Like any big, bustling city, Hanoi has a lot of hungry people who don’t have time to sit down (except in motion, on a Honda Wave) and eat.
Enter the banh mi, Vietnam’s signature fast food and, in the eyes of many, one of the world’s greatest sandwiches. A gift that can be eaten at any time of day – for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and even as a snack – it’s a sandwich that has taken the world by storm, despite it only having been part of Vietnamese culinary culture for less than a century.
Its origins have been well documented, traced back to the period of French colonial rule in Vietnam, which lasted from the mid-19th century until 1954. During this period, the French introduced the baguette to Vietnam, and over time, the Vietnamese adapted it to create their own version of the sandwich.
Though the banh mi as we know it today began to take shape in 1950s Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), it’s in Hanoi that, in our humble opinion, the very finest versions are found.
If you’ve ever had a banh mi on a pavement in Hanoi, you know it’s not just a sandwich – it’s an experience. Mid-morning, when the baguettes are crisp and fresh and the pre-work motorbike rush hour has dissipated, there’s nothing better; to be savoured in the bare bones cafe opposite your favourite stall, on a low slung stool, with a thick, sweet iced coffee. Heaven.
It’s a food for everyone, the banh mi – affordable, widely available, and endlessly customisable. It’s hard to think of a sandwich – or meal – more ideal than bánh mì. It’s one of those sandwiches where every element works in harmony to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
What Makes A Good Banh Mi?
So, what makes a good banh mi? For us, the most straightforward banh mi is also the best banh mi, allowing the quality of the bread, pate and cold cuts to shine. The ludicrously stacked affairs with a mixed grill’s worth of meat inside, plus mayo, three types of hot sauce, a random papaya salad and erroneous Thai basil that you’ll find in the UK? Those guys are not for us.
Prepared in moments, a good banh mi shouldn’t be overfilled, or overkill. A great one isn’t too sweet, nor too saucy. And if you look down to see the wrapper already stained in a kind of Marie Rose sauce, your bread discoloured an unappetitsing shade of pink, then be warned; you’ve got a dud in your hands. Often sold in front of backpacker hostels, this is the sweet, westernised style that dominates Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Steer clear.
Back to positivity and considering the best banh mi’s baguette itself, this isn’t your average loaf – it’s a French-inspired masterpiece that’s been perfected by Vietnamese bakers for the humid weather. Baked at a higher temperature than in Europe, it has a crunchy but yielding crust and should taste light and airy, with a toothsome chew and absolutely no hint of sourness or over-prove.
While you can certainly order ‘dac biet’ or ‘thap cam’ – the house special which usually has the works – this is generally more common in Ho Chi Minh City, where everything feels bigger and brasher.
The baguettes in Vietnam’s most sprawling city tend to feature copious meats, herbs, and condiments. We’ve heard that in Ho Chi Minh City, some quote the 210 ratio – 70g bread, 70g cold cuts and 70g pickles and herbs – but in Hanoi, it’s a more minimalist affair; just how we like it.
No banh mi is complete without its signature pickled vegetables, which in Hanoi tend towards the sharper end of the spectrum, compared to Ho Chi Minh’s preference for sweetness. Either way, these pickles are the unsung heroes of the banh mi, cutting through the fatty meat and adding a zesty punch that refreshes, resets and keeps you coming back for more.
What truly sets a great Banh Mi apart is its balance. It’s a sandwich that should hit every note; salty, sour, spicy, and just a little bit sweet. And we’re after the very best in Hanoi…
Bahn Mi To Avoid In Hanoi
But first, much like your splayed open baguette, let’s go find some more filler…
If you’re looking for one of the best banh mi spots in Hanoi, then you’ll likely be thinking of heading to Hang Ca street in search of the lauded Banh Mi 25. Here you’ll find throngs of tourists collected under a neon ‘A LOAF OF SMILES’ sign, clutching their branded baguettes. Don’t be one of them.
