Charlie Munich

Having lived in a street known as London's Pho Mile for years, I am unfortunately quite spoiled when it comes to excellent Vietnamese restaurants. Naturally I had to look for a substitute to fix my cravings soon after my move to Munich.

Charlie is truly a great find and much better than I could have hoped for. The selection of dishes is not huge but well chosen (some are vegan), delicious and nicely presented. What's special is that they serve different versions of "Lau", a kind of DIY hot pot fondue and "Nuong Vi" for which you barbecue a selection of ingredients on a small brasier at your table.

My favourite bits are: 1. the contemporary, for a Vietnamese restaurant rather outrageous, NON-Asian interiors – combining straight lines and plain materials with typical Bavarian furnishing, 2. the fact that parts of the place turn into a dj bar on Saturday nights and 3. that the staff are very relaxed and children friendly.

Charlie is usually filled with Munich's typical youngish crowd and is even busy during the week so booking a table (you can do it online) is recommended.

And just for the record: Charlie is owned by Sandra Forster who also co-founded restaurant Roecklplatz and some other, in my eyes, top venues in Munich, such as the Café Kong.