I’ve been wanting to try North 54 for some time now, but every time I have visited there has been a huge queue along the street and no free tables anywhere. I decided to visit on Saturday and arrived in plenty of time before they opened, but there was no queue this time – typical. Anyway we waited and were very happy to have an inside table when they opened. It’s definitely ‘Vietnam casual’ with canteen style tables and small stools, inside is slightly more comfortable with higher stools. Once we ordered our food, it filled up quickly and all the seats were taken by the time we left.
The menu is fairly short – there are about five or six bahn mi variations including lemongrass beef, satay pork, gai yang chicken, xo mushroom and eggplant, Hanoi cha (meatballs), and son in law egg. Most variations are also available with rice or as a noodle bowl. There are a few sides such as fried chicken wings and spring rolls, and some very nice drinks such as Vietnamese iced coffee, coconut juice, iced matcha and kumquat iced tea.
I chose gai yang chicken bahn mi which was super generous, actually more than I could eat. It was filled with lovely juicy pickled carrot and daikon amid the lovely turmeric chicken.
My partner chose the Hanoi cha rice noodles, but he actually got Hanoi cha rice – he didn’t mind and said it was very good. The patties were really tasty, chillies nice and hot, the sauce was lovely too.
We also had a side of the wings with fish sauce caramel, fried garlic and coriander. They were very good, really flavoursome and meaty.
I also chose the kumquat ice tea which was delicious, one of those wonderful flavours of Asia.
It’s definitely worth a visit, the food is generous, prepared with care, and authentic. The chef has passion and everything is just delicious.
Last visit – November 2026
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