Ca Phe Viet

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.

Coffee to start with, then, and if you’ve been to Vietnam and find yourself nostalgic for the taste of the authentic Vietnamese take on the drink, both hot and cold, we’re told this is the place to sniff out. Using beans imported from the central highlands of Vietnam and condensed milk, as is the norm, there’s Vietnamese phin filter drip coffee and Vietnamese ice coffee, alongside lattes, cappuccinos, espressos, teas and chocolate. Now, let’s add in some carbs. Mi means bread, and banh mi is a Vietnamese-style sandwich with chilli, cucumber, coriander, carrots and swede prepared daily and served on a fresh baguette alongside your choice of roasted pork belly, pork roll, beef or tofu. Go the whole hog (ahem), and order the signature Ca Phe Viet “classic baguette” with pork belly, pork roll, pork pâté and a dollop of Japanese mayo Kewpie, complete with its own cult status.

No self-respecting Vietnamese outlet could exist without the mention of pho on its menu, and here the famous flat rice noodle soup comes in the form of pho bo tai, with thinly sliced beef cooked in the hot broth, pho bo chin, with slow-cooked beef shin and brisket, pho bo tai chin, a mixture of both, and pho ga, with strips of chicken. There’s also special pho, or pho dac biet, which is a combination of beef, chicken, pork belly, pork roll and king prawns.

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