Kingsland Road between Old Street and Dalston carries so many Vietnamese restaurants that Londoners call it Pho Mile. Most of them are family-run, most take bookings for four or more, and a bowl of pho with a glass of iced coffee is one of the better cheap lunches in east London.
The community behind those restaurants arrived mainly as refugees from Vietnam between the late 1970s and the 1980s, and many families were housed in Hackney. The restaurants opened along the road they lived on. Two generations later the same road has some of the most expensive coffee in London a few doors from some of the cheapest noodles.
The stretch runs roughly a mile north from Hoxton towards Dalston, which is a fifteen to twenty minute walk end to end. This page covers what to order, which places take bookings, what the differences between the restaurants actually are, and the other Vietnamese corners of London that get no visitors at all.
Pho Mile at a glance
- Where
- Kingsland Road, E2 and E8, from about Old Street northwards to Dalston
- Nearest stations
- Hoxton (Zones 1 and 2, Windrush line) at the southern end; Haggerston (Zone 2, Windrush line) in the middle; Dalston Junction (Zone 2) at the north
- Buses
- The 149, 242 and 243 run the length of the road
- Walk from Liverpool Street
- About 20 minutes to the southern end
- Bookings
- Most take them for larger tables; some take none at all. Telephone rather than relying on an app
- Best time
- Weekday lunchtime for a quiet table; Friday and Saturday evenings involve queuing
Why the restaurants are all on one road
Kingsland Road follows the line of a Roman road running north out of the City, and it has absorbed one community after another. Hackney housed a large share of the Vietnamese families who came to Britain after 1975, and the first cafes opened to feed them rather than anyone else. The nickname Pho Mile came later, from customers rather than owners.
The practical consequence is that the restaurants are close enough together to compare. You can walk past a dozen menus in ten minutes, look at who is eating in each and how full the room is, and choose on evidence. That is unusual in London and it is the main reason to come here rather than eat Vietnamese food nearer your hotel.
Song Que at 134 Kingsland Road is among the best known of the older restaurants and still serves a long menu of soups and grilled dishes. Treat it as one option among many rather than the only one: half the pleasure of the street is that the room next door may be better on the day.
What to order, and in what order
Pho is a clear beef or chicken broth simmered for hours with charred ginger, onion, star anise and cinnamon, poured over flat rice noodles. It arrives with a side plate of bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime and fresh chilli, which you add yourself, a little at a time. The broth is the dish; the meat is a passenger.
| Dish | What arrives | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Pho bo | Beef broth, rice noodles, slices of rare beef that cook in the bowl, brisket or meatballs | A first visit; a cold day |
| Bun cha | Grilled pork patties in a bowl of sweet and sour dipping broth, with cold rice vermicelli and herbs on the side | Anyone who finds soup unsatisfying |
| Bun bo Hue | A spicier, lemongrass-heavy beef soup with thicker round noodles | People who already like pho |
| Banh mi | A baguette with pate, pickled carrot and daikon, coriander, chilli and grilled meat or tofu | Lunch on the move, from a cafe rather than a restaurant |
| Goi cuon | Fresh rice-paper rolls with prawn, herbs and noodles, served cold with peanut sauce | A starter to share |
| Com tam | Broken rice with grilled pork chop, a fried egg and pickles | A plate rather than a bowl |
| Banh xeo | A large turmeric-yellow crepe folded over pork and prawn, torn up and wrapped in lettuce | Sharing between two |
Add the herbs and lime gradually, not all at once. The plate of sprouts, basil, lime and chilli is there so you can adjust the bowl as you eat. Tipping the whole lot in at the start floods a broth that took eight hours to make. Taste first, then add, then add again.
To drink, ask for ca phe sua da: strong coffee dripped through a small metal filter onto condensed milk, then poured over ice. It is sweet, it is very strong, and it is the reason Vietnamese cafes were selling good coffee in London long before the rest of the city caught up. Our guide to coffee in London covers the wider scene. Fresh sugar cane juice and salted lemonade are the other things worth trying.
Bookings, queues and the practical side
The restaurants on this road vary more in their booking policy than in their food. Some take reservations by telephone for any size of table, some take them only for four or more, and a few refuse them entirely and run a list at the door. Online booking apps cover only a minority of them, so a telephone call is more reliable than an app.
Friday and Saturday between 19:00 and 21:00 is when queues form. A weekday lunch is the opposite experience, half empty and served in ten minutes. If you are a group of six or more, telephone ahead in every case: these are small rooms and a large table has to be assembled.
Several of the restaurants are unlicensed and let you bring your own. Where that applies there is often a small corkage charge, and there are off-licences along the same road. Ask when you book, because the policy differs from door to door and a bottle carried into a licensed restaurant will not be opened.
