Tay Do Cafe

65 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8AG

Consistently mentioned as one of Timeout's favourite cheap eats and not to be confused with its sister restaurant on the opposite side of the street (you're looking for the Tay Do CAFE - get it right or the wallet gets it!) is this fine addition to the 'Pho mile'.

Let me start off by saying, I love BYO Vietnamese diners. Especially if the decor resembles the waiting room of a chinese take-away, the tables are so close together you are treated to some sort of Big Brother style experience of the couple next door's intimate dinner and the waiters make no effort to hide their resentment that you actually want, like, some food as though they were running a restaurant, not a prison camp. Bring it on. Cheap, tasty, generous portions, my own drinks and a relaxed atmosphere make a far more exciting eating experience than sitting in an icy dining room in some michelin starred restaurant being patronised by Jean-Francois for you choice of wine pairings.

So, the food - let's face it, we didn't come for the service: almost as soon as our party of 8 had been seated, we were ordered to vacate 'because the table is already booked' and motioned towards a 4 seat table next to the toilets (seems we're not here to obey the laws of physics either). Having argued the concept of space time with the waitress we were allowed to stay and quickly set about ordering.

With a menu of epic proportions, there are bound to be a few hits and misses but on the whole Tay Do do a good job - and most of the time when they're on it, they're really on it. Add to that the good value (starters £3-£6), mains (£6-10) you can't go far wrong.

Amongst the highlights were a starter of soft-shelled crab, juicy, tender and sticky; a mountain of tasty vietnamese spring rolls; crispy, and tangy salt and pepper squid. Catfish claypot was the stand out dish, a sizzling bowl of melt in your mouth catfish coated in a moreish, spicy sauce of almost caramel consistency. Tay Do know their way around a bowl of pho too, balancing a flavoursome broth with fragrant herbs and generous helpings of noodles. There were only a couple of dud notes: the spicy duck arrived floating in a sort of ubiquitous takeaway gloop and the singapore noodles tasted oddly of turmeric.

When the bill arrived, it came to a little over £11 a head - fantastic value considering the banquet we had consumed. It may not be the place for an intimate date and it doesn't quite pip the Loong Kee Cafe, crown prince of Shoreditch Vietanmese restaurants, but I will be returning to explore the further reaches of their menu: frogs legs and crispy pig skin anyone?