Cafe Basil

Great food and super friendly. This is my go-to lunch spot.The price is in line with everything else in the tunnels. Not expensive by any measure but if you're used to grabbing pho or a banh mi from a hole in the wall place you'll pay a little more than you're used to (tunnel rent can't be cheap). I've had just about everything on the menu and have never been disappointed. Just know that when she says spicy she means it. Spicy sandwich means fresh jalapenos , and when she warned me about the chicken curry I shrugged it off but, although tasty, it's no joke. The staples of pho and banh mi are top notch, but I really have to stress again I have never been disappointed by anything on the menu. The rice bowl or vermicelli bowl are my usual order. The owner takes the orders and she will remember you if you're a regular. Before I started branching out to try everything else on the menu she would already have my order entered in before I walked up, and I don't even go here every week because I try to bring a lunch to work. I cannot over-exaggerate how friendly she is. I politely declined the free egg rolls she offered me one day because I wasn't feeling well and didn't think I would even be able to finish my sandwich, and she offered me a free bowl of chicken pho instead to take home for dinner. I told her that was very generous but no thank you I still need to cook for my wife anyway, and she insisted I take TWO free bowls of soup including giving me the noodles and vegetables separately and a lesson on how to prepare it! She makes me feel guilty constantly with how generous she is. Great food, great people. Awesome lunch spot all around.