Nam An Camden

The atmosphere was good, but the cuisine and decor is predominantly Chinese! We choses stir-fried lemongrass dishes which were quite onion-heavy but freshly cooked. Vegetarians have their own special menu with 'mock' meats; mine was fresh, tangy and tasty. We asked for tap water and were given it no problems.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, August 07, 2008

After last week's lunch at Nam An, I will never eat there again.

The waiter, for some unknown reason, took an instant dislike to me from the moment I sat down at the table with my co-workers. It set the entire table on edge as my order for a bowl of Pho and a glass of water were ignored, then finally met with a roll of his eyes and a look of disdain. It was so odd.

It seemed to be rooted in the fact that I asked for a table setting -- we sat down at a round table at the back, where all the places were set, save mine, so I asked the waiter politely, when he came to take the drinks order, if he would mind bringing me a set of chopsticks, a napkin and a glass. He ignored me. Eventually I helped myself to a place setting at another table, whereupon he came back into the room and scolded me -- literally a loud 'ah ah ah, what are you doing?' type reaction. I apologized and said I simply wanted a set of chopsticks and a glass, but from then on his mood worsened.

We all felt very awkward for the rest of the meal. It was so bad, my co-workers joked about whether or not I should actually eat the food, in case he'd done anything to it.

In the end, my co-workers kindly insisted that they didn't want to tip because of the way I'd been treated, but in the end, when the same waiter informed us of the restaurant's 'policy' to only allow the use of cards for purchases of £10 and up, we left having rounded up. I don't midn, though, as it's the last penny Nam An will get out of me!

The experience truly ruined the whole restaurant for me. I'd eaten there a couple of times, and although the food was not spectacular, it was good, and good value. I never want to encounter that waiter again, so I'm giving it a miss! If you're willing to take a gamble, just don't ask for any extras, like utensils and a glass!
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, December 08, 2007

I think some of the critisicm on this page isn't very fair. No the food is not like you get in Saigon, but who said that all the points were for authentic food.

In my experience the food has been very tasty, very well cooked and with large portions. The service i have found to be very polite, the house wines quite reasonable and i have been back a few times. The bill is never as much as i think its going to be in an up market resturant.

Yes there are some chinese influences in this resturant...but there are vietnemese dishes to be found...the roasted chicken with honey is excellent.

I think its great value and a nice place to go with a family or a party meal in Camden, which in all honesty i don't think does that fantastically in the asian food stakes.
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Joe Sheffer
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The foot may not be authentic Vietnamese, but having eaten 'authentic' food that some people crave around Asia, I'd pass on the buffalo intestines and go for the generic asian style of cooking at establishments such as Nam Am. It's true that the menu is largely chinese but the food is good, and the setting is very nice, particualrily downstairs in the 'Pagoda' area.

Portions are large and food is wellcooked and tasty if not out of this world, our bill came to £40 for 2 starters, 3 mains and one beer. one water - not bad, certainly not extorshonate. The 1/4 duck starter could have been a main.

Service was polite if a little hurried - the main arrived before the starters had been finished.
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Mark
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, September 10, 2007

I love Vietnamese food, & coming from Australia, we are spoiled for choices when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine. I took my wife and a couple of friends here not long after we moved into the area (6 months ago). To be honest, we were dissappointed. The atmoshere is nice, the dining room and toilets clean, the service good, and the food was presented very well. But thats about all the good I can say. Theres quite a few staples missing from the menu... and I found the dishes largely lacking in authentic flavour. Even after asking for our meals to be prepared traditionally (ie: with spice) nothing that hit our table had any of the fresh zing usually associated with 'Vietnam'.

I cant help thinking that if this place put as much effort into it's food as it's presentation and dining room, it might gain some credibility. But sadly, it's just another watered down, gentrified version of the original. On top of that, I found it to be overpriced. Vietnamese food is mostly simple and fresh. It shouldn't be hard to prepare. I've a feeling that the chefs may well be Chinese, and instructed to pander to western tastes.

