N. Lee Bakery

This was the first place I came to when I moved down to Melbourne and I never looked back. I come to this bakery at least 3 times a week to get their pork rolls, it’s an addiction that i don’t want to curb. I haven’t had the chance to try anything different because I cant bring myself to order anything else.

Seriously good Bahn Mi, and really cheap prices. It gets busy at lunchtime, but the queue moves quickly and the staff are friendly. The best cheap lunch on Smith St!

It’s tasty and nice but the crackling pork bun wasn’t my cup of tea. Fatty and greasy, I tried to push myself to finish my bun because I hate the idea of wasting food but unfortunately I had to throw away one-​third of the bun cause the lard started to stick on my palate. Indeed it’s quite a big portion, you just have to have it while hot.
I’ll come here again perhaps for their salad roll.

I’ve been dropping by this bakery for coffee and a some food every morning on my way to the Australian Open. They make a good coffee, they’re French bread with sesame seeds is delicious, and so are the banh mis. I see a lot of people ordering breakfast sandwiches, so I’d guess they’re good.

In my 12 days in Melbourne we must have come here 4 times. Prices can’t be beat. Everything is fresh and delightful. My favorite is the Grilled Pork Banh Mi (Vietnamese roll). It is legit, from the fresh, warm baguettes to the pâté and homemade butter and pickled veggies. I like adding extra chilis because they are so fun and spicy.
Sometimes as a snack we’ll get the rice paper rolls that are in the refrigerator to the right. The pork ones are the yummiest… and don’t forget some peanut dipping sauce! Great snack for a hot day.
Might have long lines but efficient and quick moving,

I swear, they put crack in their BBQ pork rolls because I can’t seem to get enough of them. Aside from the fact that they are insanely cheap at about $ 4.50 a pop, they are ridiculously good. There’s another Viet sandwich place that’s up Smith Street and is closer to my office, and almost never has a line, and yet I walk right past it to get to N. Lee, so I can queue up with everyone else that’s waiting for their fix. I don’t know what it is that makes the pork rolls so good, but clearly I’m not the only one who thinks so because this place is always busy.
The sandwiches are all made to order using really fresh ingredients — it seems relatively healthy too when compared to other «cheap» lunch options.
There’s nowhere to eat inside (the place is about the size of a postage stamp) but there are tables outside, which are nice on a sunny day.

Love N. Lee’s, I could go there every weekend, I pretty much do! There’s only three tiny tables (outside) and it’s very popular so it’s hard to get a seat, but its very easy to grab a roll and a coffee to take home or sit in a nearby park. They’ve got the standard bakery fare: cheese-​and-​bacon rolls, doughnuts, muffins, vanilla slices, etc. but their main attractions are the salad rolls made fresh to order. The coffee’s not bad, you can get better on Smith Street but it’s good and it’s cheap ($ 3.70 for a large). Friendly staff and quick service, but there’s often a line out the door at lunchtimes on weekends, so be prepared to wait.

N. Lee is hands-​down my favourite Viet bakery. They do an awesome pork roll with crispy, fresh vegetables every time. It can’t be beat for a cheap, fast and relatively healthy lunch!
Their vanilla slices (more commonly known as snot blocks) aren’t bad either. Surprisingly, they’ve also ventured into the land of foccacias, although I don’t know why you’d order one with the rolls being so good.
Another tick for N. Lee is the fridge full of Nippy’s. You know, the flavoured long-​life milk drinks with extendible straws. If you haven’t had one of these in a while I encourage you to get reacquainted… It’s the perfect accompaniment to the perfect pork roll.

A favourite lunch spot for locals and workers in the area, the queue out the door every lunchtime is a testament to the quality of rolls and sandwiches that are served at Vietnamese bakery N.Lee.
Despite the various bakeries that are a stone’s throw from this place on Smith Street in Collingwood, it is N. Lee Bakery that has the crowds returning in droves.
I’m not sure whether it’s because N. Lee uses garlic egg mayonnaise as opposed to margarine, or whether the pork meatball roll with pickled white onion and a deliciously sweet Asian inspired sauce can’t be replicated, or whether the rice paper rolls (huge for $ 5) are made to perfection, but N. Lee has some sort of secret weapon that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Personally, my favourite is the chicken schnitzel with salad in a focaccia style roll (salad items variable), but the grilled pork roll is what seems to have everyone shouting from the rooftops.
With your choice of freshly baked rolls or bread, hot snacks such as sausage rolls, pies and dim sims, as well as a selection of sweet treats (vanilla slices, doughnuts, muffins to list a few) from the cabinet, N. Lee covers everything you may want for lunch at an extremely affordable price (around $ 5 for a roll).
You may have to wait in excess of 20 minutes to get to front of the line, but trust me, it’s well worth it.

