West Lake

West Lake is one of the Vietnamese restaurants located on or around Deptford High Street. Deptford High Street has a collection of Nigerian and Vietnamese restaurants, interspersed with halal butchers and fried chicken stores. Gentrification has clearly not set in here, but it seemed like a safe enough area. West Lake is a gem of a restaurant though. We started with the pan fried Vietnamese packages, is basically sprouts, pork, green onions and prawns wrapped in a very thin fried rice layer. The rice layer is crispy so it is difficult to eat with your hands; it tends to break off. The flavor and the texture were terrific and the portion size was great. Next, we had the summer rolls. I’ve had summer rolls in many Vietnamese restaurants, and these were amongst the best. They were clearly made for us and not made previously and refrigerated. Finally, I had the beef phở. I would have preferred more cuts of tripe and fatty beef, but the beef was very tasty. The broth was excellent as well. I also would have preferred more vegetables in the soup but the waitresses really didn’t speak English. No one there really does and the restaurant is not particularly clean nor elegant. But the food is excellent and the prices fair (6 pounds for the phở, 5 for the pancake). My friend got the spicy beef noodles, which were terrific as well. Highly recommended!
PS – everyone in there was Vietnamese