Saiko

I really liked this place. I only have gotten takeaway here on my way back from yoga, but I find the flavors fresh and delicious. The inside of the place is bright and clean, great for a casual lunch or light dinner. There aren’t too many places to get Vietnamese (style) food in the area so I do enjoy it. The hoisin chicken summer salad rolls are SO delicious and my favorite light dinner. I mean look how good they are. I look forward to going back and trying a bunch of other things.

There should be a word for when you set your expectations too high and the end result is — unsurprisingly — less than satisfying.
Saiko’d.
You got saiko’d.
That works.
Anyone who hangs around the talk boards will probably be aware of my hunt for a decent Banh Mi sandwich here in the capital. Besides Thai, we really do struggle for some quality South East Asian fayre. So when I catch wind of a decent Vietnamese deli, or a Malaysian street food place, I’ll need to check that badboy out.
Blythe was good enough to recommend Marchmont’s Saiko as a solution to my Banh Mi woes. So on my birthday day off, guess where we headed?
The girl inside was very nice and friendly. Considering the place was dead, I think that’s ’nuff said. Said hello, took our order, took our money, said goodbye, smiled a lot. The end.
So walking out of Saiko, bagged sandwich in hand, I first noticed the shape was wrong. Banh Mi, real Vietnamese ones, tend to adhere to a specifically shaped baguette. The baguette in my bag was not it, instead a long and narrow number you might find in a supermarket housed the contents of pork, pâté, coriander and pickled veg.
What there was of it.
Yes, the biggest gripe of this visit was in the contents of the sandwich. Two words: not very much. A thin layer of pork, bolstered by wads of veggies to try and make it look substantial, but even they didn’t seem to do the job. It all came across a bit too bready and downright stingie.
Considering this badboy — a sandwich, people! — costs a whopping £5.95, I would really expect a little generosity between the bread. The flavour was all present and correct, and I must say even quite authentic, but with such a measly filling, the bread overwhelmed it all. Disappointing.
I’ll get myself back there one day — the menu looked interesting and I’ll be curious to see if they are more generous with other dishes like their Pad Thai or their Dim Sum — but for now I think Banh Mi Quest continues…
Cos I got saiko’d.

Vietnamese food is hard to come by in the UK, yet there I was, craving a vegetarian phở and a Banh mi. In London there are many authentic Vietnamese earteries, none of which offer the easy-​to-​come-​by «chay» cuisine (Buddhist vegetarian) on offer in Vietnam.
Saiko offers a bit of a mish mash of different cuisines and flavours, though the main offerings are Vietnamese and Japanese fusion dishes. Upon entering I knew I would be going for the much sought-​after Banh mi, I opted for the ginger tofu filling. For £5.95 the baguette was pretty small, but the bread was surprisingly very good (from la Barantine maybe?), the peanut sauce was very fresh and tasty and the tofu was crunchy. The salad and coriander inside were as would be expected, colourful and tasty.
Not sure what I think yet about Saiko kitchen, but the quality of what I had was good. I enjoyed the baguette, but found it to be a little expensive if you consider Vietnamese prices (no good comparison, I know).

Been looking forward to this recent edition to Marchmonts eateries opening for some time, so we took ourselves along for a lunch time treat recently. The décor is great, contemporary Asian with some nice little touches. There seemed to be plenty of seating both bar style at the windows and tables in the main area. For such a small space they really have made the most of what they could do.
The service was friendly and efficient when we arrived. Grab a seat decide on what takes your fancy then order at the counter. All good so far. My missus opted for the Agedashi Tofu soup with some Asian slaw on the side and I grabbed a Beef Phở.
When the food arrived the dishes were quite small for the price and we weren’t too taken by what we received. The Agedashi Tofu soup seemed like standard miso soup with some spring onions and a couple of large tofu bits in the bottom of the bowl, she wasn’t keen and neither was I. This was lacking in flavour and was under whelming for £6. We have both had this before, so we knew what to expect, and this was very different in presentation and flavours. The slaw just seemed to be regular slaw with some sesame oil or similar added in, tasty but when I think of the wealth of flavours from Asia I was expecting this to be more complex. My beef po was nice, lots of noodles, veg, bit of beef and subtle beef broth. I would eat this again, but from previous experiences I was expecting this to be presented with condiments on the side so you can adjust the soup to your liking, such as changing the ration of sweet to hot. Wasn’t bad would order the po again, but I have had better.
Overall not a bad place, seemed expensive for what you get and a nice selection of exotic foods on the menu. Aiming to head back as this was their second week open, so willing to see where this place goes as it has a lot of promise.