Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli
Vietnamese restaurant · Little Italy ·
Cash-only banh mi counter with generous fillings
Cash-only banh mi counter with generous fillings
"When I first moved to New York, I would often grab a bánh mi at Saigon on my lunch breaks in SoHo, and it’s a place forever enmeshed with early memories of finding my feet as a New Yorker. The main draw for me back then was that it was cheap—even now, it’s only around 10 bucks for a sandwich (not bad for current NYC standards)—but turns out I had also unwittingly stumbled across some of the best bánh mi in the city. Step inside its unassuming storefront and pick up the Paté Supreme, featuring layers of pork liver paté, Vietnamese ham, and Vietnamese salami, with all the trimmings—best eaten, as I like to do, in the sunshine in the recently-saved Elizabeth Street Garden a short walk away." - Kat Chen
"Best banh mi in Nolita! Under $5 for a sandwich, this delicious should be a crime. The baguette is soft in the inside, crunchy on the outside but not sharp enough to scrape the roof of your mouth like most places we've visited. The sandwich is loaded with flavorful pork, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and shredded pickled radish and is always very fresh. Go with the #1 House special!" - Barrel
"Bánh Vietnamese Shop House’s Upper West Side snack shop spin-off Ăn Tẹt Ga is offering a meal special for Tết. The family meal box includes all sorts of dishes and sides. These include bánh chưng (a savory rice cake with pork belly), chả giò (fried egg rolls), thịt kho (braised pork and eggs), xôi gấc (red sticky rice), various hams, and much more. It’s available for $199 with enough portions for two to three people. It’s also selling jars of its house chile sauce for $9.95. Orders can be placed online for pickups on Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26." - Nadia Chaudhury
"Owned and operated by Sam Yip, this cluttered deli with boxes stacked inside and a couple of tables out front does no bells-and-whistles banh mi extremely well: the sandwiches are simple, the house pickled veggies are more assertive than usual and piled on generously, and the place opens at 7 a.m., which makes it perfect for breakfast. I hit it around 9 a.m. and found the sardine banh mi ($10) to be the best breakfast choice — salty and briny with a kick, every bit as satisfying as a BEC on a roll and easily shareable — and there’s sweet, thick Vietnamese coffee to go with it. On a later visit I grabbed the house special of grilled pork, head cheese, and steamed pork roll and liked it every bit as much as the sardine sandwich; the banh mi here proved damn near spectacular." - Robert Sietsema
"Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli, Little Italy Nolita by Barrel. Best banh mi in Nolita! Under $5 for a sandwich, this delicious should be a crime. The baguette is soft in the inside, crunchy on the outside but not sharp enough to scrape the roof of your mouth like most places we've visited. The sandwich is loaded with flavorful pork, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and shredded pickled radish and is always very fresh. Go with the #1 House special!"