There is a new entrant in the City Vietnamese takeout scene, with a new branch of Banh Mi Bay opening up on Cannon Street between St. Paul's and Mansion House station. This is getting to be a pretty crowded scene with City Caphe and Chao Now the incumbents, but Bep Haus and Pho have both opened up in the past year. I walked by Banh Mi Bay several times after work and, after reading Yelp reviews of their Holborn location, finally made it in for lunch around noon. There were a few guests seated to eat-in, but only one other person in the queue so service was fast and I got my food within a matter of minutes. I ordered the bun vermicelli with garlic pork, and I'm happy to say that the differing prices on their menu are not for regular/large size but for takeaway/eat-in prices. So it's £6.25, and a good size portion about equally split between meat, veggies, and noodles. I thought it was solid and I'd definitely have it again, though I think I might prefer City Caphe's by just a bit. I feel like I need to come back and try the pho and the spring rolls, even though the Yelp reviews for those were only mediocre. Not sure how these places are going to differentiate themselves... Chao Now, Bep Haus, and Pho all have loyalty card schemes, so it will be interesting to see if Banh Mi Bay has to jump on that bandwagon as well. read more