“ I visit Manchester once a year for what seems like forever. Until covid and it has been nearly 3 years. My hosts love going to this food court in the Arndale Center. It is always easy to find something. This time I saw Viet Shack. I opted for the Lemongrass Chicken Burger. Man was this tasty. Very friendly service too. ”

“ Hailing from foodie heaven Houston, TX I am critical of all food. I did a little research while in Manchester to seek out decent food outside of fish and burgers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the quality and flavor of this food stand was above much of the food I have had in the city. It was 1600 on a Sunday and they had ran out of the crack pork but I opted for the bbq. It was done well and quickly. I would recommend this choice to anyone it was delicious ”

“ We found this place online as we looked around for good places to eat in Manchester. I was particularly focused on finding good street food. We ordered two burgers and some fries (which I cannot remember the specific names for any of them) and we devoured them. There was so much food involved in that order that we must have barely finished it. We wanted to try a cooler as well, but they were all out! It sounded like it would've been the perfect drink to go with this food. The food was great and there's something really cool about ordering from a little stall in a giant place like the Arndale. ”

“ During a recent sale shopping trip, we were looking for something fresh and filling to keep us fuelled for the remainder of the afternoon. With the Arndale Market emptier than usual due to it being a weekend, and resisting the temptation of Pancho's Burritos next door, we headed over to Viet Shack. They have expanded the menu since my last visit (be sure to get a leaflet to see the full range) and it now includes wraps and some rather delicious fries. Between us we ordered the lemongrass chicken with sticky rice; viet dogs; viet fries; and avocado summer rolls with peanut sauce, plus two soft drinks. The total cost came to around £15 - and believe me when I say we were stuffed for the afternoon! The lemongrass chicken was very tasty, especially when combined with the sticky rice and almost fluorescent hot sauce added on request. My post-Christmas body also thanked them for the serving of salad! The summer rolls were good, if a bit bland, so perhaps more avo or the addition of something else would improve them for me. The peanut sauce, however, was very moreish and had me dipping the fries throughout our meal. And trust me when I say these fries are worth ordering! Delicious. An affordable, casual dining experience which is sure to get you through the January sales and beyond. ”

“ Ohhhh yes, Viet Shack you stole my heart. I'd actually tried to find Viet Shack last time I was in Manchester - now I know that it's actually inside the Arndale Food Court and as soon as we headed there for lunch, I was determined to get food from Viet Shack. Their signage actually makes it look like there's only a few options but grab a leaflet and be wowed by the full menu - many Vietnamese delights. I ordered prawn rice paper rolls as well as a chicken burger with chips (I was hungry, ok?!). I actually had to pop around the corner to Waterstone's while I was waiting for my food but it was ready by the time I was back, so it was perhaps a 3-5 minute wait. Everything is packaged up for easy transport (there is seating in the food court but it was totally full, so we went back to the office) and I got a tub of peanut sauce for my rolls. The rolls were excellent. Lots of prawn, delicious flavour, perfect noodles. I just loved them. They also have an option of pork or avocado filling and are all made fresh - just delicious. The burger was great, not quite as good as the rolls but just because I didn't love the bun it was served in. The chicken is lemongrass flavour and grilled and topped with pickled veg, sriracha and mayo. It's a really good burger but I found the bun tasted a bit like corn and was a bit squishy for me. Prices are cheap, food is quick and fresh and it's in a handy location for a lot of Manchester. I'll definitely go back here now I know where it is! ”

“ Vietshack is a food stall in the food market at the Arndale shopping centre. I had some major cravings for pho and was looking up places to go in Manchester- I had seen something on twitter about them now having a pho special on the menu so I thought I'd give it a try. As it was lunch time on a week day there was a long line of people waiting to be served and by the sounds of it, they had run out of a few things. The lady in front of me had to try and find something else to order. With 3 guys working behind the counter, it's a lot of customers- this place is popular! Having been to Vietnam I just love Vietnamese food and they have a lot of the classic things on the menu like prawn rice paper rolls and banh mi. It all looks delicious. My pho cost £6 and I got a big try of it- really delicious although I asked for medium spicy and could have had it a lot hotter than that. They ask you how you'd like your beef cooked which is nice. Delicious, filling food and an affordable snack stop if you're passing through the Arndale to do some shopping or you're on a lunch break from work. ”

