Song Que

I met a friend for lunch at Song Que yesterday, the first time I've been back for 2.5 years and I was disappointed by the quality of the food. It has definitely gone downhill. The spicy crab dish was cold, the rice was gluggy, even the tea was weak and tepid. The restaurant was not busy but the waiters were not helpful to the point of rudeness. I will definitely take my custom elsewhere.
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3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Monday, September 14, 2009

I have been coming to Kingsland Road for my fix of Vietnamese food for the last 15 years, and have witnessed a few places coming and then quickly vanishing from sight. Sông Quê Café is one of the old timers, and I am pleased that it has managed to hang on as one of the most popular restaurants on the Kingsland strip.

Time Out has been incredibly complimentary of Sông Quê Café over the years, and in its most recent Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009, it awarded 5 stars to this Café, its maximum number.

Having spent a couple of weeks in Vietnam sampling the most scrumptious food made me realise how good Sông Quê Café is. A lot of the dishes I tried in Vietnam were not as successful as the ones I had eaten at Sông Quê, while I can still count the few that were actually better.

The décor isn’t great (the huge plastic lobsters on their walls are actually scary!), and service can be rather grumpy at times. The food, however, more than makes up for these.

My latest visit was no exception. As a group of four, we could share a variety of dishes from the menu. I find that their pho (beef soup with rice noodles), starters, salads and “buns” (vermicelli noodles with meats and salad) are by far their best dishes.

We started with Fresh Rice Paper Rolls with Prawns and Herbs, Prawn Paste with Sugar Cane, Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf, and Spicy Soft Shell Crab. I love the fresh rolls from Sông Quê, they are fresh and herby with just the right amount of rice vermicelli. This is one of the simplest dishes on any decent Vietnamese menu, and can be prepared well in advance. If prepared too early and not well stored, it can smell and taste of the refridgerator. This is not a problem I have experienced in Sông Quê. Fresh rolls are also great to be made at home and served as canapés if you can master the softening and wrapping of rice paper sheets. I would recommend practice well before your guests are due to arrive!

I had never ordered the Prawn Paste with Sugar Cane before, but it was highly recommended by the lovely Clare, full time foodie and Senior Dietitian at a prominent London Hospital, who was dining with us that evening. The prawn paste was very flavoursome with hints of garlic and coriander root, a real discovery which I will be ordering again.

The Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf was also good. The charred and soft betel leaves were beautifully wrapped around the spiced minced beef, the flavours combining well together.

Sông Quê’s Soft Shell Crab is a real winner. I have tried to recreate this dish numerous times at home with varying degrees of success, but could never get anywhere near Sông Quê’s. Despite being deep fried, it is deliciously light; the batter is always incredibly thin and the chilli and garlic seasoning does not overwhelm the delicate flavour of the crab. However, at nearly £7, I find their Soft Shell Crab portion slightly ungenerous.

For mains, we had Traditional Crispy Pancake with Prawn and Chicken served with Salad and Herbs, Green Papaya Salad with Prawn and Pork, Stir Fried Beef with Lemongrass Bun and Spring Roll & Grilled Pork Bun.

The pancake was again very good with a coconut flavour to its crispy batter that makes me order it over and over again. This seems to be one of Vietnam’s staple street food dishes and I had it many times whilst there.

I was slightly disappointed with my Green Papaya Salad this time round. The combination of flavours (sour, sweet, salty) was as good as ever but the thinly sliced pork did not taste as fresh as it could have done.

Both “buns” were very good, but particularly the one with stir fried beef and lemon grass. I normally order the grilled pork & spring roll bun but was pleasantly surprised to taste the wok charred beef in lemongrass. The flavours were excellent and the lemongrass gave a real punch to the dish.

Another dish that we did not manage to order this time but that I would highly recommend is the Crispy Sea Bream in Fish Sauce with Mango. As the name suggests, the entire fish is deep fried making it crispy, the shredded green mango is also a great and exotic addition. It is delicious!

Verdict – Authentic and delicious Vietnamese food in the heart of London and as good as some of the best restaurants in Vietnam. Very affordable, our meal cost us £13 per person. Highly recommended.
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The London Foodie - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Sunday, September 13, 2009

Probably the most overrated restaurant in London. Went (twice) with expectations high but was let down with mediocre food on both visits, notably a weak yet overseasoned pho. Coupled with the abrupt service the reputation far outweighs the reality.
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Jen
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Monday, September 07, 2009

Awful service at Song Que last night! We were basically thrown out before having finished our meals despite there being empty tables and no queue waiting.The rudeness of the waiter was unbelievable, he refused to serve us tea or dessert and insisted that we leave as our time was up. No one had mentioned there was a time-limit at any point. When we asked to see the manager he said he was the manager. Never again to Song Que, there are plenty of other Vietnamese around with great food AND service.
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3 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Saturday, September 05, 2009

A great vietnamese, and by far the best in the area. The service is quick (brisk, even) but in terms of value for money and amazing, fresh food this has to be one of the best places to eat in london.

