Fresh Coffee & Sandwiches

I still love this place, the BBQ pork Banh Mi is really good! I’m glad that the lady hasn’t changed her attitude, she is still really very friendly.

Amazingly fresh and authentic Vietnamese sandwiches. I have had a lot of sandwiches from different Vietnamese restaurants from down in San Jose as well as over on Stockton Avenue in Sacramento. This lady sandwiches deli ranks up there with the best. You may want to get in a little bit early as she has a limited supply of bread and ingredients, most days. Definitely worth it.

Tasty banh mi at shockingly low (for Marin) prices. A «pork ball» bahn mi is only $ 3.99; bbq pork is $ 5.69. Even the drinks are priced exceptionally low. A small bottle of calistoga springs sparkling water is only $ 1. The thai iced tea and coffee look great – I keep meaning to try them. The owner seems to know all the regulars and customer service is friendly.
There’s a small parking lot but it is often full. There are always spaces right across the street on Grand, however. Cash only.

I work at a dental office close by… like no joke across the street lol her coffee is so strong it helps me make it through the day. Vietnamese coffee is soooo good highly addictive & she makes em strong. Im definitely a better employee with her help.
Vietnamese sandwich is bomb too… chicken good but the bbq beef is my favorite!

Don’t be fooled by the dated exterior, funky location, and generic name. For my money, this is about as good of a bánh mi sandwich as you’re going to find in Marin County.
I first discovered this little sandwich/​coffee shop years ago when a family friend used to work next door. She turned us on to their spicy Vietnamese sandwiches — soft, crunchy rolls filled with bbq pork (or chicken), cucumber, soy sauce, chile peppers, and mayo. I had never had a sandwich before that transcended your basic turkey, lettuce, tomato concoction. Every bite was bursting with exotic flavors.
To this day, Fresh Coffee & Sandwiches (yes, that’s REALLY its name) continues its tradition of quick, delicious Vietnamese sandwiches on the cheap (between $ 5 — $ 6). They also serve pastries and exotic ice teas and coffee. There’s never a long line to get in like other delis in town.
Be warned — it’s cash only. I even spoke with the owner about it. She griped that it was too expensive to bring in a credit card system. Especially for her tiny business, the credit cards take too much money out of her pocket.
So… if you’re in the mood for a tasty Vietnamese sandwich (and you have $ 5 — $ 10 in your pocket), I would definitely recommend paying a visit to Fresh Coffee & Sandwiches. Discovering and sharing tips about hidden gems like these are one of my favorite things about Unilocal.
Bön appetit!

Fresh Coffee & Sammies sell banh mi, pastries, coffee. etc. one person show.
didn’t feel like waiting. grab coffee. drop change on counter as requested. lady making sammies. no patrons in shop.
brew: cofffee, s. 1,25
–substandard coffee, harsh as expected.
drips:
–nice lady, just swamped.
–parking available.

I like the sandwiches here and I don’t mind paying $ 5. Yeah, maybe you can get something cheaper in Oakland but guess what? A sando from Whole Foods is going to cost you close to $ 8 and $ 5 is about what something from a fast food place would cost so big deal. I also noticed that a lot of the complainers specifically mentioned that they had the pork sandwich. I always get chicken, so maybe they should try that? When I think about how long it took me to make a chicken banh mi sandwich at home. First I had to marinate the chicken and cook it. Then I had to chop up all those vegetables and pickle them. I decided on the spot that $ 5 was a better deal and I’d be coming back to this place next time I was in the mood for banh mi. And on a side note, I’m writing this while eating a HORRIBLE chicken wrap from aforementioned Whole Foods ($ 6.99). Picking out the ancient, soggy, slimy and downright horrible tasting lettuce and wishing that I’d gotten a banh mi instead…

Best Bahn Mi in Marin.
She’s Cambodian so it’s slightly different than I’ve had elsewhere. The peppers are a sauce, not sliced, and it’s slightly larger than most, but in no way huge. And the price is $ 4 – 5 a sandwich, so while it’s not the $ 2.25 I used to get at Saigon Sandwiches 10 years ago, it’s by far the best cheap eat I’ve found in Marin.
It may not be a purist’s ideal, but it’s my favorite workday lunch option. I order in advance and it’s always ready. I order a pork ball sandwich, extra spicy, extra crispy, which makes the bread perfect!
Enjoy!

Best Banh Mi, hands down. Coming from people that know what it’s suppose to taste like. The price makes sense, due to the cost of being in Marin/​Foot traffic. Yes, Banh Mi is great in San Jose, Oakland etc, but something about it here makes it great. And no, you don’t have to be Vietnamese to make a sandwich.

I love the combo Bahn Mi (spicy) always. Fresh ingredients on very good bread. I call ahead and my sandwich is always ready to pick up. The veggies are fresh, the prices are great, this lady who’s always there takes pride in her food and is so pleasant! If you get there and there are any pastries left for sale, they are excellent, too. A simple good straightforward place. It’s not exactly a Vietnamese Bahn Mi, but it’s the best you will find in Marin or Sonoma Counties.

