New ‘Banh Meee’ Restaurant Opens in Hartford

Location: 399 Capitol Ave, Hartford, Connecticut

Hours: 11:30AM to 8PM MON – TUES (these are soft opening hours)

You’ve most likely seen their bright yellow food truck parked around Hartford at one point or another. And now, shortly after the beloved GoldBurger’s left Capitol Ave in Frog Hollow, this Vietnamese style restaurant, Banh Meee, quickly took its place and is bringing a different type of cuisine to the block.

We decided to stop in for an early dinner and were quickly greeted by the owner, “G” and assistant/chef “Lil, G”- both of whom were full of excitement for all of Hartford to try their dishes. We took one look at the menu and knew we had to try their ‘Banh Mi Bo’, and ‘Mi Ga’ and ‘Bun Bo Hue’ Noodles.

‘G’ quickly brought us over some Vietnamese Eggrolls and three of his favorite drinks; Vietnamese iced coffee, Taro bubble tea, and what is our new favorite, Salted Limeade. If there’s one drink to try here, it’s their limeade. Never having tasted salted lemon/limeade before, we were surprised by how refreshing this drink was, each small sip delivering a big punch of flavor.

Our noodle bowls arrived in large enough portions for us to have early dinner, and lunch (to be honest, we had to take a lot of it to-go). The broths are delicious, salted with pork fat to give it a unique salty flavor. Each bite rewards you with a different flavor and texture, and unlike many other restaurants, Banh Meee makes their chicken ham from scratch, which makes a huge difference in the quality of pho.

Everyone knows that the fundamentals of a good sandwich is the bread. Banh Meee’s ‘Banh Mi’ is created with fresh bread, sourced from a local baker right out of West Hartford. Living between the buns you’ll find chicken, pork belly or lemongrass beef with mayo, pickled carrots/daikon, cucumber, fresh cilantro and a sweet fish sauce.

While they aren’t fully set up, Banh Meee is open to the public, offering 70% (vegan pho as well) of their menu items and all of our drink items during their soft opening period.

Bahn Meee will be officially open on March 5th, with hours:

Monday – Friday, 10AM-9PM, and Saturdays from 11AM-8PM.