An appetite for health-conscious hipster food in a hurry is spawning a new breed of fast-food chains where diners are more likely to find pho and fajitas than french fries.

Take the hawker-style Vietnamese outfit, Roll'd, for example. Last May Bao Hoang, his cousin Tin Ly and schoolmate Ray Esquieres opened a small, hawker-style, Vietnamese eatery in a tiny laneway in the CBD. It soon became a popular enclave for city hipsters and the hungry business crowd.

Bao Hoang, Tin Ly and Ray Esquieres at Roll'd in Melbourne's CBD.

Less than a year later, the trio have opened three more stores, all in Melbourne's city centre. They plan to have a dozen Melbourne outlets within two years and will open a Brisbane store later this year.

And why wouldn't they? Walk past any of their outlets at lunchtime and you will find people queueing - often for metres out the door - for fresh rice paper rolls (or roll'd soldiers), beef and chicken pho, healthy banh mi and Vietnamese salads.