Bun Mee

Downtown San Francisco has always been a place with fun things to do during the Holidays. In the middle of it all is a Vietnamese restaurant called Bun Mee which has two San Francisco locations. This Bun Mee is on Market street between 3rd street and New Montgomery. I first got the Mama Tran's Chicken Pho. This was a pleasant surprise. The flavor of the broth was very delicious and it was quite refreshing. It also had good cuts of chicken and the noodles were thin which are my favorite when it comes to Pho Ga. Had to try the namesake the Bun Mee ( Banh Mi) so I got the classic combo with lemon grass pork, mortadella, and pate along their hot jalapeño peppers ( non negotiable according to the wall sign). The toasted baguette gave it soft crunch along with the veggies. This place offers Vietnamese coffee and also cold brew drinks like Matcha. A good place to grab Vietnamese food on Market street.Slurp on Mama Tran's Chicken Pho thin noodles and don't forget to add the Sriracha Get the cold brew beer or the cold brew Matcha

I first tried the banh mi from Bun Mee at SFO and was hooked. Their baguettes have the perfect balance of crunchiness and chewiness, and the quality of the other ingredients at the FiDi location were consistent. I only wish they were open on the weekends as well, as they're so conveniently located compared to the other SF locations.

I avoided the low star rating and went with my gut on this one and was happily surprised. I had the 5 spice chicken sandwich and added jalapeños. It was terrific. I highly recommend to check it out when in need of some energy walking the city. The drink options were limited and I just had a canned guava juice. That would be my only criticism.

LEAP DAY LUNCH AND FIFTH FRIDAY OF LENTAs Leap Day only happens one every four years for lunch I wanted to go to an eatery I've never tried before. Why did I choose this place? This eatery is a partner of Caesars Rewards Dining. As a Caesars Rewards Member when I eat at these restaurants I earn Rewards Credits that I can use to get discounts or comps for hotels at Vegas. When I went to Bun Mee for lunch on Leap Day I ordered crispy fried chicken sandwich. With all the craze over crispy chicken sandwich I thought having a crispy chicken on a bahn mi would be intriguing. I didn't realize that the crispy chicken would be a brioche bun. Besides that item I also ordered Momma Tran's Crispy Egg Rolls. I ordered both items to go and brought it back to work. Regarding the crispy chicken sandwich the bun doesn't remind you for a bahn mi, but the pickled carrots and daikon do. The crispy chicken was moist. The brioche bun acts as a different contrast texture to the crispy chicken. However I would've like a baguette, which would've enhanced the crispiness of the chicken. The egg rolls at Bun Mee are like imperial rolls you see at Vietnamese eatery. I prefer imperial rolls at Vietnamese eateries over egg rolls at Chinese restaurants as the imperial rolls have an umami texture not filled with vegetables. Momma Tran's Crispy Egg Rolls have that texture due to the woodear mushroom. The combination of the ground pork and woodear mushroom make the eggs rolls at Bun Mee meaty.The second time I came here was on the fifth Friday of Lent. When I first came to Bun Mee I noticed the sign of the Hanoi-style catfish sandwich, which was for a limited time. That gave me a reason to come back on a Friday during Lent. Besides this item I ordered the salt and pepper garlic fries. I liked the fries due to the unique flavoring you tend to see on chicken wings and pork chops. I mostly came here for the catfish on that Friday of Lent. I preferred the catfish sandwich over the crispy chicken sandwich due to one thing - the bread. The catfish sandwich has a crispy bread roll that you associate with bahn mi. As I anticipated the baguette enhanced the crispy breading of the catfish. After my two visits to Bun Mee I enjoyed the sandwiches. One thing that makes Bun Mee stand out is the meat is freshly cooked whearas other places the meat is prepared. Hence why when I come back to Bun Mee I'll try the juicy steak bahn mi or the 5-spice chicken bahn mi.

Is it possible to gentrify a sandwich? Fun branding and decor but the Bahn Mi here feels whitewashed down to a lowest common denominator. Overall needs more funk. More fermented bits. Maybe some Magi seasoning. More pate? IDK but overall a tame representation of the quintessential Vietnamese sandwich. You'll do better in Little Saigon for authentic bahn mi at just a third of the price here. Better yet, accumulate the savings and head to Vietnam. Or Houston I guess. A $15 bahn mi is a lil much for this generic version but if you're downtown and out of options, it'll pass. With that said, for fast casual Vietnamese downtown, you'll get better at Freshroll for less.

I've been here for lunch a couple of times as it's right across from my office. Definitely on the pricier side for a banh mi, but they are tasty. On my last visit I had their fried catfish banh mi with sweet potato fries which came with a yummy remoulade. The service is always really friendly and fast and the decor of the restaurant is just fine. I'll definitely be back.

Their prices are reasonable and they have a decent sized menu. For a quick lunch, I'd be interested in trying a few different items here as I had a good sandwich but it wasn't my absolute favorite.Service was awkward, as I was the only person in line and instead of taking my order the person at the register simply pointed me to a self-service screen instead.

actually so disappointed with this! heard a lot of good things and decided to try their "best seller" tofu banh mi. the tofu was not cooked and it was like 90% carrots. spring rolls were too chewy and tofu didnt seem cooked well either. would not go again unfortunately

Came here during lunch w/ some coworkers and it was pretty crowded but the line was moving fast & the food came out pretty quick too. They have a decent amount of seating too. I got the rice bowl and it was pretty pricy at $18, it was tasty but only had 4 pieces of meat in it...I'd probably try the banh mi instead next time and hopefully that's more filled lol. Their house spicy mayo is super tasty tho, definitely recommend getting an extra side of that.

This lunch spot came recommended and it did not disappoint! Stopped by for a quick lunch and ordered the spring roll and the hawker rice bowl and the Vietnamese ice coffee. The service was quick and pleasant. And the food was very flavorful! Would absolutely recommend for a quick bite in the financial district area!