Thursday 9 May 2013

A night in Deptford: Viet Rest and Little Nan's Bar

Showing my pinkie at Little Nan's

While watching the London Marathon we hatched a plan for a night out in Deptford. I suspect that Deptford isn't the top of many people's list for a night out, and I can't remember ever visiting before I went to Australia, but since I've been back I have enjoyed the daytime economy. Now it was time to check out what the nighttime economy had to offer.

Vietnamese seemed the obvious choice for dinner and we decided upon Viet Rest close to the station. Armed with a few suggestions from my friend Angie we set about ordering a feast for our hungry mouths.

The summer rolls looked bright and fresh, perfect for the early summer vibe which was taking over London last weekend. They tasted pretty good drenched in the accompanying dipping sauce too.

Summer rolls at Viet Rest

The favourite dish of my dining companions was the special steamed rolls. The rice noodle rolls were filled with pork mince, covered with crispy shallots and served with sliced meat balls.

My favourite was the braised BBQ pork which came served in a tasty broth. It's hard for pork belly to ever go wrong. The noodle soups were solid, but not the best I've tried, while I definitely prefer the Thai version of stir fried morning glory (although this was the first time I've tried the Vietnamese version so perhaps we had a bad one).

Dinner for four was excellent value at £45 including (non alcoholic) drinks. We tried to live a £5 tip and it was handed back to us indicating we shouldn't over pay. Is it offensive to tip in Vietnam?

 Special steamed roll

After dinner, and once we'd resolved my geographical incompetence, we visited Little Nan's Bar for some cocktails. The small bar is arranged like your nan's living room, with comfy chairs and drinks served in tea cups. All of the cocktails have excellent names like Queen Victoria, Mojito of Kent and The Paddy Ashdown.

We tried three tea pots, which serve 4/6 cups and are amazing value at £12 each. While enjoying the retro sound track and having a good old natter. It was just a shame I forgot my knitting.....

Cocktails in tea cups


More food porn from Viet Rest:
Stir fried morning glory

Braised BBQ pork

Pho Bo

Duck Vermicelli Soup

Check out all of the places I've eaten at in London on my map. My top choices are marked with pink pins.

Viet Rest
113 Deptford High St
London 
SE8 4NS 
Viet Rest on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. Glad I was able to help from this side of the world! Hehe and good to know you enjoyed some of the dishes if not all. To be honest, some of the english descriptions they used had me a little confused.

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  2. a tip handed back? I'm intrigued.
    I do like cocktails in tea cups...gives a certain elegance to getting schmozzled. Knitting next time Richard.

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  3. I can't believe they gave you your tip back either!

    And Little Nan's is great. I love the Royal mugs.

    http://www.myhiddengems.co.uk/2013/06/little-nans-bar-deptford-london/


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