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    Ba Le Dorchester

    4.2 (620 reviews)
    InexpensiveVietnamese, Sandwiches
    Open • 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    Ba Le Dorchester Photos

    BA LE DORCHESTER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Ba Le Dorchester

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    Michael S.

    Amazing food. There is a Ba Le North of Boston! It is in the food court and the market is a bit old and could use TLC. This was my first time at the Dorchester location and it lived up to everything I saw on Diner, Drive ins and Dives. Service was excellent! And the ambiance welcoming. Not really a sit down place. But great eats! If I am south of Boston I will go. If not I will hit the northern spot! Great sandwiches!

    Lizzie Y.

    Love going to Ba Le in Dorchester, for a quick bite! They don't have dine-in, just take-out. Love the variety they offer here. They're popular for their banh mi sandwiches & drinks. I enjoy getting their cold cut banh mi with extra butter and pate! I like that their baguettes are not too thick and are quite flaky. The bread to filling ratio is perfect each bite. Every time I visit, I always get a cold cut banh mi, nem, and sugarcane juice or an iced coffee. Super quick service. The line can seem daunting at times, especially in the early morning or lunch time but I promise it does move fast!

    Prices should be indicate there for transparency and to prevent fraudulent marking up prices
    Tulsa H.

    We're regulars here. About 2x a month on average. Love the banh mi sandwiches. Also, must say that we have never encountered them marking up prices based on whatever they feel like (presumably based on them perceiving whether we would figure out that we'd been scammed or not--haven't encountered that here. BUT, definitely encountered this unethical deceptive practice at Ba Le in Quincy (inside the Kan Man Market). Any event, this Ba Le Dorchester is quite solid. Here are things they should really improve on to make it even better: - put expiration dates or packed dates on certain items, such as the desserts in the fridge. That's the norm practice elsewhere. Thus, the absence of these dates strongly suggests deception, i.e., bad faith attempts to sell older produce when they should already have been trashed. - do put the prices of the items rather than letting customers wondering or just blindly let the cashier ring it up without being informed of the price first. Why not place the price there? And yes, this is probably more desirable because of the aforementioned practice of marking up prices at the Ba Le Quincy Branch (this is documented all over Google and Yelp reviews for Ba Le Quincy), which may be why we have good reasons to be hyperly cautious when making purchases from these personnel.

    Chris T.

    I really don't see any complaints anytime I'm here. Since my grandma to my parents to me as an adult. Ba Le is my only go to for banh mi, snacks and the occasional hot food. Two cups of fresh sugarcane and I'm good to go! Prices go up, as cost of goods go up. Still a bargain compared to other sandwiches you get for more money! Filling is always generous, you want extra butter pate? Just say so yes it cost a little more but they don't just give u a tiny bit, they smack it on your sub. The tall handsome guy at the register is always cool as hell! We also get jerky and nem with the pepper pretty frequently. Nice snack when you got class or work. I've gone out and tried so many other people's favorites because they wanted to hate on BaLe, and honest opinion lol, those other places don't even come close. They have long lines here during lunch rush or morning rush, but it moves. The bread is fresh every day. I'll just stick to my day 1. Thanks. But ayyyeee bring in more nem nuong for my custom sub haha jk.

    Iced coffee
    Yueh Qi C.

    This is the best place to get Bahn mi, it really hits different than all other Bahn mis I have had. I will say, this place can be very overwhelming if you don't know Vietnamese but not impossible to order. They have lots of other packaged food in store but some do not have ingredients/labels. So if you're adventurous, we typically see what locals get and do the same. Bahn mi is fairly easy to order. We typically just tell the person the number on the menu and never had issues. This recent trip we got the special combo (#1) and bbq beef (#2), they were both amazing! Bbq beef had a nice Smokey flavor, highly recommend. We also got their iced coffee and it was the best! Very rich. The only downside is that ordering is confusing. The drink people told us to pay at the food counter so we had to wait in line again but then we saw other people paying at the drinks counter without doing what we did. During rush hour this can be a little frustrating.

    Bahn Mi sandwiches
    Todd S.

    Had great anticipation after seeing the Guy Fieri piece on the company. I was sadly, underwhelmed. Was looking forward to a soft, fresh baked roll, but it was crunchy and wasn't so aft inside. I don't think it was all that fresh. To me, the bread used in a Bahn Mi is the second most important item. The bread was crunchy and pieces of the roll crumbled and fell all over the table. The Vietnamese coffee was very sweet, I would say, overly sweetened. The pork and other sandwich ingredients were very well done. Small seating area of about 10 chars and 4 small round tables. It's -not really a restaurant, there's no table service, it's a take out joint.

    Isaac C.

    I wished I lived closer to Ba Le so I could come here more often. I usually get the chicken banh mi, and it's packed with everything you'd want. The pickled daikon and carrots add a bright acidity and crunch and the jalapenos give a subtle heat. The chicken is flavorful and the bread has a light crispy exterior while still being soft enough to bite through easily. One time I left it sitting in the fridge for a couple days, but it was still delicious after reheating.

    Leang L.

    Let me start my saying I grew up in San jose, Ca. I've had my share of bang mi. I Was not expecting a line. Inside is a little cluttered. They have a lot of snacks and baked goods for sale, however no pricing on anything. Really bad set up. Stood in line for about 25min before I could place my order. I always get the cold cut combo and decided to include a grilled beef banh mi. Paid for my food and left. The grilled beef banh mi was flavorful but was really chewy, and had lots inedible fat, could not chew through it. The cold cut was ok. Nothing really stood out other than the bread having a nice crisp and airiness. I forgot mention that I ordered a penny wort drink. It was very watered down and tasted like nothing.

