Banh Mi Up — Restaurant in Portland

Three times a week, this WAS my go to lunch or dinner. I work in the neighborhood. I’ve been raving about them to a friend of mine who lives out of town. My sister and I eat there every Sunday when I get off aside from the many weekly trips I make. I was so excited to introduce my friend to my (at the time) favorite restaurant. The ladies working the counter have always been kind, until today. The food has always been great, until today. Perhaps today was just an off day. But for the price we paid, kindness should have been OVERFLOWING. It wasn’t and I am disappointed with a belly ache. The noodles were extra salty. My friend got a plum soda, which tasted like glue. She asked if she could have something else instead and they said, “sure” but then proceeded to talk bad about her to each other and then say to my friend they were going to ring her up for the new drink. Their food doesn’t come with a satisfaction guarantee? What did they put in her drink? They stated that “the plum soda isn’t for everyone.” Who is it for? At $5.50 for a SODA it should be for everyone. I tried their smoothie before but there was little milk and mostly water and ice. It was not fun to eat and had no flavor. At that time, I didn’t complain or say anything to them. They have an attitude that is really unprofessional, money-hungry, and down right rude. Which is a bummer because I was so happy to support a woman-owned business. I always look for local business and restaurants to support. Especially during these hard times. These ladies do not deserve my continued support and hard earned money. They have lost three great customers. Just be aware that they are inconsistent with their food quality and their attitudes. my friend did get a refund. Thank you. Sorry it took me writing this...

Despite recent negative reviews on customer service, I ignored them as I’d wanted to try here for so long. When I called, the guy was friendly over the phone saying we could stay and eat while they clean up. However…👎🏽 outdoor seating only. 👎🏽I asked at 7:30pm to turn on the heat lamp/bonfire outside as it was 55F, November in PNW, and my date had a shirt and shorts on (assuming we would eat inside). He said “no because they’re closing down at 8pm” WTH!? You literally push the red button and it shuts off. It takes a second but let your customers freeze for 30 minutes!? 👎🏽I specifically confirmed the Pho would come w a Chinese donut as my entire reason for ordering it since it’s unique. They confirmed yes, I paid, then brought out the Pho saying they’d run out. So I asked for an IOU and she said “come back a different and they’ll give you one.” I again asked to write a note bc whose gonna believe me? So then out of nowhere they “found a Chinese donut in the back”. From where? That sounds shady. They searched high and low for one after having ran out? 👎🏽 The vegan pork belly Bahn Mi was completely whack. I’m sorry, but it appeared to be dried bread inside of the baguette. In the photos, there was reddish “pork”. We didn’t get the reddish pork in the photo- did they run out of that too and hope we wouldn’t notice? We got a baguette with crispy, crunchy, hard, fried bread inside the baguette. Meat or fake meat is never crunchy! I couldn’t even finish it and sadly, the best part of that dish was the teriyaki sauce it came with. And a baguette cost 25¢…$13 for Bahn Mi is going too far. They missed the mark in taste but worse was letting your customers...

I wanted to try this place because it is close and looked interesting. I read the reviews and after trying it I am shocked that so many people gave such positive reviews. I think most people just want to be nice or something. I had two dishes, the chicken wings (house) and the vermicelli with pork. For the price and lack of service, sauces and mediocre presentation I was horrified to pay over $28 plus tip. The food was awful, I mean I had to spit out at least one third of the pork. The flavor without the side of watered down fish sauce was hideous. The pork tasted and smelled old like it was nearly off. The vermicelli was too large and the overall dish was terrible. The chicken wings (6 pieces for $13) were awful as well. They were very salty but had no real flavor. The meat smelled stale and they came out lukewarm and not crispy. Also, after waiting for 20 minutes or so I finally walked inside to see if I was supposed to pick my food up myself. I saw the two women talking, both standing right over my food sitting on the counter. They acted surprised when I opened the door and said. “Oh, we were just going to bring it out to you.” So for $33.60 with tip I barely ate half of the food and walked away after clearing my own table feeling like I paid venue prices and should be returning to my seat for some kind of event. Needless to say I will NEVER be back and will let everyone I know that this place is a no go. Completely underwhelming and another sad addition to the many mediocre or worse food options available in the Kenton/saint Johns area. I still can’t believe I paid so much for such horrible...