Latest favourites and wishlist by highburysi

Cay Tre - review by CristinaA

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:03:25 +0000

Cay Tre - review by CristinaA

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: vietnamese, good value

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

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

Cay Tre - review by joslyoung

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:31:04 +0000

Cay Tre - review by joslyoung

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

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 Â£20 a head. You really can't say fairer than that.

Cay Tre - review by gunners4life

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:06:18 +0000

Cay Tre - review by gunners4life

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: crowded, good value, pretentious

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.

Cay Tre - review by jes1uk

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:49:48 +0000

Cay Tre - review by jes1uk

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

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!

Cay Tre - review by patheticshark

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:43:25 +0000

Cay Tre - review by patheticshark

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: lively, good value, vietnamese

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.

Cay Tre - review by chrisp

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:11:59 +0000

Cay Tre - review by chrisp

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: lively, good value, vietnamese

Ah, niche ethnic restaurants - don't you just love them? Vast, incomprehensible menus, grumpy staff, bizarre decor. CÃ¢y 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? CÃ¢y 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.

Cay Tre - review by dafinki

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:01:38 +0000

Cay Tre - review by dafinki

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: lively, good value, vietnamese

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

25 Canonbury Lane - review by Hazzer

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:07:20 +0000

25 Canonbury Lane - review by Hazzer

Rating: 4.7

Location: 25 Canonbury Lane, N1 2AS, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7226 0955

Tags: cool, cool & smart, glamorous, sexy, trendy, friendly, relaxed

Simply divine little bar, has a lovely gay vibe, although a real mixed crowd. Always full of beautiful men - one of my favourites!

Cay Tre - review by wdowen

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:28:02 +0000

Cay Tre - review by wdowen

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: lively, family & home feel, good value, vietnamese

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.

Cay Tre - review by princessjasmine

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:18:45 +0000

Cay Tre - review by princessjasmine

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

Tags: vietnamese, cheap eat, crowded

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).

The Player - review by gilka

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:58:47 +0000

The Player - review by gilka

Rating: 4.0

Location: 8-12 Broadwick St, W1F 8HW, London, United Kingdom

Credit to my friend Andreas who took us there. been there 17/7/07. open till 12 during the week which is great. The cocktails are very good, I liked the Dakiri and the Mojito. Look on the icons next to your cocktail to see in which glass they will be served to avoid disappointment... cocktails starts from Â£6.5
There is a sense of privacy in the atmosphere because the space is divided to spots. You can sit in a corner of sofas and it feels a bit like your own living room...
on the weekends expect to pay something at the entrance. Music is good and not too loud.
They could add an exit sign on the door because when I tried to exit, i opened the kitchen door...

Cay Tre - review by gilka

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:27:38 +0000

Cay Tre - review by gilka

Rating: 4.2

Location: 301 Old St, EC1V 9LA, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7729 8662

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

this place is so cheap and the food is good and fresh. Fantastic option if you are in old street. The staff is overworked so it will take time until you will get attention on the weekend. try the dishes which have smileys in the menu - they are the best!

The Player - review by highburysi

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:15:06 +0000

The Player - review by highburysi

Rating: 4.0

Location: 8-12 Broadwick St, W1F 8HW, London, United Kingdom

fantastic little soho bar, hard to find but a great place especially if you're trying to impress

Duchess Of Kent - review by highburysi

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:13:09 +0000

Duchess Of Kent - review by highburysi

Rating: 4.0

Location: 441 Liverpool Road, N7 8PR, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7609 7104

Website: http://www.geronimo-inns.co.uk

bit too busy when the arsenal are at home, but a great boozer. Great food, and Ludvig on tap

Fitzroy Tavern - review by highburysi

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:08:56 +0000

Fitzroy Tavern - review by highburysi

Rating: 3.0

Location: 16A Charlotte Street, W1T 2LY, London, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7580 3714

decent pub with good beers on tap, stupidly busy on a barmy summers night with most of Fitzrovia/Noho on the pavement