Cay Cafe

I can't believe I'm saying this but....Cay banh mi might just have beat Duc Huong's!My husband and I stumbled upon Cay cafe while hanging out in Fremont. From their Yelp they had fairly new ratings and so we decided to try it. And let me tell you.....it's was fabulous! Their bread was freshly baked and so perfect. It had a crispy crust and soft filling. We ordered the combination cold cut and the grilled pork sandwich. I just can't believe how different their bread, pate and meats tasted verse other Vietnamese sanwhich shops. It was supreme! Their pate/butter/cold cuts/bread was better than duc huong and it tasted more fresh. Even their pickled veggies which I don't like (I enjoyed here)!We've had our fair share of banh mi's at many local spots and other states. But I'm so glad we found Cay Cafe! It's a 10/10 for us!

I somehow always crave banh mi's. I think it is solely because I cannot easily and simply get it when I am out of state. Or if I do try it out of California, it tastes funny and is rarely authentic (I am 100% speaking of states in the middle of no where and not places like New York.). And of course, when given the opportunity, I always go HAM (also known as purchasing more than I know I can consume or want to eat) which is a terrible habit of mine. FOOD // I ordered the 1) pork and shrimp spring roll and 2) combination banh mi. - Major first world problems--the spring roll gave you the option of 3 sauces and you had to pick or else they will not let you move on from the screen (one is a orange based paprika sauce with crab paste which I totally googled and is more utilized with pork related rolls, another is the OG peanut sauce and the third is their house sauce which there was no one around to ask...I went with the OG). This spring roll was obviously wrapped in the AM or before opening and placed in the refrigerator due to the hard outer skin layer. The sauce separated from itself but still tasted very authentic with a nice mild spicy aftertaste. No added peanuts. - the combo banh mi... kind of disappointing. I hated how there were only three paper thin layers of the three different types of meat. A thick layer of mayo, pate and their presumed house sauce. The cilantro, jalapeño and cucumber were literally half the sandwich (as can be seen in the attached photo). The pickles did have a nice crunch but was lost due to the heavy pate. The bread was nice, thin and had a nice crunch with a sweet undertone which balanced out the saltiness from the rest of the dish. However, the bread tasted stale, was not toasted at all aka was cold, and felt as if it encompassed the entire dish--was not very appetizing. - egg cream viet coffee: definitely authentic. I forgot how strong viet coffee can be and how much viet love their coffee to shine. Awesome balance between the sweet and the bitter. However, way too much ice and couldn't pick the size of cup or the amount of ice. - WISE TIP: DO NOT ORDER ON YELP OR OTHER WEBSITES, you will save at least $2.20 when you physically order in person. On the plus end, this place is adjacent to 99 Ranch so get some grocery shopping done and make use of your time :)SERVICE //- they can take your order but they were busy packing orders (from the looks of it, there were two females in the kitchen and one female outside making the drinks AND packing the orders)- the female packing the orders had a super bubbly personality which I enormously appreciated. We laughed when we both reached for the thin straw for the coffee. - only one kiosk which took forever. I was there at 1:04pm. Two people in front of me. And people in front of me always seemed to have big orders. I finally ordered at 1:24pm. Nice to not have to talk to anybody but you sure need some patience... I don't know if it's because orders are generally low enough that one kiosk is suffice but dang 20 minutes down the drain. - they did not offer water like other places. I totally and graciously stole water from another place. Would be nice if they added some water...AMBIENCE:- food court- very modern and updated- their chairs with holes wasn't very comfortable for my skinny behind and no back support (yes first world complaint here)- love the circular vibe of this food joint- center of it all- adjacent to multiple Asian eateries and 99 Ranch (and if no place satisfies others in your party... there are more options outside)- very nicely litPARKING ///- in a plaza with multiple stores- free parking- should not be a burden to find a spot- spots can be very tight where people do ding your car doors- there is an adjacent plaza where 168 market used to be with a very short walking distance if you cannot find a spot at all Will I come again? Nope. I was very, very, very hopeful to finally find a banh mi spot nearby where I reside but I guess the trek to San Jose or Milpitas is more than worth it :(. Crazy enough, I always bring a bag full of banh mi when I have to commute back to work in the Midwest :(

I like how this place is on the go for me especially since I work in fremont and I would just order online and pickup over here before heading to work which is very convenient. I've ordered quite a variety of items over here and the ones I pretty much order the most is the A3-Crunchy Pork with a fried egg & the nem nuong with nem nuong sauce. Reluctantly tried the A7-Lemongrass Beef also with a fried egg and it was delicious. My go to drinks is the C9-Dirty Matcha with soy milk & C10-Matcha Swirl with soy milk.The service is quite friendly as I am greeted by the same person most of the time I have pickup orders.

So glad they opened up here! The last banh mi shop in the Warm Springs area closed down 10 years ago (I hope the former shop owner somehow sees my review, I miss her)The bread here is crispy, super light and fluffy (important!!!!) and they're generous with the pâté. My go to is the Vietnamese ham (cha lua aka steamed pork rolls).Gonna pass out from food coma now. Bye!

