Best Baguette I've had in my life : Kêu Classic ! ❤️
Yes I know another duck dish, but wow this place was great! Authentic Vietnamese food packed with flavor. They had a huge variety and I would go back there playing Eeny, meeny, many, moe with the menu.
This is a fairly short and snappy blog post about a lunch I had last week at Keu in Shoreditch. I’d walked past the restaurant many times and it always looked to be popular. I wasn’t exactly sure what food they served, except that I’d seen something about ‘Vietnamese Baguettes’ which sounded pretty damn incredible! As you may know, I’m a bit of a sandwich fiend, so it was about time I went in there to see what was going on!
Nice banh mi!. Although I have never travelled to Vietnam and the only banh mi I have previously tried was ghastly I thought I would give this place a go. I was not disappointed. I had the classic with pork belly, chicken liver pate and pork roll. It was dressed with Jap mayo, chilli sauce, Maggi liquid seasoning, pickled mooli, fresh chilli, cucumber and fresh coriander. WOWZER! it was lush! The baguette had the perfect crust giving way to a feather light crumb. All in all a great sanger.
The BBQ Pork Banh Mi comes with a generous amount of pork with a punchy lemon grass smack of flavour, but may have been a little over cooked.
I finally manage to get myself a banh mi and hurray! It was really, really good
I rather liked the modern décor, putting an avant-garde spin on your typical Chinatown restaurant (with it’s rather succulent looking hanging roast meats), and a sandwich shop (with many condiments on display).
The concept is simple - to provide a delicious and authentic, good quality Banh Mi sandwich at great prices and that is just what Kêu! does.
After sampling Banh Mi’s at both Keu and Banh Mi 11’s shops in Shoreditch I have come to the conclusion that the only way to eat Banh Mi is out on the street.
Considering the abuse I occasionally get for slating (or otherwise) restaurants based on one visit ("you should be fair-minded enough to visit more than once" - er, no thanks) then reviewing somewhere based on a single dish may seem deliberately provocative. But in the case of Kêu!, a brand-spanking-new Vietnamese sandwich bar from the prodigious talents behind Cay Tre and Viet Grill restaurants, I hope I'm on safer ground because, firstly, being a sandwich shop one dish is all most customers will order anyway, and secondly, people don't generally tend to get as bothered about positive reviews. And thanks to a truly magnificent Banh Mi from Kêu!, this review is going to be very positive indeed. With Josh from Cooking the Books having visited already this week to try the house special Keu Sandwich (spiced belly of pork with ham terrine and chicken liver pate), and being suitably impressed with it, I thought I should attempt to explore another corner of the menu; perhaps BBQ Mackerel,
The Food Connoisseur
+3.5
Last Saturday I was totally craving a Banh Mi, after unsuccessfully trying to contact the owners of Banhmi113 Anh and Van was on holiday in Vietnam to return my tweets and text messages. I suddenly remembered Keu, having visited their sister branch from across the road Cay Tre.
As I waited for the sandwich master watching him carefully crafting my sandwich I saw a customer with char siu pork, pak choi and rice, it was so appealing the glossiness of the succulent meat and vegetables I wanted to drool it looked so good. The sandwich finally arrived cut in half, as you can see from my photo the baguette was filled with all the ingredients to the max. The bread was absolutely delicious, crusty and crunchy I made a total mess of the table with crumbs all over the place. The meat was juicy, tender and flavoursome, the garnishing of the pickled vegetables went down well although I think it wasn’t pickled enough. I loved the extra touch of using Japanese kewpie mayonnaise, the mayonnaise itself has a distinguish taste and works very well with Banh mi.
A solid choice amongst the minefield of trendy street food around old street. A bbq pork banh mi with a beer for ~9 quid will see you right. Also serve bao buns which looked great.
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I'm Vietnamese and I love my banh mi! Mixing Vietnamese ingredients with French-style baguettes, it's one of my most favourite Vietnamese dishes. So of course, I need to relieve my banh mi cravings now and then. Too bad that keu is not everywhere, so I have to make the journey to Shoreditch, whenever I crave it, but it's well worth it.
