The Vinam Cafe

What people go for here

The Vinam Cafe combines forceful Vietnamese coffee with creamy salted, egg, coconut, taro, and ube variations, plus an unusually deep selection of house-baked pastries and savory food. The welcoming service and calm seating make it comfortable for a relaxed visit. Bánh mì can be generously filled but slow to arrive, and sweetness or bread texture will not suit every preference.

• Salted coffee
• Egg coffee
• Fruit-cheese and savory pastries

Worth knowing: Bánh mì and other made-to-order food can require a longer wait when a small team is balancing drinks, phone orders, and the kitchen. The cream-topped drinks run sweet by design, and a minority of visits found the coffee balance, danish texture, or bánh mì bread less successful. The storefront is tucked into a small mixed-use development just east of College Avenue, so drivers should watch for the turn into its small lot.

The coffee

Vietnamese cultural café and bakery centered on traditional coffee flavor profiles and Vietnamese food.

The official menu positions the café around authentic Vietnamese flavors, with Vietnamese coffee as the natural anchor.

The room

A contemporary Vietnamese café-bakery in a small El Cajon Boulevard storefront.

A new-generation Vietnamese café and bakery with early openings and later Friday,Saturday service

Inside

Indoor café seating.

Parking

Plaza parking.