Five Vietnamese restaurants sell banh mi in Cambridge and Somerville, and on a recent Sunday a group of us tried them all to help direct diners to the best.

The sandwich is almost always great, a melding of cuisines from the French occupation of Vietnam from 1862 into World War II that leads with baguette spread with mayonnaise and pâté. That’s a base for a protein, pickled vegetables, cilantro and a chili for heat (jalapeño is the U.S. standard). Dorchester is renowned for its Vietnamese food, made by and served primarily to the (Vietnamese) immigrant community around Fields Corner – including the King Do restaurant and bakery, which supplies baguettes to some other makers of the sandwich. Boston’s Chinatown concentrates a few sellers, too. On our side of the river, the banh mi are more scattered but can be found in Ball, Davis and Union squares in Somerville, and Alewife and Harvard (from a food truck), Kendall and Porter squares in Cambridge.

This list excludes joints that might include a version of the sandwich on their wider menus, such as the All-Star Sandwich Bar in Inman Square. A more important qualifier: We sampled tofu banh mis because it’s the only kind that is standard across all five eateries, and we had a vegan among us. (This also meant no pâté, which gave the taste test a more direct comparison, wasn’t ideal for all.)

Our competitors were Bon Me, Phinista Cafe, Pound House Coffee, Saigon Tiger and Viet Citron. Each shop made the sandwiches fresh and fast. Within such a specific category of food, however, there was inevitable variation: hotter, blander, goopier, vegetables overwhelmed by protein, protein overwhelmed by vegetables.

Six of us sampled five tofu banh mis, sliced into portions – which resulted in some people sometimes getting end pieces that were heavier on the bread rather than packed with fillings. With so many tasters, and without the rigors of a blind test, there were varying opinions, and the winners and losers were determined mainly by group feeling, with some praise and criticism noted separately.

Overall favorite: Bon Me. Twelve dollars buys a big sandwich called the J.P. that has decent bread packed with flavorful cubes of roasted paprika tofu. These have some heat and are complemented with especially spicy vegetables (though some of us missed having something green and sweet as an offset). 

Overall least favorite: Pound House. While a relative bargain at $10.50 and inoffensive, this sandwich was universally considered the least flavorful – the result of a sweeter tofu that melted rapidly in the mouth. “They came for a tofu sandwich, not a banh mi,” one of the tasters said.

Not-so-secret sauce: Viet Citron has the most expensive banh mi at $13 and was divisive. “Like a school cafeteria bahn mi,” one taster said, while supporters appreciated its heat, substantial tofu and “fantastic” sauce that is paired with a good mayonnaise – though some praise was in comparison to the previous offering by Saigon Tiger. As one might fear from a sandwich so bold with its condiment, there is a standout goop factor to the Viet Citron banh mi. If mayonnaise and goop are off-putting, be sure to ask at the counter for a low dose.

Bread forward: Saigon Tiger’s sandwich ($11.49) won over some tasters for its good bread, volume and sweet vinegar taste. Others noted its mildness – even the jalapeño was toothless – and skimpiness when it came to sauce.

Eating around the edges: The Phinista Cafe sandwich was second-most-expensive at $12.50 and not well-liked, with vegetables so overrepresented that the tofu barely registered. Yet this spot is a destination for good reasons: Staff who will happily go off-menu to satisfy a customer; and a revelatory scallion biscuit that everyone loved. The difference in customer service at this Porter Square address from the year or so Zoe Acai Bar & Juicery was around is astonishing. 

Price: All the sandwiches were substantial enough at what is, these days, a reasonable price for a meal. Do you want the cheapest? That’s the $10.50 banh mi at Pound House Coffee.

Size: In addition to being the favored, Bon Me sells the biggest sandwich and packs its baguette well. None of the shops, though, stint on ingredients.

Note: Maybe it was our testers’ intensity of purpose that wiped the grins from their faces, but the two people present Sunday who seemed happiest with their food were those who, for dietary reasons, did not partake of our tofu bahn mi contest. They had barbecue pork banh mi from Phinista (for $12.50, the same price as the five-spice tofu).

Bon Me, with locations at Fresh Pond, Harvard and Kendall squares, East Cambridge and North Point

Phinista Cafe, 1876 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge

Pound House Coffee, 703 Broadway St., Ball Square, Somerville

Saigon Tiger, 7 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville

Viet Citron, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville, and 290 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge