our review
THE LOWDOWN: In May, Vietnamese restaurateur Hieu Trung Bui opened Cay Tre Soho - a Dean Street sister site to the Old Street original. (His empire also includes Viet Grill on Kingsland Road and the busy new banh mi cafe, Keu!) The East End Cay Tre has always been a hit with locals and foodies in the know, and the Soho branch opened to glowing reviews from TimeOut and London food bloggers like Greedy Diva and London Eater. Vietnamese has always been an under-represented cuisine in Soho and Hieu Trung Bui's slick new eatery looks set to fill that gap. Only Pho and Viet offer any competition and they are both more casual and better suited to lunch, while Cay Tre is smart enough for dinner and dates.
THE LOOK: The modern, monochrome restaurant is a far cry from the low-key Dalston cafes and it has clearly been designed with well-dressed West Enders in mind. The white-washed wood panelling, clean lines and black and white furniture create a light and airy space, without feeling cold or clinical. The only splashes of colour come from the low-hanging lights and the exotic flowers and bottles of fiery Sriracha chilli sauce on each table. It still has a faint 'noodle bar' feel to it, not really somewhere you'd linger for hours, but this combined with speedy service and its proximity to Shaftesbury Avenue make it an ideal pre-theatre stop.
THE FOOD: The menu is shorter than the lengthy lists you see in Kingsland Road cafes, but familiar favourites like prawn-packed summer rolls, refreshing salads and - of course - pho are all present and correct. There are some unusual additions like the Indochine stir-fried venison and slow-cooked 'ox cheek au vin', alongside authentic Vietnamese dishes like sesame-cured beef and green papaya salad and the Dong Du lamb chop curry, which originates from the oldest Indian mosque in Saigon. During the day, Soho locals can drop in to slurp noodles at the Pho Bar and tuck into wallet-friendly express lunches.
Having enjoyed the banh xeo (pork and prawn stuffed pancake) at VyNam Cafe, we ordered the same here but what arrived was more like a crispy fritter of shredded sweet potato and plump prawn. It was tasty, especially when dunked into the feisty nuoc mam sauce, but it was over-fried and not really what we were expecting. The pork ribs were much better - tender, meaty and sticky with their fragrant honey and lemongrass marinade. We also liked the Mekong catfish - slow-cooked on-the-bone fish simmered in a sweet-savoury caramel sauce that is unique to Vietnamese cuisine - but the Lang Son roast Tamworth pork belly was disappointing. The slices of prime pig were topped with good crackling but underneath the meat was grey and greasy, not helped by an overwhelming dipping sauce. Perhaps we were just unlucky because the fresh salads and huge bowls of steaming pho arriving at neighbouring tables looked and smelled great.
THE DRINK: Cay Tre's wine list was put together with help from wine writer Malcolm Gluck, so you can be assured of finding a decent bottle or two. Their website claims they 'shake Vietnamese cocktails by night' but our waitress denied all knowledge so we stuck to fruit juice and zingy Fentiman's lemonade. From noon until 5.30pm, the restaurant serves 'Vietnamese afternoon tea', accompanied by tea from the Rare Tea Company.
THE VERDICT: Cay Tre is a welcome addition to Vietnamese-starved Soho and we loved the friendly service and the restaurant's laid-back good looks. It's open all day so you can pop in for an impromptu pho fix and the lunch deal of 'one big bowl, one small plate' for 14 quid is a W1 bargain. The a la carte prices are a little higher than at the Hoxton original but for Soho, they're pretty reasonable. We'll definitely be back to try their pho.
KP - June 2011
what the critics say
Zoe Williams - 2/5
Guy Dimond - 4/5
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
Last night was my first (and last) experience at Cay Tre (Soho). I met a friend for an early dinner at 6:30. The restaurant was empty at the time but the hostess seemed very hesitant to seat us. She brought us to a table for two but then decided to move us to a four-top table, even though there were only two of us. The service was quite quick but the staff did a lot of standing and staring. As the place started to fill-up, multiple servers started to come over and take our food away from us! Every few minutes, a new staff member would come over and ask if we were finished eating - we were not. At one point, a server tried to clear our glasses of wine that still had about 4 sips in them! After about 6-7 attempts to clear our table, the hostess came over and asked us to leave because there was a crowd waiting for the table. Ashtonished, my friend and I just sat there trying to comprehend the awkwardness of this dining situation. A different server then came over and asked us if we wanted dessert...no thanks, not really in the mood now! The hostess also mentioned that we could have a drink at the bar but didn't offer one on the house. Poor, poor customer service. Needless to say, I will never return to this restaurant. I can't wait until their star burns out and another hip, overpriced, vietnamese restaurant steals their crowds. Let's see who's rushing patrons out then...
Comment on this reader review
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Friday, May 18, 2012
I went to Cay Tre with a friend at about 7.30 on a Thursday evening. We hadn't booked. The restaurant was full when we arrived. It was buzzing and fairly noisy. We were greeted by a very cheerful hostess who told us we could have a table in 10 minutes. We waited sitting at the bar and had a couple of nice cocktails. Our table was ready in 10 minutes as promised.
It took us ages to order as we wanted every single thing on the menu!
