Bang Bang Vietnamese Canteen

A Fitzrovian find for anyone interested in tasty and fine Vietnamese – a semi-rarity in central London. The stock for the signature pho (noodle soup) benefits from 18 hours of simmering and reduction, and there's a spicier pho (bú bò huế) along with other specialties here, such as bánh bao – uniquely textured and filled 'sandwiches' (included recommended pork belly) that are popular with the young and studenty in Vietnam. Crab noodles area also a plus. The Bang Bang chef is proper Vietnamese, while the two owners are Brits with Vietnamese and Hong Kong roots. There's been a bit of a fuss made about the so-called film noir aspect of the decor, but such links are a bit tenuous, especially as the place is in colour, not black and white. Still, the lighting is atmospheric and there are raised and cosy booths in which to get lost. One glaring but not necessarily negative oddity is the corridor-like feature of Bang Bang, which has entrances at one end in Warren St — just off the olde-worlde-beautiful Fitzroy Square, ten minutes north of Soho — and at the other end in the unlovely and trafficky Euston Rd. Opened September 2014. Tube stations: Warren Street and Great Portland Street.