Decent Vietnamese baguettes in the Tustin area.

Working in Irvine, its hard to find good, if not, great Vietnamese restaurants nearby for lunch.  They are either limited in selection, poor representation, or overpriced compared to the eateries you can find in Little Saigon.  Understandably, the rent is more expensive in Tustin/Irvine, and the food (or price) usually suffers for it.

Thankfully, the price is the only thing that suffers at Zon, whose sandwiches are a delight and an almost-perfect rendition of the many delicious mom-and-pop bahn mi places in Westminster.  You can expect to pay $3-$4 a sandwich, a little bit more than what you’d find at the many “Buy 2, get 1 free” places in Little Saigon.

The bread has the perfect crust with the requisite snap in texture that makes way to the chewy inside.  The ingredients are par for the course: the charbroiled park is well-seasoned and has just the right amount of charring; the dac biet (house special) is the usual Vietnamese standard, various slices of Vietnamese cold-cuts that work well.  Like any good Vietnamese bakery, they sell their bread by itself.  Do yourself a favor and buy a loaf.

One thing I did notice when ordering is that the cashier will ask you if you want peppers in it.  This is usually a standard in Little Saigon: you don’t get a choice.  I think the option is given to the more American palate.

I love, love, love the iced Vietnamese coffee here.  What sets it apart is the coffee is brewed stronger than most bahn mi shops.  You still get the sweetness of the condensed milk, but the Vietnamese coffee tastes like, surprise, coffee.

For dessert, I ordered the flan hoping for something perfectly creamy with a bit of caramel flavor.  I was vastly disappointed.  The texture was alright, but it was certainly lacking in flavor.  Skip the flan and take an extra baguette home to go.

Zon Baguettes
14081 Newport Avenue

Tustin, C.A. 92780

(714) 731-1366