Sông Quê Café

Since the start of this century a concentration of Vietnamese food outlets and culture has evolved at the lower end of the Kingsland Rd, on the cusp of buzzy Hoxton and Shoreditch. This corner restaurant, opened 2002, remains the mecca with its fine pho (rare beef noodle soup) and countless other yummy and unfussy noodle, vegetable, seafood, chicken/duck and tofu dishes; even the ultra-crispy spring rolls are in a class of their own. Cafe East in Surrey Quays [see entry] offers a more luxuriously flavoured pho, but if you don't have the time to cross the river, then this will do happily. Mr Lot Van Pham and Mrs Anh Phuoc Thi Pham have overseen the operation from the start and keep it real and delicious. The restaurant name, pronounced 'Song Kway", refers to a kind of river in the countryside. Tube station: Old Street. Overground: Hoxton.