Three different people sent me this BlogTO review of Viet Bites. When three people independently tell you about a sandwich, you don't really have a choice anymore. So Yohann, Rob, Tom and I biked up to Gerrard, riding in a pack like we were on a mission. Which, to be fair, we were.
Viet Bites sits at 246 Gerrard St. E. in Cabbagetown — an unlikely spot for a Vietnamese restaurant, or at least not a neighbourhood I find myself in often, being a long way from my end of Bloor Street. It's a small shop, opened in 2025 by Lily Huang, who was all of 23 at the time and runs it with her partner. There are a few benches and mini tables where you can eat, and on a hot day the air conditioning alone is worth the ride. Then there's the smell — that grilled-meat-and-fresh-bread smell that makes waiting in line a genuine delight rather than a chore.
Four of us, four sandwiches, split two ways — the only sensible way to do this. Yohann and I shared the pork floss with pâté and the lemongrass chicken (we'd actually ordered the honey grilled chicken, but no complaints about how that mix-up worked out). Tom and Rob split the All In and the Grilled Pork.
Let's start with the pâté, because it deserves its own paragraph. It's amazing. But more than that, they make an art form of spreading it — every single bite has pâté right to the edge of the bun. The same goes for the sauce: it goes all the way out, so there's no bread mouth, no sad dry final third of the sandwich. Every bite is a complete bite. That sounds like a small thing, but it's the difference between a place that assembles sandwiches and a place that cares about them.
The pork floss bánh mì had great flavour, a great balance of veggies, and it was properly spicy — spicy the way a bánh mì should be, not toned down for anyone. The lemongrass chicken was so good: moist, fresh, well cooked. The bread is baked in-house and it shows.
I didn't taste the All In or the Grilled Pork, but Tom and Rob reported both were great. It was Tom's first bánh mì ever, which is a lot of pressure to put on one sandwich, and Viet Bites handled it.
If I have one note, it's that these are fairly light sandwiches. If I were a less responsible person I might have wanted two. They're reasonably priced, so you could — but one is enough. Just barely. It sits right on that edge, which honestly might be the perfect place for a sandwich to sit.
Now for the analysis. Is it good? Very. Is it worth crossing town for? Yes. Is it better than Bloor Street? Here's where we all landed after some deliberation over the last bites: Lan Ham on Bloor at Christie still wins. So Viet Bites isn't better than Bloor Street — but it's on par. Definitely as good as. And for a shop that's only been open since 2025, in a neighbourhood with no bánh mì reputation to lean on, that's saying something.
Also worth noting: they specialize in chè, the Vietnamese dessert with coconut milk, jellies, and fresh fruit — a dozen flavours of it. We didn't try any this time, which is as good an excuse as any for the next ride up.
We'll be back.
Verdict: Believe the hype
Comments
Post a Comment