I’ve been going here for about two years now since I go to Dominican and this place isn’t that far from it. The lady is nice, but I have to admit, her accent is strong so I sometimes don’t understand her. She has come to recognize me and she likes to make small talk, which I don’t mind. Whenever I crave a vietnamese sandwich, I come here. I do admit, it is pricy, but it fulfills my craving. Not amazing, but I think it’s good if I’ve been going for this long.

My dad once said «You’d eat anything as long as it was between two pieces of bread.» And when that something is spicy, I can’t resist it. So when I discovered banh mi when I moved out to the west coast, it was love at first sight. Up until recently, I thought I had to head into the City or over to the East Bay to get my fix. No longer, having discovered this little spot.
When I walked in, the place was squeaky clean, and the service friendly. But quite surprised when I looked at the menu — $ 5 for a banh mi!!! It had better be either huge, or shockingly good. Usually when I snag a banh mi I’ll order two, given they’re not monster sandwiches (and would rather eat two than snarf extra things like chips or whatnot… but then again, I’m a fatarse.) but wasn’t going to order two at that price. Ordered up a BBQ pork, and the lady got to work.
Few minutes later, I was seated in the sun around the corner in the Whole Foods picnic area. Unwrapped the sandwich, and got to work. It certainly wasn’t huge (one wouldn’t be *quite* enough for lunch if you’re hungry), so was hoping for good.
And… well, it was tasty, but didn’t taste as good as the couterparts elsewhere. The roll was standard Marin Bordenaves fare, not the usual crispy fresh baguette I’m used to, but still good. The pork was a bit lacking, too — dry, and again just didn’t taste the same. And again, $ 5.00 for a decent (not bad, not great, decent) banh mi compared to $ 3.25 for a much better version at places all over the City is awfully steep.
I don’t mind paying the «Marin premium» but they really shouldn’t be more than $ 4. (Based on other reviews of this place, seems that there’s been a very steady price hike on their stuff.) I think Ahna sums it up perfectly — it’s good in a pinch. But if you’re looking for an «authentic» banh mi experience, hold out for your next trip into the City.

Fresh banh mi with a friendly Cambodian lady behind the counter. What isn’t there to like?

Great Vietnamese coffee and sandwiches here. I have been coming for years and just realized that I didn’t write a review about this place. Sometimes its hard to find parking since the spaces are limited. I always call them to order before I go to avoid the lines at lunch time.

I’m a high school student at San Rafael High and I go here every once in a while, nice woman, I don’t care how traditional the sandwich is, it’s really good. I can get my xiu mai sandwich and a drink for five bucks which beats the price of any of the other stuff I can get around there.

Skimpiest imaginable pork sandwich. For the amount of time she fussed over it, and the warning that I was about to get a Vietnamese sandwich, I was pumped to get something special. Really a disappointment. Everything was there, but there was only a little bit of each ingredient.

FYI-​Cash only!
Traditional bahn mi? No, but its good in a pinch! This is Marin after all… so am I going to judge it against a $ 2 Oakland or $ 3 SF «authentic» version?
The balance of the BBQ pork sandwich was great, actually more meat than I’ve had on any other Bahn Mi. The only thing is, there wasn’t any jalapenos in mine. Thankfully I have a vat of Sriracha on hand at the house, so I was able to doctor it up.
So if you are craving a Bahn Mi, this place will help take the edge off. I also think this would be a good place to take someone who isn’t as adventurous or willing to travel to a true «hole in the wall» to ease them into the absolute culinary delight of the Bahn mi.

I love this place!
The sandwiches are tasty and the service is very friendly. Okay — so maybe it’s not «authentic Vietnamese» but who cares if the food is good — and it is! The owner is Cambodian, afaik, and I really like her take on this style of sandwich. Yum!
Now I’m hungry… :]

2 points against this place: 1. They are not Vietnamese so their version of the banh mi is sorely lacking. I ordered a bbq pork sandwich today and it was not the typical bbq pork you would get in a banh mi. 2. The sandwich cost me $ 4.50! Ok, so it’s what I would pay at Togo’s or Subway for that kind of sandwich. I wasn’t expecting the $ 2 price tag I would get in San Jose or Oakland or even SF, but $ 4.50? Really? I was blown away. Add my $ 3 iced coffee and man! That was an expensive «Vietnamese» lunch.
I went to get my nails done a couple of doors down and the Vietnamese ladies told me that no one eats at this place because it’s not that good and it’s expensive. Guess I should’ve gone there first for the lowdown.

Banh Mi, anyone? I just wanted to give a shout-​out to this hole-​in-​the-​wall hiding in a mini-​mall in downtown San Rafael. At $ 5 or so, it’s an expensive sandwich, given the going rate of $ 2-​$ 3 for the same sandwiches in San Francisco, but this is Marin, so I saved $ 5 on the bridge toll.
The bread is not spectacular — go to Lee’s Sandwiches in Sunnyvale for that — but it’s serviceable, and I liked that the jalapenos, pickled veggies (whew, what’s that smell in my car? oh right, of course, my lunch.) were shredded a bit (unlike my last experience at Saigon in the City, where the jalapeño was left whole — ouch!). All in all, a solid showing in the banh-​mi arena, especially since there’s nothing else for miles around.
They apparently have Vietnamese coffee and donuts, too, but I don’t do donuts, so can’t report on that.