Tay Do Cafe

Another amazing BYO restaurant which seems very popular with the hip crowd. Prepare yourself for a long wait for a table, corkage charge but also fantastic food!

The best thing about this restaurant is the BYOB. The food was average and the service really awkward. Half of the time the waiter had no clue what we were asking him. Also, it was totally empty which we thought was down to it being Monday night. But on the way home we walked passed at least 5 (Vietnamese) restaurants that were all buzzing.
Also, it’s cash only which we weren’t aware of.
Prices are on the high side for what you’re getting.

Finally, a phở joint in London that doesn’t break the bank, and has a seriously savoury broth.
I come from the land of cheap, delicious phở (no, not Vietnam… Toronto!), and it’s such a struggle to find in London. We came here for a birthday bash and the broth was on point. The fresh spring rolls starters were good as well, but the phở was herby and delicious. Definitely go back.

Kingsland Rd is THE place to go for Vietnamese food in London. A short walk from Shoreditch/​Old St, the whole road is rammed with delicious fresh CHEAP Vietnamese restaurants. And in my opinion, Tay Do is the best of these.
There are some fancier joints available, but if you’re looking for a tasty lunch or after-​work dinner then this place is perfect. Grab some Summer rolls and a delicious Phở and you’re set. My particular favourite is the beef and papaya salad; don’t be put off by the fact that the beef looks like a shredded jumper, it is delicious! You’ll walk away with a full belly and an only slightly less than full wallet.
They also offer BYOB which is great, but note they do charge £2 corkage.
Note: It’s cash only, but there is a cash point next door.
Yum yum yum.

Phở and BYO. Like all of the other place (minus one or two) along here. The phở was pretty good– not the best beef or pork that I have had in a phở but I have a feeling the kitchen staff has made these to suit a more ‘Londoner’ palate rather than traditional Vietnamese.
The sides on the table are good and the chilli paste had a nice kick to it. The menu is loooonnnngggg and I don’t know if you can really go wrong with too much as long as you use the chilli paste to spice things up. There is soups, stir-​frys, deep-​fried bits and pieces perfect for a hangover, a tofu section and the Viet salads. The Vietnamese spring roll was exactly what you would have expected and they cut it up in 8 pieces so easy to share.
Highly recommended was the aubergine with soy sauce. I could eat this for days. It went well with the satay chicken (not something I would usually go for but also very delicious).
The staff are really lovely, a little spacey, but really nice and eager to help. The kitchen thinks about timing and nailed it even on a very busy Saturday night.

Tay Do has something special that none of the other Vietnamese restaurants in London has — the best Hu Tieu Nam Vang in London. Hu tieu nam vang is Cambodian-​Vietnamese clear soup with pork, squid and prawns, heavy on garlic and onions.
Also good for vegetarians! There’s an entire menu with a large variety for vegetarians from crispy pancakes to noodle soup.
One thing to note — cash only. There are no signs and don’t be confused if you see the card machine behind the counter — the staff isn’t allowed to use it.

Many of the phở restaurants in London are centred on or around Kingsland Road. Tay Do is one of them — right opposite the Honda dealership, you can’t miss it.
It’s great for a casual night out and perfect for groups. They allow BYOB and supply you with the appropriate glassware — bring wine, you get wine glasses, bring champagne, you get champagne glasses — it’s that simple!
In terms of the food, it’s pretty standard for London phở — portions are standard size for London and taste is decent. My issue however is the price. They have recently increased their prices so a bowl of phở is £10.00! Way too much for a bowl of semi-​decent phở.
Being a West Coast American, Phở is pretty much a staple so in my early days in London I kept looking for comparable Phở. Needless to say I was disappointed all the time as Phở here isn’t as good (both in quality and quantity)… you basically don’t get much bang for your buck/​quid. Unfortunately you don’t get the bang for the buck you used to at Tay Do.
However, if I do want phở, I head here… they’re probably the best out of the lot and they’re definitely better than Song Que (see my review from there if you’re interested)

This is a great place for a casual dinner before a night out on the town. Compared to a few other Vietnamese places on Kingsland road, Tay Do can be a tad bit more costly (i.e. £1 more for phở). I favour Song Que for it’s ‘Special’ phở which includes tripe and tendon for the adventurous people. Nevertheless, Tay Do does the trick. The bowls of noodle soup are generous and the best part, it’s BYOB. If you like a few beverages, the amount you save on BYOB with no corkage more than makes up for any slight comparisons in price :)
There’s a reason why there are two locations on Kingsland road! Worth a stop by to either. No queue when I popped by just before 7pm on a Friday night but within the hour, the place was packed!

Came for BYOB, came back for really tasty bun noodles. I’ve been here twice and will probably go again before nights out in the Shoreditch area. The food is all cheap and the vegetarian options are plentiful (whether they actually ARE vegetarian or not is a mystery but I figure if the veggies in my group aren’t asking then I won’t say anything –bad friend?). The pork spring rolls were delicious as well as the stir fried noodles with chilli lemongrass and pork (other options for the meat as well). And if I’m going to be able to get a main with meat and have it under a tenner, I’m pretty happy.
The service can be a bit hit and miss though generally it’s fine. We booked dinner for a large group the second time and when we got there they tried to squeeze us into a table for quite a few less people but that was quickly rectified. Definitely is a great place for big groups, just make sure you book up first if you’re more than just a few as it fills up quickly at dinner time.

Another great BYO I’ve found in London. Initially I feared that this would be a total hole-​in-​the-​wall, but the décor is actually quite nice. The menu is a bit overwhelming but we were already set on the phở, and it did not disappoint. Very authentic and much better than what you get for lunch takeaway! The right noodles, the right broth, this is exactly how phở should be.

Too oily, I can see oil in the phở, it’s like drinking oil rather than soup.
Disappointing!

The best vietnamese I’ve tasted on Kingsland Road.
Four of us went here on Friday night and were blown away. The table was ready for us as soon as we got here which was a good start, and by no means a guarantee at this type of restaurant at a busy time. I’d read from other reviews about the massive menu (over 220 items) and so suggested to the group that we ask the waitress to decide for us. This was a tough choice given that two of the group are control freaks but it was the best decision of the night.
We agreed with the waitress that we’d have 4 starters and 5 main dishes and after a chat with her boss (where I assume they discussed what they should serve us) she proceeded to deliver a string of amazing dishes — many of them things that we would never had ordered. It also saved us from the monotomy of the standard asian food order — prawn toast, spring rolls, spare ribs and chicken satay.
Having not actually chosen anything I can only guess at the names of some of the dishes we had. There was definitely some spicy squid and summer rolls amongst the starters, following this we had some beautiful fried fish, king prawns in a stew, an amazing roast duck dish and udon noodles with mixed meats amongst others. Every dish was lovely, hot and fresh. We just about finished everything and were well and truly stuffed.
I’d recommend this place really highly, but more than this I’d really recommend the approach of allowing the restaurant to choose what you eat, particularly if you’re not that familiar with much of the cuisine. It was a gamble that well and truly paid off.

One of the first Vietnamese places I tried on Kingsland Road and I immediately fell in love with the flavours of Vietnamese cuisine.
I had the Lemongrass chicken and boiled rice and was blown away by the complex flavours. It sure had a lot of oil, but was darn tasty. Around lunchtime they do a deal like others in the area of a main dish/​rice or noodles from a set menu for £5. Portions are good. Service not so good. You need to go up to the counter in order to pay. Strangely the card reader isn’t portable.
Since that first time, I’ve tried vietnamese omelette, fried summer rolls with their sweet sauce, fried frogs legs (which are EXACTLY like fried chicken wings) and some other dishes that are foggy in my mind, not to mention un-​pronounceable. I was happy with every dish. Also try the cold vietnamese coffee after your meal. Delish.

I really liked this place, it was busy, the food was cheap and awesome (I had the egg fried rice and chicken satay…) beautiful! The only annoying this was you couldn’t pay by card so my friends had to leave so they could withdraw cash!

Have been going to this restaurant for years. I’ve always thought that the food on the whole was great. However sometimes, depending on the chef, it isn’t always as good as the time before.
I personally love the phos. Kingsland Road’s nickname is ‘phở mile’ due to the propensity of Vietnamese restaurants serving it.
Another dish I love are the goi salads.
BYOB is an added bonus.
I have noticed that their prices have risen recently :(

You can’t swing a cat on Kingsland Road without hitting a Vietnamese restaurant, so it makes it hard to decide where to go in. My go-​to favourite is Mien Tay, but when I rocked up outside they now have a sign saying that you can’t bring in alcoholic drinks, soft drinks or water. NO WATER… dammit man, how can we be expected to live under these conditions?!
Turns out they now have a liquor license so it’s no BYOB. Seeing as I had a bottle of red wine burning a hole in my handbag, we ambled along to Tay Do who helpfully advertise that they welcome you bringing your own wine. Good job, fellas. Consider yourself my new go-​to. It’s not that I expect BYOB everywhere i go, of course, but it was a great selling point for these places.
It’s a big restaurant and a lot more spacious than Mien Tay. We ordered up some summer rolls, a Vietnamese pancake, pork bun and pork yuk sung. The summer rolls were pretty standard, I love the pancake, it was hugely tasty and left me wishing I’d ordered my own. Disaster came when I was eating the yuk sung, it is minced pork and vermicelli noodles wrapped in lettuce. Chewing away I realised I was eating a staple as well as pork. Not great, I called over the waitress and she was a bit non-​verbal on it. But they brought me out another dish. This isn’t really the kind of place where they are going to profusely apologise and offer you free food, but i appreciated them replacing it.
I’d definitely go back, it was a pretty solid meal.

Not bad, but not the best either. Came here on a friend’s recommendation and had the Phở noodle soup with rare-​sliced steak and well-​done flank — a classic dish. To be fair, I haven’t had Vietnamese food in a long while and my go-​to dish is usually not Phở (usually I go for the cold noodle, Bun dishes) but it was freezing out and a hot bowl of Phở seemed appropriate. It was good enough to eat and hit the spot for what I needed, but nothing about it really stood out for me. Solid place to go if there’s no wait and wanted a quick bite.

Oh man, when my friend brought me to this place and the only people I see dining here are non-​Asians (I’m not racist), I already had a vibe that this place isn’t meant for my Asian taste buds…
Summer rolls came and ingredients were alright-​fresh. Not very generous on the shrimps while piling the roll up with vermicelli.
The spicy squid dish came quite quickly as it was supposed to be deep fried… Squid was obviously from frozen, not a lot of spiciness or taste even within the squid itself…
The worst was the Phở. The soup was terrible, more like watered down vegetable soup with a tint of chicken broth mixed into it. Vegetables looked awfully served, snap peas, corn and carrots? Vietnamese Phở? I’ve gotten better ‘fusion’ food on kingsland road than anything in this bowl. You’ve got to be kidding me with the ingredients. Tofu was medium hard and everything about the so called ‘Phở’ here is just heading towards the wrong direction. Noodles were soggy and lacked texture. Arg, a waste of calories.
They do have a broad menu. Which ranges to even serving Peking duck (what I saw the other tables munching on…)
Avoid on all cost unless you enjoy non authentic Vietnamese dishes. The food here is typically all ‘White Asian dishes’.

In my opinion, when it comes to a Friday night out with a big group of friends, there is little else that beats visiting one of the myriad of Vietnamese restaurants dotted along Kingsland road in bustling Shoreditch. Last night we decided on Tay Do.
First things first, if you are thinking about visiting Tay Do on a Friday evening with a party any larger than 2 make sure you have booked a table or you will find yourself at the back of a long and frustrating queue. Secondly, do not expect service to extend beyond taking your order bringing your food and then shortly after your bill. Thirdly, grab a bottle of beer then order adventurously and in abundance.
This is the spot for cheap and simple Vietnamese food. The phở soups come in immensely large portions, more than enough for two but do lack some punch in the flavour department. However add a splash of fish sauce, chilli or soy from the tables condiments and you are almost there. Ask for an extra side of Basil or beansprouts if you find yourself wanting more. The deep fried salt and pepper or spicy squid is one of the stars on the menu as is the crispy duck pancakes. The best way to go about enjoying a meal here is to do it the way the Vietnamese do… order a variety of dishes between you and share, share, share!
Quite simply Tay Do is and does exactly what you expect it to when you walk in and take a glimpse of the plastic table clothes, flustered waiters and loud and cramped visitors. It feeds you quickly, fills you up and then chases you off your seat. Oh I’m not kidding, don’t expect to hang around and enjoy the company of your friends after your meal, they are not afraid to ask you to leave. You won’t be blown away but you will leave fairly happy having just had a big meal two course meal for around £10. They also allow «BYO».

One of the cheapest eats I have had in London, with massive phở portions as well! The bean sprouts that they give you are stacked so high that they are literally falling off the plate.
However, the phở came somewhat lukewarm, and the taste was just so-​so, with the soup broth very weak. They are very generous with the beef slices though, as well as the quantity of noodles given.
Service was prompt but our waiter was not very friendly and had a stone-​wall face on him all the time.
It is a BYO restaurant (no alcohol is served), but they do charge a £1 fee for corkage per person.
This place would get 4 stars from me if it was located anywhere else in London, but on Kingsland Road it does have very stiff competition and unfortunately it will not be one of my favourites there.