Hai Cafe
Vietnamese restaurant · Lower Clapton ·
Submarine-sized bánh mì, crab & pork spring rolls, yellow curry
Submarine-sized bánh mì, crab & pork spring rolls, yellow curry
"This Vietnamese restaurant on Clapton Road is a family affair. Mama Hai feels like that auntie who you’ve never seen without an apron on and always has delicious smells wafting from her kitchen. In this shoebox-sized room while perched on a stool, you’ll eat some of the most exciting Vietnamese food in London. Whether you get phở, curry, or a spring roll, you’ll be satisfied. But if you can only have one, make it the warming, yellow king prawn curry." - jake missing, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, daisy meager
"Hai Cafe makes one of London’s finest bánh mìs. This little arm’s length-wide Vietnamese spot in Lower Clapton heftily fills its short baguettes with a combination of spiced pork belly and lemongrass chicken, an intriguing—and wholly delicious—crushed black sesame seed spread, plus pickled bits, green chilli, a slice of head cheese, and, of course, crispy shallots. The pork belly in its classic sandwich is bolshy: caramelised chunks that will undoubtedly fall onto your lap before being transferred deftly into your mouth." - jake missing, rianne shlebak
"Hai Cafe, an arm’s-length-wide spot in Lower Clapton, is a little family affair. Its bánh mì are delicious submarine-sized, six-inch wonders—short and crunchy baguettes filled with spiced pork belly or lemongrass chicken along with head cheese, pickles, and a black sesame seed spread. The warming yellow curries (full of soothing stodge paired with tofu or king prawns) are among the most flavourful Vietnamese curries we’ve had. Heads up, it’s walk-in-only." - jake missing
"Hai Cafe’s yellow curries very much fall into the clichéd category labelled ‘hug-like’, but that’s because this tiny Vietnamese spot in Clapton is the genuine kind of homely. There’s only one type of curry on the menu (a yellow one) and it’s full of a soothing range of stodgy vegetables like carrots and pumpkins. You can add tofu, vegetables, chicken, or king prawns but it’s the punchy, rich sauce and Hai Cafe’s thoughtful accoutrements—pickled chillies, homemade deep-fried shallots, pumpkin seeds, and more—that are the stars of the show." - rianne shlebak, jake missing
"The cupboard-sized spot on Lower Clapton Road is a family affair that’s quietly making some of east London’s best Vietnamese food. Its bánh mì are delicious submarine-sized six-inch wonders—short and crunchy baguettes filled with spiced pork belly or lemongrass chicken along with head cheese, pickles, and a black sesame seed spread. The warming yellow curries—full of soothing carrots and pumpkin, and paired with tofu, vegetables, chicken, or king prawns—are among the most flavourful Vietnamese curries we’ve had in the city. FYI, it’s walk-in only." - jake missing