Banh mi is taking over Toronto and an influx of new shops prove it

Toronto is going bananas for banh mi these days, and a sudden influx of shops in the city might just be both the cause and symptom of the obsession.

If chicken Caesar salad wraps and Italian subs defined Toronto's summer of 2025, food-wise, then summer 2026 will be all about banh mi and hot dogs (plus, perhaps, quesadillas, but the jury's still out on that one).

I'm not here to debate whether a hot dog is a sandwich (though maybe I'll keep that in my back pocket for a slow news day), but rather to posit my evidence to prove my claims about the former.

In the early days of 2026, I had a hunch. Banh mi shops were opening at a staggering rate, and something deep within my sandwich-motivated soul whispered that these quintessential Vietnamese subs would be all the rage once the weather warmed up.

The light, crusty bread, tangy pickled vegetables and fistfuls of herbs that cut through rich pate and savoury meat were all perfected on steamy Vietnam streets, so they're equally appropriate for the smoggy Toronto summer.

Coupled with the fact that they're frequently dirt cheap, particularly compared to their Italian sub cousins, and easy to eat on the go, what's not to like?

The banh mi boom has only continued as of late, further proving that it's going to be a summer of Saigon cuisine for Toronto.

Take Elm Street's And Banh Mi, for example. Despite only opening in the second week of May (it's the third as I write this), the shop has already amassed a considerable cult following, regularly selling out of its signature crackling pork sandwich within hours.

A sleeker, somewhat more refined alternative to the mom and pop shops that otherwise dominate the scene, the sandwiches at And fall toward the higher end of the price range, but, already having been decreed some of the best in the city, they're well worth a try for any burgeoning banh mi fans.

Another banh mi success story can be found at Cabbagetown's Viet Bites. Though the teensy-weensy shop opened about a year ago, the city's newfound love affair has pushed the restaurant to new heights, allowing its owners to open an enormous sister location on Eglinton West in the coming months.

Just around the corner, Ginger Restaurant opened an outpost on Parliament serving a full suite of Vietnamese cuisine, including a selection of banh mi, earlier this spring. A flurry of other banh mi shops have also opened just north of the city in Markham since the year began.

Paired with other recent standouts like Oi Banh Mi, Rose's Viet Subs, Banh Mi Nana and Viet Sandwich, there's never been a better time for Toronto to sink its teeth into banh mi, and, luckily, it happens to coincide with a time when the city's hunger for these stunning sandwiches is at an all-time high.