Girdy & Birdy fancied trying some authentic Vietnamese cuisine, and that’s exactly what they got when they visited NAM on Haymarket Terrace!
Birdy: This was another one on Captain Girdseye’s radar first, but I do love me some Vietnamese food, so of course it was a yes from me! I’d been eyeing up the menu beforehand, and had already set my sights on what I wanted to eat.
Girdy: NAM was on my radar as they reached out and said “Hi” on social media. I did my usual and hopefully not unhelpfully cryptic thing of saying something like, “Sure, we’ll take a look, but we’re not influencers, so you’ll go on the consideration list!” In truth, I leapt on the first ItIsOn voucher I saw and kidnapped Birdy off to Haymarket at the first opportunity. It’s taken me longer to write my bit of the Girdy & Birdy review.
The vibe
Birdy: I thought the vibe was very relaxed, but the first thing to really catch my eye was all the artwork on the walls. There’s basically a huge art wall to your right as you walk in, and at least most of it appears to be for sale, too! As an artist myself, I love this.
Also, on the opposite wall, there’s a mirror, so even if you’re facing away from the art, you can still admire the art! It’s a nice touch. It was relatively quiet when we arrived, with just two or three other tables occupied, but got busier as the night went on.
Girdy: I’ll admit I was a bit underwhelmed when I walked into NAM, as it was a bit smaller and darker than I thought it would be. However, I almost immediately won over when we were greeted warmingly and taken to our table. Whereas the restaurant is slender, it means it’s cosy without being crowded. We got to NAM after work, a bit early, and the restaurant soon filled up.
So, I’ll admit I did a 180 on my NAM vibe. I started underwhelmed but would now recommend the place as a cosy escape.
Birdy’s review
The first thing I ordered (and had my sights set on well in advance) was the fish cakes! These were, according to the menu, minced fish fillet, dill and spring onion served with a lovely sweet chilli sauce. As suggested by the description, they tasted very fresh.
What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the sheer mass of them! They were large fish cakes, cut into four pieces total, and they were heavy and bulky for my chopsticks – but I managed it! Proud of self and my growing chopsticks skillz…
Oh wait! Spoke too soon. For my main course, however, I’m afraid I had to retire the chopsticks and opt for a knife and fork. I had chosen the thịt kho tàu – slow-braised pork belly in caramel sauce. It was tasty! Although, the pieces of pork belly were so large that I just didn’t have the confidence to handle it with just chopsticks.
The pork itself was so tender and well cooked, and it worked perfectly with the sticky rice it came with. I was happy with my choice, although it wasn’t as showstopping as the house special dish Girdy chose, which came wrapped in massive lotus leaves!
Dessert for me was a no-brainer – it absolutely had to be the coconut ice cream! And it was the most coconutty coconut ice cream I’ve ever had. Absolutely delicious. It arrived in a half coconut shell, lovely and creamy, with tiny coconut flakes all the way through. Yum!
Girdy’s review:
I started with spring rolls and went with prawns. Go back just a year or two, and I’d rarely have prawns, I guess I was a bit intimidated but now I’ve overcome that and see them as a healthy alternative. NAM does me proud here as the spring roll feels like no compromise at all, is super tasty.
Perhaps it was the clever way in which the prawns were wrapped up in the spring well because I went with steamed sticky rice mushroom, chicken and fried onions wrapped in a lotus leaf. I’ve no idea whether I was supposed to eat the lotus leaf, but I wolfed down the treasure cooked inside.
Birdy teases me with my food envy, and while both my first two courses at NAM were lovely, I must admit those heavy fishcakes looked absolutely my thing, and the caramel sauce pork so filling. However, I think my two are iconically Vietnamese. Can I have all four?
I had sorbet for dessert, once again risking the wrath of teasing for ‘wimping out’ but it was a really good way to finish off. I think the phrase is a ‘palate cleanser’.
The service
Birdy: I can’t really fault the service at all. When I asked for a knife and fork to eat my pork, our server was lovely about it and brought them in no time at all. And we got to sit wherever we wanted! Everything went smoothly, and we didn’t have to wait long for our food at all.
Girdy: I’ve already mentioned the service as I was pretty pleased by our welcome. I’m going to extend that to the speed of service and the attention. There’s a fine art to checking whether diners are okay and overstepping by interrupting too often. NAM, I think, nails it. I felt as if I could have table attention at any point but I never felt as if I had someone hovering over my shoulder.
NAM as a place to eat in the West End
NAM is in a really busy part of Edinburgh; the West End and right across the road from Haymarket Station. I suspect it’s not the restaurant to visit if you’re dragging lots of suitcases, but if you’re in hotels like YOTEL, hub by Premier Inn, or The Larig Hotel, it’s a perfect place to visit. If you’re on Princes Street and noticed the surprising lack of choices, then walking towards West End and to NAM rather than exploring Lothian Road is a valid idea; just don’t walk too far as you’ll run out of hospitality choices.
If you’re in one of the nearby AirBnB, then there are lots of food ordering in options, like Deliveroo, JustEat and Uber Eats, but I think it’s worth exploring for the eat-in experience.
In terms of attractions and things to do in the West End then, there are plenty of options in addition to the usual city centre ones like the Castle or the nearby Dean Village. I’ll add Johnnie Walker Experience on Princes Street. During the day, the Union Canal is lovely for a photograph or two, and you’re not too far from Fountain Park.
Overall
Birdy: I had a good time at NAM, and although it was relatively quiet when we got there, by the time we left the place was buzzing for a week night – clearly a favourite for those in the know.
Girdy: I’d go back! It’s a busy part of town, but I’d still walk by other restaurants and head to NAM. Right after sharing the first set of pictures from this night out on social media, I noticed a few people got responded to say how highly they rate NAM themselves.
A review of NAM
Summary
NAM is a fab almost hidden gem of a Vietnamese restaurant, although clearly quite popular with locals – we can see why! And, if you don’t fancy going out, you can also order delivery from many of the usual suspects.
Good news! If you can’t get to Haymarket and the West End for NAM you can find the Vietnamese restaurant on Deliveroo.
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