Foods pretty good here, but I come for their coffee! It’s decently good if you like sweet and strong Vietnamese style coffee. Best part is that it’s consistent bc it comes from a jug, premade. I’m not a coffee snob but I do like to explore different coffee joints and lee’s is always consistent.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Trang Schultz
I hope I could give this place minus star like less than 0 star for customers service because of the check out women. So many times , she has been rude but I just ignored how bad customer service they are . I just thought it was not a big deal, no thing to think about it or had to write a review about them . Just got some bánh mì . But this time , this woman again . She was very rude by her action and verbal to me when checking out of my order. I supposed to come to get a baguette only , but I saw they have Com Rượu so I was jist kind of to get it . And of course, also got a sticky rice. When she checked out , she threw my baguette on the counter and pointed right to my face . It seemed like she threw it to my face. When I was about to tap my credit card to pay on the screen but I could not find it. And then she said to me with a rude way. She showed me where I should tap my card . She told me tap here . Don’t keep putting your card in and take out too many times. But I did not put my card on the machine . I just tried to tap for one time . This is not her first times to be rude . I feel regret to spend my money even $1 penny. Desert I could not eat at all because of the taste . I did not come here to spend money to buy a rude service and a negative taste of desert . I don’t want to say how the taste of their desert because it is their business . Definitely, never ever come back there again .
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mme Chiu
Omigod a Vietnamese grocery store. On cloud 9.
Place could use more lighting.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mey A
The coffee and the sandwich are yummy yummy 😋🫶✨️
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Danny Thach
Pledge to the Flag.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pearl Oen
Shame on me for forgetting how terrible the quality of food is here. My regular go-to Vietnamese Cafe was unexpectedly closed and I really wanted to satisfy my craving, so I go to Lee’s… And was highly disappointed in all three of the items I purchased. Their appearance was totally normal. You can’t accurately anticipate how good something will taste based on how good or bad it looks.
Bánh da lợn: green and yellow colored starchy, steamed layer dessert should have a mildly sweet taste with subtle notes of aromatic pandan, coconut and earthy flavor of mung beans. I asked the server to confirm if this was mung bean and when I got home, I was disgusted to find out it was durian , but the texture was even worse than the flavor. Texture like gelatin and cottage cheese blended together and extra sticky to the touch.
chuối nướng nếp nước cốt dừa (grilled bananas in sticky rice with coconut milk, aka “chuối nướng” for short) how could you go wrong with that? Well, if you don’t *grill the banana, but wrap it in sticky rice and then *deep fry said sticky rice in *used oil- that is very wrong. The banana was mushy but not particularly sweet so I don’t understand what happened. Could not finish this and I felt bad was wasting it, but it was unpalatable.
chè ba màu variation: there was essentially a thick block of mung bean paste, barely sweetened, and with alleged pandan (worms) that tasted like glue stick. And I don’t mean the glue stick in a plastic tube, I mean the glue stick you insert in a hot glue gun. The texture was awful and it didn’t even have a particularly detectable taste.
Not only have I wasted $$, my time, calories, but I’ve wasted resources that could’ve been used by a better chef to produce desirable items for consumption.
I am writing this review to remind myself to avoid Lee’s sandwiches, even when desperate
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Juno L
So it's not the most beautiful place. But the sandwiches are amazing and taste fresh. The prices are also excellent for what you get and the coffee is very strong. There is a little parking available that is free. Definitely a place to eat to go as there's no seating available in store.
Justine Le
Hard to find an accessible Vietnamese bakery or ‘deli’ in Oakland. I always get the vegetarian banh mi. I wish they had a lemongrass tofu option like most of the other Lee’s in the San Jose area.
I love seeing more non Vietnamese customers coming in and questioning what all the prepared foods are on the counter.
Combo sandwiches are the best. Customer services it has never been good. Today I was standing infront of the counter for 5 minutes, employees just were looking at me but not approaching, until I ask if there were no cashiers
Heang Heng
They have two cashier but had only one person severing and taking orders. They do not say anything to help. You kind of need to help yourself and know your way around.
Hien P
Lee’s Sandwiches - 530 E 12th St, Oakland, CA 94606
I came to this Lee’s Sandwiches location hoping for a decent meal, but what I experienced was nothing short of disappointing and disheartening. From the moment I arrived, I was struck by how filthy and neglected the area was. The outside of the store is beyond dirty—it’s honestly disgusting. The surrounding neighborhood feels unsafe, and the whole place just seems forgotten and abandoned. It was heartbreaking to see the city in such a state.
Walking into the store didn’t improve things. Half the lights were out, casting a dreary and uninviting atmosphere over the entire space. The employees seemed indifferent, and the customer service was just mid-level—nothing that could make up for the grim surroundings.
The real disappointment came with the food. I ordered a sandwich, hoping for something halfway decent, but what I got was barely edible. The bread was so tough it was almost impossible to chew, and the whole meal just felt like it was thrown together without any care or quality. I felt disgusted, like no one here cared about the customers or the food they were serving.
This place desperately needs a complete overhaul. The food quality is terrible, the environment is filthy, and the sense of danger outside is unsettling. I wouldn’t recommend this location to anyone—it’s sad to see how far this place has fallen, and it’s clear it needs major improvements to be worth visiting.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Anthony Nguyen
be aware they sell expired stuff
Louis M
I got a great coffee and delicious bahn mi here and it was actually affordable! The staff looked happy and did a great job. 5 stars!
