Huong Viet

I just love this place.. can't ever get enough. I visit here literally at least once or twice a week and my pocket never feels empty and my stomach feels quite the opposite. I crave for this place... when it's all blue and gloomy i would have a warm pho that would cheer me up and when its sunny i'll have a noodle and meaty thing in a bowl plus a cup of Home made lemonade which is so refreshing. Okay.. i do admit the service is not the best but who comes to a restaurant to judge the service and not the food anyway?
Comment on this reader review

david
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, November 13, 2011

Used to love this place but turns out they have become arrogant and lazy. Young waiting staff this evening (open shirt and big gold medallion) was very rude and after a long wait for food said it would still be a while as 'seabass takes a while to cook' we had finished our other main dish 30mins earlier! Kicked up a massive fuss when said I wasn't paying the service charge...joker! And turned 3 sets of people away at the door without a reservation even though half the restaurant was empty!! I pity the owner!

Food was ok but service very poor and pricing definitely not cheap any more. Won't be going back as loads of great alternatives down the kingsland road like Song Que (another old fav).
Comment on this reader review

Anon
3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, July 05, 2011

We used to eat at this restaurant fairly regularly but after a shockingly bad experience this evening, tonight's visit will definitely be our last.

We both agreed the standard of the food had gone down, it just didn't taste as fresh. The service left a lot to be desired but this is something we had grown used to. All of this we could have lived with if it wasn't for the following...

After we had been kept waiting at the till for 15 mins and after another customer was allowed to jump in front of us in the queue to pay, we were told the card machine wasn't working. We didn't have any cash so I explained I would go and get some, we were then followed out of the restaurant and asked if one of us could sit behind and wait. I refused to leave my fiance sat by herself and pointed out that we were regular customers and had no intention of running off without paying! When I also refused to use a cashpoint that charged for withdrawals it became apparent that the waiter was under strict instructions to follow us for as long as necessary until he had the money. In fact he stayed with us, (or a few paces behind) for a very uncomfortable 20min walk to the free cashpoint next to our home!

This restaurant used to have a slight edge over the large number of other Vietnamese places on the Kingsland Rd but I don't think this case anymore. Also one or two have much nicer interiors now which result in less ambient noise so you don't have to shout over the table at your company.
Comment on this reader review

Tom
2 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 4
Thursday, April 14, 2011

fantastic food, great value. only problem is likely to order far too much!
Comment on this reader review

Mr Sharples
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 17, 2011

Greasy oily food, rude service. Won't be coming back!!
Comment on this reader review

lyn
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, July 12, 2010

Greasy oily food, rude service. Won't be coming back!!
Comment on this reader review

lyn - View all reviews by this user
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, July 12, 2010

Thought I (a 'real' Londoner) should voice my support for the wonderful Huong Viet, and here's an idea - let's concentrate on the restaurant rather than who lives in the area etc.

I've eaten here on numerous occasions in the last 10 years or so and have never had a bad meal.

It's a fun, bustling place, serving decent, fresh Vietnamese food. What's more, I have never encountered any sweet, sickly radio active-style lemon sauces accompanying dishes as I have in some of the most highly thought of Vietnamese places on Kingsland Rd.

Yes, the service can be a bit shoddy at times but it's great value, the occasional mistake has been rectified without fuss, and the food always arrives in good time (although occasionally in a haphazard order)

It truly surprises me to see so many bad reviews, but from comments posted I guess my best advice would be to plump for house specialities rather than the fare you might find sharing a Chinese menu.

My favourites include, Char-grilled squid, Steamed rolls, Mixed seafood with pickled veg and dill, fried greens with tofu and garlic, squid stuffed with prawn and pork or any of the rice vermicelli with lemon grass and chilli. All absolutely wonderful.

If you really don't want to try this one, I'd try Cay Tre on Old St.
Comment on this reader review

Pheasant Plucker
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, February 21, 2010

I was in two minds about going here - i'd heard really good things about it and read mixed reviews mostly on this website.

In the end we decided to try it. What are people talking about?! It was really good! I'm over all those Vietnamese places on Kingsland Road (Song Que Cafe etc) - they're just not that great, but this one was seriously good.

