Binh Minh Bakery

This is my go-​to for fresh, compact veggie sandwiches tucked inside crunchy «french» bread; my carnivore friends say the meaty ones are just as delicious. This is one of the cheapest and most satisfying lunches around. I can’t get enough of this place, and its efficient friendly staff, and I dig the little journey thru out-​of-​the-​way Portland to get there. The Asian grocery store a couple of doors west rocks, too, maybe even better than Fubonn?

Meat pastries and egg roles are one of the best deals in town. Smoothies take a long time to make. Place can be tricky to find if you’re not familiar with the area.

Many choices

My husband and I love eating here. Their banh mi is only $ 2.75 so they are a very good value. They are one of the best tasting banh mi places that I know of. The place only has 2 small tables (most people come in and get everything to go). They are so quick with making the sandwiches and I have never had a bad experience here. This is a great hole-​in-​the wall place to eat.

The banh mi here is de-​licious! I always get the nem nuong because that is my favorite banh mi. The bread is crunchy and tastes pretty fresh. They are generous with the stuffing.
The service has always been good. It looks like a regular small Vietnamese restaurant. Not that clean but clean enough for me!

This was the worst sandwich I have ever tastes. Two bites into the pork bahn mi and I was done. My husband had the chicken bahn mi and had the same reaction. WE WILL NOT BE BACK.

I believe the current prices are $ 2.75 for a sandwich and $ 1 for extra meat. That’s $ 3.75 for a damn fine Vietnamese sandwich. Yeah, it’s tucked in next to a shady ass bar and jewelry store which looks like it’s actually a prison but that’s a part of the awesome. I’m pretty sure the bar, bakery, jewelry store, and Vietnamese restaurant are all owned by the same people who own Pacific Supermarket, the grocery store which sits in the middle of the complex.
Nonetheless, the sandwiches are delicious and super cheap. An easy five-​star review.
NOTE: This is not really a sit down place. You can, technically, eat at the table inside the bakery but I would advise walking a block north and a couple blocks west and eating in the park.

The food is 4 stars and the service is 3 stars, 3.5 stars total. This bakery is more of a take out place versus being a sit down bakery. It is a hole in the wall and you would not even know its a bakery from the outside. It’s been a secret to the banh mi connoisseur. After being in Iowa and eating a banh mi on a hoagie roll (sacrilegious!), it was nice to return to PDX and have a good banh mi in my childhood neighborhood. We have been going to this bakery since it first opened, about 15 years ago or more? It’s been so long I can’t even remember. Initially this bakery catered to the Vietnamese and SE Asian population. But now it is more mainstream with the popularity of Vietnamese food, especially the banh mi which appears to have evolved into one of the hipster foods.
If you are a banh mi connoisseur like myself, you can be blind folded and know exactly which sandwich came from which bakery. The banh mi bread at this bakery is more glutinous, smaller, less flaky and more chewy as compared to Best Baguette. I also don’t taste the Vietnamese mayonnaise when I bite into the original banh mi sandwich. Also, I can’t taste the sour, salty and sweet flavor of the marinated daikon radish and carrots. In the old days, they use to include cucumbers sliced the long way but unfortunately this is not done anymore. If you are used to a banh mi from Best Baguette that includes lots of meat and marinated veggies, then you will be disappointed at this little bakery. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good sandwich. I have my biases.
On the upside, they have what I think is the best and freshest pâté chard for $ 0.89. Their Vietnamese pastries are also very good. The banh mi are made to order and you will not find any in cases. You have to order the sandwich. If they are busy, you will have to wait. It is a family bakery and there are not alot of staff so please be patient. We are close and frequent flyers to this bakery. Our daughter loves the rice cakes which always taste fresh unlike some places.
Word of advice: Do no get a banh mi sandwich at Pacific Market which is the Asian store close to this bakery. It is not made to order and usually not fresh.

Best bahn mi I’ve ever had. I haven’t had a ton, but these are made fresh with great ingredients.

Great sandwiches. I haven’t been out to the places around Foster/​Powell so I can’t really compare. But these are incredibly inexpensive and delicious. I had a #1 and #2, with extra peppers; $ 5.50 for both. Nice balance of umami, slightly sour, crunchy, and a burst of cilantro. $ 3 for a bag of 5 breads, which would be great for brats, grinders, meatball subs or whatever.
This is in an unsuspecting seeming spot by a lot of residential. (Right near Juvie too!) But right here is a row of Asian things: a funny bar («happy spot» i think?), a jeweler, a huge market, and another restaurant that always seems empty. Cool spot.
p. s. It’s pretty fucking standard for bakeries to be closed on Monday.

