Of all the cheap n cheerful grub in London, Vietnamese is among the best. In Shoreditch – where the High Street meets Kingsland Road – there is almost a mile of warming and inexpensive (thanks BYO!) pho restaurants. And although E2 remains the spiritual home of ‘Little Vietnam’, the cuisine has been successfully exported to other parts of London…
The best of ‘Little Vietnam’…
£38
“The best place on the Viet-Town strip” – this “upmarket… for the area” Shoreditch café offers “very tasty and authentic dishes at reasonable prices”.
£34
“It’s a bit of a canteen, but you will be fed in the best possible way”, and at “low prices” too, say fans of this “brusque” Vietnamese, in Shoreditch; sceptics, though, say standards are “slipping” and that its cooking is “not competitive with others in the strip”.
£31
“Highly authentic” Vietnamese scoff impresses all who comment on these “mad-chaotic” Battersea and Shoreditch greasy spoons; no-one cares that the decor is a little “down-at-heel”, or that service is “fast and furious”.
Making the leap from Shoreditch to Soho…
£39
“Lots of lovely fresh flavours” have won a wide following for this “buzzy” and “friendly” Vietnamese duo, in Soho and Shoreditch; at the latter, “arrive early or you may have to queue”.
Dishes from £5.95
Vietnamese restaurant and takeaway, Keu, will open its second London site in Soho on 15 September. The street food bar, serves up classic banh mi (filled baguettes) with mortadella, pork floss, house chicken liver pâté, spiced pork belly, and ham terrine, as well as mackerel baguettes with daikon, coriander, and chilli mayo. There’s pork and ground beef buns, noodles, green papaya salad and spicy slaw on the menu too.
A little further North…
£35
“After two decades, I’m still a fan”; this Vietnamese fixture, in a community centre – built as De Beauvoir’s public baths – remains pretty much as it ever was; BYO.
Salvation in Noodles (SIN) N1 and N4
£35
“Wow, I haven’t had such great pho since I was in Vietnam!” – early reports on this “infuriatingly hip” Dalston spot agree the food is “authentic”, and service is “friendly” too.
To the South…
£28
“Fresh spring rolls, salads and really good noodles” impress most, if not quite all, reporters on this Balham Thai/Vietnamese; the BYO policy helps make it quite a “cheap” night out too.
£22
“Very authentic” and “delicious” too, the Vietnamese food on offer at this “very cheap” Bermondsey café pleases all who comment on it; “service can be brisk, but everything is amazing so it doesn’t matter!”
Go West…
£41
It may look “tired”, but all reporters recommend this “pretty authentic” Vietnamese on Hammersmith’s main drag – “reasonable value and great fun”.
Handy City pitstops…
£14
“The daily queue snaking down the street” attests to the charms of this Vietnamese canteen/take-away, near Bank – arrive before noon for “phenomenally good” pho, and “báhn mi that always hit the spot”.
After six years trading in Bermondsey as Caphe House, this family run Vietnamese restaurant moves to a new, larger premises by Farringdon’s Smithfield Market.
No matter where you are in London…
£37
As Vietnamese street food-inspired chains go, these “honest” outlets are surprisingly “convivial”; as the chain grows apace, however, the food is becoming more middle-of-the-road – “no fireworks, but tasty” is a pretty typical verdict nowadays.
New kids on the block…
London gets yet another bánh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) joint; this time from restaurateur Tom Barlow who has done his research, working in Vietnam for several years.
Former Hakkasan and Yuan in the Atlantis Palm (Dubai) chef Jeff Tan strikes out on his own with a new Vietnamese street food spot in Soho. There will be a soft launch with 50% off food. Sign up for an invite at www.vietnamfood.co.uk.
A Vietnamese barbecue venture in Barnsbury from Table for 10 supper club founder Damon Bui with the proud mission statement that staff will receive all tips and a share in the profits.
