Set in a beautiful Georgian townhouse, Bam-Bou offers Vietnamese fusion food in stylish surroundings that make you feel as if you are in Old Saigon rather than just off of Oxford Street.

The Venue
Bam-Bou is located in a historic Georgian townhouse. Thankfully the owners of Bam-Bou (Caprice Holdings, who also own the Ivy and J Sheekey) have not modernised this restaurant and instead stepping into Bam-Bou is like entering a beautiful restaurant in colonial Vietnam. Perfect attention to detail in the decor has resulted in a beautiful, atmospheric place to dine. From the moment you enter the incense filled narrow hallway, find your way up the topsy turvy wooden staircase and find the room you’re be dining in, every detail has been wonderfully taken care of. As the building is an old Georgian townhouse it is narrow and tall which results in two large, beautiful dining rooms, five private dining rooms and a dark, sexy top floor cocktail bar.

The Atmosphere
Being set in the heart of medialand means that this venue is always busy with the media crowd who do lunch during the week. In the evening the intimate venue lends itself as the perfect date location. Patrons during the evening tend to be as glamorous as the surroundings and attract a slightly older crowd than other restaurants in Charlotte Street. The vibe, set by the by the surroundings, is intimate. However, certain tables are spaced too closely together which can be a problem if the table next to you are rather arrogantly discussing their latest sales pitch.

The Food
According to Bam-Bou, the cuisine is a fusion of ingredients from Thailand, China and Vietnam, but the fusion doesn’t really seem to be thought about in individual dishes, rather there is just a mix of these foods on the menu. The menu changes every two weeks so there are always new dishes to try.

The prawn crackers are large, non greasy and definitely worth a nibble whilst deciding what to eat and drink. To start, the ribs (£6.50), which come in a huge portion, are fall-off-the-bone tender and come smothered in a sweet and satisfyingly sticky sauce. The chicken salad with lime, chilli and coconut (£5.95) is fragrant, light and offers a refreshing contrast to the heaviness of the ribs which are slightly too large for a starter.

For mains, the curries (£9 – £14.25) are all good but pretty ordinary and you could get the same quality in numerous other places in London, at lower prices. The lamb massaman curry strikes the perfect balance of creaminess and nuttiness which sets off the tender lamb perfectly. However, to experience the best of Bam-Bou’s offerings try the delicious whole steamed sea bream (£13.25) which is cooked to perfection; the delicate flavour of the fish is allowed to show through with a careful, subtle balance of ginger, freshest coriander and small hints of chilli. The seared scallops, sweet pork and perilla (£14) looks stunning and both the scallops and pork belly are cooked to perfection. However, it seems a shame not to be able to order these two delicious foods separately, as to have them competing together on a plate seems like you actually ending up missing out on the beautiful flavours each one brings, as the delicacy of the scallops are lost to the overpowering pork.

The Drink
Like other Caprice holdings the wine list is extensive and ranges in price from £18.50 to £66. The cocktail menu offers something for any tastes and is fairly priced at £8 or £12 for Champagne cocktails. It is definitely worth coming for a cocktail in the bar before or after your meal as they’re really well made. Judging by how busy the bar is, it seems that Bam-Bou can be seen as a bar in its own right – with its beautiful decor it is most definitely one of the best places to enjoy a cocktail in the West End.

The Last Word
Bam-Bou offers good, if slightly ordinary, Vietnamese fusion food but the real attraction here is the decor.

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