Viet Food | Chinatown London

Viet Food | Chinatown London

• September 04, 2018

Viet Food was one of those unassuming restaurants in Chinatown that looked somewhat of a tourist trap and one that I had walked past many times without ever having the urge to venture into. That was until I was craving Vietnamese one day and looked up for one near to Chinatown where I'd be near to for the day. It turned out to be one of the tastiest Vietnamese restaurants I'd ever been to, one which I now rate very highly and have since been to a couple of times. 

First of all, the home made chilli sauces that are on every table are mind-blowingly good. Condiments are not usually the star of the show, but for all chilli-fiends, these really did steal the show. There's a green one and red one to choose from, one is super spicy and the other is slightly sweeter.

Viet Food is lead by chef Jeff Tan who formally worked at The Atlantic Palm in Dubai and fine dining Chinese restaurant Hakkasan, and his food spoke volumes. 

All of the starters were undeniably delicious and addictive. Vietnamese spring rolls and cha la lot (grilled betel leaf wrapped beef and prawns) are my favourites and my must orders. Both were beautifully executed in the taste department. It's very rare to find Viet spring rolls with the lacy rice wrapper and I've only eaten this in a handful of Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong, and never in the UK. 

I am never a huge fan of calamari, as there is always better thing to be eaten in my opinion but Viet Food's crispy coconut calamari with a sweet chilli herb sauce caught my eye on the menu, and it was fantastic. The coconut batter added a crunchier dimension to outside and the calamari was perfectly soft and juicy inside. It was such a perfect match with the sauce too. 

Chargrilled lemongrass wings also scored very highly, they were tasty and moreish with the right balance of saltines, sweetness and depth of flavour from the lemongrass.  

Whenever it comes to Vietnamese mains, I can just never venture away from a rare beef pho, no matter how much I try and how much I want to try other dishes. This version isn't the best that I've had, being quite weak in flavour with a pretty tight portion of pho noodles. Mama pho and Van Hing is unbeatable in my books. If we are comparing rare beef pho in Central London, Cay Tre in Soho do a great one, but it doesn't come cheap. 

On another visit, I reordered the same starters and G tried the Vietnamese free range chicken curry, which was also excellent. 

I highly recommend this place if you're looking for some authentic and delightful Vietnamese food in Central London. If you're in North London, The Little Viet Kitchen is a must. 

Address:

34-36 Wardour Street

Soho

London

W1D 6QT

Where's your favourite Vietnamese restaurant? I'd love to hear!