Rollin Vietnamese

Why we love it

Close enough for a quick-smart working lunch but a million miles from Broadmead's uneasy rows of identikit Pret-a-who-now's, Star-yucks and soul-sapping supermarket chains, the independent arcade's newest foodie resident - Rollin' Vietnamese - has been filling tummies and putting smiles on faces since late 2017. Expect delectably fresh Pho, Banh Mi and Goi Cuon bowls - all made to the same authentic street-food recipes that owner Kevin Ha enjoyed since childhood in Vietnam.

Nestled in an arcade cubbyhole of exposed Georgian stonewalling, floor-to-ceiling paned class and sepia-toned Vietnamese newspaper cuttings, Rollin' is a refreshingly stripped-back affair. Aside from, say, their signature "eat, sleep, roll, repeat" neon party-piece and a faithfully reconstructed South East Asian hawker food trolley (from which all manner of bowl based appear - much to the delight of the eagerly assembled diners), the focus is on what really counts in an eatery: the food, the sweet Vietnamese coffee and the bubble tea.

Locally sourced ingredients and expert culinary know-how mean that Rollin's customers enjoy genuinely high-quality dishes at no-strings-attached street food prices, and Kevin and his engaging team are always on hand to make recommendations based upon your individual taste - so you won't have to agonise over what to choose if you can't quite get your head around "Goi Guon" or "Bum Bo Hue"!

Packed at lunchtime with all manner of ravenous Bristolians (those using chopsticks, the cutlery crew, the pick-the-bowl-up-and-slurp-it-down renegades... they're all there) and popular as an evening meal hack on the walk home, the diminutive square tables and put-you-up stools make the perfect perch for gazing out as the world rushes by on the other side of the glass (people watching is an essential meal past time in Vietnam, according to Kevin). If you're after a South East Asian bowl of awesomeness, Rollin' is the one pho yo.