I don't quite know why they chose to call this place "Well Mix". I guess it fits with the proud and long-standing tradition among Camberwell eateries of names that are at best baffling, and at worst excruciating. Maybe it's because they do a "mix" of Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Japanese dishes, and want you to think that they do it "well." Hmm, hedging your bets in this way would, in most cases, cause me to mistrust the place deeply. HOWEVER. Open mind and all. I figured Vietnamese to be the speciality, due to them having stuff on the menu in what I took to be Vietnamese lettering. (I know.) So, rare beef pho then. Came with all the usual fun pho accoutrements - coriander, lime, bean sprouts, red chillis.... WHOA you mess about with those chillis at your own risk!!
For context, I could add that, as I was ordering, an excitable toddler kept trying to sit on me - very cute if somewhat disconcerting. This might have contributed to my confused choice of a hot "Vietnamese coffee", but no, I can't blame the kid for that, it's on me. I soon realised this was a bad choice (when I started on my beef pho, basically), and wanted the iced version after all - they sorted this all out with good humour and didn't charge me for what was basically my own mistake. In fact, they gave me a copy of the Sun to look at. I mean, I don't read the Sun or anything, but they didn't have to do that, and it's the little touches that make the difference.
I really should've ordered one of their beers, seeing as they're very reasonably priced at £2. If I'm going to be churlish, I'd say that although there were generous helpings of beef in the "rare beef pho", it hardly qualified as "rare". But I'm in no mood to be churlish about Well Mix. I'll be back. Probably. read more