Not being much of a bread person (especially in London where you can't get those nice and fresh loafs you can buy everywhere in Germany), I'm in love with these Vietnamese sandwiches. The original one, filled with pickled cucumber and carrot, coriander, pork liver pate, coriander and Vietnamese sausage is my absolute favourite. Of course there are different varieties: The grilled pork one is particularly nice as well or Keu Deli even offers Korean BBQ style ones. Though, the kimchi is a bit of a let-down, especially since I make kimchi myself regularly and Keu's seems only spicy rather than spicy and tangy.
Anyway, I really like Keu Deli: Situated in Shoreditch, surrounded by all those hip restaurants, it's more like a mix between restaurant and takeaway, where you could simply grab a sandwich during your lunch break, but can also sit down if you are feeling a little fancy and want to enjoy the simple but pretty interior. At around £6 it's definitely more expensive than the one you can get in Berlin, but it's London and it's a pretty good price for a filling meal. I mean think about it, you could get a horrible sandwich at the supermarket for £3 that doesn't even fill you probably or get a Banh Mi.
While the line is often out the door at lunchtime, don't let that put you off!
The staff are efficient and quick in making a delicious meal for you and you quickly move along.
Both times I've been here I've had the tofu and mushroom bahn mi, as the first time I was interested in how it would differ from a traditional bahn mi and the second time was because it was so damn good.
My only little issue with this is that the bread (which is crisp and soft and beautiful) is a tad overstuffed, leaving pickled vegetables to gather at the bottom of the bag with every bit and leaving me not daring to try and eat it fully out of the packaging.
Casual little lunchroom with terrific food. i had the BBQ Pork Banh Mi and my companion had the Braised Beef Brisket with Rice.
The banh mi was executed properly. The baguette was warm, and the centre of the bread had been hollowed out and discarded. This is the authentic construction method which has the advantage of making extra room for more of the meat filling, so that the finished sandwich is mostly crust and meat. Outstanding. The lightly pickled vegetables and sweet barbecued pork were both pleasant and balanced by fresh coriander.
The braised beef was utterly delicious. Meltingly soft, and cooked in a gravy of slighty sweetened soy, chilli, curry leaves and anise. I can't remember the last time I had braised beef as tender as this. Awesome dish. I had food envy.
Best vietnamese baguettes I have ever had in an untypically contemporary setting.
Probably THE place to get your 'banh mi' (baguette) from. Under the Vietnamese Kitchen umbrella of restaurants, the deli sister of the nearby restaurants of Cay Tre and Vietnamese Grill does its job. A quick stop for a lunch or even a late evening meal, it's not hard to miss the green Keu sign outside. Though serving mainly as a takeaway, they have a long table - bar style and a a low table by the window for eat ins.
The Keu Classic was a delicious filling of porchetta, chicken liver pate, ham and kewpie mayo in a crisp, thick baguette with daikon, spring onions, cucumber some chilli and coriander thrown in for good measure. At around £5.5 for a banh mi, it's a worthy choice. They also have rice boxes, rolls, salad and smoothies on the menu.
Known for their tasty Banh Mi, Kêu is a delightful choice when you're around the city and hungry. The Kêu Original Banh Mi is the fan's favourite. Crispy bread, tasty meat, aromatic pate and butter and herbs. Can't go wrong with this one if you can't decide.
I tried out their rice box recently with the beef stew one and it's very tasty too, albeit expensive.
There are vegetarian options 🌾.
The shop is tiny so it's geared towards takeaway. During lunchtime the queue can get really long so arrive outside 12:00 - 12:30 to avoid the queue. Eating in during this time is not that comfortable as the shop is crowded.
If I head into the office, Keu is always one of my top choices for lunch. It's a perfect place to grab a relatively quick bite to eat even if you want to take a seat, for some really nice Vietnamese food.
