Ba Lẹ - Boston

Not to be missed, the BEST CRACK BANH MI SANDWICH in the STATES!!! They offer a fantastic variety of food and desserts. Just be prepared for a bit of a wait and some challenging parallel parking.

I'm originally from Southern California and ended up in Boston with a host family. I suddenly needed egg rolls, and I was delighted to find that I could call and place an order for same-day pickup. Thank you, Banh Mi Ba Le, for coming through at the last minute!

Every time we visit Boston, this place is a must-visit. We always bring coolers and ice packs with us. They have a food station where you can order sandwiches, and I personally love the beef with extra sharp cheese. It's the best on the East Coast! If you’re interested in Vietnamese cuisine, the options are plentiful. We always grab some dairy-free coconut milk with pandan, grass jelly, beans, and more. The Ruck is also great. The store itself is bustling and no-frills—a true diamond in the rough. It’s packed with food since it’s a Vietnamese grocery store with a wide selection of prepared dishes available. The staff is really friendly and most of them speak English fluently. You can also call in your orders. Just a heads up: parking can be quite chaotic. We usually find free street parking within a block, but traffic can be tricky. Next time, I’ll make sure to take some photos before diving into the food!

A great place to pack Vietnamese sandwiches, lunch combo boxes, hot/cold bubble tea, coffee or bakeries. We are out of town and stumbled this place after we had a desire for Vietnamese food. We have grilled beef and pork sandwich, $6 or $7, and they were delicious, plentiful. There are so many dishes, I want to try everything. The spring roll and Tofu fa Dessert were from the world.... A few cons: no place to sit, eat not so insecure what it is or cost, line was long and wrapped around the store.

Banh Mi Ba Le is honestly a great spot for affordable and tasty banh mi and pandan desserts. I got the banh mi chay (4/5), or meatless with tofu, and it was very flavorful. I don't know what they put in that yellow mayo-like sauce, but it's packing flavor. I also really enjoyed the pandan cake (4/5) for its strong pandan flavor and great chewy texture. I also had a pandan sticky dessert (not pictured) which was 5/5! I also bought some pastries, but they were mislabeled (grabbed red bean which ended up being meat, and grabbed custard which ended up being taro). Overall 4/5!