Looking for a sublime Southeast Asian meal near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Southeast Asian restaurants around Oakland, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to venture next time you're on the hunt.

1. Banh Mi Ba Le

Topping the list is Banh Mi Ba Le. Located at 1909 International Blvd., the Vietnamese spot, which offers coffee and tea, is the most popular inexpensive Southeast Asian restaurant in Oakland, boasting 4.5 stars out of 1,007 reviews on Yelp.

The restaurant also offers Vietnamese sandwiches — known as banh mi — in a variety of flavors, such as grilled pork, shredded barbecue chicken, grilled beef, tofu veggie and more. There's also fruit smoothies and Vietnamese iced coffee. 

2. Cafe Gabriela

Next up is Chinatown's Cafe Gabriela, situated at 988 Broadway (between Ninth and 10th streets). With 4.5 stars out of 344 reviews on Yelp, the Filipino spot, which offers bagels and cookies, has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a low-priced option. 

According to its Facebook page, the restaurant is named after a Filipina Revolutionary, Gabriela Silang. On the menu, you'll find coffee, espresso and tea, as well as salads and sandwiches. 

3. Vientian Café

Allendale's Vientian Café, located at 3801 Allendale Ave. (between 39th and 38th avenues), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the inexpensive Vietnamese, Thai and Laotian spot four stars out of 890 reviews.

Vientian Café was the first Laotian restaurant to open in Oakland back in 2002, according to its website. On the menu are traditional Laotian dishes like sticky rice, larb and spicy green papaya salad known as tam mak hoong. 

4. Vien Huong Restaurant

Vien Huong Restaurant, a Chinese and Vietnamese spot that offers noodles and more in Chinatown, is another affordable go-to, with four stars out of 836 Yelp reviews. Head over to 712 Franklin St. (between Seventh and Eighth streets) to see for yourself.

The restaurant serves pho, rice plates, fried fish cakes, pan-fried mein, coffee and its specialty chow jew ho fun — thick rice noodles topped with ground pork, shrimp, fish balls, beef balls, chicken and kidney. 

5. Pho Vy Vietnamese Cuisine

Finally, over in Merritt, check out Pho Vy Vietnamese Cuisine, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 177 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the Vietnamese spot, which offers noodles and soup, by heading over to 401 International Blvd. 

The menu features Vietnamese staples like pho, spring rolls, beef stew, vermicelli noodles, stir-fry and more. There's also open mic karaoke every Wednesday night. 

---

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.