Ca phe House - Bermondsey St

I noticed that a vietnamese cafe has opened up on Bermondsey St. Has anyone tried it yet?
Just wondering if it's authentic vietnamese food. Looks pretty good from the outside though

haven't been yet but I really hope it is good 'cos I love Vietnamese food! will report back once I've been

Went here for lunch today, and it's a bit of a mixed bag. It's their first week, so it's only fair to cut them some slack - service was friendly if a bit haphazard (they'd run out of change in the till and one of the girls wasn't sure about what went in to some of the products.)

I had the classic banh mi, but it wasn't really what I was expecting - the cucumber and carrot wasn't pickled, there was no pate or cha lua sausage, just shredded roast pork (which was admittedly tasty). No chili either, which it definitely needed. The baguette was just ok - crisp but nothing special. Cost £3.50, and as it was their opening week they threw in a free canned drink.

They also do a chicken and vegetarian option, and they had some spring rolls and a few other side dishes on the menu. I love banh mi, and this has potential to be a great addition to the area if they can just make this a bit better and more generously sized for the money. I thnk I'll still be heading to Cafe Bay in Camberwell when I need a banh mi fix!

Huge disappointment.. it is a coffee shop rather than a Vietnamese place.. and it aims at the office crowd and not locals.. I tried to go at 7pm yesterday and it was already shut...
I think they are missing out on a great opportunity, we don't need another coffee shop.. but Bermondsey street can certainly do with authentic Vietnamese food that is available for the business lunch crowd and dinner for local residents... not too late for them to change it tough..

You should make sure you give all this feedback to the management or at least point them to this forum.

I agree that they should definitely be open for dinner/takeaway and should consider doing delivery.

Chris

Yes I agree. They should do dinner/takeaway and target the local residents instead of the business lunch crowd. I am a bit disappointed that the food isn't as authentic vietnamese as I anticipated.

I've been fantasising about having a Vietnamese on Bermondsey Street for years.I went there yesterday - vietnamese fresh rolls are maybe my favourite food. I'd agree with others on here - it's a funny little place that's open at 7am, but not 7pm. Loads of coffee but no jasmine tea. Serving mostly Vietnames bagettes which is disppointing cos you can get sandwiches everywhere.

I wish them the best of luck. The fresh rolls were not the best - the pancake was slimy and the filling was bland, and you're not offered chopsticks yet they're tricky to eat as finger food - but hopefully these are just teething troubles. Take outs early evening would do a roaring trade I think.

No industry links, btw, I'm just a local gut bucket

@lullylush - banh mi are a bit different from the sandwiches you can get everywhere, and done right they can be a thing of beauty! Time Out has a handy guide.
It could be that they're not doing a proper takeaway/dinner service because the kitchen's small, and I don't think there's anything wrong with targeting the local office crowd per se, but it would be nice to see a bit more on the menu and staying open a bit later in the day. It's not SE1, but Banzi in Surrey Quays is worth a look as well.

Babybat - I will give them a try :-)

Yes I have noticed a new restaurant but I am keen to know how permission and indeed if it was granted for an area of the park opposite being given over to tables and chairs for outside eating as this is a public space?