Cay Tre

Sami

Superb for the price 5th February 2009

3 found this helpful

There really isn't much to add as it's all been said before - great food at a great price. Go for the pho (large bowl, not a starter as it isn't as impressive) and the steak wraps which you cook yourself on a hotplate and then roll in rice paper wraps and garnish with lettuce, mint, fish sauce, and some other yummy things which I couldn't identify.

CristinaA

Vietnamese 29th October 2008

0 found this helpful

Always busy, a great place for dinner with friends or even a date.

At a snip of what you'd pay in the city.

joslyoung

10th September 2008

0 found this helpful

Judging by the number of reviews, Cay Tre is a hidden gem no longer. Basically, the Old Street area is awash in Vietnamese restaurants, of which Cay Tre is the best. Unfortunately, on recent visits, it's also been the busiest, particularly at the weekends (then again, Old St is usually best avoided at weekends anyway for any reason if you're not into crowds of braying meeja folk). The food is very good indeed although not ALWAYS exceptional - there are some duff notes in the menu, which I suggest you avoid by steering away from the more predictable items. The point is that they do have interesting things on the menu that you might not see elsewhere, particularly by way of fish, and you can get in and out and extremely well fed and watered for under £20 a head. You really can't say fairer than that.

gunners4life

Well Done! 6th September 2008

0 found this helpful

I have been here a few times and even though there may be some critisicm I think that the restaurant is pretty good, I think that the food is a bit on the small side in portions but mayvbe that is just me. Probably ones of the worst things about this restaurant is the waiting time, food usually takes much less in other restuarants but rightly so they deserve to be a bit behind due to their popularity

Overall a very good restaurant if you can bare the waiting times and word of warning make sure that you call to reserve a seat before you go.

jes1uk

Authentic Vietnamese restaurant 6th September 2008

0 found this helpful

If you like Vietnamese food you are going to love this restaurant! It's a medium sized restaurant which has two floors and is located near to Old Street underground station. The decor is relatively plain but the food and the service is excellent. I'd highly recommend the Vietnamese pancake and the Pho. The only downside to this restaurant is that it can get very busy and so it may be an idea to book in advance if you're going to eat at peak times. The prices of the food at this restaurant are reasonable.
Overall I'd highly recommend this restaurant!

patheticshark

busy - but for good reason 31st August 2008

1 found this helpful

There are a ton of Vietnamese restaurants around this area. I've tried most of them and Cay Tre's food does stand out as the best. The menu is a bit more diverse than the others and even the most basic dishes are done beautifully: roast duck noodles are really, really good; their summer rolls are fab. They also do stuff like catfish and lobster salad which are really tasty and pretty unusual to find in a restaurant in this price range - it's also really good value. Only problem is the queues, and the lack of ventilation - downstairs is a bit like being in a tiny version of a school canteen and upstairs it's a little distracting as you've got a queue of people going from inside the restaurant and out onto the street. Overall though, food's damn good and I'm looking forward to going back.

chrisp

Not all it's cracked up to be 13th August 2008

2 found this helpful

Ah, niche ethnic restaurants - don't you just love them? Vast, incomprehensible menus, grumpy staff, bizarre decor. Cây Tre has all this in spades, but warranted a visit from me due to some favourable reports in the right places, and even a recommendation from a friend who had raved about their soft-shelled crabs. Soft-shelled crab isn't something you see very often in this country, although it is quite popular abroad, particularly the States. Maybe the British just need a little more convincing that you really can eat the whole thing, shell and all. I admit even I was dubious the first time - it's a bit like drinking a cup of coffee and then eating the cup. Takes a bit of getting used to.

Look at this menu - it was actually double-sided and there were just as many dishes on the back as well. It's what Gordon Ramsay would call "terrifying", and although large menus seem to be the norm in most East Asian restaurants, this was even more frightening than most, especially when you started to read it closely - "Crab-Asparagus soup", "Wicked crispy Fog", "Sea snail with knotweed" jostled for attention on the laminated pages. In the end, we crossed our fingers and ordered the soft-shell crab, the scallops, some noodle dishes and the king prawn Summer Rolls.

First, the good. The summer roll was cold (I would have preferred it warm), but contained enjoyable texture contrasts (soft on the outside, crunchy in the middle) even if it was a little bland in flavour. The soft-shell crab was lovely, juicy and pretty to look at and matched well with a strong soy sauce. But things went rapidly downhill after that. The scallops were almost definitely not fresh and came in a horrible gloopy grey sauce that brought to mind cheap Chinese takeaway. Something called a Vietnamese Pizza looked impressive enough on the plate but was dripping with grease and actually pretty bland once the novelty factor wore off (which was almost immediately). There was another nondescript plate of fried veg, and a little tray of OK noodles, but nothing so interesting as to be worth lingering over. Even the prawn crackers were bog-standard.

After I'd stuffed my face with as much wobbly gluey scallops and fried noodles as I could keep down, I decided to admit defeat, with quite a bit left on each plate. So, the portions are generous, but what's the point if the food is a chore? Cây Tre, the odd "house speciality" aside, is little more than a mediocre high street Chinese and I'm baffled as to how it's won over so many admirers.

dafinki

A change of heart 21st May 2008

4 found this helpful

Have been to this place few times and hadn't been for a while, mainly because the times I'd gone I'd not found it to be up to much. However, took a group of ten people there last night and was very pleasantly surprised.

The interior had had a makeover, making the atmosphere much nicer than the minicab office-eque feel of it before. Staff were helpful and friendly, food was plentiful and fresh. My barbecue pork on cold rice vermicelli (Bun Cha) was delicious. Most of our party were Vietnamese and they said that although some of the spicing wasn't quite to the standard they experience at home it was pretty near, and rated it about 80%. Usually when we go to Vietnamese restaurants they hate the food, so I was impressed.

I'll definitely be back

wdowen

Great local vietnamese 10th March 2008

1 found this helpful

Really good value for money, excellent food at the price (especially the belly pork that often appears on the specials board). Just steer clear of the Chinese stuff that doesn't really belong on a Vietnamese restaurant menu (peking duck, satay, prawn on french toast). Also good for takeaway and Sunday lunch.

princessjasmine

Sweet, tasty little find... 9th March 2008

1 found this helpful

This restaurant has recently undergone a refurb - or rather a lick of paint, it's a very basic restaurant however if you eat here once, you will realise you have come across quite a treat. The food is amazing and fresh, very reasonable and most days if you go there at around 1pm you will have a little wait on your hands! I've heard they have queues in the evenings (think Busaba in London on a Thursday).