This Vietnamese café serves one of area’s best banh mi. New location will add croffles, coffee

Toast Mi, a banh mi and boba shop whose success in Tacoma led to a second shop in Seattle, will expand again this spring — this time southward to Lacey.

Unlike its other locations, the new one in Thurston County (next to Koibito Sushi in the Fred Meyer plaza) will offer an array of Vietnamese iced coffee drinks and croffles, the croissant-waffle mashup that has emerged as a popular treat at modern Asian cafés throughout the South Sound and across the country.

Friends Nikki Nguyen-Wingate and Liam Nguyen opened their first restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District in 2020. Rather than stick to the more common full-service model with a big menu, they developed a fast-casual concept that leaned fully into the famous Vietnamese sandwich. It quickly became a fixture in Tacoma, landing Nguyen-Wingate on TNT Diner’s list of six women reshaping Tacoma’s restaurant scene.

At Toast Mi, each sandwich is named after a city or landmark in Vietnam, where Nguyen-Wingate spent her early childhood. After exploring her home country as an adult, she returned to the United States with a desire to introduce more people to this vibrant cuisine. Sandwiches are wrapped in paper for quick consumption on the go.

Choose among six proteins — grilled pork, chicken or beef, meatballs, tofu or the classic cold cuts — as well as the house special with your choice of two proteins and a fried egg. You can also opt for a rice bowl.

What differentiates Toast Mi’s banh mi is both juicy, well-marinated meat and the default addition of a house pâté and basil-cilantro aioli. (You can, of course, omit whatever doesn’t suit your palate.)

The short but flavorful boba menu features flavors like Matcha Mango, Taro Oreo, Strawberry Cheesecake and Coconut Coffee. Teas include fresh-fruit varietals such as peach, mango and kumquat.

WHY BANH MI IN LACEY?

“Lacey is definitely a growing city,” said Nguyen-Wingate in an email. “There are a lot of food enthusiasts and not enough options.”

After joining a Facebook group for residents of Olympia and Lacey, she learned that many traveled north to Lakewood, Tacoma and into King County to find foods they loved. She also knew their Proctor restaurant attracted customers who live on or near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The Lacey shop, which Nguyen-Wingate owns with her husband Matt, will lend more room than the original in Proctor — 1200 square feet compared to about 850.

“A lot of our current customers have been asking for a dessert menu, but we aren’t able to do it at Proctor because of space,” said Nguyen-Wingate. “Depending on how this new addition goes, we might add it to our Green Lake menu as well.”

TOAST MI - LACEY

▪ 730 Sleater Kinney Road SE, Lacey, toastmi.com

▪ Details: fast-casual shop with banh mi, croffles, boba and Vietnamese coffee, target opening mid-April — instagram.com/toastmiplease for updates

This story was originally published March 26, 2024 at 12:55 PM.