Monsieur Vuong

There are many pseudo-Vietnamese restaurants in Berlin on the China-pfanne end of the scale, filling boxes of MSG-laden fried noodles or rice for dirt-cheap prices. Higher-grade places serve restorative noodle soups and curried meats on rice, still in a street-food style, with communal tables and brisk service. Monsieur Vuong, with its chic interiors, central Mitte location and flawless pho stock, is a guidebook darling and has set a template for plenty of passable copycats. There’s no reservations but the experienced staff keep the place turning over at a head-spinning rate so there’s usually not too long a wait for a table. It offers up two daily specials usually something saucy with rice or noodles, plus a short, regular menu of phos and noodle salads: a large bowl of the glass noodle dish in broth is topped with chicken or beef and crunchy beansprouts, chopped coriander and a squirt of lime. Their pho is balanced, its stock deeply savoury (none of the tell-tale over-saltiness of MSG) and freshened up with a generous amount of coriander.