Viet, Soho

Amid the chaotic clatter and chatter, waiters bump into tables and diners feast elbow to elbow on big bowls of steaming beef pho, fragrant noodles and colourful prawn salads. Best of all, it's BYO (including beer). Viet is not somewhere to go for a quiet meal.

It's been our favourite local Vietnamese for years. Admittedly, there's not much competition in Soho - or indeed, many places outside of East London. The small Pho chain has recently opened an outlet on Wardour St. But Viet is no polished operation. It's quick and dirty, cheap and cheerful, and feels like a little pocket of Kingsland Rd in Soho.

 

Soft summer rolls (goi cuon) come with prawns, herbs and salad almost bursting through the thin, translucent rice paper wrapping. Fried spring rolls are crisp, fresh and meaty. But best of all are the thin little parcels of juicy beef wrapped in betel leaf - a taste sensation.

 

Bun sa, cold vermicelli noodles with chicken cooked in lemongrass, with crispy lettuce, pickled vegetables, cucumber and mint were, on our last visit, somewhat lacking in flavour, and a little stingier on the chicken than usual. I have my suspicions that portion sizes are being sacrificed a little here to keep the costs so low. The noodles come with a side bowl of nuoc cham (fish sauce, zingy lime juice, garlic, chilli, sugar), essential for pouring over the mix.

Most people come for the pho, the comforting, spicy, noodley broth, which is slurped up hungrily, even as plates of starters and drinks arrive at their tables, apparently out of sinc. No one seems to mind. Extra fresh chilli and other bits are provided on request.

A personal favourite is the beef salad - slithers of beef with chilli, onion, lime, Vietnamese basil and smashed nuts. It's full of flavour, although the portion on my visit last week is (again) smaller than I remembered it.

Corkage is apparently charged on wine (about £3) but the bottle opener for our beers was unceremoniously plonked on our table last week and we drank without charge. This is one cheap night out. Starters are often around £2-4, and the average price for larger dishes is around £6-8.

Service is sometimes erratic, but never bad on my visits (I'm not expecting Michelin star service here), and the young guy who coordinates it all is smiling and helpful. He doesn't miss much when it comes to pointing out who needs what and when.

Viet's popularity means there are often queues on Friday and Saturday nights (some resort to cracking open their beers in the line), and you can't reserve ahead. So get there early, and tuck in.

Viet, 35 Greek Street, Soho, London W1D 5DJ (Tel: 020 7494 9888). No website.