Two more things to expect. Portions are large and cheap, so ordering a starter each plus a main each usually leaves food on the table. And service is fast to the point of brisk, which is not rudeness: these are high-turnover rooms and the kitchen sends food out when it is ready, not in courses.
Getting there, and what to do either side of a meal
Hoxton station sits at the southern end of the stretch and is on the Windrush line of the London Overground, in Zones 1 and 2. Haggerston is one stop further north, Dalston Junction one beyond that. Our guide to the DLR and the Overground explains how the line works, and it is worth knowing that this route runs late.
The road connects two areas visitors already go to. To the south is Shoreditch, with the street art and the bars; to the north Dalston, with the Turkish grills and the late music venues. The Columbia Road flower market, a short walk from the southern end, makes a natural Sunday morning before a late lunch here.
The Museum of the Home stands on Kingsland Road itself, in a row of eighteenth-century almshouses in the middle of the restaurant stretch, so you can see a set of period rooms and eat within five minutes of each other. Our guide to London's small museums covers it. That is a good combination on a wet afternoon, and both halves are cheap.
Vietnamese food elsewhere in London
Pho Mile is not the whole story, and the other clusters are quieter.
- Mare Street and Hackney Central. A handful of restaurants and cafes a short walk east of London Fields. See our Hackney guide.
- Deptford and New Cross. South-east London's Vietnamese shops sit among the Vietnamese and West African grocers around Deptford High Street, near a market of its own.
- Stratford and east London. Newer restaurants serving the communities that moved further out.
- Banh mi counters in the centre. Small takeaway operations near Soho and the City, useful for lunch but not the same experience.
Vietnamese cooking also sits well alongside the rest of east and south-east Asian London. Our guide to Chinese food beyond Chinatown covers the regional Chinese restaurants in the outer boroughs, and Chinatown covers the central streets.
Diets, allergies and what to check
Vietnamese food can be excellent for people avoiding dairy and wheat, since the noodles are rice and butter barely appears. Two ingredients need care. Fish sauce is in almost every dressing and dipping bowl, including many dishes described as vegetarian, so ask directly if you do not eat fish. Peanuts appear crushed over salads, in dipping sauces and in spring roll accompaniments.
Under English food law a restaurant has to make the 14 regulated allergens known to you, either on the menu or by pointing you to where that is written down. The time to raise it is while you are choosing, not after the bowl arrives. Our pages on vegan and vegetarian London and eating gluten-free go into more detail.
What a meal costs, and how it compares
Kingsland Road is one of the cheaper places in inner London to eat a cooked meal in a restaurant with tablecloths and table service. A bowl of pho and a Vietnamese coffee is a light meal; two people sharing a starter and taking a bowl each will not spend much more than they would on two coffees and a sandwich in the West End. Our page about eating cheaply in the city covers the comparison, and tipping in London explains the service charge, which many of these restaurants do not add at all.
For a different kind of noodle bowl in the same price bracket, see our page on Japanese food and ramen. The two cuisines occupy similar ground in London and reward the same approach: small rooms, short menus, no booking.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Pho Mile in London?
It is the stretch of Kingsland Road in Hackney running roughly north from Old Street and Hoxton towards Dalston, in postcodes E2 and E8. The nearest stations are Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction, all on the Windrush line of the London Overground, and the 149, 242 and 243 buses run the whole length.
Which Kingsland Road restaurants take bookings?
Policies differ from door to door. Most of the larger restaurants take telephone bookings, several take them only for parties of four or more, and a few operate a walk-in list. Booking apps cover only some of them, so telephone the restaurant directly, especially for a group.
What should I order on a first visit?
Pho bo, the beef noodle soup, is the obvious start, with fresh rice-paper rolls to share beforehand. If you would rather not eat soup, order bun cha, which is grilled pork with cold noodles and a dipping broth. Drink iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk.
Is Vietnamese food in London suitable for vegetarians?
It can be, but check rather than assume. Fish sauce is used in most dressings and dipping sauces, including some dishes listed as vegetable dishes, and broths are usually meat-based. Most restaurants on Kingsland Road have clearly marked vegetarian and tofu options and will confirm what is in them.
Can I bring my own wine to a Vietnamese restaurant on Kingsland Road?
At some of them, yes. A number are unlicensed and allow it, sometimes with a small corkage charge, and there are off-licences on the same road. Others hold a licence and will not open outside bottles. Ask when you book.
Sources
- Transport for London StopPoint data - lines, bus routes and fare zones for Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction (checked September 2026)
- Song Que, 134 Kingsland Road - restaurant website (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - London Overground line names, including the Windrush line (checked September 2026)
- Food Standards Agency - Food allergy and intolerance advice for consumers (checked September 2026)
- Food Standards Agency - Food hygiene ratings search (checked September 2026)