TK Sub Cafe

So cheap! So good! So friendly!

Stumbled across this place when I was working down the road, went 2 days in a row and tried the lemongrass chicken and pork banh MI sandwiches. They are so amazingly good, and worth double what the lady is charging. She is also the sweetest lady to deal with, she gave us free cookies while we were waiting. I now have to stop here every time I’m in the area.

Well, I’m giving this place 3 stars mainly for the food. I simply cannot go higher. The bread was AMAZING! I got the Machaca (shredded spicy beef). Amazing flavour, wish there was more lettuce and tomatoes. (Little avocado in there too). Lots of sauce and I enjoyed it. Prices there are really good but I hate the service. Took 20 minutes to make two subs. There was 2 other big orders before us but one person running the shop isn’t enough. We needed to rush too. Secondly my friend ordered bbq beef and she made two Machaca’s. Do recommend for food. Do not recommend for service

If you’re in the mood for bubble tea, a sub/​burger, or some delectable fries, check this place out.
I love this place. I go here almost every week so that I can try out everything on the menu, but I always revert to my favourite Lemongrass Chicken Vietnamese Sub because it’s so tender and delicious. My friend has tried out many of the various subs/​burgers here, and I always ask for a bite of their order because they all taste delicious.
I usually order the meal combo (around $ 7) and I substitute the soda for bubble tea. It is a small business, with one woman working as the cashier as well as the chef, and she does it with so much love it’s amazing. I always feel welcome when I come here, she remembers me and my friends, and she tries her best to make sure we enjoy our food and our experience there. From my understanding this is a pretty new place, and as such it has been difficult for her to get it running. If you’re around the area, come try out her subs, with the high quality and the low prices you won’t regret it!
Also, for all those hungry students out there looking for a bite + a study area, this place has free wifi. (Which is always a nice bonus).

Absolutely delicious! Ordered the BBQ Chicken Mexican Sub @ $ 3.99 (4.19 after tax). Cheap! To my surprise there was avocado in the sandwich at no extra charge! Would definitely recommend this place.
There is free shaw wifi!

Food is so cheap for what it is! $ 3.99 for a vietnamese sub and their vietnamese coffee is very tasty too. If you are in the area and want a quick bite, I defn recommend this place!

So this place is pretty new to the area. I’ve been living in and around east van my whole life so having something new was nice. However, like others have mentioned this place is basically a rip off of the Duffins menu. I have definitely seen the owner before working there. The sandwiches we had were good (bbq chicken and bbq beef) but i wouldn’t say they were better then Duffins. For my money I would say drive or bus the extra 3 minutes and go to duffins. more selection and better food. I gave 2 stars because they are slightly cheaper then duffins.

Absolutely love this hidden gem. The owner used to work at duffins and has now opened her own shop. Really nice owner who is also open to chatting. We ordered the lemongrass chicken sub for 3.75 and what a steal. Fresh fresh and fresh. Another guy was eating the club house and that looked delicious. I’ll be coming back to this place often!

* Duffin’s Express North? *
There used to be only one spot in town that had an eclectic menu of items such as Mexican Tortas and Vietnamese Subs. And that was Duffin’s on Main.
And then Duffin’s opened up on Knight — Duffin’s East.
But then Duffin’s on Main closed and the corner got redeveloped.
So we were back to one.
But now TK Sub Café has opened. It isn’t a Duffin’s. But the menu sure looks pretty similar — although much trimmed down. Perhaps «Duffin’s Express North?» (It is also on Knight — but up North by Kingsway.)
But alas, I believe this is a different business. Perhaps this one woman shop has some previous connection to Duffin’s though???
She has improved on the lemongrass chicken recipe for sure. After ordering the $ 3.75 Lemongrass chicken Vietnamese sub, she asked me if I wanted it spicy and I replied yes. She went off to the kitchen and prepared it fresh. The chicken looked quite thin, but was still moist, and while it wasn’t spicy at all — the chicken had a TON of lemongrass. I’m guessing that is what she meant by spicy? I loved the lemongrass flavour! It was nicely contrasted by the pickled veggies and brightened by the fresh cucumber.
The bread was very similar to Duffin’s. Same supplier perhaps???
Photo:
Overall, I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops this spot and what other menu items may appear? (Duffin’s fried chicken anyone???)
I’m looking forward to returning and trying the machaca torta to see how it compares to the one at Duffin’s! (Yes, that is already on the menu and calling me back!)

I haven’t been writing reviews too often but would love to get back in the game to help these guys out! There aren’t many good sandwich shops around the area… In fact… Not that many good sandwich shops in Vancouver, but this is a nice hidden gem for all the locals in this neighbourhood.
TK Subs is a very very small operation with just a single lady manning both the front and the kitchen. She hasn’t been here long and doesn’t seem to fully understand how it’s like to manage a big business, but that doesn’t stop her from putting her heart into everything she does and everything she makes here! The food she serves is an odd twist of both viet style subs and Mexican sub/​sandwiches. The quality of food is great and price is way too low in my honest opinion, but that definitely benefits the customer. To what I understand, she used to cook for Duffins Donuts on knight and 41^st, so the food pretty much looks identical.
If you’re around the area and looking for a great tasting sandwich, come check this place out! It’s a little hard to notice at first because of how small it is, but don’t be discouraged by the exterior, you’ll be surprised.
This neighbourhood is all about helping the small businesses out and this place definitely is worth it.