I’ve been going to Binh Minh Sandwiches since I was a little kid (maybe almost 15 years ago). In my opinion this place is by far the BEST place in Oregon for Vietnamese sandwiches. Actually, I enjoy the sandwiches here more than the ones I had in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during my last vacation there.
Sandwiches are only $ 2.50 each and they sell many other delicious baked savory goodies. The place is kind of in a odd location and looks rundown. Expect to get your order to-​go, there’s no seating. Service is meh, but it depends on who you run into.

Awesome and such good value!

This is my favorite Vietnamese sandwich bakery. Though it’s a whole in the wall I find it much better than all the other Vietnamese shows in Portland. I find it to be healthier than most sine they don’t add a bunch of lard to it like Lee’s sandwiches does. Oh the pastries with the meat inside (banh ba ti so) are delicious also.

My absolute favorite bánh mì place. Great price and selection. People are all butt hurt about the amount of meat, well pay the extra 50 cents for the extra meat. Your total is still under $ 4 and the sandwich still ends up a better value than other places AND it tastes FAR more superior! That bread… *drools*
Do yourself a favor and go get some. Cash preferred under… $ 10?

They have the best tofu banh mi I’ve ever had. The tofu was like a dry shredded tofu tossed in some sort of semi-​sweet sauce that looked like it had sesame seeds. Whatever it was, it was really tasty. Their fish banh mi was good also, but like any sardine sandwich, it’s more of an acquired taste. The bread was light and airy with a thin crust that shattered easily and for $ 2.50-$ 3.00 a sandwich it’s really hard to go wrong here. Good sandwich at a great price. This may be my go-​to banh mi place in town now.

The exterior and interior might be intimidating for some people, but if you could look past that part, your all good. The Binh Minh sandwiches are prices so low ($ 2.50 — $ 3.00) that you could leave full just spending $ 5.
This bakery offers 8 Binh Minh sandwiches to choose from. I ate the shredded pork Binh Minh and It was pretty darn tasty. The shredded pork had a nice taste to it. The bread was nice and flaky.
They also provide steam buns for $ 1.50.
The bakery is small and doesn’t offer any pastries. If your near by and craving a cheap Binh Minh sandwich, this place is worth checking out.

I had no idea the original Binh Minh was back here, but when I got taken to it, it was a treat. A tiny little hole in the wall, but it was delicious. We got the BBQ pork and Meatball Banh Mi’s and they were delicious. We also got the Patè Chaud’s (Meatballs covered with delicious flaky pastry) and those were all divine. Their iced coffee was yummy and all of the little snacks that they sell in front to go are also all good. Authentic, quick and yummy. I will go here whenever I’m on that side of town to grab food to go! I’m so glad that I now know where this location is. No need for a fancy place when you have inexpensive delicious foods. Way to go Binh Minh!

GREAT hole in the wall place. Banh mi’s are delicious, bread is soft (not rock hard — yay!) and their 2 soups are also great. Only 8 chairs at their tables, so if it’s full you have to take your food to-​go.

I don’t live terribly far from this joint, and being a lover of the revered Banh Mi, I took the first opportunity to hunt this place down.
Tucked away into a series of buildings, this Pâté-​palace is seriously tiny stuff — I was packed in with another white lady and several Viet customers. Bonus points for the fact that I couldn’t understand the counter lady the first time around… that’s means this is authentic!
But, unlike other reviewers who hyped the bread, I thought it was too dry, and the toppings (mmm. pork.) didn’t make up for it.
Happy to have added this to my list, but I think I’ll have to make the pilgrimage to Southeast and try Best Baguette…

I just had a sandwichgasm. Or maybe a sando-​rgasm. You decide.
This place is a dive. No other way to describe it. That is not a bad thing.
I was on the hunt for Banh Mi. I’ve been to An Xuyen and I really love An Xuyen. An Xuyen is like the Waldorf Astoria. Binh Minh is like a Howard Johnson’s.
I had the #1 (house special) and the #5 (bbq pork which I haven’t eaten yet). The bread is all made in house. I get mine without mayo. Mayo is evil (cue Darth Vader theme). I think Dick Cheney likes mayo. Enough said about that.
I took my food to a nearby park. I ate the #1 at the nearby park. The bread was nice and crisp and the mixed meats and egg were all warm and moist and the carrots and cilantro and chili peppers just worked so well together that I’m going to start to drool all over my keyboard.
They lose a star because they aren’t close to where I live.
I had never been out here before, but now I know where all the Asians are in Portland. Good stuff. I’ll be back.