CAY TRE (Shoreditch)CAY TRE (Hoxton)

Category: Bistro

After an unsatisfactory visit a couple of years ago I had never been back to Cay Tre. Cay Tre in Old Street and Viet Grill in Kingsland Road have the same owners and I also was not particularly impressed by Viet Grill. But everyone deserves a second chance and I have to say – I was pleasantly surprised and so was my favourite Vietnamese dinner companion N. Apparently the lotus plant symbolizes purity and perfection in Vietnamese culture,a description that would also apply for the lotus stem salad (gỏi ngó sen) (6.5£) at Cay Tre. It reminded me of my all-time favourite,Vietnamese papaya salad,but the lotus stems added another,very pleasant,crunchy dimension to it. It was absolutely delicious,tasting of fresh herbs and a hint of chili and perfectly cooked prawns.

The fresh soft summer rolls (gỏi cuốn) (3.5£) were unfortunately not as soft as the name promised,the rice paper was a bit chewy,but the taste nevertheless was faultless. bún sả (7£) was like it’s supposed to be – a big bowl of vermicelli,with loads of fresh mint and Thai basil,lemongrass,fish sauce and chili topped with peanuts and lovely prawns amalgamated into perfect harmony. I could happily eat this every day. The beef rolled in betel leaf (chả lá lốt) (6£) was a little bit too greasy for my taste but pleasant enough.

And there are so many more dishes on the menu I would like to try… The rustic pomelo salad with grilled shrimp sounds to die for and the Vietnamese rice field long fish certainly is intriguing (I have no idea what a rice field long fish could be,something like an eel maybe? – I think I have to go back to find out!). I have to praise the design of the menu anyway – as opposed to most other Vietnamese restaurants nearby,where reading the menu mainly leads to confusion,Cay Tre’s menu is very clear and the explanations with the dishes all sound extremely appetizing. It is not as cheap as Song Que et al.,but as long as the quality and flavour of the food is so spot-on,I can live with paying a few pounds more.

There is only one issue I have with this place:they could not possibly have stuffed more tables into this tiny space,we were basically sitting on top of each other. On the other hand,one was very close to the other diner’s food;it was very tempting to just try,it all looked very good. People there seemed to be happy. And that’s the main thing isn’t it?

http://www.vietnamesekitchen.co.uk/caytre/

301 Old Street,EC1V 9LA

020 7729 8662

• Food:8.5/10
• Ambiance:6/10
• Service:7/10
• Value for money:8/10
• Chances of returning:100% (and if it is only to find out what a rice field long fish is)
• Verdict:excellent and authentic Vietnamese food,love it.

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