    Banh mi thit nguoi
    Jimmy N.

    Ba Le never disappoints. Grateful to live 5 mins away. Always a great choice after a good work out. Banh mi hits differently when you're tired and hungry after a work out lol My go to is the beef and add shredded pork. (Will cost a little extra but worth it). Rice box is the way to go too. They give you a nice portion. So much that they use a rubber man to close the box. Highly recommend getting these two options!

    Pork banh mi
    Rosita Z.

    The best Banh Mi I ever had! I really love and enjoy their grilled pork/grilled beef Banh Mi. The pickled vegetables are delicious and the bread is very crunchy. I don't usually give 5 stars reviews but this place is a must if you are visiting the Boston area! We originally ordered one Banh Mi to share because we went after having lunch, but because it was so good we ended up buying 1 more! Service is very efficient like most asian owned bakeries.

    Fish patty banh mi
    Lydia C.

    Very casual lunch spot. There's a variety of Vietnamese snacks, take-home ingredients, hot entrees like noodle and rice dishes, and of course the star of the show - the banh mi. I came around 11 AM on a weekday, and there was an only a short line but I had my order within 5 minutes. There's extremely limited seating (maybe 8 people can fit in the back corner), so don't plan for a quiet café type of setting here. I went with the fish patty banh mi, which I've never had before. Everything was extremely fresh. I was especially impressed by the baguette, which was had a crunch but wasn't so hard as to cut the roof of your mouth! There was enough bo (Vietnamese mayonnaise) to ensure it wasn't too dry. The banh mi was also packed with a lot of veggies (daikon, carrots, and peppers), and the fish patty was really tasty. I'll definitely come back and try another soon! Another huge plus: only $8 after tax!

    Few cute tables/chairs- would be harder to score these seats on the weekend though
    Emily R.

    This is my FAVORITE food spot in Boston hands down! The Bahn mi is out of this world no matter which one you try It can get busy on weekends (worth the wait though) If you can go during a weekday it's great to look around while it's less busy Their Vietnamese coffee is a Must try It's very vegetarian friendly- tons of delicious tofu and veggie options to try Huge banner that for those in military uniforms or with an active military ID get a free coffee & sandwich

    Banh mi's for the road. Delicious.
    Eric D.

    Banh mi Ba Le in Dorchester still holding strong. Every time we swing in, the place is packed--and with good reason. Their banh mi here are still delicious. To my knowledge they're the only banh mi shop around that bakes their bread in-house. But if there are others around MA that do the same, let me know! I haven't swung in here in a while--not sure if I was under a rock but I did notice they have a bit of seating now towards the back of their store. Overall banh mi here is the best around in the MA area overall.

    This is where the iced coffee, boba, smoothies, and a wide variety of other drinks are made.

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    Ba Le Dorchester Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Ba Le Dorchester

    Would it be safe for someone with a shellfish allergy to eat here?

    I would think it would be fairly safe to eat some of the pre-packaged foods. If it's a severe allergy, it might be best to stay away from the fresh items, in case of cross-contamination.

    Do the vegetarian Banh mis have fish sauce?

    No they don't put fish sauce in Banh mi. There is a tofu Banh mi

    View All 4 Questions

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    Another classic Vietnamese restaurant in Fields Corner, Dorchester. I got a couple of takeout items…read morehere mainly rice dishes with Vietnamese, sausage (nem nuong) and grilled pork chops (thit nuong), and right off the bat. I greatly appreciated how they had so much protein. I find a common trend in Vietnamese restaurants that they will skimp on the protein, and in exchange, provide a lot of white rice. To each their own, but I prefer a good balance of both. I haven't tried other dishes, but they have a large menu and I'm curious if their other dishes are just as good. I saw that they make hu tieu kho as a secret menu item that they make and I find that it's pretty rare in Boston, so I'd love to try that one day.

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    One of the spots that people kept recommending for good coffee & Bahn mi. overall takeaways: good…read morematcha color & flavor, drinks were not too sweet (which is an Asian compliment!), quaint spot. Would rate 5/5 on drinks, 4/5 on food. We got the customer favorite: iced pandan matcha (with oat milk for preference) -- overall: good matcha color & flavor, pandan was not too sweet, ice ratio was good. My bf really enjoyed this one! I also got the Iced Saigonese -- strong viet coffee, still yummy with the sweetness & the foam on top enhanced the creaminess of the drink. We ordered the BBQ Pork Bahn Mi + egg, I would recommend adding the egg for sure! The egg was creamy & runny, giving it extra flavor. However, Bahn mi itself was not particularly special. We actually ordered the egg after tasting the Bahn mi & it was a little dry. Nice location, seating inside & outside but construction was happening outside, so it wasn't as enjoyable. We had went around 1PM on a Wednesday & the seats were filled. Saw some people with computers, with no problem.

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    An Nam - BEEF - VERMICELLI PLATE

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    4.0(135 reviews)
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    There's not a lot of Vietnamese restaurants in Somerville so An Nam was much needed. They also have…read morea location in Cambridge. It's a little bit of a more upscale Vietnamese experience. The prices are higher and the portions are smaller compared to other Vietnamese restaurants, but the food was overall good. The beef that came with the vermicelli was awesome and delicious with a nice grilled taste and char. The broth of their pho is delicious and I finished every drop. The service was average. The ambiance was modern and they have a bar area. Parking is free at the garage for 3 hours or you can pay for meter parking.

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    Ba Le Dorchester - vietnamese - Updated October 2026

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