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Banh Mi Ba Le
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
538 Dundas St WToronto, ON M5T 1H3
Neighbourhoods: Alexandra Park, Chinatown, Kensington Market
(416) 977-2168
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:30 am - 7 pm
Fri-Sun 9 am - 7 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
9 reviews for Banh Mi Ba Le
9 reviews in English
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Review from Sam G.
Toronto, ON
3/3/2010
Very tasty, inexpensive ($2.25) subs at Dundas/Spadina. If you have a TTC pass and are by the area, worth jumping off to grab one, or if you're super hungry, two. To second Susan's rec: try the BBQ Pork Banh Mi (get it spicy).
I'll give it four stars strictly as a sub takeout (you will not want to stick around).
ETA - ask them not to put on too much mayo if its not your thing, there was quite a bit on mine... -
Review from Karl R.
1/2/2012 2 photos
A BBQ pork bahn mi for $2.90 including tax. There are a few other places in Chinatown to get this trending food. Nguyen Huong Food is probably my go to place (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...). NHF can get busy although not so many people notice the extensive seating in back.
Banh Mi Ba Le brings their Banh Mi in at a good price but their Banh Mi lacks the flavor of NHF. -
Review from Lauren M.
11/4/2011 4 Check-ins Here
This place is pretty sketchy but it's CHEAP! Oh yeah. $2.50 for a bahn mi sandwich, it's hard to complain. Sure, you might find a rat carcass in your sub but at that price who cares. (I'm kidding - it's not THAT sketchy, but you know what I'm saying)
The roast pork bahn mi is the only one I've tried. Ask for it spicy. Very nice, I like.
They also have tofu, meatloaf and shredded chicken. But who the hell wants a tofu sandwich (wtf?)
Nothing else noteworthy here beyond the sandwiches.
Engrish spoken. -
Review from susan c.
7/25/2009
Forget Subway's $5 footlong. The Vietnamese sandwiches here are twice as delicious and they're only $2.25. No, that's not a typo. Each banh mi costs a twoonie and a quarter. No other food offers that much deliciousness for so little coin.
I've tried the roast pork banh mi and shredded chicken banh mi. Both are good but the pork was more flavorful. The lady at the till will ask, "You want spicy?" The correct answer is yes. Then let the sandwich elves behind the counter work their magic.
When you get your sub, you can park yourself on one of the five tacky chairs in the rather charmless joint. Then brace yourself for the explosion of flavors and textures you're about to encounter: crisp-airy baguette slathered with buttery mayo and filled (but never overstuffed) with savory meat, cool cukes, crunchy shreds of pickled carrots, refreshing cilantro sprigs, and a few chili slices to keep it sassy.
Oh, man. Banh mi are so good I lie in bed at night thinking about eating these sandwiches. (Er...oops, was that an overshare?) -
Review from Neil T.
Toronto, ON
7/4/2009
I don't care if this place has been shut down in the past for rodent violations. Anyone who thinks any restaurant in Chinatown is cleaner than the next is really fooling themselves.
Banh mi is a very cheap and traditional Vietnamese sub that was brought to Vietnam by the French, arguably the good legacy they left in that country.
All this being said, Ba Le is a nice alternative to the other banh mi shops around the corner on Spadina. Starting with the bread. The bread here is more true to the baguette style -- longer and crisper than the more common shorter, stubbier, chewier versions found at most Vietnamese bread shops. The long subs are better fresh, but don't toast as well as the others, so if you are looking at eating it later, you may want to walk around the corner.
A standard sub is $2.25, but is bigger than the ones around the corner that go for $1.75. This gets 3.5 stars for me but I rounded down to 3 because 4 just didn't seem right.
A TOONIE & A LOONIE RECOMMENDATION: banh mi ($2.25)Listed in: Gettin' My Eat on in Slanty…, Toonie & a Loonie
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Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
11/9/2008 2 photos
The banh mi selection is major here -- fillings range from the typical cold cuts to tofu, meatloaf, or shredded chicken. I stuck to the cold cut version, and it was fine.
But the best thing about this place? Nothing's pre-made (as done in places around the corner). Aside from the pre-layering of the cold cuts on the baguette, everything's slathered on fresh. Plus, the ladies here are clean (the cleanest work counter I've seen in Chinatown) and offer the option to toast your sandwich. It's like a Vietnamese version of Quizno's. Yes, please!
NOTE: chili lovers, the chili mix has been traditionally tame every time I've had it, so either pick up a loose chili from a vendor down the street or ask them to load it up for you big time. -
Review from Alison B.
7/11/2010
As a vietnamese sub lover, I had to check this place out.
I don't think the place lives up to the hype. My tomato and tofu sandy was a little dry, but it was filling and cheap (they recently hiked the price to 2.50, still a good deal).
Overall, it was a good cheap lunch but I like my viet sub from ginger's better (even if it's an additional dollar). -
Review from Tina N.
Toronto, ON
3/3/2010
This is a great place for Vietnamese sandwiches. It has about 10 different sandwich varieties to choose from, all of which are freshly prepared and cost quite cheap so you'll enjoy the best Banh Mi in the area for less. For a toonie-twenty five, my favaourite is the French baguette packed with pate, pickled radish/carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, hot peppers, mayo, and their three kind deli meats - so tasty! They also have spring rolls and other rice/noodle dishes that are stored in a refrigerator at the front. Very fast and friendly service.
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Review from Warren L.
2/7/2010
One of the many wonderful things about Toronto compared to New York is that it's easy to find Bahn Mi. I tried this store along with another around the corner on Spadina. Both were great but this store uses the more traditional baguette instead of more standard french-italian bread. The cold cut variation I had was wonderful. Toronto Bahn Mi is one of the great food delights in North America. Enjoy!
