The Hanoi Bike Shop

Down a lane off Byres Road, the first Vietnamese restaurant in town offers taste-crammed food with a creative and individual twist.

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

Tucked down the quaint and cobbled Ruthven Lane, with bicycle wheels adorning its walls and lanterns hanging from the ceiling, this snug diner serves super fresh and healthy Vietnamese food. Start with some prawn crackers with peanut and chilli dip, before sampling the organic, hand-made tofu. The temple tofu is particularly good, made with tomato and ginger, spring onions, mint and shallots which will dispel from your mind any illusions that bean curd is boring. The steaming bowls of pho (noodle broth with herbs and chilli) are great value for money, and there are also a number of enticing specials available each night. A weak link on the menu – and there aren’t many – is the lime leaf and sugar cane poussin. Unremarkable and slow to emerge from the kitchen, it comes buried under a pile of salad, the price tag not justifiable. Food is brought to the table when it’s ready, making for a delightful steady stream of grub until your little table can’t accommodate anymore. Make sure to order a Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk to finish off.