Relive your gap year days backpacking around Hanoi and book in for one of London’s most authentic – and delicious – Vietnamese restaurants. From family-run favourites to the Vietnamese deli serving up London’s best Banh Mi, we’ve rounded up the nine best restaurants transporting you to the sandy shores without having to jet overseas.
Vietnamese restaurants to book this month…
Delicious Pho
Delicious Pho is the latest must-try Vietnamese dining destination to land at Spitalfields. The menu centres around pho – the clue’s in the name really – and is divided into protein options depending on your favourite flavours and dietary requirements.
The popular choice is ‘the regular’, centred around beef protein and includes six combinations of beef, including sliced steak, flank and tendon, or sliced steak and tripe, or you can supersize it with the ‘pho master’.
But it’s not all just pho the restaurant prides itself on. Expect zingy salads, chicken wings, summer rolls and sharing platters, as well as curries, rice and noodles.
3-6 Steward Street Spitalfields, E1 6FQ
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Cafe East
For an authentic slice of Vietnam without leaving London, book in for a night at Cafe East. This family-run restaurant has been a hotspot for years and one that’s been frequented – and enjoyed! – by even the scaviest of food critics.
Expect stunning starters of banh cuon, a Vietnamese steamed rice pastry filled with minced pork and Chinese mushrooms topped with meatloaf and spicy fish sauce; and mains of pho kho cay, sweet and spicy noodles with beef flank and chicken served in a spicy beef or chicken broth; bun ga nuong, a dish of crispy chicken served with vermicelli, cucumber, herb salad, pickled carrots, mooli and fish sauce. And plenty of traditional hearty pho to go around too.
100 Redriff Road, Surrey Quays Leisure Park, SE16 7LH
Saigon Saigon
With black and white photography from 1940’s Saigon, walls clad with traditional carvings and bamboo partitions spread throughout, this small family-run Hammersmith restaurant encompasses the authentic feel of Saigon. Their menu regularly changes reflecting the seasons, with dishes such as fresh green papaya salad with celery and prawns; five spice stewed beef casserole; chargrilled duck breast with spicy red soy bean sauce; spicy caramelised sea bass in clay pot; and vermicelli bowls topped with your choice of protein.
313-317 King Street, Hammersmith, W6 9NH
Banh Banh
Built on rich family heritage, Banh Banh is a love letter from five grandchildren to their grandmother, one who was a Vietnamese chef in the 1940s and transposed her love for the pastime onto her family. The restaurant, now boasting brick and mortar venues in Peckham and Brixton, specialises in steaming bowls of pho, zesty salads and curries that you won’t be able to fault.
From Saigon to London, the food is light but the flavours are rich, leaving the taste buds satisfied with every bite. If you’re plant-based, fear not as every Monday is meat-free Monday at this family-run spot.
Peckham & Brixton
Pho & Bun
Serving up affordable eats and meaty flavours is Pho & Bun, the sister restaurant of Holborn’s Viet Eat. Located just minutes from the city’s West End, the restaurant is home to trendy exposed brick walls plastered with cool murals and traditional wooden decor.
As for the menu, you’ll find them serving up pho that’s been simmering overnight for 18 hours, infused with beef bones, herbs and spices, as well as freshly steamed buns served with their signature smoky mayo sauce.
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76 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 6ND
Mien Tay
When it comes to beautiful Vietnamese hospitality, Mien Tay reigns supreme. They are a small restaurant group set up by My Le and Su Tran and is named after the area of Southern Vietnam the family originates from. You can expect an authentic taste of the Asian country in every bite, with them combining the finest fresh ingredients.
They have restaurants in Battersea, Fulham Shoreditch and Wood Green, so you’ll always find somewhere with a welcoming table waiting for you.
Battersea, Fulham, Shoreditch & Wood Green
Banh Mi Keu
Looking for London’s best Vietnamese spot serving up Banh Mi? Keu Deli is certainly giving it a go, priding itself on the unbeatable sandwich. The perfect spot for a grab and go lunch, head here for a crusty baguette loaded up with terrines, meats, pickled veggies, fresh herbs and homemade mayo – we love the crispy pork belly and the smoky aubergine options.
It’s not all about the baps though, they offer a healthy selection of noodles and rice bowls too.
It’s not all about the baps though, they offer a healthy selection of noodles and rice bowls too.
Shoreditch, Soho & City
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Ngon
Translating to ‘delicious’, Chiswick’s Ngon is the small independent deli you need to know about. Serving up some of London’s best and most authentic Vietnamese dishes, you’ll find a mix of banh mi sandwiches filled with the likes of pulled pork, shredded duck or go for their Ngon special stuffed with Vietnamese ham, pork sausage and pork floss. As well as healthy vermicelli bowls, summer rolls, salads and soups.
They deliver on fresh, healthy and tasty ingredients that you wouldn’t find anywhere else this side of London.
195 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, W4 2DR
City Càphê
Located on Ironmonger Lane, City Càphê serves up a great selection of authentic Vietnamese street food. Their story began in 1978 after the Vu family came to the UK as part of the refugee ‘boat people’ and quickly formed a community of fellow local Vietnamese people. They started off creating social events and organisers to help the Vietnamese community connect with one another and integrate into society. Fast forward to 2010 and they opened up City Càphê and they’ve been keeping Londoners full with their hearty homemade dishes.
Expect steaming bowls of pho, vermicelli salads and plenty of crispy spring rolls to go around.
17 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
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