Hoi An banh mi is a short, light loaf with a thin crust that cracks when you bite it, filled with house-made pork pate, marinated or roast pork, pickled carrot and radish, fresh herbs and a sauce each shop makes. Four shops come up on almost every list: Banh Mi Phuong on Phan Chu Trinh, Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen on Tran Cao Van, Phi Banh Mi on Thai Phien and All Day Banh Mi on the river. A loaf usually costs 20,000 to 75,000 VND, under 3 US dollars.
No one of the four is better on every count. They taste different, and that difference, not a ranking, is how to choose.
Eat a famous banh mi with a local who orders it for you
Each private tour stops at one of the four shops, then moves on to dishes no other tour repeats. Free cancellation up to 3 days before.
★Morning Market & Banh Mi Phuong Private Food TourA morning walk through the market and the Old Town, with a private car to and from your hotel · About 3.5 hoursSee the tour →Old Town Heritage & Banh Mi Queen Private Food TourAn afternoon walk through the Old Town, with a private car to and from your hotel · About 4 hoursSee the tour →What makes Hoi An banh mi different?
A Hoi An banh mi is built on a thinner, lighter loaf than a French baguette: shorter, a little plump, with an airy crumb and a crust that shatters. Pork liver pate goes in almost every loaf, and each shop makes its own. So does the sauce: Banh Mi Phuong keeps its “super sauce” recipe to itself, and Phi Banh Mi makes its own chili sauce.
The meat is usually pork: char siu-style pork marinated for a full day at Banh Mi Phuong, roast pork belly at Phi Banh Mi, pork with ham and egg at Madam Khanh. Fresh herbs, pickled carrot and radish and cucumber cut through the pate, and Tra Que, the vegetable village on the edge of town, grows many of the herbs Hoi An cooks use.
Is Hoi An banh mi spicy?
Most Hoi An banh mi is mild unless you ask for chili. Banh Mi Phuong does not make its loaf spicy, Madam Khanh’s is generally a little spicier than Phuong’s, and All Day Banh Mi adds fresh chili on request. To leave chili out, say “khong cay” (no spice) when you order.
Where are the famous banh mi shops in Hoi An?
The four shops below appear again and again in the lists published by CNN, Vietnam Airlines and Hoi An travel guides, and each makes a different loaf. Opening hours shift from day to day, so the times are the usual ones, not a promise.
| Shop | Address | What to order | Usually open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banh Mi Phuong | 2B Phan Chu Trinh, Old Town | No. 3 mixed (the one Anthony Bourdain ate) or the tofu and avocado loaf | Banh Mi Phuong is usually open from about 6:30 am to around 9 pm. |
| Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen | 115 Tran Cao Van | The mixed: pork, ham, egg and pate | Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen is usually open from early morning until early evening, sometimes later, and may close early when the bread sells out. |
| Phi Banh Mi | 88 Thai Phien | The traditional, with roast pork belly | Phi Banh Mi is usually open from about 8 am to 8 pm. |
| All Day Banh Mi | 25 Cong Nu Ngoc Hoa, on the river | Two fried eggs, pate and cheese | All Day Banh Mi is usually open from about 9 am to 9 pm. |
Also worth a stop
Banh Mi Lanh at 430 Cua Dai is the char siu loaf many locals queue for. La Banh Mi Sai Gon, also listed as Banh Mi Sai Gon Hoi An, at 151 Tran Hung Dao makes a southern-style loaf with fatty pork belly and green chili, and usually opens from 5 am to midnight. Le Hoi at 3 Nguyen Hue sells only vegetarian banh mi and is listed on HappyCow.
Best Banh Mi Hoi An is an independent guide and private food tour operator, not connected to, or endorsed by, any banh mi shop or eatery named on this site, nor the Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation.
How do the four famous shops taste different?
The four loaves differ in the meat, the pate and the sauce, so the right shop depends on what you like. Each also has one real drawback worth knowing before you go.
Banh Mi Phuong: char siu pork and a house sauce
Banh Mi Phuong layers char siu-style pork marinated for a full day with house pate, pickles, herbs and its own sauce, and keeps the loaf mild. Anthony Bourdain called it “a symphony in a sandwich” on No Reservations, and his photo hangs in the shop. CNN reported it sells 3,000 to 4,000 loaves a day. The drawback: it is the busiest of the four, with tour groups and a queue at peak times.
Madam Khanh, the Banh Mi Queen: pate, egg and a little heat
Madam Khanh’s loaf is rich in smooth pate, with egg and a slightly sweet sauce, and is generally a little spicier than Phuong’s. CNN reports that after 45 years making banh mi, Madam Khanh passed the business to her children. The drawback: it is a small shop that can close early once the bread sells out.
Phi Banh Mi: roast pork belly from a resort chef
Phi Banh Mi is run by Do Van Phi, a former chef at the Nam Hai resort, and its signature is roast pork belly from free-range pigs, according to CNN. The drawback: it sits outside the Old Town walking streets, so most visitors need a ride to reach it.
All Day Banh Mi: two eggs, pate and cheese by the river
All Day Banh Mi opened in 2024 and is known for a thick, crunchy loaf with two fried eggs, pate and cheese, an English menu and seats looking over the river. The drawback: the cheese loaf is a modern take, not the traditional Hoi An banh mi, and it costs more than the older shops.
Where are the shops in relation to the Old Town?
Three of the four shops are within walking distance of the Old Town; Phi Banh Mi is the one that needs a ride. Banh Mi Phuong on Phan Chu Trinh and Madam Khanh on Tran Cao Van are both in the Old Town, a walk apart. All Day Banh Mi is on the riverfront along Cong Nu Ngoc Hoa. Phi Banh Mi is on Thai Phien, a short ride north of the walking streets.
