Edit "Cafe East, SE16 7LH"

About your edit

Your username (set it):

Comment about your changes:

Type of edit:

Main information

Content: (see also text formatting help)

Vietnamese cafe/restaurant in the [[Locale Surrey Quays|Surrey Quays]] shopping/leisure complex, near the [[Surrey Quays Odeon|cinema]].  Previously situated on Evelyn Street in [[Locale Deptford|Deptford]], it moved to Surrey Quays in Spring 2009, with the original premises now housing another Vietnamese cafe, [[Mama Pho, SE8 5DG|Mama Pho]], run by another member of the same family.

In complete contrast to the old street-corner cafe, the new location is large and canteen-like, with bright lighting, hard echoey surfaces, and thin paper tablecloths.  There's a small waiting area near the entrance, with a ticketing system used to control waiting times &#8212; it's very popular with students, and gets very busy.

[[Kake]] and friends visited on a Wednesday evening in April 2012.  The place was full, but we had only a short wait for a table.  Even though no music was playing, it was very noisy, with the full room and hard surfaces conspiring to make it a little difficult to hear one's companions.

Banh cuon (steamed rice wrappers stuffed with mushrooms and pork; &pound;5.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7092910349/ photo]</small> were fine, but bi cuon (pork skin rolls; &pound;5.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6946841244/ photo]</small> were fridge-cold and fairly flavourless.  Goi cuon (summer rolls; &pound;5) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7092911187/ photo]</small> were similarly fridge-cold and also had an unusually low proportion of prawns and pork, with an increased quantity of vermicelli and lettuce used to bulk them out; they were also lacking in the fragrant herbs that might have gone some way to remedy their lack of flavour.

A main course of bun chay/vegetarian BCNTN (vermicelli with salad and vegetarian spring rolls; &pound;7) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6946842578/ photo]</small> was a generous portion, but the spring rolls were quite disappointing, with smooth wheatflour wrappers rather than the bubbly, crackly rice paper wrappers [[Kake]] had been hoping for, and a distinct flavour of tinned vegetables in the somewhat mushy filling.  However, the com khau (marinated belly pork steak served on rice; &pound;7.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6946887192/ photo]</small> ordered by another member of our party was better-received, and certainly looked tasty.

Our final bill <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7095614895/ photo]</small> came to &pound;51, or &pound;12.75/head, including tea and water.  No indication was given on the bill of whether it already included a service charge.

It's worth noting that as of April 2012 they are cash only and they don't serve tap water, only bottled mineral water.  Also worth noting is that they close up and go on holiday for a month or so every year, generally around August/September.

[[Kake]]'s verdict: I was a bit disappointed.  I'd had the pho at the previous location (in 2007) and thought it was really good, so I'd been expecting the quality to be maintained.  I didn't like the ambience in the current location half as much as in the old place, and the food on this visit wasn't good enough to make up for it.

Accessibility: There is step-free access, but this involves negotiating a very steep ramp and a sharp turn.

<div class="getting_here"><b>Getting here:</b> On the map, Cafe East is on the corner of Redriff Road and Quebec Way; however, the frontage and entrance face west, across the carpark and towards the bowling alley and cinema.  The photo on this page was taken from the carpark.</div>

See also:
* Photos of the menu as of April 2012: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6935097152/sizes/l/ page 1], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7081172175/sizes/l/ page 2], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7081175069/sizes/l/ page 3], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6935102952/sizes/l/ page 4], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6935104846/sizes/l/ page 5], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/7081179271/sizes/l/ page 6], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6935106886/sizes/l/ page 7]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/20/restaurant-review-jay-rayner-cafe-east The Observer review] (Jay Rayner)
* [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/580036 Chowhound thread] (covers both the old and new locations)
* [http://www.tehbus.com/2009/06/eat-vietnamese-cafe-east-surrey-quays.html A Rather Unusual Chinaman review]
* [http://bellaphon.blogspot.com/2009/05/cafe-east.html Bellaphon's review]
* [http://cheap-eat-london.com/2009/07/25/cafe-east/ Cheap Eats In London review]
* [http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/2010/10/cafe-east-surrey-quays.html Cheese and Biscuits review]
* [http://www.eatdrinksleepshop.com/2011/11/cafe-east.html Eat Drink Sleep Shop review]
* [http://littlemissrandom.blogspot.com/2009/05/two-weekends-ago-we-capped-off-my-best.html Eternally Neurotic review]
* [http://helengraves.co.uk/?p=820 Food Stories review]
* [http://fatcc.blogspot.com/2010/01/cafe-east.html Gluttonous Sins review]
* [http://lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.com/2009/05/cafe-east-vietnamese-feast.html Hollow Legs review]
* [http://cooksloweatfast.blogspot.com/2009/04/cafe-east-version-20-surrey-quays.html Not Another Big Menu review]
* [http://promisesandpie.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/cafe-east-pho/ Promises And Pie review]
* [http://www.thecattylife.com/2009/09/spongy-squidgy-noodles-cafe-east-and-my-exemplary-gastronomic-vocabulary/ thecattylife review]
* [http://www.pigpigscorner.com/2010/03/cafe-east-london-cheap-eats.html Wild Boar review]

<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]] and friends, April 2012.  Opening hours taken from menu on that visit.</div>

Locales (one per line) (view all locales in a new window):

Categories (one per line) (view all categories in a new window):

One-line summary of this page (for search results):

Additional information

Phone:

Website:

Twitter name (e.g. rglondon):

Opening hours:

Address:

Postcode:

OS X coordinate (e.g. 528113):

OS Y coordinate (e.g. 179347):

Map link:

Image to illustrate this page

URL of image:

Photos should be no larger than 240x240

Name of image copyright holder:

URL of image licence:

URL of image's info page:

Cancel edit