Family vibe down Old Street

10 April 2012

Until recently there was something of a demarcation line between the trendy clubs and restaurants on Old Street and the more functional (and generally a whole lot cheaper) throng of Vietnamese restaurants on nearby Kingsland Road. But earlier this year Cay Tre opened in a mainstream location jostling for customers with all the other restaurants, bars and clubs.

What is most surprising is that the food is so good, the prices are so reasonable and that the resto has retained that engaging family-run feel that has deserted the (now increasingly slick) Kingsland Road establishments.

The dining room is small and the tables are packed in - there are additional tables in the basement, but the atmosphere is better at ground level. The menu is fascinating and includes a good selection of authentic and complicated Vietnamese dishes. Start with the bò cuôn banh trang, a dish for two people that involves a good deal of diner participation - a griddle is set up on the table and you get a plate of thinly cut raw beef, various pickles and vegetables, plus some thin rice-paper discs. You grill the meat yourself, and while you're waiting for it to cook, soak the rice paper in hot water until it softens. Then you add the sauce and parcel up the beef, the vegetables and pickles. Very fresh, and very delicious.

Also prepared at table is the house special, Cha ca La Vong, which hails from a notable restaurant on Cha ca street in Hanoi. Sliced marinated monkfish is cooked in a frying pan at table on a mountain of fresh fennel with a nut and shrimp sauce. This is a winner, although the accompanying fish sauce is very strong and very pungent, beware. There is also a very fine pan-roasted crab, poached in a tamarind sauce - messy to take apart but worth the effort in the end. Another superb starter is the bò la lôt - parcels of minced savoury beef wrapped in aromatic sapu leaves. These are similar to small, extrameaty dolmades served hot on a skewer.

The starters are so good here that the main courses can pale by comparison, but even familiar dishes are well done - Bo Luc Lac, (Shaking beef) is made with remarkably tender ribeye steak and strongly flavoured. There is a wide selection of noodle soups including the classic pho, and you can get that most delicious of Vietnamese vegetable dishes rau muông xào to'i, which is stir-fried water morning glory (called water spinach here) with garlic dressing.

There are two ways to make the most of Cay Tre's charming service and very good food - either opt for one of the 'meals-in-a-bowl' like pho, and dine quickly for about £6 or £7, or order up an array of starters to share and accompany them with the rather good Vietnamese beer called 333.

Cay Tre
Old Street, London, EC1V 9LA

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Family vibe down Old Street

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