This weekday-only, lunchtime café is just inside the western edge of the Square Mile, and serves up Vietnamese favourites to City workers who fancy something a bit different for lunch. Mainly catering for takeaways, Banh Mi Saigon also has six bar stools squeezed into its compact space, where diners are served their orders in proper crockery.
Those not so confident with Vietnamese pronunciation needn’t fret, as dishes are also assigned alphanumeric titles. The traditionally spiced pork bánh mì (B1) had a crisp baguette crust, and filling of fresh flavoured aromatic vegetables and well-seasoned soft pork. Even daring spice lovers should think twice before adding chilli sauce to the bún bò Hue (beef, H1). Even without added heat, our spicy soup noodle dish raised a sweat, but the almost indistinguishable noodles and beansprouts gave pleasing crunchy and soft textures in each mouthful.
For those suffering from midday meal fatigue, Banh Mi Saigon offers Vietnamese street food at a fair price that’s definitely more exciting than a supermarket sandwich.
Nick Amato