London’s best Bánh mì

Bánh mì refers to a baguette with fillings such as pork belly and reflects the influence of French colonisation on Vietnamese food
Viet yum: BBQ pork at Whaam Bánh Mì
Rosamund Urwin14 October 2015

England really should be the land of the sandwich, as we invented it. But like so many things we created — cricket and, er, rugby — other countries caught up.

Recently, a Hanoi bánh mì seller was named the world’s best sandwich-maker. For the uninitiated, bánh mì is a baguette with fillings such as pork belly and reflects the influence of French colonisation on Vietnamese food. You don’t need to go East to try them, though: you can spice up your lunchtime in London.

Whaam Bánh Mì

The staff at Whaam Bánh Mì, a butter-yellow store in Soho, make all the sandwiches from scratch in front of you. The sauces are dribble-down-the-chin delicious. Try BBQ shredded pork.

Info: 40 Great Windmill Street, W1D 7LY, whaambanhmi.com

Viet Cafe Camberwell

At lunch, the staff from King’s College Hospital queue up here to refuel. The chicken satay is a stand-out, with tender meat and lashings of chilli.

Info: 75 Denmark Hill, SE5 8RS, vietcafecamberwell.com

Keu!

The baguettes (made by the Sally Clarke Bakery) give good crunch. Pick the “classic”, stuffed with pork belly, liver pate and kewpie mayonnaise.

Info: 332 Old Street, EC1, vietnamesekitchen.co.uk

The best food in London

1/17

Bánh Mì Hoi-An

Many Hackney residents become a bit misty-eyed talking about this place. The tofu is first-rate, with a tart lemon grass sauce.

Info: 242 Graham Road, E8 1BP, banhmihoian.co.uk

Nam Caphe

Fluffy bread and strong pâté make these a perfect hangover cure.

Info: 134B Kingsland Road, E2 8DY

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT