Cu Lắc: Creative Bánh Mì Counter on avenue Bernard

Bernard avenue’s newest addition, Cu Lắc, hands out bánh mì through a small takeout window that opens right onto the sidewalk. Rooted in Vietnamese street food, these sandwiches pick up spices and techniques from all over the world, with rotating flavours that follow seasonal produce and the kitchen’s latest inspiration, keeping things playful. It’s also one of the best bánh mì in Montreal.

This counter, right next door and sharing a kitchen with Ping Pong Club, is Cu Lắc’s second location after it’s first one on Bishop Street, and good news for sandwich lovers like us: it stays open right through the winter, with some takeout-friendly Vietnamese dishes in the works for the cold months.

Bringing back childhood flavours

Wendy Tran, the owner, was born and raised in Vietnam and arrived in Canada at 14. She thought the Vietnamese restaurants here had kept the recipes of decades past, and missed the new, creative street food she grew up eating. One idea kept coming back: a bánh mì counter, specifically, and nothing else. She dreamed about it from 2020, and in 2024, Cu Lắc was born in her home kitchen before catering orders called for a permanent space.

The name was her older brother’s childhood nickname, roughly “a very energetic boy,” for the big brother she admired growing up, always running around with endless curiosity and wonder. It’s the spirit she wants for Cu Lắc: “You’re like a kid and you’re just playing with ingredients, and it just makes sense without you questioning it too much.”

Vietnamese Food Without Borders

Growing up in ’90s Vietnam already meant eating Korean, Thai and Indian food, and even Soviet dishes, a legacy of the country’s former alliance with the Soviet Union. Cu Lắc brings that same appetite for the world to Montréal. “We take inspiration from flavours that are all around us and really question what Vietnamese street food could be in a Montreal context, in a Canadian context, and explore flavours and textures without borders,” she explains. Take the jerk mushroom, currently on the menu: Caribbean jerk spices, an Indian mango chutney and fresh Quebec corn, all in one sandwich. “It’s a little bit of everything, but it makes sense together.”

The Vietnamese soul stays intact, with plenty of fresh herbs, bright acidity and a crunch that keeps every bite light. The baguette, the pride of the house, follows her own recipe and is baked with local flour by Joe la Croûte at Jean-Talon Market, her supplier since day one and for good, since, as she puts it, “we’re known for our bread.”

Keeping it playful

Working alongside Wendy is chef Giang Pham, who grew up in Vietnam too and came to Montréal for school, graduating in fashion before stumbling into the restaurant world. Since joining Cu Lắc in 2025, their touch has taken the flavours, and the operations, to another level. Once a month, the two sit down for a testing day, the owner’s favourite part of the job: “We really get to dream, and we get to play, and we get to look at ingredients differently.” Limited editions last about two months, though Wendy admits the team would switch every week if it could.

Two sandwiches are here to stay: the classic pork bánh mì and the lapsang chicken, though we absolutely loved the crispy pork belly that was on the menu at the time of our visit. On the drinks side, classic sodas are on offer for now, but Wendy has plans to bring Vietnamese coffee to the counter eventually. Cu Lắc also offers catering, a side of the business she would love to grow, with all the details on its website.

Written by Marie-Ève Godin
Photography by Alison Slattery

Updated on September 24, 2026

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