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Diners sit on plastic stools, tearing pieces of bread into skillets (chao) as an “auntie” serves each table. The scene resembles a sidewalk spot in Ho Chi Minh City, but it is actually in Manhattan, New York.

The eatery is Phe, a Vietnamese coffee shop at 72 Forsyth Street on the border of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. It was recently named one of The Infatuation‘s 20 best new restaurants in New York.

Phe is the sister project of MAM, a Vietnamese restaurant next door best known for bun dau mam tom, a dish of rice vermicelli, fried tofu, and fermented shrimp paste. MAM was ranked 20th on the New York Times‘ 2024 list of the 100 best restaurants in New York.

Despite its name, which means “coffee” in Vietnamese, Phe has become known for its weekend-only banh mi chao.

The dish pairs a baguette with a skillet of pate, sausage, beef, egg, and finished with a wedge of cheese. It comes with unlimited refills of pickles, pate, and Vietnamese-style aioli, made with egg yolk and vegetable oil.

The New York Times described Phe’s house-made baguettes as airy loaves that “look like no other bread in the city.”

The backyard of Phe features plastic stools and tables, a common setup at Vietnamese eateries. Photo courtesy of Instagram/nom_life

The backyard is the shop’s most popular seating area, with plastic stools and tables arranged close to the cooking station. Diners sit just steps from the cooking station, where each skillet is prepared in front of them.

A serving of banh mi chao at Phe costs US$28. The dish is available only on weekends, while the weekday menu is limited to banh mi and coffee. At the moment, the shop accepts walk-ins only.

On social media, many users praised the setup for recreating the atmosphere of a Vietnamese eatery and complimented the food. Others said the price was high compared with Vietnam, where a serving of banh mi chao typically costs around $2.

Phe’s fish sauce caramel latte is served in separate layers, with coffee beneath a layer of milk. Photo courtesy of Instagram/dishingdaily

Phe has also gained attention for drinks including a fish sauce caramel latte, which replaces salted caramel with fish sauce syrup to add an umami note.