Banh Mi Haven in Kanata draws Vietnamese foodies across the city for $8 sandwiches
This one-year-old spot on Hazeldean Road bakes its own baguettes and makes in-house garnishes, mayo and butter for some of Ottawa's best banh mi.
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If you're lucky when you visit Banh Mi Haven on Hazeldean Road in Kanata, the bread will be piping hot, seconds out of the oven. That crisp-shelled, light-and-airy baguette is the foundation of what makes this one-year-old Vietnamese sandwich shop worth the drive across the city.
Theresa Nguyen, the owner-operator, bakes the baguettes in-house and makes her own garnishes and condiments—pickled carrot and daikon, Vietnamese mayo infused with deep-fried shallots and fish sauce, and even butter churned in-house. The sandwiches themselves run $8 each: a classic banh mi with Vietnamese cold cuts and pâté, a pork-floss version, barbecue pork, or chicken. If you like heat, chopped chilies add pops of spice. Payment is cash or e-transfer only.
Nguyen, 42, came to Ottawa from Vietnam 18 years ago and worked as a hairdresser in Barrhaven for years. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she threw herself into baking, especially banh mi—a food tied to her childhood in Vietnam, where her aunt ran a banh mi stand in Ho Chi Minh City. She learned the craft online, practised relentlessly, and later enrolled in Algonquin College's two-year baking program.
Now she balances hairdressing during the week with the banh mi shop, which is open Thursday through Saturday. "For me, banh mi is street food in Vietnam that everyone can afford," she says. "Banh mi is like, everyone can have it and it can fill up your belly."
Regular customers—many of them Vietnamese expats—drive significant distances to order multiple sandwiches for later. One regular drives 45 kilometres from Greely. "It's the best banh mi in Ottawa — 100 per cent," he says.
