Viet Food

Smart Vietnamese in Chinatown

Grilled scallop and prawns

Vietnamese food is a special cuisine; it has the freshness of aromatic herbs, the influences of Thai cooking, plus the essence of Southern Chinese and the sophistication of French cooking. Launched in 2015, Viet Food in Chinatown sounded very promising with an former Michelin-starred chef in charge. The menu is very similar to many other traditional Vietnamese restaurants elsewhere in London, but the portion sizes are slightly smaller and are better suited for sharing, similar to tapas. 

Chargrilled glazed lemongrass chicken wings

Five-spice soft shell crab

The Vietnamese five-spice soft shell crab got us off to a great start; the mixture of fresh herbs and spices worked really well with the meaty and creamy texture of the crab. Less impressive were the grilled scallop and prawns, both were really under seasoned and overwhelmed by the powerful spring onion and sweet soy sauce. The most famous Vietnamese dish, the pho, was fairly average at Viet Food. The soup lacked the rich, powerful aroma and flavours that you would expect from the slow-cooking of bones. The texture of the noodles was fine but the dish clearly lacked flavours.
 

Rare beef pho

Vermicelli noodles with grilled pork

The vermicelli noodles with grilled pork was a lot better on the other hand. The pork was perfectly seasoned and the sweetness of the lemongrass was sensational with the peanut and the mild fish sauce. Overall, it was a pretty decent meal but nothing more, the pho was by far the weakest dish on the night but the bun was truly impressive. The problem is there are plenty of other Vietnamese restaurants in London, such as Cay Tre and Viet Eat, that are doing more or less similar things on a similar level.

Food 2.5/5

What I paid: 
£21 per head

Average cost without drinks and services:
£20

34-, 36 Wardour St, London W1D 6QT

http://vietnamfood.co.uk/