The new street art on the side of Vietnamese restaurant Namo

A gigantic new piece of street art which has appeared in south Hackney is being “embraced” by the community.

The blue mural fills the entire two-storey wall on the side of Namo restaurant on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Shafton Road.

Begun in the early hours of Sunday June 24, the piece took artists Astek, Shades and Prime?Rekit just a few days to complete.

Restaurant owner Linh Vu said: “They offered to do it for us and we thought the area could do with more brightening up.

“It’s very dramatic and very bold,” she said. “I think initially local people weren’t sure. We got mixed reactions because a Banksy was there and they were territorial about it. But the Banksy has been defaced so many times and what was left wasn’t really art. We were hoping to keep it even in that state but someone grafittied all over it.

“I think now everyone is quite proud of it. It’s a part of the village and all the local people have really embraced it. For all the cars approaching the area that’s the first welcome they get.”

Namo manager Rachel Gardham said the street art, which shows a night-scene from Ho Chi Minh City, reflects the restaurant’s fusion of Vietnamese and English food.

She said: “I just think it’s incredible. I was at work every day while they were doing it. At first it was just blue and I wondered what they were doing but it’s so vivid you can’t miss it. It brings a lot of colour to the area.

“It’s something a little bit different. London has a lot of street art but this is a brilliant new piece by some of the original street artists.”