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.
A cute Vietnamese restaurant right down the street from our hotel. Their freshly baked rolls were football shaped, crunchy and filled with pork belly, pickled carrots and diakon and really good mayo. Like every other restaurant in London they had really interesting selection of freshly squeezed juices.
I just had the tofu bahn mi, and it was one of the best I've had in months. Definitely worth the visit (also not bad on prices, but I had to use my credit card which caused a slight uptick in the price, so I recommend bringing in some notes).
Banh Mi is really nice, not very authentic compare to a Vietnamese banh mi, but still is really good and quality. I wouldnt recommend ordering Pho...it's not very nice. But definitely give banh mi a try here!
Correctly constructed banh mi, with bread pulled out of the centre of baguette and discarded, and served warm. Was disappointed that the only choices for filling were pork belly or beef. The braised beef was very tender and tasty, but there could have been more of it. The whole point of pulling out bread from the middle ot the baguette is to create room for more filling.
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In a rush to grab some lunch on the way back to work we popped into this very cute looking Vietnamese place. I'm slightly obsessed with Vietnamese food at the moment and as soon as I saw the word from across the street I made a beeline for the place.
The menu looked interesting and well priced: baguettes for £5.50, noodles for £6.50. You could choose the topping/meat to go with it, the Pork sounded particularly good.
There is also a little cabinet with some chicken soups and rice paper rolls to choose from. I am a sucker for a good rice paper roll so I ordered one of these with prawn and a chicken noodle soup. Altogether £4.80 which is fairly well priced.
The rice paper roll was a bit of a let down, no real flavour, barely any noodles and two baby prawns... basically a spinach roll. It was still good but not anything like what I have come to expect from Vietnamese. The soup also a bit stingy on ingredients, three pieces of chicken and mainly just broth.
My friend had the pork baguette and said it was good. Nothing mouth exploding good though. All in all a bit mediocre. Nice but not exceptional, which is a shame as the interior is really cute and the staff very very friendly!
Hannah Caramelized Banana
+3.5
I am very particular about my Vietnamese food. Ever since a trip to Vietnam a few years ago, I have been on the hunt to find authentic Vietnamese perfection. I have yet to find it in London.
That's not to say Bahn Mi 11 isn't great. The ingredients are wonderfully fresh, but somehow the whole meal tasted more British-Vietnamese than truly authentic. I ordered fresh spring rolls to start, followed by the chicken on rice noodles, and a freshly prepared fizzy watermelon juice. I did not enjoy the spring rolls. They were way too heavy on the lettuce and too stingy on the noodles. It didn't really taste as though the ingredients had been marinated, either, so the overriding flavour was the leafy greens, which would be fine if I had ordered a salad.
The chicken and noodles were good, but, in my opinion, not actually that authentic. The homemade pickles and crispy onions were great, but something about the sauce was just not hitting the mark. I feel like it was missing fish sauce, but it could have been something else. The marinade on the chicken was also tasty, but somehow missing the Vietnamese mark, even though it was marinated in coconut milk and lemograss. The juice was delicious (I love anything with Watermelon!)
To wrap up, I think Bahn Mi 11 offers an interesting menu and a cute venue, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone craving traditional Bun Bo Xao with lots of noodles, sliced veggies and fish sauce dressing.
I will be back to try their Bahn Mi!
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I was recently introduced to an incredible Vietnamese shop called Bánh Mì 11 thanks to my friend Boni being friends with the creators. She rounded up a few of us from work and we set off for Old Street ready to have our tastebuds wowed with a multitude of herbs and spices!
Bánh Mì 11 was created by a couple of friends who left their high-flying business careers behind in order to bring classic Vietnamese street food to the masses of our nation's capital! Their bánh mì baguettes have received high praise and raved reviews, even the backing of some top celebrity chefs, such as Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater.
As soon as you arrive you're met with a wonderful smell of cooking and a cheerful hello. However the shop was quickly drawing a lunch time crowd so we got out orders in fast as we had been hankering for our fill all day!
It was extremely hard to decide on what filling to get in my baguette. I was torn between the Imperial BBQ, Fish Q and the Cracking Pork Belly, all three sounded amazing but I finally went for the BBQ option, which consisted of grilled pork, marinated in caramel and lemongrass.
They also create búns, a noodle salad and com, a rice box with sushi rice and if you're still feeling peckish you can add on a few summer rolls filled with a variety of ingredients too! It is all made to your specification with regards to how spicy you like it and is prepared freshly in front of your eyes.
When my Imperial BBQ arrived I dove straight in without any hesitations. The first bite was exquisite and completely unique. The pork was succulent and tender, melting in your mouth immediately. The flavour was slightly sweet and extremely moreish. Salad was cruncy and the coriander was potent, which helped transform this dish into a real Far Eastern treat!
Bánh Mì 11 is a really refreshing and original alternative, whether it be for lunch or dinner. My only wish is that I worked closer as its the perfect option to grab one and then find a nice spot to plonk yourself down in the sun and feast upon mouthfuls of incredible flavours. Hurry yourself down to Bánh Mì 11 and indulge in some of London's finest Vietnamese cuisine!
Enjoy
We The Food Snobs x
The Food Connoisseur
+4.5
Bánhmì11 located at broadway Market near London fields. It is one of the best banhmi’s in London, voted in Timeouts best sandwiches it’s no wonder people always goes back for more (including me) they bake their own baguettes o it’s ever so perfect the freshly crusty bread with soft filling, they also make their own patê. I was so hungry before Saturday morning class I opted for the meat filler, the pickled carrots, fresh herbs and daikon compliments well in this “Vietnamese sub”.
I am so happy that Bánhmì11 opened a permanent store in Old Street, and now have extended their opening hours. Pop in and try their heart warming delicious hot pho’s and summer rolls.
I came in here with a friend to grab some lunch, and both were very impressed with this charming little place.
Welcoming staff, delicious fresh food & very reasonably priced.
I loved their Vietnamese prawn rolls… and Vietnamese coffee!- very different taste from a regular coffee we get in our European coffee shops. I could easily get addicted to the Vietnamese version, as it’s a lot creamier :)
We were sitting by the window, watching the world go by while enjoying our food, however there were only 3 or 4 chairs by the window in total. There are also a couple of tables at the back, but the seating is very limited. I’d recommend to come early if you wish to eat inside, as it can get quite busy during lunch time… otherwise it’s probably best to just take away.
I will definitely be coming back again soon.
I've managed to eat here once - and it was excellent. Good crusty baguette and traditional fillings. I only wish they could consider opening earlier than 11am! Seems they don't feel breakfast customers are a priority.
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