Tampopo Corn Exchange

You'll spot the queue before you see the restaurant – that's always a good sign at the Corn Exchange. Duck under the Victorian ironwork and into what feels like eating inside a snow globe, if snow globes served excellent Vietnamese pho and Malaysian curry laksa. The setting is properly theatrical, all soaring glass and cast iron, but the food keeps things refreshingly straightforward. The ramen here doesn't mess about – rich, properly seasoned broths with noodles that have the right bite. Their pad thai strikes that sweet-sour balance that so many places get wrong, and the Vietnamese summer rolls arrive crisp and fresh. It gets hectic during lunch and weekend evenings, but that's half the charm. The staff move with impressive efficiency through the chaos, and somehow your steaming bowl still arrives quickly.