Some say Pho Dakao finally brought serious pho to Smyrna when it opened on Cobb Parkway a few years ago. While the restaurant is known for its wide variety of Vietnamese noodle soups, the barbecue pork and chicken bánh mì on the menu are both worth ordering, especially for folks on the go.

This Chattahoochee Food Works stall, owned by Christine Nguyen and Johnny Cho, offers pho, bánh mì, vermicelli noodle bowls, and a variety of other Vietnamese street foods on its menu. Order the smoked brisket bánh mì or the special loaded with Vietnamese pork loaf, barbecue char siu, pâté, and french butter. The vegetarian bánh mì comes stuffed with fried tofu.

Owners Sang Ho, Thao Dinh, Cuong Bui, and Truc Mai opened their restaurant first on Peachtree Road Buckhead, then later at Colony Square’s Politan Row food hall. Bún Mì’s bánh mìs feature a range of proteins, including grilled short rib and garlic turmeric chicken or wild-caught Gulf shrimp.

Anh’s Kitchen keeps its bánh mì menu to three options: grilled pork, grilled chicken, and the special with ham, pork, and pâté.

Owned by Julian Wissman and Brian Holloway, Pho Cue blends Vietnamese flavors and dishes with central Texas barbecue. Wissman uses several recipes from his wife’s family, who are of Hmong heritage hailing from Thailand and Vietnam, to create many of the barbecue-based dishes offered on the menu. This includes bowls of pho and the bánh mì served with smoked pork, chicken, or mushrooms or even Texas-style smoked brisket. The bánh fries are also a must, which see French fries topped with smoked meat of choice, julienned pickled vegetables and cilantro, and queso.

This small shop in south metro Atlanta offers a variety of bánh mì on its menu, including meatball, barbecue pork, and shredded pork skin. There’s also a buy five get one free deal here. Hours can vary.

Lee’s Bakery is not only a Buford Highway staple, it’s an Atlanta institution. This is where to head for steaming bowls of pho at 8 a.m. and bánh mì deals; buy five sandwiches and get one free. Try the bakery’s dac biet with ham, pork head cheese, and pork liver or the bánh mì cá made with fish cakes. Make sure to also grab a baguette from the basket near the front door for later.

Pho Bac in Chamblee offers a straightforward and traditional bánh mì selection on its menu like the dac biet (pork cold cuts) and the grilled pork, and vegetarian options like tofu or fried eggs.

A relative newcomer to Buford Highway, the name says it all as to what’s serve on the menu here. Be Banh Mi offers its sandwiches in three sizes: regular baguette: the snack-size bread stick; and the challenger (a super-sized version.) Choose from meats and other proteins like glazed chicken, Vietnamese pork sausage, and black bean tofu and pair your bánh mì with a Vietnamese iced coffee.

Mama’s Banh Mi keeps the menu centered on the delicious Vietnamese sandwich, and offers proteins like soybean tofu, egg only, pork sausage, and grilled chicken. But the move here is the bánh mì dặc biệt or the Mama’s Special. This bánh mì comes with pâté and a variety of Vietnamese cold cuts for under $6.  

This Norcross shop has regulars claiming it serves the best bánh mì in all of metro Atlanta. The counter service shop includes over 15 bánh mì options like grilled or steamed pork, liver pâté, fish, and a combo with ham, head cheese, pâté, and steamed pork.

It’s all about bánh mì at Banh Mi Cafe in Duluth. Sandwiches here include everything from the oft-ordered barbecue pork or Vietnamese pork cold cuts (dac biet) to scrambled eggs, sugarcane shrimp, and pork skin bánh mì. The menu is vegetarian-friendly with tofu, avocado, and sautéed mushrooms listed among the cafe’s meat-free options.