Saigon Saigon Restaurant

Great value lunch buffet, dim sum and traditional favourites slap bang in the centre of town.

The 2018/19 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £7.95 (+p&p).

This city-centre family restaurant seems deceptively mainstream, with tasteful but nondescript décor, a soundtrack of Chinese musicians playing incongruously western tunes and an à la carte menu featuring the usual suspects. However, the further you stray away from the familiar sweet & sour and spring rolls, the more fun can be had. The dim sum menu is promising but the northern Chinese menu, longer than the other two put together, is full of delights, especially for those into nose-to-tail eating. A starter of tripe in satay sauce is aromatic, succulent and feather-light, while a punchy and rousing black bean sauce lifts the humble pig's trotter to something lip-smackingly tasty (moistened towelettes are discreetly provided and absolutely necessary). The efforts taken to make a cavernous space seem less barn-like are not wholly successful but a gang of people with adventurous palates can have a very fine time indeed. Just make sure to get the right menu.