On Peckham’s Rye Lane, Lai Rai brings the energy of Vietnamese bia hơi culture to South East London. Open from morning coffee to late-night beers, the new-school restaurant channels the rhythm of Saigon street food with a distinctly youthful South London pulse.
Co-founded by Blair Nguyen of cult food collective Vinaxoa, the menu draws on her Saigon upbringing and the chaotic joy of rave culture weekend dessert runs and 4am snacks reimagined as vibrant, shareable plates. Lemongrass peanuts and five-spice beef jerky lead to fried prawns wrapped in young green rice, papaya jellyfish salad with charred tomato and herbs, or betel leaf beef finished with a smoky coffee BBQ jus. Sides like mung bean sticky rice are built for mopping up the fermented tofu dip or last spoonful of satay sauce.
Cocktails riff on Vietnamese classics. There’s no pho on the menu per se, but it can be found in the glass; Pho Please blending whiskey with pho-infused rice wine and house syrup, and the Ca Phe Martini doing for Vietnamese coffee what the espresso version did for club culture. Saigon specials are served ice-cold, and wines come via Top Cuvée.
Designed by spatial studio house of baby, the interiors blend the gloss and utility of retro Vietnamese cafés with a buttery palette and red-glow lighting. Upstairs, a halo-lit space with long tables encourages group dinners that melt into late-night hangs.
By day, Lai Rai switches gears. Vietnamese coffee flows, bánh mìs are loaded. The Belly Greens is a fried pork belly number stacked with house pickles and rau ram, while the Ryelane Delight is a plant-based offering that layers seitan, mushrooms, whipped tofu and miso kho quẹt in a crispy baguette.
Experimental but grounded, fast-paced but warm, Lai Rai brings the buzz of late nights and early mornings into one space; the collaborative project from a stellar team of young creatives set to bring something entirely new to this hip corner of South London.
@lairai.london
@houseofbaby.studio
@vinaxoa
Lai Rai Peckham Photography, Anton Rodriguez / Teo Della Torre.
