Banh Meee opened softly on President’s Day at 399 Capitol Ave. in Hartford, serving Vietnamese pho, noodle dishes, banh mi sandwiches and traditional beverages.
The 26-seat restaurant will be in a soft-opening phase for about two weeks, followed by a grand-opening celebration in early March, says owner Dung “G” Tran Tuesday. Banh Meee replaces GoldBurgers on Capitol, which closed in December.
Banh Meee offers pho with chicken and brisket, banh mi baguette sandwiches with assorted meats, spicy cabbage coleslaw with chicken or tofu, and drinks like flavored bubble tea, sweet Vietnamese iced coffee and salted limeade. A few menu items, like bun rieu (rice vermicelli in a tomato/pork broth with crab meatballs) and banh mi with chicken and lemongrass pork, are not yet available but will be added.
Soups and noodle dishes are priced at $9 to $11; sandwiches at $7; egg rolls and coleslaw at $5 to $7 and drinks at $2 to $4.50.
Banh Meee got its start as a food truck last summer, gaining a following at stops like Market Square in Newington, Mortensen River Plaza in Hartford and various Connecticut breweries, including Hog River in Hartford and Brewery Legitimus in New Hartford.
Tran’s plans for a storefront came about sooner than he expected, he told The Courant in January, once he realized the difficulties of running a food truck in New England winters. The truck is on hiatus for now, he says.
Tran says he’s excited to see Banh Meee up and running on Capitol Avenue, joining neighboring coffee shop Story & Soil and cocktail bar Little River Restoratives. An ice cream shop, Capital Ice Cream, also plans to open on the same block.
After the grand opening, Banh Meee will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with potential for later hours on Friday and Saturday if demand calls for it.
Banh Meee is at 399 Capitol Ave. in Hartford. For information and updates: 860-880-2264, banhmeee.com, facebook.com/banhmeee.
.galleries:after {
content: ”;
display: block;
background-color: #c52026;
margin: 16px auto 0;
height: 5px;
width: 100px;
}
.galleries:before {
content: “Food Videos”;
display: block;
font: 700 23px/25px Belizio,Georgia,’Droid Serif’,serif;
text-align: center;
color: #1e1e1e;
}
