Song Que

This place is amazing. I have been to Vietnam twice and the food here is really good and authentic. As another reviewer has said, avoid the Chinese stuff and stick to what they do best - the star dishes are shown on the first page of the menu. On one occasion I swear the food was as good (in terms of delicate balance of flavours and textures) as any Michelin star place at a fraction of the price. I do not understand the complaints about service - while obviously the food is the focus here the service has never been bad when I have been, even when they are really rushed off their feet.
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Catherine
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

My favourite restaurant in London. Absolutely gorgeous spicy seafood soup with fresh beansprouts, basil leaf and red chilli. Also the tofu in tamarind sauce is amazing, and the crispy pancake starter, and many other things. If you do go there five minutes before they close the kitchen, they will probably shout at you and force you to order immediately. It's happened to me, but it's never bothered me. They're very nice people really, and funny.
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Alex
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 21, 2009

The staff was extremely arrogant (the menus were almost thrown at us with a threat that we need to order the food right now!), then while being seated, the same waiter- a manager apparently, just pushed some guests aside from the chairs just to scribble the orders on the paper table cloth. Possibly the fact that they rarely speak English,made them hapy to bring a dish that has not been ordered and than they had expected to pay for it! ( and we did!) I will strongly discourage from visiting this place!
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Monday, March 16, 2009

Great food - the Pho was the highlight (just like the window says), but the cold pork rolls weren't far behind. Salt & pepper squid was pretty good as well.

You definitely don't go here for the service or decor, but it doesn't matter when the food and prices like this.
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NB - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9
Thursday, February 12, 2009

Best Vietnamese in London.

Great food, efficient service, simple and practical decor, and great prices.

If it wasn't so far to travel I'd eat here at least once a week!
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Orolain - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, January 26, 2009

Gets a big tick from me - was packed when we arrived but only had to wait a couple of minutes to get seated. Waiter was there as soon as we were ready to order and service was incredibly quick - so much so that one starter (spring rolls - beautiful) was there before the drinks arrived! I had the steak, flank and tendon pho (wasn't brave enough to try it with tripe too) which was absolutely divine - although I did have to ask for extra mint & lime as the accompanying "bits" were a bit on the measily side (I have a lot of lime though), also was slightly disappointed there wasn't any coriander. Didn't miss it in the end tho, as the broth was really tasty.

Tried the three coloured dessert - very similar to something I was almost addicted to in Luang Prabang, but was a bit hard to eat out of a glass and a little on the sweet side for me, but definitely worth a try. (If I hadn't been completely stuffed by this point I might have asked for it in a bowl with a little more coconut milk...)

Only downside is I'm not sure if I can go back to Pho in St John's Street and enjoy it again, as it's always going to be second best now!
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Zoe
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, September 14, 2008

This place is frickin awesome! The food was excellent - good, satisfying hangover-curing pho... the spicy squid was fantastic, as was the quality of cha gio. Who cares about the service - this is not a michelin starred place... they were kind enough to me - the MOST important thing... the place is CLEAN! you can trust that their food is clean, fresh, and prepared under sanitary conditions... will definitely go there again!!
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PHO REALS!!!
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Can't fault the food, great variety and very reasonably priced, seems very fresh even if a few people suggest the starters might have been cooked from frozen, and absolutely very tasty. The service is definitely not the best, you have to struggle to get waiter's attention, but the place is so busy you can't really blame them. Definitely recommended!
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Tom
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

What it lacks in decor it more than makes up for in food quality and speedy service. As many of the comments before, don't don't don't go for the chinese dishes - you'd be wasting your opportunity to taste some of the best value and freshest vietnamese food in London. I'd been a few times and always opted for a Chinese dish, how stilly I was.

The service is polite, fast and attentive but it does get very very busy, so if you don't like getting close to your fellow diners, don't go at a busy time. The thing is, it's always busy!

The bill for two soft drinks, two starters and two main course - totally filling for two grown men - was just over £19 excluding serivce (and they don't make a big song and dance about it not being included - given the really cheap prices, I find this very admirable). How can you beat that?
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WIll Smith
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 07, 2008

The bustling atmosphere and frequent queues to get seated are a testament to the success of this consistently great restaurant. Fantastic value for money and with about 20 different types of pho to choose from, it's hard to go wrong. Avoid the Chinese-style dishes scattered around the menu, the Vietnamese stuff is streets ahead.

The chilli squid starter was incredibly moreish and the rice paper spring rolls delicately and deliciously flavoured. I also had a wonderful beef pho with tender meat that fell apart.

Service was efficient.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, March 17, 2008