Huong-Viet

Used to love this place but turns out they have become arrogant and lazy. Young waiting staff this evening (open shirt and big gold medallion) was very rude and after a long wait for food said it would still be a while as 'seabass takes a while to cook' we had finished our other main dish 30mins earlier! Kicked up a massive fuss when said I wasn't paying the service charge...joker! And turned 3 sets of people away at the door without a reservation even though half the restaurant was empty!! I pity the owner!
Food was ok but service very poor and pricing definitely not cheap any more. Won't be going back as loads of great alternatives down the kingsland road like Song Que (another old fav).

Love it here - shabby but tasty

We used to eat at this restaurant fairly regularly but after a shockingly bad experience this evening, tonight's visit will definitely be our last.

We both agreed the standard of the food had gone down, it just didn't taste as fresh. The service left a lot to be desired but this is something we had grown used to. All of this we could have lived with if it wasn't for the following...

After we had been kept waiting at the till for 15 mins and after another customer was allowed to jump in front of us in the que to pay, we were told the card machine wasn't working. We didn't have any cash so I explained I would go and get some, we were then followed out of the restaurant and asked if one of us could sit behind and wait. I refused to leave my fiance sat by herself and pointed out that we were regular customers and had no intention of running off without paying! When I also refused to use a cashpoint that charged for withdrawals it became apparent that the waiter was under strict instructions to follow us for as long as necessary until he had the money. In fact he stayed with us, (or a few paces behind) for a very uncomfortable 20min walk to the free cashpoint next to our home!

This restaurant used to have a slight edge over the large number of other Vietnamese places on the Kingsland Rd but I don't think this case anymore. Also one or two also have much nicer interiors now which result in less ambient noise so you don't have to shout over the table at your company.

I'm not surprised by the mixed reviews, but this must be mainly down to the pot luck service. The food has always been great, the most authentic and tasty locally. I've had rubbish meals and equal service in the other Dalston Vietnamese restaurants. Basically, don't go here if you want charming service and everyone's food to come together. If you want cheap, tasty, authentic Vietnamese food with authentic Vietnamese 'service', there aren't many better.

Absolutely dreadful!
The worst food I have ever had in Vietnamese places.
Went there yesterday with a group of 15 people. The service was dreadful! We ordered the set menu and 2 out of 3 the sea bass that arrived were bloody... disgusting!
We werre charged £2.50 a head - cork charge...
Would have been better off having their wine... Or maybe not...

Will surely never go there again!

The mixed reviews of this place led me to think the bad ones probably just didn't 'get it'.
Service was fine, they brought us the wrong food a couple of times I guess, and confused matters by referring to the dishes by names other than those on the menu- pretty functional in all.
Food was pretty shoddy - fish cakes were grizzliest I've experienced anywhere (made with fish guts and fins?!). Not <i>that </i> cheap either, at least not sufficiently so to qualify some of the down sides.
Building appears to be an old public toilet - a little quirky in appearance in its partially residential setting.
In all, not recommended. Probably pretty authentic vibe if you're 'gap yah' inclined though.

There is no comparison between the food at Huong Viet and the restaurants on the Kingsland Road Pho mile. I have tried pretty much all of them, and Huong Viet is simply so much better. Song Que, which has 5 stars on this website, is certainly not as good. Granted, the service at Huong Viet leaves something to be desired, but it is greatly improved from a few years ago (when the waiters had to be coached to even bring you a plate!). This is not a service experience (as in Vietnam!!), it's all about amazing authentic vietnamese taste.

Just came from here..had great service and great food. an am completly stuffed, ok the staff are not fantatsic at smiling but maybe this is a cultural thing!! i'll visit again for sure!

We went here tonight, perhaps my 10th visit, and I promise that I will never go again. Treated like lepers upon arrival (despite booking) we had to wait ages for our table. The service was incredibly bad but to cut a long story short we never got round to the main course as they ran out of rice!! Shockingly bad customer care and the food was lacking. Do yourself a favour and head south down Kingsland Rd.