Viet Baguette, Fitzrovia, London

I loved this place, and was sad when it moved out around Nov/Dec 2009. However, where is it now?! Where has it moved to!? Does anybody know? I'm desperate to find Viet Baguette again!!

I liked the banh mi, though admittedly I am not an expert at all and have only had a couple of them in my entire life - baguettes are fresh (they remind me of the baguettes from Pret sandwiches, actually) and the pork pate and BBQ pork filling is really tasty. Pickled carrots, cucumber and cilantro completed the stuffing and I thought the ingredients were well-balanced. Would go back if I was in the mood for another banh mi!

For the last few months on Twitter and suchlike, I've been read lots of comments about the joys of "banh mi". Everytime I read it, I thought "I must look that up as I have no idea what it is but everyone seems to talk about with religious-like zeal."

And now I discover it's a sandwich. Oh. It was, to be honest, a bit of an anti-climax - after all, there is only so much you can do with a portable, bread-based snack. Still, the passion with which people were talking suggested I should give it a go. I have done and I can now bring you the results of my extensive, pork-heavy test. And I'm pleased to advise that it is, most definitely, a sandwich.

Mind you, it is a pretty good sandwich. A nicely crunchy baguette - the French influence - filled, in my case, with pork, pork pate and something called Pork Floss: pork boiled, fried, and ground to a fine powder. And then the (apparently) standard banh mi trimmings: chillis, coriander, grated mooli, pickled carrot, spring onions, etc.

Given the amount of filling - pate and slices of pork in three different varieties - I thought the value was pretty good, a smidge over six quid including a very pleasant fizzy plum lemonade concoction. A very pleasant, flavoursome and spicy lunch. But it is still only a sandwich, so the jury's still out on banh mi, I'm afraid...

Always a sucker for new and interesting lunch options, I popped in to Viet baguette to find out if it was a grand contender for a new favourite lunch spot and sadly it came up a bit short.

The options are quite limited (or were when we visited in the first week); a couple of baguette options and a choice of either pork or prawn summer rolls. I went for the rolls as I wasn't particularly hungry but was a bit put out that I had to buy three (£4.50) - at that price it's clearly £1.50 a roll and when I asked if I could get one to try I was told it was only available in threes. I got the bundle and a soft drink and traipsed out to the park to nibble (only actually eating one in the end and giving away the other two). For what it was I found it a little expensive and not exceptionally tasty. I like the idea of it and the staff seemed quite friendly but I think a bit more thought needs to go in to the offering and perhaps then I'd give it another go.

This little hidden nook has brought great Vietnamese street food to Charlotte Place.
With the rolls under £4 it’s a treat that is becoming more like routine to me. Their caramel chicken Baguette has to be my favorite so far.

Finally an Asian place that doesn't just sell Thai green curry!!

What used to be the Blackfoot Butcher is now Viet Baguette, a smallish outlet that expands the culinary boundaries of Charlotte Place a little with its selection of Bánh_mì i.e. french bread with classic asian fillings such as barbecued pork, caramel chicken, and lemongrass beef, accompanied by pickled carrots, spring onions, coriander, cucumber and chilli.

There's also a selection of summer rolls to choose from, and a few dipping sauces (penaut, sweet chilli etc).

It's not especially cheap, a sandwich will set you back just under four pounds, while the summer rolls are £4.50 for three. They also have a selection of Thai style red Bull, the kind that comes in glass bottles so it looks like medicine.

They're going to introduce breakfasts soon, with a Thai fruit cart, 'Penang panckaes' and Vietnamese coffee. So might be worth a trip one morning if you're sick of jam on toast.

Staff were friendy and chatty and obviously enthusiastic about what they were doing, and the sandwiches were tasty and fresh... but they didn't blow me away.

With all the foody competition on Charlotte Place they might have to step up their game slightly to make sure they don't go the way of the butchers, which would be a real shame.

Being the new kids on the on the Pedestrian Charlotte Street block we should pay a lunch visit.
I didn't know what a Viet Baguette was until today- and I probably could have figured it out on my own had I thought about it. French baguettes (naturally) with some Vietnamese inspired flavours... and oh my what a tree of coriander to top it off!
The do summer rolls- which you must buy in threes, and an array of filling for the rolls, BBQ Pork, Caramel Chicken, Fried Beancurd.
I wasn't that keen on paying 60p for dipping sauces, I think this point needs a revision.
I like their fresh simple style, and I'll be watching how it goes with the soon to be revealed breakfast cart or Vietnamese coffee and Penang pancakes.