Best Bahn Mi in San Diego
I eat Bahn Mi way too often. We’re talking three to four times a week, along with a Vietnamese iced coffee. What can say? I love, love, love them.
Here, I’ll share my favorite bahn mi places in San Diego, probably with a bias towards the Kearny Mesa and Mira Mesa areas. I’m in those areas most often and they offer the densest concentration of Vietnamese restaurants and sandwich shops. If you know of another place I should try, I’m all ears – hit me up in the comments.
Bale French Sandwiches
Bale French Sandwiches is a takeout Vietnamese restaurant in Mira Mesa that makes some of the best bahn mi sandwiches in San Diego. One notable thing about their banh mi is that instead of a long baguette, they use a shorter roll and give you the entire roll. If you like crispier bread, this is the place for you. They also make an excellent Vietnamese iced coffee, fairly traditional in that it’s a darker espresso flavor and a smaller pour. It’s a family business and the people who work there are very friendly. They go out of their way to remember your name. There’s no seating, so you’ll have to eat elsewhere.
| Neighborhood | Mira Mesa |
| Address | 9396 Mira Mesa Blvd Ste. C San Diego, CA 92126 |
| Phone number | 858-566-7711 |
| Website | None |
Need a break from bahn mi? Never. But in case you do, check out our guide to San Diego’s best Vietnamese pho places.
Cali Baguette Express
Another Mira Mesa restaurant, Cali Baguette Express also makes a terrific bahn mi. They use a long baguette with the ends cut off that tends to be softer than the short baguettes from Bale and some other restaurants.
Their iced coffees are more like milk coffees you get at boba tea places – not the darker expresso brews typical of Vietnamese coffees. The staff is always friendly and business is bumping.
| Neighborhood | Mira Mesa |
| Address | 9225 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite 102 San Diego, CA 92126 |
| Phone number | 858-695-8888 |
| Website | Facebook Page |
Cali Bahn Mi
Cali Bahn Mi, located on Asian restaurant-lined Convoy Street, is my favorite bahn mi shop in the Kearney Mesa area. Similar to Cali Baguette Express, their sandwiches come on long, thin baguettes with the hard ends cut off. Of all the San Diego bahn mi places on this list, they seem to consistently provide the most generous portion of meat and other fillings.
The restaurant has a few tables inside, so you can eat there if you’d like. The staff is super friendly in my experience and they know my order by heart. Like I said, I eat a lot of bahn mi…
| Neighborhood | Kearney Mesa/Convoy Street |
| Address | 4425 Convoy St #200a, San Diego, CA 92111 |
| Phone number | 858-278-2525 |
| Website | https://www.calibanhmi.com/ |