Their veggie spring rolls, spicy soft shell crab, grilled lamb chops and green papaya salad are delicious!

As the previous reviewer mentioned - if you want to take your time over food, go sunday to thursday. It can get very busy otherwise.
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Papaya
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, September 03, 2009

I am Vietnamese and I am fortunate enough to have a mum who is a fabulous Vietnamese cook. This means that I am naturally quite picky when it comes to rating Vietnamese restaurants, but Song Que is fabulous. This cafe is, without a doubt, my favourite Vietnamese joint in London. It is my mum's too.

The food is authentic, fresh, tasty and great value for money. I go there simply for their heavenly grilled pork with vermicelli, a dish that is too fiddly and time-consuming to make at home but is only £6 at Song Que. The marinaded lamb dishes are also delicious and I also love the crispy noodles with seafood.

I can understand why some people might have a problem with the service here - it is fast and very brisk. It is worth remembering that Song Que is a cafe, not a restaurant, and the only way a cafe like this can survive and offer tasty food for several pounds is by turning tables and increasing the number of covers served.

You can still have a leisurely meal if you opt to go at a quieter period. If you want to linger over your food then it might be best to avoid Friday night, for example.

I like other Vietnamese cafes and restuarants on Kingsland Road too. But Song Que I love.
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Thanh Dinh
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 20, 2009

I do like this place to some extent - food is good, the service is swift. But as you know, the waiters are too rude, and they do not understand much English. If you go there with one or two of your friends who know what they should order in a Vietnamese restaurant, this place is okay (BUT I wouldn't say "great" all the same).

However, if you go there with your Vietnamese food novices, don't bother - when they ask the waiter some questions about the dishes, either they won't answer or they cannot answer.

And I do doubt if the taste is that good as everyone claims - I don't want to sound arragant, but I go to Vietnamese restaurants in Paris, and Song Que seems, somehow, to fall short..

I do recommend another Vietnamese restaurant just next to Song Que cafe, which has Banana Flower salad, Goat dish and even roasted Vietnamese pigeons. Their service is much much better.

And when I did "Pho" side-by-side test (Oh, yes I had a bowl of pho in those restaurants in one day to compare the flavours), Song Que was not as good.
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Hiro
2 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Sunday, August 16, 2009

I love this place, it's always busy and finally went inside last weekend. You need to know what you want, no 'um-ing' over the menu as their service is swift, very organised and fast!

The food was fantastic, so tasty, the best I've had in London and VERY reasonable. There is a great selection and the wine is pretty good too. Fun atmosphere which you can enjoy, just the two of you or in a group. I look forward to going back again really soon. Have already recommended it to friends.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

I live around the corner from this Song Que and eat here whenever I can. Of all the Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Road, this one is the best.

It's a bit basic, but that's one of its charms. No frills and cheap as chips, so you don't really expect top notch service. It's a cafe after all!

I've been here on dates, on work lunches and on birthday celebrations for 20 and they've always worked out just fine. I'm sure some of the bad reviews on here have some substance, but not from my experience. In fact watching the staff here clear a table for 20 balancing dishes on top of one another is entertainment in itself.

On a busy evening there's a real buzz to this place. So what if it takes a while to get served or if food doesn't come at the same time - at these prices, it really doesn't matter too much.

Oh, and the food. Well, the pho's top notch. But recently I've ignored it in favour of loading up on a mixture of starters - spicy squid, summer rolls, green lipped mussels in tamarind sauce and the veggie spring rolls all spring to mind. Fantastic. In my top 10 London eateries.
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Bruce Chapman
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, August 05, 2009

I rarely write reviews but I thought this was really one of those times where I was obliged to.

We arrived at Song Que 15 minutes before our booking. The place was busy but not packed. The waiter approached and said he didn't have our reservation down. (We had called earlier that day to confirm). He said he didn't have a booking and there was nothing he could do for us. He then walked away. He didnt make any attempt to help us or apologise for his mistake. So 8 people were left standing there with no staff members willing to help. We tried to get the attention of other staff but they flat out ignored us.

In the end we had to take it upon ourselves to re-arrange other customers in the resturant so we could all fit in. There was plenty of space - there was just a lot of couples sitting on tables of four. All customers were lovely and willing to move.

Once seated the wait staff were furious with us and did everything in their power to get us out of the resturant as fast as possible. We were shouted at, had chopsticks literally thrown at us and when we attempted to order dessert we were told 'no' and that we had to leave.

I am from Melbourne Australia where we have a strong Vietnamese culture and eat at lots of Vietnamese restaurants. I am used to an abrupt service at these types of resturants but I have never in my life experienced anything like this. I was completeley shocked.

The food on the other hand was very good and reasonably priced.

But that cannot make up for the kind of abuse we suffered at this resturant. My tip to everyone is unless you are planning to eat here early in the week and outside regular meal times you will probably suffer the same typ eof service we did.

The food might be good but it really isn't worth being shouted at. Avoid.
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chris
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, August 04, 2009