Cars and motorbikes are kept out of the central Old Town streets from about 9 am to 9:30 pm, and to about 9 pm in winter. Within those hours, plan to walk between Phuong, Madam Khanh and All Day, and take a car or a bicycle to Phi.
How much does a banh mi cost in Hoi An?
A banh mi at the famous Hoi An shops usually costs between 20,000 and 75,000 VND, under 3 US dollars, and the price depends on the filling. Carry cash in Vietnamese dong; card payment is not something to count on at a banh mi counter. Prices below were checked in November 2026 against two or more published menus or guides per shop.
| Shop | Usual price per loaf | Roughly in US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Banh Mi Phuong | 20,000–75,000 VND | 0.80 to 2.90 |
| Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen | 25,000–40,000 VND | 1 to 1.50 |
| Phi Banh Mi | 25,000–50,000 VND | 1 to 1.90 |
| All Day Banh Mi | 40,000–70,000 VND | 1.50 to 2.70 |
Which banh mi tour stops at which shop?
Each of our four private tours stops at one famous banh mi shop, and the rest of each menu is different, so you never eat the same dish twice if you join more than one. Your licensed local food guide is a Hoi An local who orders in Vietnamese and tells you the story of each dish and shop.
| Tour | Banh mi stop | Pickup | The rest of the menu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Market & Banh Mi Phuong Private Food Tour | Banh Mi Phuong | 6:45 am pickup | Mi Quang noodles, banh beo water-fern cakes, phin coffee, silken tofu in ginger syrup |
| Countryside Lunch & Phi Banh Mi Private Food Tour | Phi Banh Mi | 10:30 am pickup | Tam huu herb rolls, e-seed drink, banh dap with stir-fried baby clams, che bap corn sweet soup (in season) |
| Old Town Heritage & Banh Mi Queen Private Food Tour | Madam Khanh – The Banh Mi Queen | 2:30 pm pickup | White rose dumplings, fried wontons, cao lau, nuoc mot herbal drink, black sesame sweet soup |
| River Evening & All Day Banh Mi Private Food Tour | All Day Banh Mi | 5:00 pm pickup | Hoi An chicken rice, banh xeo with grilled pork rolls, banh xoai sticky-rice cake, sugarcane juice |
Every menu on this site is a sample. Tell us about allergies, foods you do not eat, vegetarian or Muslim-friendly needs, or children, and we rebuild the menu before your tour. Street kitchens share equipment, so we cannot promise a dish is free of allergen traces, and the stalls are not halal-certified.
If the banh mi shop on your tour is closed or sold out that day, your guide switches to another well-known shop from our list, such as La Banh Mi Sai Gon or Banh Mi Lanh (whichever is open at that hour), and tells you before the tour. We cannot jump or skip the queue: at busy times the wait is usually 5 to 15 minutes, and longer at peak times.
Want the banh mi and the rest of the meal?
The morning tour starts at Banh Mi Phuong and the afternoon tour at Madam Khanh. Every dish, drink and ticket is in one price for the whole group.
Morning Market & Banh Mi Phuong Private Food TourAbout 3.5 hoursSee the tour →Old Town Heritage & Banh Mi Queen Private Food TourAbout 4 hoursSee the tour →Questions about Hoi An banh mi
Which banh mi did Anthony Bourdain eat in Hoi An?
Anthony Bourdain ate at Banh Mi Phuong on Phan Chu Trinh and called it “a symphony in a sandwich” on his show No Reservations. His photo still hangs at the shop. The loaf most guides say he ordered is the No. 3 mixed.
Is Banh Mi Phuong or Madam Khanh better?
Banh Mi Phuong and Madam Khanh are better at different things. Phuong is milder, built on marinated char siu pork and its own sauce. Madam Khanh is richer in pate, with egg, a slightly sweet sauce and a little more heat. Our morning tour stops at Phuong and our afternoon tour at Madam Khanh.
Can vegetarians eat banh mi in Hoi An?
Vegetarians can eat banh mi in Hoi An. Banh Mi Phuong makes a tofu and avocado loaf, Madam Khanh has vegetarian versions, and Le Hoi on Nguyen Hue sells only vegetarian banh mi. Our morning tour can be made fully vegetarian on request.
How long are the queues at the famous banh mi shops?
Queues at the famous Hoi An banh mi shops usually last 5 to 15 minutes at busy times. Banh Mi Phuong is the busiest of the four and draws tour groups. Madam Khanh can close once the bread sells out, so the late afternoon is the riskier time to go there.
What happens if the banh mi shop is closed on the day of my tour?
If the banh mi shop on your tour is closed or sold out that day, your guide switches to another well-known shop from our list, such as La Banh Mi Sai Gon or Banh Mi Lanh (whichever is open at that hour), and tells you before the tour. We cannot jump or skip the queue: at busy times the wait is usually 5 to 15 minutes, and longer at peak times.
Book a morning or afternoon banh mi tour
Private car, a licensed local food guide, one banh mi per guest at a famous shop, every other dish and drink, and your Old Town ticket. One price for the whole group.
★Morning Market & Banh Mi Phuong Private Food TourA morning walk through the market and the Old Town, with a private car to and from your hotel · About 3.5 hoursfrom$44/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$105BOOK →2 guests$125BOOK →3 guests$150BOOK →4 guests$175BOOK →See the full tour page →Old Town Heritage & Banh Mi Queen Private Food TourAn afternoon walk through the Old Town, with a private car to and from your hotel · About 4 hoursfrom$51/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$115BOOK →2 guests$145BOOK →3 guests$175BOOK →4 guests$205BOOK →See the full tour page →Shop hours and banh mi prices checked 11 November 2026; shops change them without notice.