While Banh Mi 25 is certainly well-known across the city, this headliner doesn’t really hit the dizzy heights of the banh mi on our list, with the bread too crunchy and a little greasy on the exterior, the fillings a touch measly and unsatisfying. Perhaps we just visited on a bad day…
Ha Nguyen, a Hanoi resident we spoke to on our last visit, also advised us not to step foot in Banh Mi King, a chain with an uncanny resemblance to Burger King that has proliferated across the city in recent years, peddling sweet, subpar banh mi from comparatively swanky bricks and mortar premises.
Generally speaking, the smaller the operation, the better the banh mi, with many of Hanoi’s best banh mi served from a simple streetside cart with a big chunk of pate, a mise en place of a few tubs of cold cuts and pickles, and a bread warmer. Perhaps there’ll be a single, portable electric hob for the obligatory morning omelette, but that’s all. Seek out these places; it’s where the magic happens.
Where To Eat The Best Bahn Mi In Hanoi
Enough of the fluff (we didn’t do it to keep you here for longer, honestly), and with hit jobs complete, let’s get to it; here are the best banh mi in Hanoi.
*All of the banh mi on our list except Banh My 38 Dinh Liet clock in at 30’000 VND (around £1) or under.*
Banh Mi Pate, Hang Ca, Hoan Kiem (Old Quarter)
Banh Mi Pate at 11 Hang Ca, on the peripheries of the Old Quarter just yards from the supremely popular but ultimately disappointing Banh Mi 25, serves, quite simply, our favourite banh mi in Hanoi.
The rig here is as humble as it comes – just a stack of bread, a portable oven, a huge brick of homemade pate, a few cold cuts and pickles, and a chopping board. But as we’ve said before, this usually promises culinary alchemy. And so it is here…
It’s all about the baguette first and foremost, which here boasts just the right level of crisp exterior and giving centre. Order the number 4 on the menu, which is filled generously with lots of pate, a decent shower of pork floss, some pickles, coriander and hot sauce. Enjoy it on the smallest plastic stool known to mankind, a handful of which are scattered across the pavement in front of the simple setup, and luxuriate in Hanoi’s best sandwich.
It’s so good, in fact, that we’ve included it on our rundown of the IDEAL 22 spots for street food in Hanoi.
Address: 11 P. Hàng Cá, Hàng Bồ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Phu Son, Giang Vo, Ba Dinh District
Showing size doesn’t matter when it comes to banh mi, both in the size of the operation and the size of the actual baguette, Phu Son specialises in one of our favourite banh mi offshoots; banh mi Hai Phong.
This is a specific style of Vietnamese sandwich that originates from Hai Phong, a major port city in northern Vietnam around two hours from Hanoi.
The baguette here isn’t much larger than a breadstick, and is as simple as it comes, filled only with pate and eaten with a piquant chilli sauce called chi chuong. The stick thin baguette is baked with the offal-heavy, garlicky pate and becomes crispy and giving. It’s also a spicy little number, just as residents of Hai Phong like it.
Close to the Temple of Literature, this one is well worth a quick pitstop. Order several.
Address: C6 P. Trần Huy Liệu, Giảng Võ, Ba Đình, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Banh Mi Hoi An, Han Thuyen, Hoan Kiem (Old Quarter)
We’re loath to cite Anthony Bourdain as definitive evidence of where to find the best street food in any given place – whilst we love him as much as the next guy, there are plenty more authorities on the subject.
That said, when the TV celebrity visited the pretty city of Hoi An in Central Vietnam, he declared that Banh Mi Phuong was the best in town, if not the whole of the country. We’ve had this one a few times, and it’s certainly a great sandwich, but what’s perhaps more striking is just how good all the banh mi is in Hoi An, the famous baguette seemingly given the same care and attention in its assembly as the city’s acclaimed network of tailors give their suits.
Anyway, back in Hanoi, and Banh Mi Hoi An continues this tradition with an exemplary, generously proportioned sandwich. Be warned; there are several with this name across the city and some are better than others. We’re at the one in the Old Quarter, on Pho Han Thuyen, luxuriating in the signature barbecue chicken banh mi, a surprisingly spicy rendition owing to the kitchen’s superb homemade chilli oil. A refreshing iced tea offers the perfect counterpoint.
