Banh Mi, Le Marais, Paris

I’m working in Paris for a couple of months and I was really having a craving for a good, spicy bahn mi. I had already picked up a fairly decent one around Belleville a couple of days ago but longed to find one that was in central Paris.

I came across reviews of this tiny place while searching around online and decided, spontaneously, to walk there to pick up a bahn mi for lunch that very day. When I got there around 12.45pm, I was the only customer. The owner was super friendly, chatting with me while she made my chicken bahn mi and when I discovered to my horror that I only had a 50 euro note in my wallet, she even went around to a nearby shop to help me break it into small change.

After putting up with the overpriced sandwich and salad joints that abound around my place of work, Bahn Mi is a true breath of fresh air. For just 4.50 euros you get juicy marinated chicken, mayo, sesame sauce, fresh carrots, cucumbers, coriander and chillies all nestled on a perfectly toasted baguette. Amazing that something so simple could taste so good. Will definitely be returning.

Definitely the best bubble tea and the best Banh Mi in town.

For anyone wanting a good Banh Mi sandwich, look no further

My wife and I are visiting Paris, and were really craving Banh Mi. We were surprised how hard it was to find a decently rated shop! After reading reviews of a few different places, we decided the most appealing would be Bahn Mi. We were not disappointed.

Having lived in LA for years, as well as NY, we are accustomed to excellent Bahn Mi. I can say that this is one of the best places that we have been to on either continent. While the sandwiches here are not strictly traditional (I don't recall seeing pate version on the menu), the flavor of each is fantastic, and the spiciness is great as well... and combined with the really good price (4.5 Euros!), this place is a definite visit for me next time I am in Paris.

One of the things that continuously surprises me about Paris is the relative lack of good Vietnamese food. After all, when there's a culture that has colonized another one, there's usually a wave of immigration that results in some awesome ethnic food. This isn't the case in Paris, where a lot of the ethnic food is simply watered down to match local tastes.

Banh Mi is one of those exceptions, an explosion of Vietnamese flavor, appropriately juxtaposed against an entire street full of boring, me-too Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese takeaways that serve the generic Parisian combo of pan-Asian blandness.

The shop is tiny by any standard, with barely enough standing room for four adults. Combined with the typical wait time of 20 minutes for a sandwich, this can mean a bit of a crush during the lunch rush.

So. Worth. It. For I would wade through the Mekong delta with a waterlogged M16 while fending off malarial mosquitoes for one of these sandwiches.

I'm not sure what it is that's so attractive about Banh Mi's banh mis. The meat that's been slowly simmered since 8 in the morning? The delicious sesame sauce? The heaping portion of fresh vegetables and herbs? Or the friendly and engaging banter from the proprietress?

It doesn't matter. All I know is that I'll no longer have to go all the way to the edge of town or Choisy to get a decent Vietnamese sandwich. I can stay near the center and get a fantastic one.

**NOTE: You can also pick up a Taiwanese-style bubble tea (boba) here!