Since then we've discovered a few other Vietnamese restaurants that I won't be naming for fear of them going the same way.

I won't be back.
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Marxie
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Was really disappointed. I went there for dinner with my boyfriend to try to introdunce him to vietnamese food. They should change there name to a chinese one as looking at the menu, most of it was chinese.

If you want proper authentic vietnamese food go to saigon saigon on king road in hammersmith. Very authentic and tranditional vietnamese food, and I should now Im vietnamese. The restaurant is pricy but you wont be disappointed.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, March 29, 2007

we ended up for dinner in Nam An last week, after walking around camden, wanting some "authentic" asian food and not particularly happy to get a takeaway from the remaining canteens in camden market....

the restaurant was beautifully decorated, the staff were efficient and the menu looked varied and promising.... it was also considerably on the cheaper side of things...... i suppose, you get what you pay for and this time, it was no exception...

i ordered the squid with blackbean and chilli and both of my friends got the chicken curry, after enquiring about the style of the curry, whether it was more towards the indian or the thai one. the waitor assured them it was more similar to the thai curry and 5' later, our order was placed on the table, leaving us speechless on how fast everything was "freshly prepared".....

of course it wasnt, it was obvious everything was already cooked and reheated....the portions of steamed rice we were all served varied considerably one from the other, my friend's was stuffed to the brim, whereas mine was considerably less.....

their curry was more similar to the identifiable thick, orangey curry sauce you get on your chips from a chippie, than anything remotely relevant to authentic asian cuisine....my squid was chewy and lukewarm, a rip off for £6.95....

the bill came just less than £15 incl tip for each of us, but i could have easily had the same quality of food at camden market, where they're selling out everything at a bargain price of £2 after 6pm....

def not reccommended....
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Anna
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Let me preface this review by saying that I am half Vietnamese so I know what I am talking about when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine. Nam An is appealingly and luxuriously (at least for a Vietnamese restaurant) decorated. The dishes I ordered were tasty, well presented, and came in generous proportions. The only problem, and it is a significant problem at that, is that only a small handful of the dishes on the menu are authentically Vietnamese. The majority of dishes are in fact Cantonese or slight variations on popular Cantonese dishes. Also I was surprised to find that I was never given any nuoc mam (fish sauce) with my starters, and nor were my fellow diners by the looks of things. Nuoc mam is the Vietnamese equivalent of ketchup. It is used in the cooking of nearly all Vietnamese dishes and is often served as a dipping sauce for starters. When you don't see it in a Vietnamese restaurant you know something's up! So if you're happy with a few Vietnamese dishes mixed in with a majority of pan Asian dishes, then Nam An should be perfectly suitable. If you're after an authentic Vietnamese culinary experience then I would suggest you look elsewhere!
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Stefano
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, June 19, 2006

We have our own little slice of South East Asia here in the "unfashionable" part of Camden. Walk up from Mornington Crescent and you have the superb "Taste of Siam", and now on the oppsite side of the road Nam An is gaining a considerable following. A Vietnamese restaurant, on the site of the famous (well, in these parts, anyway) Nontas...no expense has been spared recreating the Vietnamese atmosphere. Apprently opening was delayed by waiting for the specially carved mahogany that graces the room.

The menu is comprehensive. We choose the Mandarin roasted duck more often than not because it's wonderful! Vietnamese spring rolls are a favourite, too. There is a wide choice of vegetarian options as well.

Your steamed rice comes up in a very authentic pot, complete with lid and a slice of lemongrass.

Service is efficient and very friendly.

It's large enought to cater for the larger parties at the back, whilst maintaining a cosier atmosphere at the front. You can have a seat by the window and get a superb view of Mornington Crescent. It has a certain charm.

Yes, we in the know down in the less fashionable parts of Camden are really rather lucky at the moment!
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Lesley
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, May 11, 2006