Alpha Bakery & Deli

Picked up two Banh mi to go. One was filled with the cold cuts and the other was the BBQ meat. Bread is fresh and great. They lightly toast it for you. They also ask if you want the veggies separated so the bread doesn't get soggy - this was such a great idea! So we assembled the sandwich when we got home. The portion size was great as well. You can't complain about the price. It's cash only. The bbq pork looks great but it wasn't. Unfortunately a lot of chunks of fat that you can't even chew and have to spit it out. I was originally skeptical about it being fully cooked too (the color just didn't seem right but to then realize it was a bunch of fat) so I baked it and the color was the same. Apologies for being skeptical. You can't really go wrong with the cold cuts. Is it anything special though? Eh. You definitely get more than you pay for in terms of value. Why? For the price you paid, you get fresh bread with protein and a full belly. Travel a bit north and you get this quality for double the price with less stuffing. I wouldn't go for the BBQ pork or maybe ask them to chop it into smaller pieces? When you take a bite, the entire piece of pork follows and you are left with minimal meat for your next few bites unless you pull it apart with your teeth and fingers - this is what I did to make sure I had meat in every bite vs my partner just had bread bites haha. But then we realized it's the parts with a lot of fat that does this. I guess that's why people pay more for marbled meat? They also put a lot of mayo so you might want to tell them to put less. He puts mayo on majority of his dishes and likes mayo yet complained about the abundance of mayo so I guess that's considered too much? Overall, above average for the bread, a tad below average for the BBQ pork and dead on average for the cold cuts.

$5 BAMH MI DAC BIET. That's it. That's the review.Honestly, I think the price alone makes this place worthy of 5 stars but the banh mi was actually very good. I've paid double or triple the price for inferior sandwiches. The baguette had a good crunch. They use liver pate and all the classic meats. The vegetables had a good crunch and really complemented the salty and savory flavors of the meats. If I lived in the area I'd come back all the time.Cash only.

Good and fast for a quick banh mi bite! I think they are cash only. I love the filling ratio to bread.. They are generous with the meats. $5 bucks a sandwich is a great price. They have banh bao, banh pate chaud as well as other Vietnamese snack foods. This place has been around a long time.

My foodie friend asked to try Alpha Bakery because she heard it was the "best banh mi" in town. Holy cow. Everything was wrong at this place. I wonder how old the rating was from. First, the presentation. The seating area was a bunch of tables with usual condiments at few tables. Then, there were kids' homework and unfinished drink cups on few tables. Is this a place of business or someone's living room?Second, jalapeño and cucumber slices were placed close to the opening of sandwich. When I open the package, they fell out. It's ok to have seeds on jalapeño for extra kick. Because of the presentation, it made this sandwich as low class banh mi, very challenging to eat. These should be toward the inner part of sandwich fold. The price of sandwich $5 is normal. The crust was lightly toasted. So it was not hard. But the spring rolls goi cun had a hard end due to sitting there too long. The chairs were sticky and there was a man (doesn't look like a customer) siting with bare feet kicked on the other chair reading something at a nearby table. Ok ok. I don't need to see anymore disgusting things at this place. Bye.

Their banh bot lot was all raw when I opened it up. I decided to go back inside to tell them it was raw and the lady and the guy kept saying it was cooked when it wasn't. She took it back in fhkitchen to reheat it up but after I open it up it was still really raw inside. They didn't want to give me a new tray or refund me when I only ate half of one and I even showed them proof of the two that I opened up. I would never come back here. WORSE EXPERIENCE EVER! DO NOT BUY FROM THEM.

Banh mi for $5. Cash only. They make the sandwiches in front of you. I recommend #1 the cold cuts. I also tried #2 BBQ pork, but it wasn't that good. It was a peppery flavor. This banh mi place is inside the Hong Kong Market, so it's a bit of a walk from the entrance.

I ordered the #1 combination and it was delicious. The bread was crunchy and the inside was stacked with meat and veggies. Just wished that there was a bit more pate. The lady also added soy sauce to the sandwich which added extra flavor. Highly recommend this place.

Located inside Hong Kong City Mall in Little Saigon area of Houston. Plenty of parking as this mall services several other restaurants and a grocery store. Most people visit for their banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich), and this place has been a long time favorite of mine. You can't go wrong with the meatball or the bbq pork (char siu). Do note it is cash only and they've hiked up their prices quite a bit. Before the pandemic they were only $3 each, but now $5 each. I understand everything is more expensive now, but this price is no longer competitive.

We came here on a weeknight an hour prior to closing. I was excited because my sis in law kept raving about this place having the best banh mi sandwiches at an affordable price. We perused their menu and got their combination and bbq pork banh mis. We also tried their fried tofu. As many others have mentioned, it's still a cash only spot. Both banh mis were delicious. The bread was crispy on the outside and chewy inside. I loved the pate and veggies in the combination banh mi. The bbq pork sandwich was more flavorful, though. The veggies went well in this sandwich with the smoky, marinated bbq pork. I would still order either sandwich. Both were delicious. Next time, I'll have to remember to add a fried egg to my sandwich. Now, the fried tofu was just alright. I've had much better fried tofu from viet hoa (their lemongrass tofu is amazing there). Overall, I'd come back for my banh mi fix. Just gotta remember to bring cash, since I don't carry that around anymore. They have other little snacks that I want to try out as well.

The nostalgia that people have about Alpha Bakery are usually folks who either grew up in Alief or Houstonians who frequented Hong Kong Mall and fell in love with their banh mi. It pains me to write this but given my less than stellar experiences as of late, I believe their heydey is over. In many ways, Alpha reminds me so much of businesses I'd frequent back in NYC. It's dodgy, family owned, cash only, and has the blessing of the local community. It's also dingy, somewhat unorganized, and even a little cluttered (#1), which are all things I welcome fervently. The fact they have overtaken the space for the now defunct Viet Huong (#2) for storage space feels somewhat hilarious but also very on brand. They've even left the sign up for now.Additionally, they have all the dynamics that make up many Vietnamese bakeries in general: lots of banh mi, a whole variety of baos, and a nice selection of pastries and snacks ready for takeout. On occasion, there's even a small line of people waiting here, which I take as a good sign.But the part where it all kind of falls apart is the food. I haven't enjoyed my banh mis as of late, since the breads felt stale and worse off, the paté, butter, and pickled veg were all very off. I thought the head cheese, cha lua, and deli meats were average for a dac biet, but I was really scratching my head with their xa xiu and thit nuong.Their banh bao was okay and the paté so was also very average. I spotted a somewhat unsightly banh con so (madeleine cookie), which was not a good look (#3) and made me not as interested in getting more stuff. Service wise, it's always going to be somewhere in the middle. Bonus points for speaking any Vietnamese and remember to bring cash as they don't accept credit cards. Seating is limited, it's best to get in and then out. I'll do the latter a little more often now and hope things turn around soon.__________(#1) To NY'ers reading: straight bodega vibes son.(#2) Viet Huong: https://www.yelp.com/biz/viet-huong-restaurant-houston-2(#3) No thank you. Nope.