Banh Mi Ba Le

"You’ve made it to this small sandwich shop on International when you see the line stretching down the block. Hop in it, because this place makes some of the best bánh mì in Oakland. They have 24 different sandwiches, ranging from grilled pork to sardine to roasted eel, all stuffed into an airy-crackly French roll. The perfect sandwich deserves a fantastic drink to enjoy with it, so don’t leave without one of their iced Vietnamese coffees. photo credit: Julia Chen" - Julia Chen

"A 20-ish block stretch along International Boulevard and East 12th is where you’ll find a concentration of Vietnamese phở houses, cafés, and bánh mì spots—like Banh Mi Ba Le. The counter-service place in Little Saigon is the answer when you need a not-so-sad lunch to power through (another) neverending week. There are 24 sandwiches on the menu, each generously loaded with the most flavorful fillings, from fall-apart grilled pork to meatballs, fish cakes, and sardines, and served still warm. The bánh mì mastery happening here isn’t exactly a secret, so prepare to exercise the ever-dying art of patience." - lani conway, julia chen 1

"The gold standard for banh mi in the East Bay, Ba Le nails every component valued by connoisseurs of Vietnamese sandwiches: the bright, sweet crunch of the pickled carrots and daikon; the abundance of pâté in the dac biet combo; the extra oomph of Maggi seasoning; and, maybe most important, the crispness and airy lightness of the baguette. There aren’t any bad sandwiches on the menu, but the #13 — with meatball and a runny-yolked fried egg — is positively life changing." - Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff

"You’ve made it to this small sandwich shop on International (not to be confused with Bánh Mì Ba Le in El Cerrito) when you see the line stretching down the block. Hop in it, because this place makes some of the best bánh mì in Oakland. They have 24 different sandwiches, ranging from grilled pork to sardine to roasted eel, all stuffed into an airy-crackly French roll. The perfect sandwich deserves a fantastic drink to enjoy with it, so don’t leave without one of their iced Vietnamese coffees." - Julia Chen 1

"You can’t go wrong with any of the sandwiches at Oakland’s top banh mi shop, where the high quality of the food is matched only by the brisk, unsentimental efficiency of the service. But the signature offering is the meatball-and-egg banh mi: one of the shop’s crisp baguettes filled with juicy, savory chunks of ground pork and a fried egg (with a slightly runny yolk, if you’re lucky) — ideal counterpoints to the sweetness of the pickled carrots and daikon and the heat of the sliced jalapenos." - Luke Tsai