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Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
86 St John StClerkenwell
London EC1M 4EH
Neighbourhood: Farringdon
020 7253 7624
- Nearest Transit:
-
Farringdon (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 12:00 - 15:00
Mon-Thu 18:00 - 22:00
Fri-Sat 18:00 - 22:30
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
££
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Children:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
12 reviews for Pho
All Reviews
Pho
12/2/2010
Awesome!
I Love Pho Noodles. The food's fast, it's cheap and the service is great!
The Bun Cha Gio Ga: lemongrass chicken is my favourite and I recommend it to everyone. Grab every sauce on the table and squirt it in. Delicious!
Nice beer too.
Conclusion: Go. Eat. Drink. Now.
Pho
16/6/2010
1 Check-in Here
For a super slurp-worthy Pho stop, this is your spot.
Everything about the place is simple - from the design to the menu, from the flavours to the price. Sure, the noodles were a bit liguini-ish and the broth was nothing spectacular, but anywhere I can get a steaming hot bowl of pho with all the fixins' followed by some baby coconut ice cream for under a tenner is fan-worthy in my book.
The brisket and meatballs were stand-out fillers... just not quite up to the pho-nominal standards I'm used to back on the west coast of the US.
Pho
16/6/2010
Pho-king, hell! Who'da thought that soup could be this tasty. I'm starting to understand why Pho is a Vietnamese obsession.
So the whole menu is a fabulous selection of soups and noodles, enough to make a Jewish mother blush. Just don't go if you're kosher, it's prawn and beef tastic! So you order your soup, select a base broth, noodle type and meat or veg and a steaming bowl of deliciousness will arrive in front of you. It's not bad value either, lunch for two cost around £14.
I don't know how I'd feel about this place as an evening spot but for a yummy lunch out, it ticks all my boxes!
Listed in: Budget London, Wonderful Winter Warmers, Farringdon Guide, Clerkenwell Guide, Eat like a Jew and love it!
Pho
19/5/2010
3 Check-ins Here
Pho could become a habit. Why?
Because it does so many things right:
Spare space and it's a fine place to dine alone or with a couple of pals
Roasted garlic in the pho a nice touch
Veggie spring rolls were creative and delicious
Roast chicken in pho ga was plentiful and of good quality
Something that could be worked on:
Broth, while not dish-watery, was still a bit single noted
Pho ga (chicken noodle soup) and cha gio chay (veggie spring rolls) are my main litmus test with Vietnamese food. Pho passes pho sho!
Listed in: London Guide:…, Dining Alone In London, Restaurants & Pubs near…, Noodles in London
Pho
15/5/2010
A Saturday night treat, prior to a few beers and a slightly embarrassing dad dance at a 90's Indie club in Farringdon...
So it didn't get off to the best of starts... there were a few places I'd like to spend more time at in Farringdon, and while Pho is good, very good, it's not St John (or Vinoteca) and so I was living up to my name before we got there, and very nearly had a rant when the Vole attempted to steer us into a random pizza joint.
It's the kind of chain that you'd be happy seeing more of, and I'm very lucky to work just near one. The quality is usually fairly high, and that was handy, with two 'challenging' eaters (one who doesn't like spicy food, yeah, didn't figure that one out early enough, and the other a vegetarian who lives off cheese) to entertain...
We went for a mixed set of starters, the summer rolls proved slightly pointless without any meat (seriously.. it's shredded lettuce and coriander in a soft rice wrapper), and the veggie spring rolls were crispy and slightly chewy on the outside, with a coating like a Macdonalds apple pie. But I'm a sucker for the special, and there were two to try that don't appear on the daytime menu. The slivers of tofu and mushroom in a sharing (sized) crepe snapped with unami, though the crepe had the texture (and oily touch) of a sheet of grilled cheese on the bottom of an oven tray (the veggie cheesehound was delighted). My main was another evening 'special', a slightly too soupy Cari Ga (chicken curry) served with rice and it wasn't great. A very creamy light sauce with way too much sugar and coconut for me (and way too little chilli heat)... I knew I should have stuck with their simple and clean Bun noodles.