Banh Mi sandwich is the best!
Good service
Foods pretty good here, but I come for their coffee! It’s decently good if you like sweet and strong Vietnamese style coffee. Best part is that it’s consistent bc it comes from a jug, premade. I’m not a coffee snob but I do like to explore different coffee joints and lee’s is always consistent.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
I hope I could give this place minus star like less than 0 star for customers service because of the check out women. So many times , she has been rude but I just ignored how bad customer service they are . I just thought it was not a big deal, no thing to think about it or had to write a review about them . Just got some bánh mì .
But this time , this woman again . She was very rude by her action and verbal to me when checking out of my order. I supposed to come to get a baguette only , but I saw they have Com Rượu so I was jist kind of to get it . And of course, also got a sticky rice. When she checked out , she threw my baguette on the counter and pointed right to my face . It seemed like she threw it to my face. When I was about to tap my credit card to pay on the screen but I could not find it. And then she said to me with a rude way. She showed me where I should tap my card . She told me tap here . Don’t keep putting your card in and take out too many times. But I did not put my card on the machine . I just tried to tap for one time . This is not her first times to be rude . I feel regret to spend my money even $1 penny. Desert I could not eat at all because of the taste . I did not come here to spend money to buy a rude service and a negative taste of desert . I don’t want to say how the taste of their desert because it is their business . Definitely, never ever come back there again .
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Omigod a Vietnamese grocery store. On cloud 9.
Place could use more lighting.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
The coffee and the sandwich are yummy yummy 😋🫶✨️
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Pledge to the Flag.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shame on me for forgetting how terrible the quality of food is here. My regular go-to Vietnamese Cafe was unexpectedly closed and I really wanted to satisfy my craving, so I go to Lee’s…
And was highly disappointed in all three of the items I purchased.
Their appearance was totally normal. You can’t accurately anticipate how good something will taste based on how good or bad it looks.
Bánh da lợn: green and yellow colored starchy, steamed layer dessert should have a mildly sweet taste with subtle notes of aromatic pandan, coconut and earthy flavor of mung beans. I asked the server to confirm if this was mung bean and when I got home, I was disgusted to find out it was durian , but the texture was even worse than the flavor. Texture like gelatin and cottage cheese blended together and extra sticky to the touch.
chuối nướng nếp nước cốt dừa (grilled bananas in sticky rice with coconut milk, aka “chuối nướng” for short) how could you go wrong with that? Well, if you don’t *grill the banana, but wrap it in sticky rice and then *deep fry said sticky rice in *used oil- that is very wrong. The banana was mushy but not particularly sweet so I don’t understand what happened. Could not finish this and I felt bad was wasting it, but it was unpalatable.
chè ba màu variation: there was essentially a thick block of mung bean paste, barely sweetened, and with alleged pandan (worms) that tasted like glue stick. And I don’t mean the glue stick in a plastic tube, I mean the glue stick you insert in a hot glue gun. The texture was awful and it didn’t even have a particularly detectable taste.
Not only have I wasted $$, my time, calories, but I’ve wasted resources that could’ve been used by a better chef to produce desirable items for consumption.
I am writing this review to remind myself to avoid Lee’s sandwiches, even when desperate
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
So it's not the most beautiful place. But the sandwiches are amazing and taste fresh. The prices are also excellent for what you get and the coffee is very strong. There is a little parking available that is free. Definitely a place to eat to go as there's no seating available in store.
Hard to find an accessible Vietnamese bakery or ‘deli’ in Oakland. I always get the vegetarian banh mi. I wish they had a lemongrass tofu option like most of the other Lee’s in the San Jose area.
I love seeing more non Vietnamese customers coming in and questioning what all the prepared foods are on the counter.
Restaurantji Recommends
Combo sandwiches are the best.
Customer services it has never been good. Today I was standing infront of the counter for 5 minutes, employees just were looking at me but not approaching, until I ask if there were no cashiers
They have two cashier but had only one person severing and taking orders. They do not say anything to help. You kind of need to help yourself and know your way around.
Lee’s Sandwiches - 530 E 12th St, Oakland, CA 94606
I came to this Lee’s Sandwiches location hoping for a decent meal, but what I experienced was nothing short of disappointing and disheartening. From the moment I arrived, I was struck by how filthy and neglected the area was. The outside of the store is beyond dirty—it’s honestly disgusting. The surrounding neighborhood feels unsafe, and the whole place just seems forgotten and abandoned. It was heartbreaking to see the city in such a state.
Walking into the store didn’t improve things. Half the lights were out, casting a dreary and uninviting atmosphere over the entire space. The employees seemed indifferent, and the customer service was just mid-level—nothing that could make up for the grim surroundings.
The real disappointment came with the food. I ordered a sandwich, hoping for something halfway decent, but what I got was barely edible. The bread was so tough it was almost impossible to chew, and the whole meal just felt like it was thrown together without any care or quality. I felt disgusted, like no one here cared about the customers or the food they were serving.
This place desperately needs a complete overhaul. The food quality is terrible, the environment is filthy, and the sense of danger outside is unsettling. I wouldn’t recommend this location to anyone—it’s sad to see how far this place has fallen, and it’s clear it needs major improvements to be worth visiting.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
be aware they sell expired stuff
I got a great coffee and delicious bahn mi here and it was actually affordable! The staff looked happy and did a great job. 5 stars!
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Banh MI Grilled Pork
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