There are a few Vietnamese bakeries on Smith St and depending on who you talk to there is always one better than the other. My choice, without doubt is N. Lee’s store.
This bakery has the freshest ingredients and the crunchiest rolls. It seems that their reputation has spread to the masses as this place has a line out the door each lunch time. There is a selection of traditional Vietnamese rolls consisting of a mini baguette with a pork and pâté filling, topped with carrot coriander and cucumber with a sprinkle of fresh chilli.
Also on the menu are homemade spring rolls, freshly prepared rice paper rolls, any combination of salad roll and your traditional Australian addition of meat pies and sausage rolls.
They also serve the cheapest coffee on the street. They accommodate for an eat in experience with three street sided tables, where you can bask in the sun and watch the weird and wacky world of Smith St pass you by.

Large, cheap and fresh Vietnamese rolls from a Smith St stalwart. The prices have gone up since the street started to become gentrified, but it’s still hard to go over $ 5 when putting your roll together and what you get if big and delicious.
My favourite combo is boiled (or fried if I’m hungover) egg with salad and all the trimmings: avo, beetroot, coriander, fresh chilli, maybe a little mayo. They have white and wholemeal rolls and also make some bloody good apple pie coated in thick white icing.
There’s a few seats and tables out the front, but they’re usually taken. If you can hold out on scoffing your roll down then walk down to Fitzroy Gardens and eat it in the park. A classic (and cheap) Collingwood outing.

For years I have walked past this place side stepping the queue of people spilling out the door on my way to my favourite sushi joint down the road. I often thought to myself this place must be really cheap (and shit) and that people must just be attracted to cheap shit.
Well one Sunday I had a hunger going down and my favourite sushi shop was closed. Can you imagine the calamity?! Well let me tell you what a blessing in disguise this was. Because I ended up getting a Vietnamese style roll from N Lee bakery and it was hands down one of the most delicious rolls I have ever had.
Now I am regular customer of this place, queuing with the rest of the plebs and I am the better person for it. How could I have wasted so many years being so arrogant as to not put two and two together and realise why this place is constantly busy — even on a Sunday morning!
It is seriously cheap too!

I’m not ashamed to say, I eat a Vietnamese roll from N Lee probably every second day (they are just so damn good… and cheap!). Yes, they have a whole bunch of other stuff on their menu, which I’m sure is decent enough, but I just can’t go past the Vietnamese rolls, so that’s all I can really vouch for.
I’ve recently changed my standard order from the basic pork and salad roll, to the traditional Vietnamese meatball and salad roll. The meatballs look a little scary, as they’re really big and anaemic looking and they seem to sit for hours on end in a bay-​maree, floating in a tomato-​ie sauce of some kind. Don’t let any of that put you off. In roll form it is delicious! And incredible value at $ 4.50. I’m literally off to go get one now…

Although there are a million bakeries on Melbourne’s Smith Street, there is one thing in particular that separates N. Lee Bakery from the rest: its Vietnamese rolls. Before discovering N. Lee Bakery I’d never tried a roll of the Vietnamese variety, but after a couple of visits to this buzzing little bakery I am most definitely now a convert.
Take a generous chunk of fresh French bread, spread liberally with pâté and mayo and lavish with a mixture of carrot, mint, red chilli and either chicken or pork and you have what is known round my way as heaven. Just be careful not to tuck into these babies too lasciviously. I’ve fallen prey to the dreaded spectre of the stuck in throat chilli which can be directly attributed to the moreish nature of N. Lee Bakery’s rolls.
Coming in at around $ 5, one of N. Lee Bakery’s Vietnamese rolls is more than enough to sate even the most hungry Melbournian but if you’re feeling particularly peckish there is also a variety of sandwiches, pies and sweets on offer at one of Collingwood’s best bakeries. Highly recommended.