Caphe House, Bermondsey Street - Oct 2010

Following on from recent wanders down Bermondsey Street, I thought that this place deserved a mention. Caphe House is a small and friendly cafe in the midst of bustling Bermondsey Street, snadwiched between the greasy spoon authenticity of Al's Cafe and the myriad of chi chi boutiques and uptheirownarse coffee emporia. A Viet cafe feels very gentrified for this very white working class area, but in ethos at least, it's nearer in style to the old Bermondsey than the new. The furniture is more discount than designer and they're not winning any awards for their decor. That being said, I'm not here for the view. They serve a selection of pho (noodle soup w selected meats), summer rolls and the object of my affections, the banh mi roll.

I went for the roast pork roll, served as a standard pre made white flour (rather than the traditional rice flour) half baguette with shredded pork. The thin slivers of cucumber and red chilli in the roll cancel each other out nicely and balance with the grated carrots in this spicy Vietnamese street treat, but the chilli vinegar is heavily cut with soy and too saltily strong. For £3.50 it's difficult to complain. They also do a good range of Vietnamese treats, noodles and pleasingly sell a number of authentic ingredients, just like mamma used to use. If every street had a Caphe House, we'd be in a much better (and spicier) place.