OF all the Kingsland Road Vietnamese, Tay Do, seems to have got back on its feet quickest, perhaps because it is family run – now third generation – and so the links back to the kitchen are perhaps stronger than others. The name is from the village in south Vietnam, (known for its paper making and floating market, the town was recently re-christened Can Tho). It was among the first of the Kingsland Road Vietnamese, 30 years ago. While others have brought more modish swagger and are scrambling to get things up to scratch this green room is back to its elegant and authentic best, evidence of which is the Hanoi Pho based on an elegant and slow braised broth.
The menu spans everything from populist Peking duck to more radical frogs legs. The heartland Vietnamese dishes excel. The Tay special rice is a deconstructed dish of char grilled pork, shredded pork skin and an egg cake and steamed rice and salad which differentiates itself from straight special rice. Lemon grass heaven. BYO.
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