Khoai Cafe (Vietnamese) – London, England (6.5/10)
Aug 10th, 2008 by admin
I had high expectations of Vietnamese eaterie Khoai Café, so when I finally went, it was a bit of a let-down to be honest. The expedition started off badly too. We went to the Crouch End branch and even though we used to live near there, we wandered up and down trying to find 6 Topsfield Parade. I’m ashamed to say that I was snappy with the waiter when I phoned to ask for directions, and was all the more embarrassed when he knew it was me the moment I walked in the door. And he even gave me a menu to take home, to save me having to write everything down in my notebook…
The interior was simple and basic, but that’s all I was expecting. The service was friendly and helpful, albeit slightly haphazard. One of my friends has a nut allergy and we checked several times that the mango salad would not be served with nuts. But the nuts came with it. The waiter initially tried to tell us the sprinkle was not nutty, then finally agreed with us and changed it.
More importantly, the food. I had only intended to try a bowl of pho (Khoai Café do a two course set lunch menu at £7.45), but got carried along with everyone else’s excitement. In the end, we ordered various things including:
- mango salad - (£5.95) nice and fresh-tasting, with plenty of carrot
- bánh xèo - (£6.45) crispy golden crêpe filled with grilled pork, prawn, onion, mushroom and bean sprouts, served with fresh mint, coriander and lettuce. Husband had the vegetarian version with tofu. Not that great, and they could have been more generous with the filling
- ca tim lan bot – (£2.95) deep-fried aubergine in light batter – the only thing I didn’t try, but I was assured by the others that this was delicious – buttery on the inside and crispy on the outside
- ca nau ruou or ‘drunken fish’ – (£7.50) fillet of white fish in tempura batter cooked in white wine with tender bamboo shoots and dried ear mushrooms – don’t order this. I nearly sent it back because I didn’t know what it was. It really looked and tasted like bad Chinese food
- bo luc lac or ’shaking beef’ – (£8.75) Vietnamese classic of sautéed tender beef cubes on bed of salad and dressing – I wanted to love this and it could have been perfect if the beef hadn’t been overcooked and chewy (except for ONE piece!)
- hà nôi fish – (£9.95) sizzling platter of marinated white fish with fresh dill and spring onions, served with rice vermicelli, fresh salad and nuoc cham dipping sauce – this was without any question THE STAR DISH, which we would return to eat. It was phenomenally fresh…
With alcohol and other drinks, the damage came to £100 including tip. For £25 per head, I expected more for my money. However, if I were to go back, it would be for the hà nôi fish and to try the pho.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Khoai Cafe
6 Topsfield Parade, Middle Lane
Crouch End
London N8 8PR
Tel: 020 8341 2120
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
Hello Helen,
I regularly read your blog, and find it very informative and enjoyable. Thank you for amusing me!
I see that you have not have good luck with Vietnamese food recently. Have you tried Cay Tre in Old Street? I went there in December last year and found it brilliant. I scribbled about it here.
http://www.wonderbirmingham.co.uk/england/london/restaurant/caytre_en.html
Let me know what you think, if you have chance to visit there.
Cheers
Hello gataki
Thanks so much for sending me your review of Cay Tre. It was really interesting to read. It’s actually on my list of restaurants to visit, along with Song Que, but I just haven’t had the time to go to either! So I’m not going to give up on Vietnamese food yet…
Looking forward to Cay Tre!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Ms. Pang –
I was delighted to find your food blog while on my own mission to find delightful Vietnamese food. I’m an American student studying in London for the fall term ( I sadly leave late December before Christmas) and everytime I get home sick I go out on a mission to find foods that my mom and I enjoy.
I’m taking your recomendation for Cay Tre today for lunch, but I’d have to say that Song Que comes pretty close to what I have back home. Their pho is good and banh khot appetizer is okay (the ones from home are larger in volume and my mom orders them without the mung bean). The fish sauce is delightful and the three color bean che is a must dessert.
Thank you for your thoughtful blog posts!
Kimmie – Great to hear from you. Song Que is on my list of places to visit, so I’m only saying Cay Tre is good based on what I ate there, not really comparing it to other Vietnamese places. You’re the expert, so I will go and try your recs there soon!
You still have a good few weeks to enjoy some good food before you leave. Mien Tay and Green Papaya are supposedly also good, have you been? Let me know your thoughts on Cay Tre too!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Ms. Yuet Ling!
Home sickness brought me to Cay Tre to have their banh xeo and it was delicious(!) to say the least. Though marked as a starter I had it as a lunch entree and it was more than filling. Nice ingredients but I think the chicken was dark meat (?).
The decor makes it seem too trendy to be an authentic Vietnamese restaurant which oozes out of Song Que w/ its plastic table top covers, paper place mates and neon sign-age.
Went to apium noodle bar on a whim today and it was surprisingly delicious, nice broth for their noodle soups but the stir fried noodles seemed to steel the show.
Will definitely stop by Mien Tay or Green Papaya this weekend as study breaks!
Cheers,
Kimmie
Kimmie – great to hear that you weren’t disappointed. I think the restaurant was recently decorated. Let me know how you get on with the other two places – you can be my researcher as I don’t have the time at the moment!
Helen Yuet Ling