Bambū

Great flavor and pricing. Highly recommend the loaded fries with the ribeye. I just wish the bread was different for the banh mi. It was a little dry and flaky.

Casual dining spot, welcoming atmosphere with friendly service. Tried the lemongrass tofu vermicelli bowl which was good (8/10). The grilled chicken garlic noodles were not what we expected, more cheesy than saucy but pretty good (7/10). The banh mi fries were good especially covered in sauce which was delicious. Also tried the potato twist which was a little bland on its own but great with sauce. I had the passion fruit tea which I enjoyed and my girlfriend liked her hazelnut mocha Vietnamese iced coffee.

I order from here often as a student at SBU, the food is great. Call ahead as the wait times are usually long!

Bambu is definitely a favorite of mine, whether it is for milk tea or food. A snack favorite is the waffle. My favorite dish in general would be the vermicelli bowl. I don't live in the area, but it's worth the drive. The service is always great. They treat you with such kindness, I can't complain at all. If you're ever in the area and want to try something new, please give them a try.

Hands down the best fried chicken banh mi in New York (literally I cannot find fried chicken banh mi anywhere else, please let me know if you know a place!). They also have extremely delicious drinks and dessert. There are 7-8 tables for sitting and this place fills up with students and people around the area throughout the day. There is also a bathroom. We ordered a chicken banh mi, classic banh mi, a fried chicken rice bowl (which I substituted for grilled chicken, though I think grilled chicken is more expensive), an iced Vietnamese coffee, and a pandan waffle (not pictured). Both banh mis were delicious in their own way. The fried chicken was super crispy, tender, hot, and not dry. The bread was toasted slightly on the outside so every bite included a crunch from the bread into some pickled carrots, cilantro, cucumber, and a bit of crispy chicken. You can order the banh mi spicy or not and the spicy version includes jalapeños. The classic banh mi has the standard banh mi pate and ham ingredients inside. If you like the classic flavors, you’ll like this one. The fried chicken rice bowl was similar to the chicken banh mi but just over a piping hot mound of white rice. This rice was cooked perfectly, was slightly sticky and soft, and blended amazingly with the crispy chicken. We were also offered some cilantro sauce and spicy mayo on the side and both sauces added that touch of extra flavor explosion. I personally loved the cilantro sauce. It was herby, a little salty, and just added some moisture to the carbs. The iced viet coffee was quite sweet but I believe you can adjust the sweetness level. It’s pretty good for viet coffee but it is pre-made and not drip made for each order. The star of the show (which I forgot to take a photo of because I was too excited to eat it) was the pandan egg waffle. Not many places make good egg waffles and even fewer places make pandan egg waffles. I believe the bambu cafe in Manhattan has pandan waffles as well but they are just waffles and not egg waffles. Egg waffles have little egg shaped ovals in the waffle. This creates little breakable ovals that have crispy edges and soft and moist insides. The waffle is not too sweet and the pandan flavor really shines. I may like this more than the fried chicken I touted earlier. If you are in the area, you MUST come and try this place!