Hanoi Bike Shop, Glasgow

The Hanoi Bike Shop is a Vietnamese street food restaurant neatly tucked away in the West End of Glasgow. It's just a 30-second walk from Hillhead Subway and is open for lunch and dinner.

It has a huge range of Vietnamese dishes catering for omnivore, vegan and gluten-free diets. Just tell the waiting staff and they will give you the appropriate separate menu.

With various parts of bikes neatly organised on the walls and the smell of the fish sauce (nuc mam, a hugely important ingredient in traditional Vietnamese food) it really gives the impression of a makeshift restaurant in Vietnam. Don't be put off with the smell of the sauce though as you quickly get used to it.

Kathi and I were out celebrating, so decided to go for the “Feed Me” option which lets the chef decide what to make you from the menu. For £22.95 per person, we found it a great value as everything that came out was a delicious surprise and we were very full after finishing our meal.

The dishes we tried were:

Ngoi Den: Temple Tofu, Tomato & Ginger with Syboes and Mint

Dau Hu Chien Sot Tieu: Black Pepper Tofu with pickled Mushroom & crispy Shallots

Sup Lo Ran: Sweetcorn and Coconut Fritters with gem Lettuce, Beansprots & Nuoc Chay

Lau Chat: Jasmine Tea & Coconut Hotpot with Sweet Potato, Banana Blossom & pickled Shallot

Com Lai: Jasmine Rice

Dau Que Xao Cu Nang: Green Beans with tamrai & Water Chestnuts

Every dish was vibrant, delicious and extremely fresh. My favourite was Dau Que Xao Cu Nang as the beans were very crunchy and the Tamari sauce was a flavour packed punch of salty goodness.

Also, anything with their homemade Tofu in it is an adventure in itself. I feel Tofu, in general, has a bad reputation for being tasteless and textureless but I have never tasted Tofu like this and would challenge anyone who has tried it or doesn't like it to try from the Hanoi Bike Shop. It has a wonderful combination of textures that were doughy, chewy, soft, crunchy and was very satisfying to sink your teeth into. The Tofu also effortlessly soaked up the sauce of any dish it came out with. It was a wonderful experience as it reminded me a little of having my mum's dough balls as a child in her Mince n' Tatties.

We were very satisfied with our meal as we came out full and well nourished. If you are looking to have a meal that is exciting, satisfying and full of goodness I couldn't recommend a better place.

Labelling:

There is a separate vegan menu - just ask your waiter for it.

Vegan Options:

There are lots of different vegan options - 3 different tofu dishes, 3 street food dishes, 3 pot & grill dishes, 3 vegan phos and lots of side dishes - to choose from.

Budget:

Hanoi Bike Shop is a mid-range budget option - for two people (and a feast) expect to splurge around £50. You can get it cheaper though, as vegan dishes start at £5.45.