The food came fairly quickly and the waiter brought something out every 10 mins or so, which worked perfectly. Everything was delicious, especially the starters and my bowl of vermicelli noodles and pork done two ways. It all tasted fresh and had so much flavour. We ordered way too much though! You don't need to spend more than £12 pp on a good dinner here, which for Soho is reasonable.
In short, good food, good atmosphere, and genuinely friendly staff.
Comment on this reader review
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Bun Bo Hue wish crabcake is thing that you can only find in Saigon (or Hue of course), is being served here. I was so enjoyed the bowl of tangy, spicy, tasty lemongrass noodle with crabacke. Fab.
Fancy decor but classic vietnamese noodle, modern Vietnamese meat dishes, this is the best Vietnamese restaurant in town in term of food and atmosphere. Love it.
Comment on this reader review
Alex
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Very mixed picture in terms of dishes - some nice, some awful. Service patchy and customer satisfaction policy nil.
A complaint about the appalling stench from a bowl of pho soup with fishcakes was met with "you ordered it and you have to pay" followed by "this is what it is meant to be like'. Perhaps an attempt to sell us on the reason for what can only be a highly acquired aroma, would have talked us round. "You're paying, whatever" didn't. Won't be returning to a restaurant with such contempt for its customers.
Comment on this reader review
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Saturday, January 21, 2012
We ate here recently through a Groupon offer, which worked out at around a 50% discount. Starters of grilled scallops and cured beef summer rolls were both very tasty, but in both cases, the portions were pretty tiny. For £7, I expected more than two scallops, and the summer rolls were predominantly herbs and lettuce. Main courses were a bit better; we enjoyed the rich, aromatic Ox Cheek Au Vin; the meat was very tender and the flavours were subtle and distinctive. Pork belly with curry leaves was also very tasty, not too fatty, and the herb flavour complemented the meat.
However, service throughout was not great - staff were friendly, but it took a long time to get anyone to take our order, and to get the bill. I would expect half-hearted service in a cheap and cheerful Kingsland Road restaurant, but at Soho prices I'd like staff to be a bit more present! We were automatically charged service of 12.5% on the pre-discount total, which meant that the service charge made up 1/3rd of the total bill. I'm not a fan of restaurants adding an automatic service charge, and this just left a bad taste in my mouth. On the whole, it's decent food, and a reasonable option in Soho, but it costs a lot for what it is, and the service leaves something to be desired.
Comment on this reader review
Liz
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Great food, appalling service. Realy appalling. They staff stood around when we wanted to order, were rude and everything seemed to be a real chore to do, from getting drinks to clearing the tables.
Quite sad really as the food and atmosphere makes this place, and is a welcome additon to late night eating without a reservation in the heart of Soho, but guys, please make your staff at least value your customers!!!!!!
Comment on this reader review
Simon V
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Saturday, October 29, 2011
After a first few months, Cay Tre Soho now is rocking. No more cold food and slow service.
It is so interesting that they change the menu quite often. You can now find the Mahi Mahi curry and Black Seabass on the menu. Fantastic.
Best choice of Vietnamese in the West End, or maybe in London. Decent one.
Comment on this reader review
Robert
Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, October 22, 2011
What a shame ! What happened to this branch ?! It's 13:06pm On a Sunday and we are the only table in here and still waiting for our kimchi 15minutes later !! The staff don't really seem too bothered either!!
Certainly when we were here on the opening night it was fabulous...I think the other branch in the East end is far better
Oh well they have lost us as a customer and our friends
Comment on this reader review
Shahrooz
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Very proper Vietnamese restaurant, which is very rare in London.
London has about 50 Vietnamese restaurants and cafes, but Cay Tre is the only one make me feel as I am dining in Saigon, with food to match.
The Mahi Mahi curry is out of this world. Very much like the version I had at Dong Du Mosque. I love the taste of their papaya salad: kicking spicy, lovely crunchy and just like you grap it from Ho Chi Minh City Street.
Not cheap, but worth the price. The lunch deal is actually cheap, about half of what you pay at Koya at Firth St.
Try the Mahi Mahi, it is a must.
Comment on this reader review
Kevin Lee
- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Was surprised to see a branch of Cay Tre in the heart of Soho and went to try it out for a friend's birthday. I had already been to the one on Old Street and it was nice.
I had just read a review of this new branch and they mentioned the spatchcocked chicken was well worth the 20 minute wait. I was going to order the chicken but then after speaking to the waiter he highly recommended the roast belly pork and said that it was a new dish.
When it came I was very disappointed. For around £10 you only get 5 small pieces of roast pork and a chilli/soy dipping sauce. Although the quality of the pork was good and the crackling was nice this was a rip off as it was insubstantial for a main. If I had known I would have just popped over to Chinatown and for £6 I could have got a substantial and filling dish of roast duck and roast pork.
The restaurant itself was very trendy but the food did not live up to the hype.
Comment on this reader review
Overall rating 
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Thursday, July 14, 2011
what the bloggers say
@foodepedia Pretty bright and sticky over here but not as wet as we thought. Enjoy the heatwave!
Email
Add to favourites
Print
Facebook
Twitter
StumbleUpon
Delicious
RSS
More
