Surprisingly I haven’t eaten that much at Vietnamese restaurants in London. It was only recently that I found out that a plethora of them exist out east near the Old Street tube station. I ate at Cay Tre (also known as The Vietnamese Kitchen) most recently and was surprisingly impressed by it.

The restaurant was busy throughout our entire meal with many patrons cascading into the ground floor. Another good indicator of the quality of the food was the large number of Asian people that were dining. The menu offers a wide selection of starters and mains ranging from soups, noodles, stews, fried dishes and other speciality grilled things prepared on little portable grills at each table. The dishes are extremely affordable with most of the mains averaging £5 or £6.

Service throughout the night was non-intrusive and I didn’t feel at all rushed through our meal like you would in many Chinese restaurants. Better yet, if you find Cay Tre busy, it also has a sister restaurant just around the corner.

Details: Cay Tre
Found on: 301 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LA
Contactable on: 020 7729 8662
Highlights: Cheap, fresh Vietnamese food with a huge offering on their menu.
Room for improvement: Nothing too much to note here (for once).
The Kua Rating: 8 out of 10