F*cking amazing squid and monkfish.
I initially hadn’t realised that I’d already visited the Mien Tay Shoreditch restaurant but now I know, I am so glad that both branches offer such consistently great Vietnamese!
A short walk from Clapham Junction is Mien Tay’s Battersea restaurant which on the surface strikes you as your typical Vietnamese, the exterior not the most inviting, but on closer inspection you realise you have discovered a little gem that has been around successfully for 6 years now! Well maybe not discovered as you’ve probably been recommended Mien Tay by someone at some point, as I had!
On a rainy mid week evening in December we popped in to find the place more than comfortably busy which is always a good sign. There’s nothing more depressing and suspicious than a quiet asian restaurant!
With quite a long menu, featuring a variety of fish plus some not-so-typical dishes such as frogs legs and eel, it may be hard to know what is good, plus they have some new additions to celebrate their anniversary…
I will straight up recommend the deep fried monkfish with salt, pepper and garlic. That shit is amazing! Addictively good. I’ve played eating those nuggets of salty goodness over and over in my head ever since.
If you cant sit and solely eat monkfish (why not, what’s wrong with you?) then I would most definitely recommend another couple of their new dishes – both squid. The grilled semi-dried squid with sweet and sour dipping sauce, as well as the Kohlrabi salad with squid. Both epic.
I’m not even a big seafood fan so this really says something and none of the above are dishes I would typically order at a Vietnamese. Don’t forget a round of their fresh spring rolls and throw in a bottle of wine and you’ve got yourself the perfect casual evening out that won’t upset the fragile January bank balance!
