Noya's Kitchen Bath: Restaurant and Supper Club Review

Who's cooking?

After moving from Vietnam to England at a young age with her family, Noya Pawlyn has become one of the most loved foodies in Bath and has recently transformed her popular Vietnamese supper club into a restaurant. Here are our top tips for eating and drinking in Hoi An, Vietnam...

What's the vibe like?

The Georgian building dates back to 1770, and Noya has added personal touches such as sepia family photographs in pretty frames, pots of homegrown purple hebe flowers, and coconut milk cans filled with chopsticks. Sit with other diners and share dishes at the evening supper clubs, or huddle up in a nook with your partner during the day.

Sepia photo of a Vietnamese lady in a frame hanging from a door handle

How does the menu work?

As well as serving informal but hearty sharing dinners in the evening, Noya’s Kitchen also opens for lunch, Tuesday to Saturday, offering a thali-style menu, presented as a tray os small dishes that diners eat clockwise, starting with an appetiser such as fresh summer rolls with punchy dipping sauce or a squidgy pork bun, followed by small portions of Noya's favourite Vietnamese stews and broths, and finally a miniature dessert.

Which dishes should we order at Noya's Kitchen?

The Thali tray is a must-order, kicking off with a summer roll filled with prawns, mango, cucumber, pickled carrots shaped into flowers, and Vietnamese herbs, with a punchy chilli dipping sauce on the side.

Next was a bowl of chicken in a pungent ginger sauce with a chilli kick, and another of jasmine rice; followed by fragrant pho, or, as on our visit, a bun bo beef noodle soup topped with Thai basil and spicy Vietnamese mint. We mixed through the fiery lemongrass sambal and squeezed over lime juice before fishing out strips of beef brisket and slurping up silky, fat rice noodles.

What are the drinks like at Noya's Kitchen?

The supper clubs and lunch clubs are BYOB, so buy a bottle from Corkage, a local independent wine bar that also has a bottle shop (click here for our wine recommendations from Corkage). Finish with Vietnamese coffee, served the traditional way in a drip cafetière with condensed milk to sweeten, or enjoy a pot of Vietnamese jasmine tea.