First visit
How to order like you have been before
A few words to say, one sauce to understand, and a country in three lines. Nobody minds if you point. This is for anyone who would rather not.
2 min
Say it near enough
Vietnamese words look harder than they sound. The marks over the letters change the tone, and nobody at the counter will correct you, but a close try is always welcome. The strip alongside gets you through the menu.
What the coffee words mean
The drinks board is built from a few pieces. Cà phê is coffee. Đen is black. Sữa is milk, which here means sweet condensed milk. Đá is ice; nóng is hot. So cà phê sữa đá is coffee, condensed milk, ice, and cà phê đen nóng is hot black coffee. With those four words you can read the whole column.
The fish sauce question
Fish sauce, nước mắm, worries people until they taste it. It is made by salting small fish and leaving them for months. What drains out is amber, clear and deeply savoury, closer to soy sauce or parmesan than to anything fishy. Mixed with lime, sugar, garlic and chilli it becomes nước chấm, the dipping sauce that comes with most of the small plates. The glaze on our chicken wings is the same idea, reduced until it clings.
Sharing, and how much
Vietnamese food is meant for the middle of the table. For two, try a small plate or two to start, then a bowl or a house plate each. Gỏi cuốn, the fresh rice-paper rolls, and chả nem, the fried spring rolls, are the easy openers. A phở is a full meal on its own. If you are unsure, ask. We would rather guide you than see a plate go back full.
North, centre, south
Vietnam is long and thin, and it eats in three ways. The north, around Hà Nội, is the most restrained: clear broths, less sugar, pepper over chilli. The centre, around Huế, is the fieriest, with lemongrass and chilli oil. The south, around Sài Gòn, is sweeter and greener, with more herbs and coconut. Our menu draws from all three, which is why a Hà Nội pork patty and a Hội An chicken salad share a board.
On the boards
- Goi Cuon£ 8.45
Fresh rolls. The friendliest way to start.
- Canh Ga Nuoc Mam£ 6.95
Wings in a fish-sauce glaze. The fish sauce argument, settled.
- Thit Nuong & Cha Hanoi£ 15.45
The north's favourite plate.