Delish banh mi, pictured is the roast pork one. The bread was crunchy on the outside but didn’t break your teeth or jaw as it was soft on the inside. The pate makes the banh mi, that slaps so hard. There was the right amount of chilli to elevate the meal but not burn your taste buds off. The pork had a good amount of crackling too.
Just had the mixed meat with rice and it was AMAZING! The chilli sauce was really great, the flavours of the greens and rice, spot on. Nice decor. Can't recommend highly enough. Lovely staff too.
A decent, cheep, quick fix to sort the hunger out. There's not much in the way of atmosphere for a sit-in crowd, but I get the feeling they do most business catering to the takeaway mob.
The service was more than pleasant. I'm glad I stopped by. Will likely come again.
Shoreditch, with wonderful Vietnamese, and Keu Deli is my go to for crispy pork belly Bahn Mi! Fresh herbs and chilli, you cannot go wrong! The service is good, if not a little slow sometimes (they’ve only made my order wrong once in 6 times going there). I’ve only ever had takeaway, as the stores seating is quite limited.
One of the best banh mi’s I’ve ever had!!! So fresh and full of flavour. The bread was perfectly toasted (some might call it hard but isn’t that what a baguette 🥖 is supposed to be like). Can’t wait to try the chicken curry from here now!
Also the service was so good - the old lady who made our banh mi was so sweet and made sure we like it. Love it!
The food is great! Banh Mi is around £10 upwards so little pricey. Shame they don't have a bigger space for seating but other than that, going there is like a treat. Not everyday you pay £12 for a sandwich.
This place is a nice casual spot for lunch.
For those who aren't so experimental with new cuisines, this is deffo a good place to grab a Banh Mi sandwich, as classic Vietnamese style baguette.
I didn't realise (silly me) that I ordered a sandwich, perhaps I could have asked so it was my mistake or it could have been clearer in the menu above the bar.
Cute place with casual seating, modern rustic elements and dark wood.
I orderd a Vietnamese iced coffee and got the Kimcho BBQ pork belly sandwich. It was pure heaven and very good coffee. Id I was out drinking and needed something to sober up that sandwich would be the saviour of the night.
Worth trying at least once. Sadly the bar next to this had a strange smell coming from the kitchen.
A friend recommended this place to me. The Banh mi itself is amazing, the service was a bit lacking and the setting not the most impressive. But I will come back for banh mi takeaway.
Banh Mi Keu Deli brings the best Saigon street food to London.
First deli opened in Old Street introducing our authentic Vietnamese banh mi baguettes to Shoreditch.
All of Kêu banh mi’s are made to order in house. Offer all of the Vietnamese classics alongside the famous London crispy pork belly and delicious vegetarian options like smoky aubergine and crisp tofu.
Banh Mi Keu Deli now has sites in Soho, Shoreditch and London City, not only creating fantastic banh mi but bringing traditional Saigon street food, rice and noodle bowls, and snacks to London.
Whether you eat in, take away, or get it delivered with a cold homemade lemonade, the delis promise to bring you fresh, made to order authentic Saigon street food across London.
That was the best damn Bahn Mi I’ve ever had in my life. The Keu Original with extra meat. I don’t write reviews often but had to after that. I’m from Melbourne and have high standards for this stuff. Hot dang. Amazing!!
Love the duck banh mi. I would like some other options as a pretty much everything is pork which I dont eat. I recommend the duck banh mi. It has fresh Chillies but you can request them to be taken out. Speedy food!
Really great banh mi. I remembered this place from when I used to work nearby. I feared it may have been lost over the intervening years, what with covid and all. Nice crunchy baguette, lashings of paté, tasty meats, fantastic pickle and a really good siracha like sauce you can add. The place caters as much for takeaway, possibly more, than eat in. This means the decor and ambience when eating in is basic and functional, but the staff are lovely and make you feel very welcome. Large accessible toilet too
Authentic vietnamese Banh Mi experience. The sandwich was fast served, hot and crunchy and let me say that the taste didn't differ from the vietnamese one. The meat tasted good and there was the right amount of coriander too.
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