Restaurants

Charming young waitresses patter around attending to diners at this modest little café, sister to Huong-Viet in Dalston . The surroundings are mellow if slightly eccentric, with smiling Buddhist statues, red flocked wallpaper and pale blue lanterns. There’s also a tiny outdoor patio for warmer weather. The menu is similar to the Dalston restaurant, with several Chinese dishes cropping up alongside more traditional Vietnamese food. The fish cakes were flavourful, with plenty of lemongrass, though they had a curiously dense texture, and we loved the cha ca la vong (monkfish with turmeric and dill), even if it didn’t come sizzling on a hotplate. Our favourite, however, was the bun hue (spicy beef noodle soup) which had appropriately tongue-tingling, complex flavours from its lemongrass and shrimp paste; the beef was tender and the rice noodles al dente too. To drink, there are inexpensive wines from Borough Wines in east London, which add to Namo’s attraction. A thoroughly enjoyable, low-key venue that won’t break the bank.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009