An De Vietnamese Restaurant opened officially in Nottingham on February 14th (2026), so The Man Bird and I were thrilled to receive an invite from the venue’s owner, Hieu Hguyen, to discover what the buzz was about. Aiming to channel the [11pm] frenetic energy of Hanoi’s night markets, An De serves the tastiest, most iconic dishes from Vietnam, scooping you up and whisking you from Nottingham to its motherland!
Before you even get a mouthful of food, the vibrancy and frisson of East Asia are crystal clear from the décor. From the pavement, An De is neon colourful, and the interior is no less bright; neon art hangs from one dramatic black wall, mixing with huge hand-painted murals and striking crimson walls. Upbeat music was pulsing away at a sociable level, but certainly with that street-style you could imagine in the night markets. First impressions: Subtle? No; stylish? Definitely. Gorgeous fabric lanterns diffuse the light perfectly, aided by ceiling-mounted spotlights, working together to create a welcoming atmosphere. This warm vibe is enhanced by the stellar hospitality you can expect from the host and serving team: wide smiles and an effusive “come in, come in!” greeted us when we’d first stepped over the threshold.
By their own admission, An De isn’t aiming to serve hundreds of dishes; you wouldn’t get that at Hanoi’s street markets and sellers, and they want to keep it real, y’know? However, don’t let the smaller selection fool you – you will still be spoiled for choice. From the ‘nibbles’ section, we chose Prawn Banh Xeo (£9.95) and Chicken Summer Rolls (£7.50) as starters, followed by Triple Beef Pho and Steamed Fish with Rice Noodles (£16.80). A word of caution: the ‘nibbles’ would probably do you as a main course if you weren’t knuckle-chewingly hungry; when we’d eaten them, we were seriously wondering if we’d be able to finish our mains. You have been fore-warned!
Summer Rolls are the plumptious, rice paper wrapped cousins of Spring Rolls. Un-fried and stuffed with vermicelli, Asian Herbs, Pickles and your choice of meat or Tofu, these minxes are huge; in fact, we ended up taking half of the portion home to have the next day for lunch (which was banging, FYI). His Nibs opted for the Fish sauce over the Peanut sauce to dip into, and its piquancy was superb against the herbs and chicken. Full of flavour and bursting with texture, this was a phenomenal start to our meal.
I’ve never had a crispy-fried ‘pancake’ quite like the Banh Xeo I got at An De; it was so big it needed its own postcode! Served on a large, oval platter, the Banh Xeo comes with whole Lettuce leaves and herbs with which to wrap it in before dunking into the Fish sauce dip, as well as Cucumber and sliced, pickled Carrot. Immediately after popping the platter down before us, our lovely server returned with a pair of scissors, explaining that this was the best way to cut the pancake into manageable pieces. Top tip – thank you. The texture of the pancake was surprisingly light for something fried, and the filling of Pork and Prawn was soft and tender to the bite. I loved the bright notes of the herbs (Coriander, Thai Basil and Mint) and the contrast between the sweet meat and seafood and the tangy pickles; my palate was in high-glee, and even more so when I dunked the morsels into the fish sauce.
Another thing we weren’t expecting, but should’ve given the same happens at other similar establishments, is that the food all comes out together; well, not together, as it’s cooked – but definitely not as separate courses. As with our ‘starters’/nibbles, the mains were massive, hearty portions and we tucked in straightaway.
Pho (or noodle soup, as it’s also known) is based around a broth that differs depending on whether it’s from the Northern or Southern region of Vietnam; obviously, Hanoi is in Vietnam’s north, so the broth at An De is clearer and subtler than its sweeter, spicier [southern] counterpart. Still beautifully flavoursome, the Pho contains flattened noodles that really absorb the liquor, taking on its deliciousness and The Man was very pleased with the amount of tender Rib-eye and Shin Beef within the Beef broth. It’s easy to see why Vietnamese Pho is world-renowned and adored by foodies; simple individual ingredients are magically brought together, their sum being more than their separate parts. Fun and unfettered, this dish transported us to the street vendors in Hanoi. On the oval platter, to the side of the Pho-containing bowl, was a salad of Beansprouts, Thai Basil, and sliced Red Chillies which were super-fresh and crunchy; personally, I would’ve added them to the Pho and then squeezed over the wedge of fresh Lime, but The Man isn’t a fan of Beansprouts, so he left them out.
My original order had been for the Turmeric Fish Platter (from the ‘Specials’ section) but this was sadly unavailable, so I switched to the Steamed Fish (Sea Bass, £16.80, and also from the specials selection) that comes with pan-fried Pak Choi and a humungous amount of wilted Fennel Fronds, julienned Ginger Crisp, and a liquor of Soy Sauce and Scallion Oil. Flavours exploded in my mouth, blowing my senses completely. No word of a lie, I can’t honestly remember having fish that has been cooked as expertly as this! Sublimely soft and sweet, the flesh melted on my tongue and I could literally feel the moistness melting away as I bit into it. Like the noodles in His Nibs’ Pho, the Sea Bream seemed to welcome the spices and herbs it had been cooked with to its bosom (or should that be fins?!), taking on their hints throughout. An abundant warmth from the Ginger made its presence known to my palate, accompanied by the delicately anise taste of the Fennel fronds. Quartered Pak Choi was gently grassy and cooked absolutely spot-on: wilted at its leaf tip, and beautifully crunchy at its base.
You all know that I do like a good dunking opportunity, so I wasted no time at all in grabbing the fine Rice Noodles and liberally bathing them in the punchy cooking ‘sauce’. Intensely umami, the Soy and Scallion Oil was the perfect foil for the sweetness of the Sea Bream, and I have to say that this was a superbly balanced dish.
Our servers were utterly dedicated in their mission to ensure we had a wonderful experience at An De, and we really did! Nothing had been too much trouble, and they were eager to see what we thought of the dishes we’d chosen – just marvellous, in case you hadn’t guessed!
It isn’t just in the evenings that you can savour the wondrous delights here, either; An De has a couple of cracking lunch-time offers for you to partake of, Tues-Fri Noon-4pm: ‘Lunch Express’ priced at £12.95pp or ‘Proper Lunch’ at £15.95pp. Both options include Jasmine or Iced Tea (you can upgrade to Vietnamese Iced Coffee for £2.50 extra) and both come with a bowl dish from a selection; the pricier Proper Lunch also includes a small plate dish from a selection. If only I worked in Nottingham, that’d be my lunch sorted!
Hot Wings very happily awarded to this fantastic Vietnamese restaurant; if flavour converted into moolah, this team would be millionaires already! To book a table call 0115 855 0878 and have a squizz at their Facebook page, An De Restaurant, to get the latest ‘tea’. An De is closed on Monday, open Tues-Thurs Noon-10pm, Fri-Sat Noon-11pm, and Sunday Noon-10pm.
