Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
The Vietnamese sandwich, a crisp, airy baguette split and filled with pate, cold cuts or grilled meat, then loaded with pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, coriander, chili and a slick of mayonnaise and soy or Maggi seasoning.
Banh mi is the clearest edible record of Saigon's French century. The colonists brought the baguette; Vietnamese bakers lightened it with rice flour into a thinner, crackly loaf, and by the 1950s Saigon vendors were splitting it and filling it with local pate, cha lua sausage, pickles and herbs. The result is a portable, self-contained meal sold from carts and shopfronts across the city, and its most famous purveyors, from Huynh Hoa to Bay Ho, guard their pate recipes closely. The word banh mi simply means bread; the sandwich took the name of the loaf it is built on.
3 editor picks for Banh mi in Ho Chi Minh City, ranked by editorial score. All Ho Chi Minh City signature dishes · Banh mi across every city.
Also in: Hanoi.
Banh Mi Huynh Hoa is Saigon's most famous banh mi, a pricey but overstuffed baguette of house pate, cold cuts and butter with a queue near Ben Thanh.
OrderThe full banh mi thit, loaded with pate, cold cuts and pickles.
TipIt costs more than most stalls but is packed with meat; expect a queue at peak hours.
Banh Mi Bay Ho is a decades-old Da Kao stall known for its homemade pate, a tiny operation featured on Netflix's Street Food that sells out most afternoons.
OrderThe classic pate banh mi, made to the family's old recipe.
TipIt closes when the day's bread runs out, so come well before evening.
Banh Mi Hong Hoa is a busy bakery-and-stall near Ben Thanh turning out generously filled cold-cut baguettes, a rival to the nearby Huynh Hoa queue.
OrderThe mixed cold-cut banh mi with extra pickles.
TipThe bread is baked on site through the day, so it is nearly always warm and crisp.
Banh mi makes more sense with someone from Ho Chi Minh City explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
Guided tour · 4.5 hours
Discover Ho Chi Minh City at night on a guided walking tour. Explore Nguyen Hue Walking Street and Bui Vien Street, and enjoy a tasty banh mi from a local shop.
3 hours
Spend three hours with a talented local chef to cook a three-course meal by yourself, following the steps of the instructions given and using only natural ingredients....
Guided tour · 8 hours
Explore Ho Chi Minh City on a guided tour with a Polish-speaking guide. Ride a traditional rickshaw, visit the Jade Emperor's Pagoda, and enjoy a local lunch.