Address: 27 P.Hàn Thuyên, Phạm Đình Hổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 100000, Vietnam
Banh Mi Pho Hue, Pho Hue, Hai Ba Trung District
It’s been said so often that it gets a little tedious, but it’s still also true; when in an unfamiliar town, look for queues of locals and you know that’s where the best street food is found.
Proving the point emphatically is Banh Mi Pho Hue, just a little outside the Old Quarter in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung district, where a steady stream of motorbikes waits for a profoundly prosaic banh mi that is one of the city’s most popular.
It’s a celebration of the simple things at Banh Mi Pho Hue. The aunty’s mise en place is as follows… Stacks of warm baguettes. A massive brick of homemade pate. A few slices of Vietnamese pork loaf (essentially spam). A bowl of pork floss. Cucumber pickle. Butter. Dairylea. Chilli sauce. There’s also a pan set-up should you want to add an omelette to your banh mi. If it’s the morning, you should do just that.
Assemble your desired sandwich from that selection, and eat outside the shophouse leaning against a tree, because the dining area is full of parked motorbikes. Lovely stuff.
Address: 118 P. Huế, Bùi Thị Xuân, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Banh Mi Pate, Le Quy Don, Hai Ba Trung District
Not to be confused with the Banh Mi Pate on Hang Ca that opened our list, another of our very favourite banh mi in Hanoi is found a little out of the city centre at 16 Le Quy Don, just off the dike road that acts as flood defence against the adjacent Red River.
Boy this is fine banh mi, the pate generously spread and seriously peppery, the filling taking up a good two thirds of the whole thing, the excellent bread merely the shell that holds everything in place. Order the banh mi thap cam (everything), and enjoy a thin, made-to-order omelette, batons of spam, that pate, and plenty of pickles. The odd obligatory coriander leaf, for health, seals the deal.
Address: 16 P. Lê Quý Đôn, Bạch Đằng, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Banh Mi Ba Dan, Lo Su, Hoan Kiem (Old Quarter)
Another brilliant banh mi on the outskirts of the Old Quarter is Lo Su’s Banh Mi Ba Dan, one of the city’s oldest and most celebrated baguette slingers.
These guys have been doing their thing for over forty years, and that expertise shows in the gracefully, swiftly prepared banh mi here. Boasting a satisfyingly crunchy shatter on the baguette, it is – once again – the simplicity of the offering at Ba Dan that leads to gastronomic perfection.
In fact, it’s one of the most paired back setups you’ll see in the city – just a block of pate, a pile of pork and chicken shavings akin to those shorn off a rotating kebab or gyros, a bowl of pickles, and one solitary squeezy bottle of house hot sauce.
When the elements are so few and the experience so deep, it should come as no surprise that the sum of this banh mi’s parts has been truly perfected. An exquisite, perfectly balanced banh mi and one which stands as a benchmark of just what this beloved Vietnamese sandwich should be.
Address: 34 P. Lò Sũ, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Quan Thit Xien Nuong Ba Nga, Quang Trung, Hai Ba Trung District
Now for something a little different, for we fear we’re going to overdose on pate if we carry on like this…
On Quang Trung street, a pretty thoroughfare that connects Lenin Park with Hoan Kiem Lake, Banh Mi Ba Nga are knocking out a variation of banh mi that’s less well established here in the UK but is one hell of a crowd pleaser; the glazed skewer variety.
Here, sweet, succulent skewers are grilled on a streetside portable barbecue to order, the diligent chef turning them without pause so the marinade catches just right. Once they’re ready, a warm baguette is sliced through the centre and used both as the gloves to pull the meat off the skewer and as the recipient of that meat. Long strips of fresh cucumber and wisps of coriander are all that’s required here, the smokiness of the barbecue bringing enough flavour and textural intrigue. Oh, except, of course, a spritz of hot sauce; it would be a crime not to add a little heat to this guy…
Available to takeaway as all banh mi are, you can also eat this one in front of the shophouse on a hastily assembled plastic table and stool setup. If you do so, you’re in for a treat; the skewers are served alongside crisp, sweet honey bread, all on an attractive metal plate.
