10 independent Vietnamese restaurants in Manchester

Serving up Vietnamese coffee in the traditional and modern way, freshly filled banh mi baguettes plus bowls of aromatic and hearty pho soup, Ca Phe Viet is an independent cafe on the edge of Ancoats, and Manchester’s very first specialist Vietnamese coffee shop.

It’s got neon, it’s got pastels, it’s got faux foliage, it’s got innovative cocktails and it’s got Pan Asian cuisine with a definite lean Vietnam-wards. It calls itself “authentically modern”, but faithful to the Vietnamese way of life, it recommends ordering food for the table, tapas style.

“The food speaks for itself,” says Cue Tran, owner of the Pho Cue Vietnamese kitchen, whose aim is to take the authentic street food dishes of his home country and give them a modern “Instagrammable” twist while retaining their flavour, freshness and family traditions.

Fans of Vietnamese food are advised to travel to Northenden to check out local favourite Viet Guy. This family-run independent is proof that you don’t need a city centre patch and a big marketing budget to create a buzz about your restaurant. Fantastic food, fair prices, and consistency work just as well. 

Vietnamese Potbellied is from the same family that ran Pho Bowl – the dinky restaurant that used to inhabit this central Chorlton spot on Barlow Moor Road. 

Nelson Lam and Leo Tran’s Viet Shack empire started with a humble takeaway stall in the Arndale Market which quickly gained a reputation for its dazzling lunch dishes at bargain prices.

Ancoats is fast becoming the go-to place in Manchester to get your authentic Vietnamese food fix, with various purveyors of pho, traditional coffee and other specialities of Vietnam – but popular Vnam is one of the pioneers, having set up shop on Oldham Street back in 2010.