Cafe Mandalay

Favourite place in London. Takes you to streets of Yangon in moments. In the middle of Hoxton! The most authentic Burmese food in London in a caff. Impeccable.

The owner is quite friendly and he's authentically Burmese unlike the other chain in London. The food tastes great although I suspect some of the items are pre prepared and warmed up in the microwave. I had the Mohinga and tea leaf salad. The tea leaf salad could use a bit more tea leaf but understandable that they didn't put a lot since it's imported from Burma.

Delicious food. The portions are a bit smaller but then I could order more stuff. Really enjoyed the fish noodles soup (mohinnkha) and love the crunch with the tea leaf salad

First time eating Burmese food and very impressed, so different to other Asian cuisines. The tea leaf salad was so tasty with a mixture of flavours and textures. The hot pork curry, with a rich thick gravy. English food also available. Only 5 mins walk from Old Street station. Friendly owner. Highly recommended.

Delicious fish soup. Very nostalgic as my late mum used to make it.

We went to London for a couple of days. We stayed close to this place and as we were working remote, didn’t have much time to go lunch. We found this place and was a great surprise. Food was delicious (homemade taste) the people there were very friendly, is a small and simple place but with a great staff, fast service and delicious food. Thank you for having us!

Cafe Mandalay is possibly the only place in London for Burmese food. Located in a residential part of London, it is interesting to see them blend in by offering English fare as well like this other caff which serves Chinese and English. There is a separate menu for Burmese food while the caff menu is on the board. The Burmese menu was impressively comprehensive with three pages. I had the tea leaf salad, mohinhga noodles and Burmese tofu and black eye pea cakes. The tea leaf salad was to my liking, it is normally spicy but I had it without chilli so I was able to appreciate it better. It had a nice crunch with cabbage, tomatoes, fermented tea leaves, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, fava beans, etc. You have a nice savoury taste with lots of fish sauce in it. The mohinhga noodles were fishy with blended mackerel but had no bones which was reassuring. It was topped with lots of grassy coriander, crispy garlic slices and lentil fritters. Also tried the Burmese tofu and black eye pea cakes which were both fried. The tofu was interesting as it was yellow and starchy because it contains lentils in it. Overall, I am glad I tried this place because Burmese fare is a rare find in the UK.

Simply good food. One of the most comfortable meals I’ve had in London! Burmese food is very different from my own culture's, yet today's meal somehow made me feel at home :) very grateful 🙏🏼