Sông Quê Café

"Sông Quê is the elder of Dalston’s many Vietnamese options. The luminous green corner spot has been a personal refuge for us and for many on numerous occasions, as well as the setting for countless rowdy group meals memorialised by nước chấm stains on the tablecloth and everyone’s t-shirts. Quality can waver, especially on busier nights, but stick with the phở (rare steak, tripe, or tendon options), bánh xèo, and bún salads, and you can’t go wrong." - jake missing

"For some of the best phở in London, Sông Quê should be high on your list. It’s usually slammed with families and ravenous assorted Shoreditch groups, most of whom have been coming here for years, and the Vietnamese restaurant’s dining room has the feel of a bustling canteen. We love the bánh xèo (Vietnamese pancake) and the grilled quail is also very good, but the steak, flank, and tendon phở with tofu is what we return for." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, daisy meager

"There are plenty of Vietnamese restaurants all over London, but there’s only one Big Green One, and that’s Sông Quê. Best known for its restorative broths and ability to cater to ginormous birthday parties, this institutional Vietnamese restaurant has been the setting for plenty of memories, big and small. The cavernous room is full of phở being slurped and beers being clinked, but come by in the day and you’ll find a soothing space that many people would be dearly lost without." - jake missing, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, daisy meager

"When people talk about Vietnamese restaurants north of the river, they’re probably talking about somewhere in Dalston. There are just over a dozen spots making phở in the 2.4 miles up to Stoke Newington High Street but, more often than not, people are talking about ‘the big green one on the corner’. The one with the startlingly aromatic broth. The one where so-and-so had their birthday party and whatshisname got sriracha in his eye. That place, the big green one, Sông Quê. Sông Quê has been a destination since it opened in 2002 near Hoxton station. A fashionably style-less dining room that made lurid shades of green trendy long before hyperpop co-opted the colour, this is the hallmark for Vietnamese dining in London. video credit: Jake Missing photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch video credit: Jake Missing photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch video credit: Karolina Wiercigroch Come on a Wednesday lunchtime when you need to disassociate with only a bowl of restorative broth for company, or book a 20-person table for your birthday when you want a restaurant that bubbles with possibility for the night ahead. Intense white lighting has never looked as good as when it’s reflected off of a shimmering bowl of combo beef phở. A meal that starts with pungent crispy chill squid and ends with several stains is never less than perfect. Because in London, few things will ever beat the consistency of that big green place on the corner. Food Rundown photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch Spicy Squid A moreish plate of fried squid isn’t the most adventurous of orders but the unashamed amount of garlic means it’s always held a firm place in our hearts. photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch Chargrilled Quail Split a quail between two of you and secretly wish you’d ordered one each, it’s a Sông Quê rite of passage. Beautifully chargrilled and glistening in a sweet and savoury five spice marinade, this is a must-order starter. photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch Combo Beef Phở This steaming bowl of phở comes with all manner of beef. The steak is meant to be rare but is usually brown by the time it reaches your table, but that’s OK. It’s tender enough, as is the tripe and flank and, unlike many phởs in London, there’s a crisp and aromatic depth to its broth." - Jake Missing

"Yes, they can deliver to your bed (but it’s not as good) At one time in our lives, we treated Sông Quê like a church. Every Saturday or Sunday we would turn up at the Kingsland Road institution, politely ask for a table in the corner, and pray that its tofu and mixed beef and tripe phở would once again restore our soul. More often than not those prayers were answered. So, the powers of a brilliant Vietnamese noodle soup cannot be understated. Nor can a quiet seat in the corner." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, sinead cranna