Jacques I.
Yelp
Lan Hue Sandwich & Bakery is my favorite banh mi place in Seattle. Once you've had a banh mi from here everything else around town can't compare.
I'll be honest with you. I'm not a huge banh mi fan because for the longest time, I haven't tried one that blew me away. I like baguettes and I like pate, but everything else in the sandwich just seemed to fall short. But at Lan Hue, I'm glad I gave it a visit, proving why banh mis are so dearly loved.
The place was super quiet on a weekday for lunch. Located off of the main International District centre and Little Saigon area, it's a shop within a business plaza, but they do have their own entrance from the street off of Jackson, which is how I found Lan Hue.
The menu features a lot of different banh mis, and it's cool how they categorize the sandwiches, from classics to Vietnam favorites, French favorites, etc... You also see all of the sandwich toppings and ingredients right in front of you on the counter, where you can watch the employee make your banh mi. I asked the employee for recommendations and she suggested getting the roasted pork banh mi, which is what I did. I also ordered a banh bao, which they sell in packages to-go or individually, in addition to other baked items.
There was only me and one other person getting food, so it didn't take long to get my order. The roasted pork banh mi was awesome! Pork was succulent, had crispy edges from the roasted cook, and was tender and juicy from the fat. I highly recommend getting the roasted pork! The baguette was slightly toasted, and easy to bite into with every bite, as it was soft. Pickled veggies and cilantro were fresh and ya gotta have pate! The banh bao was A-OK. Since I ordered my food for dining in, I was surprised that the employee had heated the banh bao in a plastic container with the lid sealed on in the microwave. If I had known it was to be heated like that I wouldn't have ordered it. From what it tasted like though afterwards, it wasn't bad. The portion of the meat was solid, but the salted egg yolk tasted dry. Stick to the banh mis.
For a banh mi in Seattle, Lan Hue is where it's at. There's a lot to choose from and will cost you less than five bucks. I can get down with that.