Dalston Hot Pot Night Picker: Lau for Pho Lovers

This Dalston hot pot night picker is for anyone who already has a favourite pho order on Kingsland Road and wants to try the dish Vietnamese families actually share on a cold evening. Lau is the Vietnamese hot pot: a wide pot of broth set on a burner in the middle of the table, with plates of herbs, greens, noodles and meat or seafood that everyone cooks together. If pho is a bowl you eat alone, lau is a night you share. The guide below helps you pick the broth, size the table and pace the evening so it feels relaxed, not chaotic.

The stretch of Kingsland Road running down from Dalston towards Shoreditch has been known for its Vietnamese cafes for a long time, and Londoners often call it the pho mile. Many of these kitchens were started by families who arrived in East London from Vietnam and built a little food street out of homesick recipes. Pho made the strip famous, but a lot of the menus carry a lau section that regulars order when they come in as a group.

That makes Dalston a gentle place for a first lau night. The rooms are casual, staff are used to explaining dishes, and nobody expects you to know the rules. Start by walking the road for a few minutes and looking through the windows. Pick a room where you can see burners on tables and big groups leaning over pots, because that tells you the kitchen does lau often and does it well.

Most Vietnamese hot pot broths fall into three moods, and choosing one is the main decision of the night. Lau thai is the spicy and sour pot, red with chilli and lemongrass, loosely inspired by Thai tom yum and very popular with groups who like a bit of heat. Lau chua is sour in a fresher way, built on tamarind, tomato and pineapple, and it usually comes with fish or prawns. Clear broths are lighter and let the herbs and meat do the talking.

If your group has pho lovers who like the clean, beefy taste of a good bowl, a clear beef or chicken broth is the easiest bridge. If you have chilli fans, go for the spicy sour pot. When opinions are split, ask whether the kitchen can serve a divided pot with two broths side by side. Many places will, and it saves the table from arguing.

Lau works best with three to six people. Two can do it, but the plates of raw ingredients are generous, so you may end up with leftovers. More than six usually means two pots, and that is a good thing, because it lets you order two different broths and pass bowls across. Tell the staff your group size when you arrive and ask how many pots they would suggest.

For the order itself, think in layers. Choose one or two proteins, such as thin beef, prawns, fish or tofu. Add a plate of greens and herbs, which often comes with the pot anyway. Then pick a noodle or rice to finish. Resist the urge to order everything at once. It is easy to add one more plate later, and the table stays less crowded when the pot first arrives.

When the pot arrives, wait for the broth to come to a proper boil before adding anything. Put in the slower items first, like fish pieces, mushrooms and tofu, and keep thin beef for later, because it cooks in seconds. Swish a slice through the broth with chopsticks or a small ladle until it changes colour, then lift it straight into your bowl. Overcooked beef is the most common first-timer mistake, and it is easy to avoid.

Herbs and leafy greens go in last and only for a moment. Dip a bunch of water spinach or a handful of herbs, let them wilt, then eat them with a spoonful of broth. Keep the heat at a steady simmer rather than a wild boil, so the broth does not reduce too fast. If it gets too salty or low, ask for a top up. Staff are used to refilling pots through the night.

A lau table usually comes with small dishes for dipping, and they change the taste of every bite. Fish sauce with chilli and garlic is the classic match for seafood. A salt, pepper and lime mix is lovely with beef. Some kitchens add fermented shrimp paste for adventurous eaters. Try a little of each with the first round, then decide which one you like before you load up your bowl.

Extras are where the night becomes personal. A plate of fried tofu soaks up broth beautifully. Fresh rice paper lets you wrap cooked pieces with herbs like a homemade roll. Crispy shallots on top of a bowl of noodles at the end add a nice crunch. Ask the staff what regulars add, because that question often unlocks the dishes that are not obvious on the menu.

By the end of the evening, the broth has taken on the flavour of everything that went into it, and that is the best part. This is when you add the noodles. Rice vermicelli or thicker noodles go into the pot, soak up the broth for a minute and then get shared out into bowls. For pho lovers, this last bowl often feels like a deeper, more personal version of the soup they already know.

If you prefer rice, some tables finish with a ladle of broth over a bowl of steamed rice, almost like a light porridge. Either way, do not leave the pot half full. Finishing the broth is part of the ritual, and it means nothing goes to waste. It is also a natural moment to slow down, talk and decide where to go next.

Dalston makes the evening easy to stretch. Before dinner, meet friends at Dalston Junction or Dalston Kingsland station and wander down Kingsland High Street past the market stalls and fabric shops on Ridley Road side streets. The walk south along Kingsland Road gives everyone time to arrive and lets you peek into a few dining rooms before choosing. After dinner, the area has plenty of bars, small venues and music spots within a short walk.

For a quieter end, walk off the meal along the Regent's Canal towpath where it crosses Kingsland Road near Haggerston, or loop back up through the side streets towards Dalston Square. A slow walk helps after a long meal, and the canal at night feels calm, with houseboat lights reflecting on the water. It is a nice contrast after the noise and steam of a busy lau table.

Once you have tried lau in Dalston, you might want to compare it with Sichuan mala, Japanese shabu-shabu or a Thai suki pot elsewhere in London. Open the Karpo APP to search hot pot spots near you, filter by the type of broth or the kind of evening you have in mind, and save the ones your friends want to try next. Keep a short list for cold nights, so the next group chat ends with a plan instead of a debate.