Restaurants

Nestled in a cluster of cute gift shops and smart restaurants near Victoria Park, the little café Namo provides the finishing touch to what is already a picture-perfect neighbourhood with its chic and bohemian look. Everything seems idyllic: the owner chats with her customers about the weather as a bronze Buddha statue beams at the customers on the summer terrace outside. The menu contains a limited choice of classic dishes – cha ca (grilled fish), water mimosa, rau muong (morning glory), pho – and occasional Chinese ingredients (black bean sauce, a duck and hoi sin starter). Tamarind-flavoured canh chua soup was the best we’ve had in London, with fresh chunks of pineapple, bamboo shoots, tender pieces of fish, shiitake and cup mushrooms, and mangetouts floating atop. Fresh sweet basil gave the broth a nice sharp contrast to the sweet pineapple flavour. Ca ri do bien, a sweet seafood curry, was a piquant and scrumptious assembly of squid, prawns, mushrooms and onions. The only problem was that few of the ingredients in this Thai-inspired curry were specifically Vietnamese. Still, Namo is a highly congenial spot with good food.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008