Café East

I think some of the previous reviews are a bit sniffy and picky to be honest. This does not claim to be a highend eatery, its at the end of an industrial type car park for heavens sake..The staff are extremely polite and helpful, I don't care it doesn't offer tap water, cash only and no alcohol, I was hungry.The Decor was nice as it was just plain and clean, my only criticism were the chairs, they are not comfortable. The place was packed for 6.30pm on a wet Wednesday, mostly with chatty Vietnamese customers, for me this speaks volumes. The menu is ultra simple, a novice would have no problem with it. The joy of this food is it is wonderfully healthy, lots of clear broths, yummy appetizers and so aromatic. The food came quickly, piping hot and soo so tasty. Ive eaten many times in Shoreditch where there is a plethora of such restaurants, but now this is my favorite for its simplicity and price, cant wait to go again...

It used to be good but the last 3 times we have been there we feel that the quality and standards of the food has dropped significantly. The broth now tastes like it is from stock cubes and the grilled pork doesn't taste like it has been marinated and definitely not grilled. Microwaved perhaps???? We will NEVER go back again and will warn of others not to go.

I'll try to be objective. As you walk in your greeted with two signs, one informing you that it's "cash only" necessitated a trip to a local cash-point, and "We do not serve tap water". That probably tells you all you need to know about the ethos of the place. There's no license and you cant BYO so your condemned to £2 cans of coke or bottled water, this wound me up a little. The cash only rule is I suppose great if you're running a restaurant and want to be a little discreet on the taxable takings... The food is the point of this place though, the starters were excellent, the mains a little heavy on the shredded lettuce (the hence the larger portions others mention) but I'd rather quality over quantity. Pricing is OK with starters at £5 mains at roughly £7-8. One starter is easily enough for two. The atmosphere was busy and too loud, but perhaps I'm a delicate flower. All in all I don't think I'd bother to drive through the Surrey Quay's badlands again and even if I lived round the corner it would be a last resort.

I've been visiting for a good few years, from when it was at it's old location and now. Sadly, I've found that it can no longer compete with a lot of the Vietnamese restaurants around Kingsland Road. The service has also gone downhill. Each member of staff is rude and stand offish and very eager to clear away your plates even if you still have half finished bowls in front of you. After our mains we decided to order another main and some desserts to share with another round of drinks. Inbetween, the waiters kept pestering us with a bill and when told that we have not finished eating acted surprised and annoyed. It's a fairly small restaurant and with adequate staff it's still a chore to get noticed to put your order through. Most restaurants will check up on you within a few minutes of being seated, sadly not at Cafe East. The worst part of the experience is the staff, I noticed the approach each customer in the same way. While I was there, another customer accidentally spilled some water and the waiter huffed, returned with one or two paper towels and handed them to the customer to clean up.

Been living in London for 5 years and heard many good reviews about Cafe East, I have always hesitated to go as it's a bit of a decent way to travel for Pho and Banh cuon. I have tried soo many vietmanese restaurants around london and half of them are decent. Last weekend I made my way there and had the pho and banh cuon only because a friend was driving. My my my!! I am well impressed of the food! The pho was delicious and the banh cuon was amazing. I can't believe I haven't been here earlier. People comment on the decor or the service, but seriously... I don't care about that, the food tastes better than any other vietnamese restaurant in London, I'm sorry but its true and it's cheap and authentic tasting vietnamese food. I would definitely go back there again.

We'd wanted to try Cafe East ever since a good review in Time Out. It's local, serves a type of food we enjoy & could have become a reasonably regular haunt. First impressions were "OK". Decor is bland oriental canteen style - 4 long rows of tables, brightly lit - menu has reasonable range of tasty sounding dishes & staff fairly friendly. Starters were good. The main courses less so, 1 had very fatty beef & the waiter was unsure which was the spicy version of a dish ordered by 2 of us - actually it didn't matter as I couldn't really tell even by tasting them. Overall, the food was "OK", but not nearly as good as some Vietnamese places a couple of stops along the East London line in Dalston. Although not expensive, it's certainly not cheap for its quality. However - the place showed its real colours when we had cause for complaint. As our 8 year old had not liked, nor eaten, the (fatty) beef dish she’d chosen, we ordered another portion of 1 of the starters that she’d really enjoyed - Banh Cuon, steamed rice pastry pork & mushroom rolls, which come in 2 layers. We shared the top layer, it was ok but not as good as the 1st portion, there were less mushrooms. However, the 2nd layer was very greasy, covered in oil & slimy & really not pleasant. Had this been our 1st portion, we would certainly not have ordered again. We asked them to replace the remaining rolls, as they were inedible. The waiter took them away, returning a few minutes later with the same plate saying all their dishes were made with the same batch of filling & properly prepared, so there was no fault & they wouldn't replace them. We finished our meal & asked for the bill, leaving the offending items untouched. We asked for them to be removed from the bill - it was only £5.50, but I don't expect to pay for inedible food. After discussion with 3 or 4 members of staff we were told there was nothing wrong with them & anyway we should have complained before we'd eaten half, so we had to pay for them. We asked to see the manager. That didn't help. A rather aggressive man emerged from the kitchen, supported by a less aggressive, but equally immovable woman & constantly repeated the line that their staff had proffered. From several comments he made, he clearly holds a strong view that most of his customers arrive intending to rip him off. Perhaps we should have been warned by the prominent "We don't serve tap water" & "Cash Only" notices. We paid the full bill & left - amazed that they would rather drive away future business than acknowledge that our position as a customer might deserve something other than disdain & distrust. Perhaps it’s the lack of competition in Surrey Quays that allows them to get away with it. Sadly our message is this: if you're ever tempted to visit Cafe East – Don’t! Instead, get off the East London line near Kingsland Road & enjoy some truly excellent Vietnamese food & service. There are several very good places to choose from & cheaper too!

No tap water, no beer, no atmosphere and average food. Service is good but generally this place is massively overrated. Go to Kingsland Road if you want good cheap Vietnamese.

I do enjoy the beef pho everything time I go here, having spent time in Vietnam it is very authentic. The one big mistake in my book, and I do think its bad, is they wont serve tap water, their own drinks are very sickly and sweet.

First time here, and I will be back. The starter (rolls with prawn and pork) was tasty and filling, and the mains came in large-ish portions. My friend's pho with prawns was good and my spicy dry rice noodles had the right amount of chili. The service was efficient and friendly enough.

We often travel from East London to Surrey Quays for this little gem. Flavors are deep and intense, ingredients are super fresh. Huge portions and all of the dishes are spot on and very very authentic. Definitely worth the travel