What makes food authentic isn’t always about the location. Sometimes, the taste of home is closer in a foreign city than it is in the homeland itself when migration has a way of freezing flavours in time — while food evolves back home, those who leave carry the taste of a particular moment with them.
At Huong Vi Viet in Camberwell, that taste lingers. It doesn’t narrow Vietnamese cuisine into a neat, marketable package. Instead, it offers a menu as expansive and unpolished as home cooking itself.
In London, where many modern Asian restaurants reduce their offerings to a few well-branded staples, Huong Vi Viet takes the opposite approach. With over 40 dishes, the menu gestures toward the diversity of Vietnamese cuisine. You’ll find the familiar bowls of pho, but here, there are choices within the choice — rare beef (£13) , slow-braised brisket, or both (£14). For those seeking stronger flavours, there’s the bún bò Huế (£14.5), a spicy lemongrass broth, or the bún riêu cua (£13), a tangy, crab-based noodle soup. This kind of variety isn’t just about indulgence; it reflects the everyday complexity of meals in Vietnam, where no single dish defines the cuisine.
The nem rán/chả giò (crispy spring rolls) (£6.5) reflect this same commitment to detail. Instead of the sturdier wheat wrappers commonly used in London, these are wrapped in rice paper, a thinner and more delicate choice. It’s a small difference, but a telling one — the kind of decision you’d find in a home kitchen in Hanoi, where texture matters as much as taste.
Vietnamese migration to London isn’t new. Since the late 1970s, communities have taken root across the city, shaping how the cuisine has evolved while preserving tastes from a different time. And while prices are creeping up everywhere, a meal here remains affordable to share — none of the items on the menu are pricier than £20 — as it should be. The dishes are served generously, reinforcing the essence of Vietnamese dining: no one eats alone.
Vanessa Ma
Address: 49 Camberwell Church St, London SE5 8TR