Lotus Cafe & Banh Mi Sandwich

719 W Maxwell St, Chicago - 60607
182 reviews
Vietnamese
(312) 733-7595

We ordered 300 sandwiches (4 flavors) and 200 spring rolls for our community, and it was AMAZING! Not only was the food delicious, they had single wrapped each sandwich and put it in labeled boxes, gave us extra sauces, and helped us set up the event! It was very clear that they had thought through the process, and I really value that! I highly recommend ordering large catering orders— very impressed with their service and presentation. The food was gone in no time and ppl kept coming back for more—so good! Will be ordering with them again!

The food was DELICIOUS! Delivery was amazing!! Everything was packaged up beautifully. Prices are low for the quality!!!

This place used to be solid, but unfortunately its quality seems to have collapsed in the past couple months. I frequently receive inedible sandwiches and they appear to have cut the spring roll order size in half while maintaining the price. Bizarre.

This place is amazing! Affordable, tasty, has this local community feel. Wings were the best!

SOO PRICEY.... $13 for a Vietnamese sandwich with tax (tip not included)Honestly, it was good and tasty but not $13 goodI would skip it and spend it on a tastier bigger meal that actually full you

Ordered delivery. The honey grilled pork banh mi is amazing. Full disclaimer, my favorite banh mi in the city is Nhu lan, and there isn’t a close second. But Lotus Cafe does a great job of making (Americanized) banh mi. If you want traditional sandwiches with pate and gelatinous meats, go to argyle. If you’re looking for a great tasting sandwich on the go, this is the place! There’s also a location by my office that’s been clutch after a night out.

Their soy glazed chicken wings are super good and I'm glad they have an option to add a side of rice (good portion). Wings done very right, crispy and spicy without being too overbearing. Also a good selection of drinks in the cooler, love Joe's lemonade.

Staff were friendly and knowledgeable when we called ahead with questions. They explained the vegan options thoroughly and they were clearly marked on their menu. Although not many to choose from, everything was really good and fresh with adequate portions. Parking in the lot was just $3. It's in a neat area I'd like to walk around and explore sometime. The avocado tofu banh mi could have used a little sauce of some sort. I added sriracha, and that helped, but I think it needed something creamy. Maybe some mayo blended with sweet chili and sriracha (I've had this before and it's super good). The soy glazed mushroom sandwich was really good as-is. The spring rolls were also delicious. They make Cafe du Monde (New Orleans) brand coffee there. Not sure if it's vegan (sometimes Thai coffee/iced tea has sweetened condensed milk added) but that brand is excellent quality. Adequate seating area. Bathroom, water, napkins and extra sauce are easily accessible. It was very clean and not busy when we came in. I would definitely come back.

delicious bahn mi sandwich and the spring rolls were also very good.

Pretty decent food. My only complaint- and I hope Lotus Cafe sees this- but PLEASE CLEAN YOUR SITTING AREA! In these crazy times, why keep such an unkempt space? Before opening the front door, I was unsure if the Cafe was even open because the grime on the windows obscured the workers standing inside. There are cobwebs and dead bugs on the window sill and the tables felt like they were washed off maybe last week. This is just unacceptable- it's the very least the workers should be expected to do.