaurant. I guess I should be thankful I didn’t get food poisoning. It was a universally miserable experience.

I implore you to stay away from Lu’s...

I’ve been here too many times to count over the past 2 years and the score reflected is a knock on the management team – or lack of one. The staff behind the counter from my experience, are always very friendly and polite. It seems like I get more confused the more time I come here. I was there on 10/21/18 at 1pm to order a cold-cut because I’ve been craving a good traditional bahn-mi for the past month – and I figured since I was bored on a lazy Sunday, I might as well make the 20 minute commute as I live near Lowertown. Upon arrival, the gentleman said they no longer sell the cold-cut at this particular location. Super confused because it was listed right there on the menu; so I asked him to repeat what he just said – what kind of bahn-mi shop doesn’t offer a traditional cold-cut ? I don’t like the fancy stuff such as the grilled pork bahn-mi because it tastes way too fatty/oily. That’s like going to a burger joint and not being able to get a good old plain hamburger. If they did discontinue an item, then they simply need to remove that item from the menu so people aren’t wasting their time trying to decide which item to get.

I mentioned lack of management because the numerous times I’ve frequented the place during Summer-2018, the beer tap was broken – I prefer going here over the original Nicollet location because I want to be able to drink a refreshing beer with my bahn-mi on a hot summer day - something the Nicollet location doesn't offer. And the ice feature in the soda machine on 10/21 was also broken – so you can’t even get a cold beverage. No excuse why they can’t seem to figure out how to repair a beer tap for such a long duration – so I have to assume there’s no management team that’s able to take care of issues, they simply don’t care, or the sign touting the $2.50 beer “with order of a sandwich” is simply a bait switch to...

Really terrible. My partner and I went in for the first time today and it was not a good experience. After ordering two sandwiches and specifically choosing extra mayonnaise, we sat and started to eat. There was no mayonnaise on my sandwich, let alone extra. Not a big deal to me, so I politely walked to the counter and asked for an extra side of mayo. The woman behind the counter said no, and by the anxious look on her face, it seemed like she knew that it was very strange to say no. She pointed me toward the cook behind her who anxiously shrugged his shoulders and also said "No, I'm sorry", then pointed toward the back room and walked away. A moment later he returned with who I am assuming was the manger or the owner. With no introduction, or hello, she rudely said "What do you want". Confused, I politely explained I was looking for an extra side of mayo, as there was none on my sandwich. She said "No, if you want extra mayo, it has to go directly on your sandwich and we will NOT give out a side of mayo.

*Remember that my sandwich is already on my table and I have already taken a bite, so it is not possible to send the food back half eaten, over the counter. This means that the sandwich I ordered with mayo, and actually paid for extra mayo, she is telling me I have no choice but to accept - they refuse to fix it.

I half expected her to start laughing as it seemed like a joke, but finally asked if she was serious - that I was not allowed to have the extra mayo that I had ordered. She said yes. I told her that seemed crazy, and if that was the case that we would not be returning.

THEN. She shrugged her shoulders, smiled....... and said "Good"

We were so baffled and mortified that we took both of our sandwiches, brought them back to the counter, told them they could keep their food and walked out.

Would...