I kept seeing Cay Cafe pop up here and there on Yelp. So on one of my drives home from work, I picked up some lunch here to try them out. In short, the prices can be shocking, the service top notch, and food quality goodness.L O C A T I O NCay Cafe is inside the 99 Ranch Market in their food court area. 99 Ranch is off of the Mission Blvd interchange between 680 and 880. Plenty of seating inside shared by all the places inside. Parking on the otherhand can be a bit tricky. Although they have a dedicated area for parking for the plaza, it can be pretty full. You may need to park further and walk over but I haven't had too much trouble finding something relatively close.I N S I D EAs I said, it's in the food court. It's spacious and pretty clean. Great spot to meet up with friends to have a variety of food inside though yes, all pretty much asian.M E N UThey have banh mi, bowls, rolls, coffees and drinks. There's a kiosk to order but they also have someone there in person to also take orders. I don't recall how I ordered when I went but I ordered the combination banh mi, Lemon grass beef roll, and egg coffee.From what I recall, I enjoyed all the food. Lovely layer of flavors in the banh mi, veggies crisp. The beef roll with a lovely lemongrass flavor so if you do not like lemongrass...do not get it. The egg coffee was strong and delicious. It was a fun lunch for sure that I shared with the hubby.I just didn't realize how much I paid until I overheard another customer said something along the lines of "I don't think I've ever paid $9 for banh mi." I don't think I have either until this day.S E R V I C E Greeted and met with a smile. They answered any questions. It took a little time to get the food but the drink came out pretty quickly. Easily paid by card.O V E R A L LI don't think I could justify getting this banh mi daily but once in a while it's a lovely treat as it felt that the quality of the ingredients were high. Flavors were lovely in all of the items we ordered. Folks there were so friendly! I would definitely come back and try out more of their items. Come by and try them out!

A hidden gem in 99 Ranch's food court. I've gotten the tofu garden banh mi twice as takeout, and it's become a favorite. The star of the sandwich is undoubtedly the baguette--soft, fresh, and with just the right amount of crustiness to hold everything together without being too tough. The tofu is flavored beautifully with lemongrass, giving the sandwich a fragrant, savory edge that pairs well with the fresh veggies. However, the only thing missing is a bit more mayo sauce to keep it from feeling slightly dry. A touch of extra creaminess would elevate the banh mi to perfection. If you're looking for a quick, flavorful bite in Fremont, Cay Cafe delivers on taste and freshness.

Inside the ranch 99 food court, finally a good banh mi place!When it comes to banh mi, I almost always get the cold cut combo, and the key to a good classic cold cut combo is the quality of the pate.The pate here is really good, and different than most of the other places, is really good and creamy.They also toast the bread for you, which makes a big diff vs having cold bread, especially during the winter!Place is clean, the owner is attentive, definitely will be part of my friday night rotation when I am waiting for AOPS class to finish, lol.

Came here twice since their soft opening. Owner Long was friendly and helpful in recommending Banh Mi options from their menu.I decided to go for the Banh Mi Pho Dip and Vietnamese Egg Coffee before the grand opening. The dip was a pho broth made from scratch with some spice and oh boy, each bite made me want more. The egg coffee was strong, but there was too much ice and less egg cream foam in a regular cup. I should request less ice the next time I order. I came back again to try their Nem Nuong and Combination Cold Cut that Long recommended on my first visit. Since I ordered it through the touch screen, I forgot to add a note to cut in half on the Bahn Mi, which I recommend if you can't finish it all in one sitting. The Nem Nuong was so good and crispy, it went well with the matching sauce. Even the combination cold cut had flavor with the right amount of topping and crispy baguette. Very friendly and fast service. There's lots of spacious seating available in the food hall, but I prefer to takeout more. I wish they open on Mondays so I can get a Bahn Mi for lunch or dinner.

A good hidden find! All the food options were v affordable and my friend and I were super happy with what we ate. However, my brown sugar oat milk drink was not very sweet despite asking for it to be sweet when ordering so even after asking for extra cream, I waited for my ice to melt down to dilute it because it was too bitter for my liking. Still wouldn't mind coming back to try other things on the menu :)

Order:Matcha latte- pretty nice and smooth, would get an extra shot of matcha next time Coconut coffee- not too sweet, ever so slightly bitter Banh mi pho dip- (we also added pate to it) -very tasty-Broth was very seasoned and had a slow burner spicy feeling -Viet dad approved -The sandwich itself was good but the meat would have tasted better with a bit more of juicy meat fat Tofu garden- the fried tofu itself was a bit plain but crunch on the outside and soft on the inside-the lemon grass seasoning made up for it -quite tasty, kinda wish they fried the tofu either the seasoning Side: they gave us some jello dessert that they were piloting and it was very soft and not too sweet. He mentioned that they used while milk instead of the traditional coconut. It was still nice. I hope to see it on the menu soon. Service:The owners were super nice, welcoming, and open to conversations and suggestions. He mentioned that they also opened that location just in August. It was inside a 99 ranch market food court so, sort of hard find but was worth it. Lots of seating inside. Might be able to study there.