Last Friday, Jon and I had tickets to see Romeo & Juliet at the Globe (and obviously, Jon was very excited, because what man doesn’t love R&J?). And because the show started at 7:30 pm, the challenge was finding a quick, tasty, nearby place to eat dinner. (Much as I love the South Bank, it’s a bit of a culinary wasteland around the Globe, and Friday nights around the always-packed Borough Market area are a major hassle that I prefer to avoid).
The stars aligned when my friend at work, Val, who lives on Bermondsey Street, told me about the new Vietnamese cafe that opened on her block: Caphe House. Sitting next to me at the office, Val is familiar with my love for banh mi and immediately noticed that Caphe House advertises banh mi in its window. So the plan that formed in my head was to drop by for a sandwich after work and eat it on my walk to the Globe. That Charmaine gave it her stamp of approval in TimeOut a few days after Val shared the news set my plan in stone.
The cafe is small and pretty. In keeping with the neighborhood, it’s simple, but much more upscale than Banzi in Surrey Quays. When I showed up just before closing time at 7 pm, the cafe tables were still filled with Aussies (who appreciate a good Vietnamese cafe, I suspect). I ordered two of the pork banh mi, which were £3.50 each, and the friendly guy making the generous-sized sandwiches explained that Caphe used “special” bread that was extra crispy. [Irony alert.]
Well, as Charmaine wrote in her blurb, the banh mi fillings were great: *tons* of pickled carrots and daikon; superb creamy pate with a strong offal flavor that held its own; good chili kick; and pork slices that still had bits of meaty aspic clinging to them.
But can you guess what was wrong? Indeed, it was the bread. Sure, it was crispy. But it was also *thick*. And there was butter slathered on it. Though the butter must be a nod to this being England, I much prefer a quick swipe of mayo.
Ah well. Good to know banh mi is popping up all over London, and always nice to find a cheap, pleasant place on the South Bank. But call me when the baguette is finally thin *and* crispy.
Oh, and as for the play: I want those three hours of my life back. How anyone could produce a Romeo & Juliet so devoid of chemistry between the title characters is beyond me. At least I had a decent dinner beforehand.
Caphe House, 114 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3TX; 020 7403 3574; closest tube station: London Bridge (plus a 15-minute walk)
Ca Phe House is also using Ca Phe ZgoZ, Ca Phe VN’s premium Vietnamese coffee, as used at Pho & Tampopo restaurant chains as well as Banzi in Surrey Quays & Ca Phe VN’s Saigon Street Cafe at Broadway Market E8.
Ca Phe VN is the Uk’s only Vietnamese coffee and tea specialist, family owned & fairly traded
for more info http://www.caphevn.co,uk
Oh, shame about the bread – it’s one of the most important parts! I guess there’s no baker of Vietnamese baguettes in London yet…
I ended up going here on Saturday for lunch due to a hankering after banh mi. I enjoyed it, but like you, it was a bit of bread overload (and I’m not that great with oodles of bread at the best of times!). The iced coffee was really good too. Now I need to try the place on Broadway market!
Usually, the butter is sweet. Or at least it’s sweet near the one near me.
Omg. You do not know how happy I am to hear that there is more Than one Banh Mi Sandwich place in London.
I will be moving to London again soon from California, and i’m Vietnamese. So I am elaaaaated to know that they do have Vietnamese sandwich places there!
I keep meaning to go here. So many places, so little time…Shame about the bread though!
Sorry just looking at the pic again. The filling does look good – better than cafe bay anyway. I like how they are really generous with the pickles. I like that A LOT. In cafe bay they will put butter AND mayo in it if you are not careful. Strange.
Su-Lin: yes, I agree that it’s a shame when the banh mi falls short on the baguette. It’s half the battle, really.
Sharmila: I heard from a few friends that banhmi11 at Broadway market has “fixed” its baguette issue, so maybe now it’s the perfect choice.
miss a.: I’m not sure what you mean, but whether the butter is sweet or salty on the banh mi, I’ll take mayo instead any day.
StColaPop: If you’re Vietnamese (esp. from SoCal), I wouldn’t get too excited. The banh mi scene in London is now better than nothing, but it’s not quite thriving.
Helen: Definitely with you on the desirability of maximum pickled goodies on the sandwich. I still have to try out Cafe Bay’s version.
I am going to be the odd person out and comment on your comment about Romeo and Juliet. I so AGREE – there was NO CHEMISTRY whatsoever between Romeo and Juliet in this production. I took students to see it in May – I am sad to hear that it hasn’t gotten any better.
Gosh the sandwich IS on the chunky side. Tried it this week and I’ve had better from Cafe Bay in Denmark Hill. Very tasty but make sure you ask for a white baguette as they will give you a wide choice of bread to cater for the crowds that assemble there at lunch.
Helen – Just ask for no butter, its no big deal 🙂 Ask them for sliced onions for the perfect banh mi.
Shame about Ca Phe house as the cafe itself is very cute with nice surroundings. Nice place for just a coffee anyhow.
Ca Phe Zgoz. I’ve never seen in vietnam. The most premium and best coffee in Vietnam is Trung Nguyen, sold in the vietnamese supermarkets and in some of the Vietnamese cafes. There is a rich chocolate and coconut aroma which is lacking in the Zgoz. By the way Zgoz is not a proper Vietnamese word. It’s supposed to say NgoN (Vietnamese for delicious) with the ‘N’ fallen on its side as Z. It’s quite clever actually!
I tried my best Banh Mi experience in NYC Chinatown.. it was really that good! I am glad that I found your blog which I am sure I will find my way through a lot of good eating out tips in London!
Have you found a decent Banh Mi place that is worth trying? If so, please let me know. I need to get a quick fix for Bang Mi 😉
Juju, you are indeed right that Ca Phe ZgoZ isn’t sold in Vietnam, we have all our coffee produced in Ban Me Thuot, in VN’s central highlands, but are London based.
Ca Phe VN is a very small independent family coffee business, unlike Trung Nguyen which is regarded as the ‘Vietnamese Starbucks’ being the largest and most successful coffee company in Vietnam.
TN’s coffee is excellent, but many regard their coffee as ‘overflavoured’ as a distinct house style that can be easily recognised blind amongst others, with blatant choco/coconut characters as you have described.
Ca Phe ZgoZ is a rather more typical Ban Me Thuot style, though with caramel, butter and cocoa notes balanced with good astringency and acidity. We haven’t seeked to imitate, rather to plow our own furrow, and to make Vietnamese coffee and coffee culture popular in the UK.
I think that we are succeeding!
Does ca phe house have a website where I can check out the menu?
None of the banh mi places seem to have websites except cafe bay http://www.cafebay.co.uk
and banhmi11.co.uk
there’s another banh mi place just opened in woolwich I hear.
Emu – at the end of the post where you see the address and phone number of Caphe House, you can click on the boldfaced name and it will take you to the Caphe House website.
there’s a new banh mi place in town called Mon Me which makes a mean sandwich. I’m one of the biggest banh mi lovers out there and I dare say Mon Me’s banh mi rank in the top 5. you should def. check out their stall at Elys yard, sunday upmarkets .
http://www.monme.co.uk
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