Viet Grill

Having seen the previous reviews and rarely having the opportunity to eat Vietnamese, I turned up without a reservation yesterday evening (7th Dec). We managed to get a table and before long the restaurant was full. The menu was amazing and I could almost have taken a lucky dip. Both starters and mains were superb, could not fault the place 10/10
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tedzinho - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The meal I had at Viet Grill last Saturday was one of the best meal ever had outside Vietnam. I am sure if the chef was in Vietnam, he would be the most talented Vietnamese chef. The mango salad with squid was fab, the Pho Beef was amazing, and the Feudal Roasted Beef was phenomenon. The day I went the restaurant was full of Vietnamese, with the whole floor filled up with Vietnamese clienteles. I was advised by a Vietnamese student that here is the favourite place of people who work in Vietnamese Embassy, and actually I noticed a lot of diplomatic car plates outside.

To be honest you should go for this place at early hours or on week day to avoid the 1 hour queue. They are so busy that even the place is huge, it is hardly to get a table here in the weekend.
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Williams
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, December 06, 2009

I'm not sure if most of the reviewers here are friends of the restaurant or not but this is one of the poorest places for Vietnamese food that I've been to in London. Then again, it could just be that I went on a bad day...

As a Vietnamese person who has eaten Vietnamese food at home, in Vietnam, numerous places in London & the US, my experience of Viet Grill was far from what other reviewers experienced.

Pros: cheap prices, nice decor, wide menu selection.

Cons: I had the summer rolls for starters. Disappointed with the size & amount of filling inside. The prawns weren't plump & fresh & the rolls were beefed up using vermicelli. Mains of beef pho was extremely bland. I asked 4 times for fish sauce but the waiter didn't understand what I was saying & brought vinegar, & chopsticks before bringing the fish sauce (I had to resort to Vietnamese which in my case is poor & I use as a last resort to not embarrass myself) Also had a fresh lemonade which was watery

Left the place disappointed & annoyed at having spent money on a meal that wasn't satisfactory. There are much better Vietnamese restaurants out there- just stay away from Shoreditch & head to SE London where the quality is much better & the clients are mainly Vietnamese, always a sign of how authentic the cooking is.
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LanLan
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Monday, November 30, 2009

Best Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup and Modern Dishes of Vietnam in Shoreditch, London

Pho, as the most popular Vietnamese dish, was first created by mixing the French beef and the Chinese herbed noodle soup in Hanoi, Vietnam more than 100 years ago. "Pho" now presents in any province of Vietnam with different flavours, but the most popular taste is still the original one from Hanoi. The taste of Pho in Saigon, Hochiminh City is also good and might suit many appetit but it is too rich and lack of its own character. While all of the other Vietnamese restaurants in London selling the Saigon Taste Pho, Cay Tre in Old Street and its sibbling Viet Grill in Kingsland do a different Pho, with Hanoi taste and flavour. They also do modern Vietnamese dishes like basa fish, grilled monkfish and feudal beef, which you can only find in Saigon. In my own opinions, they do the best vietnamese food outside Vietnam. Luckily for me, they are right here in Shoreditch. London, with only a couple of miles from my place. If you have a good knowledge about Vietnamese community in London, you will know that most Vietnamese Restaurant owners in London were refugees, who came here about 25 years ago after the war with America. Their restaurants now serve the food which they ate back home 25 years ago, when the whole Vietname was in a hunger because of the war. This is why all the restaurant serving the same dishes, with really simple ways of cooking and simple ingredients. The food culture now in Vietnam is totally different, innovative dishes being out every day, with the use of international ingredients in a very competitive market, and it so much better. Cay Tre and Viet Grill are the only restaurants in London I find the dishes which I ate a couple months ago when I was in Vietnam. I am actually a big fan of them because the food is tasty and innovative. I love the noise of the restaurant, the flavour thickenning in the air, and most of all, I love their food.
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Viet Hugh
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, November 28, 2009

I am Vietnamese so when i first came to London two years ago, i thought it would be impossible to find a restaurant that does the ‘real’ and authentic Vietnamese food in here for the lack of some crucial ingredients you may only find them back in Vietnam. But a friend of mine recommended Vietgrill and i was then thrilled.

The staff isn’t nice i have to admit but the food and wines beat all. The cozy decoration is also a bonus.

You have the whole range of great food on the menu and many of them are the famous and traditional ones that not a lot of restaurants in Vietnam can be confident of serving them. But in here, it’s just too good to be true. Right after the first dinner there, i called my mom and said: ’Mom, i feel like i just have had dinner at home’. From then on, i became a loyal customer there.

There are also other Vietnamese restaurants around that area but if you want a place with excellent food, carefully selected wines, beautifully decorated area with an unbelievably reasonable price, it could only be Vietgrill.
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Duong Minh Trang
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Pho is most difficult dish to cook well in Vietnamese cuisine, but Viet Grill does it excellent. The restaurant is really different with the whole strip of Kingsland Road, with menus of auhthentic dishes that you can only find in proper restaurants in Saigon, or Hochiminh City. The chef has a skill that I can't believe that he can cook all those dishes well, which is completely different to each other. The wine list really sings as well.

The good thing about this restaurant is about its atmostphere and food. You will find a true dining experience here, the best vietnamese in Kingsland Road. Low lighting, dark wood, excellent food (I love their grilled beef and their salad, Pho is a must). it is also a perfect place for co-operate event party ot birthday as they have a private room for 60 people, quite good.

I deffintely in love with Viet Grill, and would recommend everyone who loves vietnamese food in London. This is the best, top-notch at the lowest price you can find.
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Tony
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, August 01, 2009

I've been to the Viet Grill a few times now and give up, I won't be returning. First and foremost are the staff, my last experience entailed a hostile waiter who, when taking the cash for the bill realised we had deducted the service charge and aggressively demanded to see the bill which he was shown. He then glared and stormed off. Why he thought we would be leaving a tip after practically having our food thrown at us beats me! The food here was enjoyable on my first visit but I've struggled to have a repeat of that. The last straw was when a "steamed whole spring chicken" arrived, it was most definitely not "whole" - a silverfoil bag of pieces (wing, thigh, rib - 8 pieces). All three of us diners agreed the food was bland and not a patch on the other restaurants in Kingsland Road.
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4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Monday, June 15, 2009

I love Viet Grill and I go there monthly. I find the food to be fresh and consistent each time and it's great value for money.

I've been so many times over the years and only once did I find the waiter rude. So all in all its a great place to go and I would highly recommend it to anyone .
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Mr Khan
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, February 13, 2009