Song Que

I was desperate to eat at Song Que after seeing the queues out of the door and reading great reviews. But wish I hadn't bothered. 3 out of the 4 dishes we ordered were swimming in grease and when I complained that the tofu and veg dish was missing the tofu, I was shouted at by the waiter who told me to "forget it" and stormed off.

I think this restaurant is now resting on its laurels. It's got a great reputation but is squandering it. With the glut of vietnamese restaurants on the Kingsland Road - choose anything but Song Que.
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Yvonne Jones - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Monday, February 01, 2010

I completely agree with the review just written. This is not a place to go for ingratiating/fake/subservient service. And yes, it is a bit like going to a chinese in that sense. But not only is the food super-fast, the food is also great, fresh and relatively cheap. Yes, I've been dining here on and off for 10 years, and yes they don't always remember me. But that's not the point. It's still my favourite place to eat in london and I don't need to feel like they're my best friends because I have my family and friends for that. They make my favourite veggie spring rolls, the best grilled lamb chops (on the starter menu), a mean chicken pho for when I'm ill (big enough for lunch and dinner), as well as great spicy squid (or spicy anything from the starter menu really), fresh green papaya salad, a mean fish with mango and crunchy fresh rolls, a great sugar cane prawn paste and pickled veg in a salad leaf starter and a super-filling no.59 noodle concoction which is lovely. A no.59 or pho soup with a green papaya salad (and, if you're feeling greedy some of their lovely spring rolls) is enough for 2 and costs under £15 all in. The pho will wake the half flu-dead. Will ask them what their marinade for the grilled lamb chops is next time i'm in - can't explain the genius of the marinade with lamb and a lime-y pepper side sauce combo. Best lamb dish ever. And if it looks like the food is a bit chinese-y it's because vietnamese food is chinese influenced. But stay well clear of some of the more typically Mr. Wu chinese-inspired mains (ie lemon chicken, sweet and sour etc). Their chinese-style starters are generally good though. Not fancy, not pretencious, but fresh, herby, value for money and swift! Love it : )
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Saturday, January 09, 2010

Song Que is a no thrills restaurant, its not one of those places that fools you into thinking its great by having robotically friendly waitress' and over the top interior designs, only to serve mediocre food.

No, its just amazing food, ALWAYS served very quickly.

Me and my friends have been going back here or the last 4 years so I dont personally find the waiting staff rude as they know our faces. Also, for me, I dont like waiting staff who are trying to be your best friend , I prefer very fast service.

Ive also been to many other Vietnamese restaurants in London, and they dont compare. This one is the real deal.

Some people said the food wasnt good. That suprised me. One thing I will say is there are certainly some dishes better then others.

LOVE song que. Going there tonight actually. woooo!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, November 28, 2009

A fantastic place. Great food served briskly in a canteen like atmosphere. Know what you are getting into and you will love it. The beef wrapped in betel leaf and the spicy prawn/squid dishes are perfect. Lots of choice, so experimenting is a pleasure.
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Soumo
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 16, 2009

This restaurant is totally recommendable. I will certainly use it again, as the food was very tasty, in plentiful portions, at reasonable price, and, from my experience, there were no negative impressions about the service or staff. It does get busy, but be patient, you won't have to wait overly long for a table. I will now put little Hanoi (as the area is called) on my restaurant map (along with Commercial Road for good Pakistani food).
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Roger
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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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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
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
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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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
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, September 03, 2009