Pho

DylanDelivers

4th November 2009

0 found this helpful

Utterly brilliant!! Love this place. So healthy, so tasty, so good.. The summer rolls are a definite every time, and the pho I mix up, it doesn't matter, they are all delicious.

Luckily, it doesn't take long to get served here, because you are salivating from the moment you walk in. Service is always good.

The great thing about Pho is that it focuses on a few things from Vietnamese cuisine, and does them extremely well. It's not a traditional Vietnamese restaurant with a massive menu. It is a pho cafe.

As for the noodle soups themselves - amazing. Bursting with flavours and aromas, and accompanied by a plate of fresh herbs to let you add the final hints to your suiting. A big inhalation, and then dive in...

PaulaHartes

Yummy! 22nd July 2009

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Really delicious. I'm a massive fan of all the food here. I'm not as into the Pho Xao - wok fried noodles - but love the other stuff. The pho, the bun, the salads.. yummy. I love spicy food and fresh herbs in my food, so this place is perfect for me. Juices are great too.

Scottyboy

Pho-nomenal 17th March 2009

1 found this helpful

This is my most trusted restaurant in town. What I love is the consistency, it's always great. The beef stock is wonderful (Dan think you may have visited on a bad day as I've been quite a few times and rate it as one of the best I've had) and the summer and spring rolls moreish. The atmosphere is great although as it's getting more popular it's getting a little harder to get a seat at peak times. It can also get a little loud at times. But for this really good food I'm just going to keep on coming back for more and more.

DanWilkinson

Ok for lunch, but a tad overhyped 9th October 2008

1 found this helpful

First off, let me say that I rather enjoyed the lunch I had here earlier in the week. I wasn't really all that disappointed. In quality terms I'd probably put it somewhere around Wagamama, maybe a tiny notch above.

However, if you're alongside Wagamama in the quality stakes, it's probably not that wise to bang on about authenticity and stellar quality in your literature, taking a bit of a holier-than-thou approach and generally being all po-faced about it.

And so it was that, with my appetite for supersonic Vietnamese food truly whetted, and their loving descriptions of 'true' Pho ringing in my ears, I opted for the Pho Tai (beef fillet Pho), hoping to be transported to the far east in no time. Unfortunately, it turned out that I've made better Pho at home, using ingredients from Tesco and a recipe by Gordon Ramsay.

I'm no Pho expert, but I do profess to know stocks, and this was a disappointingly thin, un-beefy concoction, packed with spring onions and shreds of overcooked beef. I can't work out what the problem could be, as making stock is pretty simple really. Overdilution? Underseasoning? Made too quickly? Either way this was closer to flavoured water than proper, gutsy stock and was entirely lacking in flavour, except for the overwhelming burn of the spring onions.

Noodles lurking in the bottom of the bowl were... noodles. I'd eventually tipped the entire plate of accompanying garnish (coriander, mint, red chillis, beansprouts) into the bowl to try to coax some flavour out of it, but to no avail.

So I'm being harsh, because whilst it wasn't an unpleasant experience, and whilst I felt it in itself represented decent value and a pleasant lunchtime diversion, it's nowhere near as good as it says it is, and that really annoys me.

hollowlegs at 09/10/08

I agree - I felt perhaps they had dumbed the flavours down for the British market. The stock wasn't hefty enough, and not enough accompaniments. Their nuoc cham was watery too.

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bellaphon

Pho-therance 4th September 2008

1 found this helpful

The Pho here is certainly not the be all and end all. The beef stock is simply not beefy enough and the fillet steak slices were too overcooked. On the whole, the establishment is still very much Vietnamese and should be congratulated for introducing the cuisine to W1. The café/canteen environment is great for quick lunches and the service was efficient and smiles all round. The Iced Vietnamese Coffee is notably 2 die 4.

If Pho had a branch in Kingsland Road, they would’ve been worried sick with the competition there. But then again for all those Westenders who simply cannot be bothered with the epic trip on the Route 55 bus to Hoxton, Pho will do us fine.

blondie_wandie

Really great food, great service 1st September 2008

1 found this helpful

I work round the corner from this place so though I would give it a try when it opened. Not a great fan of Vietnamese but was bored of the usual lunch haunts.

The service was great, everyone was really friendly and the menu was good. The drinks menu was cool with Vietnamese beers etc. Everything came very quickly, useful for lunch trips! They were very open if you wanted to change bits and bobs ( I was very awkward and with my noodles wanted no prawns, extra chilli and extra peanuts) and it all arrived exactly as we had requested!

nopstar

Faux Pho? 22nd May 2008

4 found this helpful

If you go to the Pho Cafe website they’ve got a quote that sums it all up... “Pho is much more than breakfast in Vietnam: it is the soul of the Nation. A contribution to human happiness” BTW its pronounce fuh (rhymes with duh) not Foe.

I have to agree wholeheartedly, it’s one of the only things I crave when I’m under the weather and I’m not even Vietnamese!

I love you Pho, there I said it... now it’s out in the open, and I’ve professed my love affair with Pho. I’m going to preface this review by stating that most people will find this review overly critical even bordering on nitpicky. That’s fine as long as you know where I’m coming from.

This was one of my first London Pho experiences since moving here in February. The prices are definitely right. £6-$7 for a bowl seems reasonable almost inexpensive.

The broth:
The distinguishing factor that set’s pho apart from other Asian soups, is the broth. The broth is typically a blend of spices (star anise, ginger etc.) boiled with beef bones and other beef parts. This is a process takes hours to complete.

I found the broth at Pho cafe to taste like salty beef broth; I didn’t get a hint of any of the delicate flavours of the spices at all. Maybe it was a bad batch... I’m going back to give it another go.

The Noodles:
The rice noodles tasted and felt like they were using dry rice noodles. The kind you and I can get at any Thai grocer. If you’re asking yourself does it really make a difference? Then just stop reading here.

Meatballs:
If you’re the type of person who’s afraid of fat on your beef, then get the chicken pho. Typically the meatballs in Pho are made from the not so choice cuts of beef. You’re going to get a fairly firm texture with some chewy bits. It is what it is... The meatballs that were served to me at pho cafe were clearly meant for a more upmarket clientele. They’ve used regular ground beef to make the meatballs, and to be fair I’m sure the majority of people eating their enjoy that.

To me it’s doesn’t taste and more importantly feel right. You can try to go up market with it, but it doesn’t necessarily make it better.

I was slightly disappointed, but I would go back. If you’re on the fence, I would recommend getting off the fence and going, you will still enjoy it.

Coffeegeek

Great new noodle bar 4th May 2008

4 found this helpful

Pho is a new Vietnamese place on Great Titchfield Street, they make fresh Vietnamese street food.

They specialise in Soup Noodles which are fantastic. The noodles come with a side plate of fresh herbs to tear up and add to your own taste. Really good tasty food. You feel like you’ve eaten healthily but your still very full. The starters are interesting too, we had some great meatballs with dipping sauce and the spring rolls were very fresh tasting.

I spoke to the owner who said the secret is in the stock they make on the premises. It takes 12 hours to cook and keeps all the fresh flavours in the stock. Tastes great.

The décor is fairly basic whitewash walls and a couple of pictures but there is a good atmosphere with a lively local crowd gathering their most nights. Once this place gets into the guide books I expect it’ll be booked up weeks ahead so get in there now while it’s still new and not well known. Expect to pay about £30 for two with some beer.

I’ve been to ‘nam but never had food as good as Phos.

Will be back regularly.