I started a new role last week and its located in Camden Town. Camden Town is renowned for its colorful street markets and lively food stalls so I didn’t expect to find such a nice place for decent vietnamese food.
The weather has been turning to drab lately so I needed to something to cheer myself up so I quickly googled and found Thanh Binh via the Yelp website. It was only a short walk away from my work. Bonus!
As soon as I had arrived I was kindly greeted and seated with a menu. The place was clean as well as being nice and cosy.
I knew what I wanted but had a good look at the menu anyway and it was quite extensive and sounded authentic. Yes coming from Cabramatta makes me a good judge of this authenticity business 😛 As well as being extensive, the prices were terribly good as well. I ordered the Pho Bo Vien which was 7 pounds.
It was really tasty! The flavour of the broth reminded me of the pho I used to get back home. But this bowl did one better for me because the beef balls were real and weren’t manufactured meat! And they weren’t halved like they normally are which was quite decent. There was just the right amount of everything in this meal. The noodles were a little thinner than I was used but were easier to grab with my chopsticks and tasted very fresh.
I was hooked! I would definately come back here and I actually did, the next day and had Braised Beef Brisket + rice from the 6 pound lunch menu. You even get prawn crackers as a starter, win, bad I know but mmmm so good. Brisket was great, flavorsome and oh-so tender. They also make the traditional freshly squeezed lemon drink for 1.80 pounds, totally grand.
If you’re in the neighbourhood or just craving yummy traditional pho (and vietnamese food in general) in London, I would highly recommend Thanh Binh in Camden Town.
Thanh Binh
14 Chalk Farm Road
London NW1 8AG
Website
Map
Area: Camden Town
forkmenow.com 
I’d like to retract my comment about the service here. I went for lunch there a couple of days ago, on a weekday and after 1pm. It was a busy time. It took a long time to receive menus and order. One of the ladies even tried giving me menus after I had ordered. I had ordered chinese tea with my meal and it didn’t arrive until after I had almost finished my meal. Of course I no longer wanted it and said that it took too long and I no longer wanted it. Instead of apologising, she says something to the other lady in vietnamese, annoyed. When I had finished my meal I went to the counter to pay and asked the non smiling lady for a receipt and she gave me a piece of paper with the bill on it, I asked her for a actual receipt with a VAT number (so I can claim through work) and she mumbled something about people just throwing receipts away, then reluctantly wrote me one without a date on it. I thought the whole experience was below average and I’m not sure if I will be returning. Shame after I wrote that glowing review that this happened.
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Hahaha. That’s cabramatta style service. Thought you’d be used to it by now. The venue is fine if you enter with a carefree attitude, especially when the daughter is there serving (mum and daughter does not get along from the looks of things, though she is going to uni soon so you will only see her in some evenings).
~noDi
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I would have thought you’d be used to that type of service if you have eaten in cabrammatta.
The mum and daughter don’t get along, so the service is not fantastic, but the mum warms up to you and can serve very homely dishes if you speak to her in Viet.
~noDi
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I actually have seen her warm up to regulars but still I didn’t expect the “cabra” attitude here for some reason haha
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