The chargrilled squid was delicious! As was chicken satay. And spring rolls were nice and tender.

All our main courses were fantastic (BBQ aubergine, veggies in black bean sauce) - only slight negative was the tuna in banana leaf which didn't come in banana leaf and consequently was a bit dry. Still good though.

The deserts were OK but really they are so cheap and probably not really worth bothering with - esp the tofu thing which was really watery.

So all things considered - I would thorougly recommend this place. It's good value and the food is the best Vietnamese I've ever had. And didn't feel at all try-hard trust-fund-y.
Comment on this reader review

Douglas Hauser
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Thursday, December 03, 2009

Seriously, Londoners are some of the worst 'nostalgia' afflicted muppets ever. Actually no scrap that 'real' Londoners arent, im talking about the other 80% that live in and around the shoreditch/hoxton, now dalston/Hackney area. I can imagine that, 5 years ago when you moved from your comfortable parents house in Gloustershire (or some other exually nauseus all white middle class gated comunity nightmare) that stumbling on this once quirky establishment must have felt like your own little discovery you so hoped for. I'm sure you all revelled in showing off your (inept) london 'knowledge' about finding this amazing little Vietnamese place with your other dough eyed friends still wet behind the ears.....

Now, judging by the 'recent' reviews it appears that people are FINALLY realising that Huong Viet is in fact.... RUBBISH. Seriously people, Vietnamese food is NOT like the lacklustre, greasy, burnt, often WRONG plates being intermittently walked out of this Kitchen, dont get me wrong, I'm all for rubbish food when drunk wandering out of the Talbot but seriously, GET A TAKE AWAY KIDS. This place is pants.

Sadly, like your parents trust fund, it appears that your devotion and belief that this place you found 5 years ago is never ending, so much so you even BRING your poor parents to this place, whatever they must think the private education they bought you has instilled in your 'taste' is beyond me, I in fact sat next to a lovely couple whom i think the boyfriend had his folks down and were all there, the look on thier faces and thier dimwitted son tried to explain it wasnt normally as bad as this (service included!) was priceless.... (no pun intended)

Whats even funnier, is when you get all fussy about paying the £3 service they put on the bill. C'mon kids if they didnt do this wouold you pay for THAT service? just accept youve been royally shirked and its your own stupid fault for either a) beliving the hype of other hoxtonshoridchtypesyoudrinkwith or b) you are unable to read in which case i offer my condolences.

There are MILLION just as bad Vietnamese places down the road near your beloved Shoreditch, they ALL are basically the same.

ok so we'll see if they put this up, but to close, as this appears to have been more a review of the resterunts clientel let me close by saying Houng Viet is very basic, the food is slightly below average, the service is bad and you WILL have to pay a service charge, so if after reading this your are stupid enough to still go in, JUST PAY IT AND DONT GO BACK.
Comment on this reader review

Austin
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, August 10, 2009

13 years I've been coming here. Great great food and good prices. Service, however, has gone from flakey to unbearable pitful.

Took my folks last night. The restaurant now tries to pack so many people in that they push all the tables together (so abandon any hope of a visit to the loos).

They only managed to get 3 of our 6 starters right. A 4th arrived after our last main was brought to the table, and it was wrong anyway.

On delivering all the mains we discovered that they'd run out of rice!! Yes, you heard right...no rice in a Vietnamese restaurant. Miraculously, however, 15 minutes later - once most of the food was finished - they brought us 3 times the rice we ordered "to compensate".

They also brought us 2 desserts as an apology for the ongoing service issues - a kind offer. However, on paying the bill we calmly explained why we didn't feel that we shoudl pay a service charge. At this point the manageress became hysterical, started screaming at us and called over all the waiters. She then informed that that she'd just told them never to allow any of us back there again!!

Whilst I'm not sure whether she'll be upholding my ban or whether I just need a period of paroled absence, there is a part of me that wonders whether Huong Viet's greedy desire to take on too many covers will be the nail in the coffin for this iconic restaurant.

I hope not.
Comment on this reader review

LBOB
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 7
Sunday, June 07, 2009