“ I first tried Viet Shack at Up in Your Grill - Manchester's outdoor foodie, boozy block party that ran over the summer, and I was super impressed. Their Wooded Prawns were amazing - and the Bahn Mi was very tasty. Since then I've been wanting to visit their food stall, situated in the very busy Arndale Food Market. Today, I got that chance whilst passing though, and they didn't let me down. I had the Bahn Mi - part of me was curious to find out if it would be as good as the first time I tried it, and it was better! Pork meat with vegetables, cucumber and their spicy srirachi mayo in a fresh, warm white baguette.. And once I took the coriander off (can't stand the stuff) it was perfect! The sooner I try everything they have on the menu, the better! And at £3 for lunch, I can't fault it. If they ever open a restaurant, Manchester is in for a real treat - but for now, get yourself down to the Arndale Food Market and see how great it is for yourself! ”

“ Viet Shack is disappointing, and a tiny bit expensive. I've been twice, once discovering it through a quick trip to the Arndale, and not through yelp like most of my other Manchester restaurant 'discoveries'. It's hard to express how excited I was by the prospect of even vaguely authentic Vietnamese street food in the city - options are, at best, limited for Vietnamese food. Predictably, on my first visit, they'd run out of nearly everything, so I settled for the fresh spring rolls with king prawn Delightful, light and full of flavour, I was only slightly concerned with the price - £1.40/ea is not cheap! But I vowed to return earlier for the chance to sample some of Viet Shack's mains. Which I did. Less than three days later (I was that excited). I asked for a recommendation from the admittedly very cheery staff - and was duly recommended the lamb with rice. At £5.99, I was expecting something special. And the lamb certainly delivered on that - a wonderful garlicky marinade was easily good enough to drink. In fact, I've rarely tasted something so refreshingly new and different in Manchester. So surely this merits 5 stars? Nope. Not even close. Whilst the marinade was indeed spectacular, it merely masked the depressing fact that I was given three measly lamb chops, with so little meat on them I hesitate to even describe each chop as bite-size. I'm exaggerating - I managed about one and a half decent bites from each chop - but for £6 I was expecting significantly more edible protein. What really hacked me off, though, was the rice. Boring. Dull. More than plentiful. And not really what I'd wanted given the amazing flavours of the marinade. My suggestion to the owners: I'll gladly suffer a lack of protein, but at least make the carbs interesting - perhaps (please please please) by smothering it in much more of that marinade. ”

“ The staff here are SO nice and excited to have you as a customer! The food is excellent value - £3 for a banh mih and £2.80 for a king prawn summer roll (you get two). The banh mih had the flavour I felt was missing from I Am Pho's version, really beautiful blend of sweet and tangy. I do think Amir is right about the bread though, towards the end of the sandwich its "part baked" flavour started to overwhelm the deliciousness of the filling (also that end possibly needed a bit more filling in it). Summer rolls were great, I tried the peanut sauce with chilli added as suggested, which was yum. Next time I'll try their other chilli option. Overall a great addition to Manchester's lunchtime scene and I look forward to seeing them at street food events in the near future! ”

“ If you're a real foodie in Manchester and especially like your street food, the Arndale food market is an often overlooked gem even though it's got some amazing places on offer if you have a look around and get 'face deep' in some of it's tasty treats! Amazing Mexico city burritos at Panchos, Caribbean at Onje, Cypriot delights at Zorbas and then of course the Queen brie selling great cheeses and bread, with Boggart microbrewery perfect for a quick pint or to stock up on some craft beer bottles to take home. So I'm really pleased to see a new addition to this list in the form of Viet Shack - a counter service which was quick and efficient, had friendly staff and most importantly had damn tasty looking food! Viet Shack is all about cool and funky takes on Vietnamese traditional food with the marketing to back it up. Calling for lunch yesterday I made a very snap decision to go for their Viet dogs which were great value at £5 for 2 - basically a hotdog with Vietnamese chicken and salads, spicy sauce and delicious crispy onions. It was tasty, filling and a novel take on the 'dog' - and it's now ticked off my list - as there's another 5 items I want to try and I'll be back to have more again soon (The Cow Burger next I think). ”