Hey, what’s a guy got to do to get a beer around here? Not a lot, bro; just ask for one…
Address: 31 P. Quang Trung, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Banh My Pho Co, Dinh Liet, Hoan Kiem (Old Quarter)
Dinh Liet has got to be one of the most downright enjoyable streets in Hanoi. Peeling off from Hoan Kiem lake and leading to the rowdy Bia Hoi Corner, a stroll down this street brings with it a sense of anticipation and a night of possibility.
But not before you fuel up on one of Hanoi’s most popular banh mi. At Banh My Pho Co (sometimes called Banh My 38), the signature is a decadent one, and an undeniably gorgeous one at that. Here, a minute steak is flash fried in plenty of oil before being mixed with some agreeably soggy chips (and an omelette, if it be your will) and piled into a crusty baguette.
Sure, there’s an artery baiting amount of grease to this guy, and you’ll be paying a premium of around triple the normal prices (80’000 VND, equivalent to £2.50, compared to the usual 30’000 VND, say), but you’re not going to be eating it every day, now are you? Or, are you?
Address: 38 P. Đinh Liệt, Hàng Đào, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 100000, Vietnam
Facebook: @banhmy38dinhliet
Banh My Mama, Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem (Old Quarter)
Tucked away down an alleyway just around the corner from St Joseph Cathedral and always buzzing Ly Quoc Su street, Banh My Mama is that very rare thing; a banh mi place that’s hugely popular with tourists but also, actually, really rather good.
It does no harm that the Mama in question is one sound, charming lady, but even if we were getting a thorough dressing down from the chef we’d come back for more when the banh mi is this good.
This one is flattened by a panini press in the more modern banh mi style, which we’re not always keen on, but the quality and balance of the fillings here makes it worthwhile.
Go for the pate thit if you know what’s good for you; a porcine combination of cold cuts and pate that feels indulgent but not too heavy. Or, in the morning, Banh My Mama’s pate trung (pate and egg) is a fine version of a Hanoian breakfast staple.
Address: 54 Ly Quoc Su Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi 100000 Vietnam
Read: Where to eat the best banh mi in London
Banh My Duc Long Kebab, Hang Buom, Hoan Kiem (Old Quarter)
The latest craze in Vietnam is the doner kebab (assumed here to be German) banh mi, and when you get a good one, they are certainly a satisfying few bites.
These panini-pressed, wedge-shaped sandwiches come with shavings of kebab meat, plenty of ketchup and mayonnaise, and an overzealous amount of purple cabbage. Sure, they might be pink, purple and puerile, but they do also hit the spot. Try a good version at Banh My Duc Long Kebab in the Old Quarter.
Address: 5 P. Lương Ngọc Quyến, Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Ordering A Bahn Mi In Hanoi
Some Key Phrases
- Hello: Xin chào (sin chow)
- One Bánh Mì, please: Cho tôi một bánh mì, làm ơn (cho toy mot banh mi, lam on)
- Thank you: Cảm ơn (gahm un)
- How much is it?: Bao nhiêu tiền? (bow nyew tee-en)
- No spicy, please: Không cay, làm ơn (khong kai, lam on)
- Very spicy, please: Thật cay, làm ơn (tat kai, lam on)
- One more, please: Cho tôi thêm một cái nữa, làm ơn (cho toy them mot kai nua, lam on)
Specify Your Preferences
- Spicy: If you like it spicy, say “cay” (kai).
- Chà bông (pork floss)
- No Coriander: If you don’t want cilantro, say “không rau mùi” (khong rau moo-ee).
- Extra Pate: If you want extra pate, say “thêm pate” (tem pah-teh).
- Bánh mì đặc biệt – fully loaded
And with that, we’re off to book another holiday to Hanoi; we’re hungry!