Saigon Saigon

Vietnamese cooking, at its most considered, treats meat as a seasoning rather than a centrepiece — and that philosophy defined what Saigon Saigon put on the table at its King Street address in Hammersmith. The kitchen framed its output as the nouvelle cuisine of Asia: fresh herbs, contrasting flavours, varied textures, and a deliberate restraint with oil that set it apart from the heavier registers common to the neighbourhood's broader dining strip. The room matched the cooking's ambitions in tone, if not always in execution. Dark wooden flooring, bamboo partitions, traditional carvings, and black-and-white photographs from 1940s Saigon gave the interior a considered aesthetic that went beyond the functional décor typical of mid-range Vietnamese restaurants in West London. Modern furniture sat alongside those period references without obvious tension. At around £56 per person before coffee or dessert, with a wine list ranging from £25 to £75 a bottle, Saigon Saigon positioned itself in the moderately expensive bracket for the area. One published review noted busy trade and a broad menu while also observing that the cooking lacked the authenticity found at more specialist Vietnamese addresses elsewhere in London — a fair tension for any restaurant that broadens its offer to include Thai and Chinese dishes alongside its core Vietnamese repertoire. The restaurant has since closed. The team behind it moved to a new venture, Sprigs Vietnamese, in Shepherd's Bush — a detail that suggests the kitchen's ambitions outlasted this particular address on King Street.