The others adored it, but I've definitely had better from them...
Pho
20/10/2009
Inexpensive. Cheerful. Totally decent pho. Too bad about the curry, though.
This place used to do a stunning, unusual prawn curry that was like something you'd get way off the beaten path in Viet Nam. They've replaced it with something more standard, which is too bad.
It's an inexpensive place you can get on the St. John Smithfield drag. It'd be really nice if there were more Pho options-- it's not the same without tripe, tendon, etc... but I suppose London's not quite ready for that. The broth cuts it, though.
Pho
22/8/2009
Lunchtime at Farringdon usually results in limited choices...and if you live/work around there, you know that it's basically a choice of sandwich shops, coffee shops and the German Weiner place. So, grouchily strolling along one day, i stumbled across this little gem like a thirst-ridden (wo)man in a desert and it changed my life...or at least my cravings.
Pho is a great alternative to the above and very reasonably priced to boot. The soups were amazing, and I loved the spicy ones, especially the spicy prawn. the noodles are excellent as well and while the menu says the noodles are cold, they most assuredly are not the mushy noodles you're thinking of and are quite hot.
The restaurant is a little oddly shaped and can get very crowded during dinner time. I love the take outs, because not only are the portions MASSIVE for what you pay for, but your noodles come in tupperware. ACTUAL tupperware. Think about it, great food AND free kitchen utensils. I rest my case.
Listed in: Near..Far..Wherever you are...
Pho
20/3/2009
2 photos
A craving for Pho while in central London, brought me to this small restaurant. I would classify it as modern Vietnamese. The dishes are updated from the traditional bare-bones noodle soup shop. There is a decent variety of soups to choose from with some less common variations containing tofu and mushrooms, or just three varieties of mushrooms. There is also Bun (vermicelli noodles and toppings) as well as some very yummy Viertnamese curry!
At 7.45 for a good bowl of Pho Tai, this is a perfect place for a quick lunch or dinner.
For lunch I had Goi Cuon Tom, which was delicious and freshly wrapped along with a bowl of Pho Tai Chin. The ingredients were fresh, tasty and the soup was great!
Pho
29/12/2008
Pho, apparently pronounced 'fu', is really fantastic and everything is so healthy meaning that you don't feel guilty every time you stuff yourself silly!
The Vietnamese food is extremely fresh tasting which is made to order, with side sauce dishes made at various spicy levels. I would definitely recommend the Pho soup noodle soup with chicken breast. I could probably eat about 10 of them as they are so delicious!
The food is very cheap - I usually spend around £8 - £10 and always come back feeling full but without that awful heavy feeling. They also serve weasel coffee which is apparently a rare coffee regurgitated by wild Vietnamese weasels. Indeed the food is delightful but this I couldn't quite face! As a...fresher alternative, I finished my meal with a freshly made carrot, apple and ginger juice. It was the perfect way to neutralise all those spices and I left feeling very healthy indeed!
Pho
11/12/2008
This place has become pretty popular over the last couple of years with the locals and it's not hard to see why. As soon as you walk in here your nose is overtaken by the sweet-smelling and fragrant aroma of Vietnamese cuisine.
It's more of a cafe and take away joint than a restaurant, with canteen-style tables and zippy service, but what makes it the rather more enticing are the friendly prices and extensive menu of noodle soups (pho means noodle soup if it wasn't already clear). It may not be as traditional as an up market Vietnamese diner in Chelsea but then it isn't claiming to be. It's fast, filling and heartening nosh to get you set for the afternoon's work or before an evening on the town.
My favourite: Pho Chin - sliced tender roast beef noodle soup. If you take out, they give you the ingredients, the noodles and the seasonings, in separate containers to add yourself. I love this idea, reminds me a bit of the Salt 'n Shake.
Pho
26/12/2008
2 photos
Pho is a brilliant place for lunch and casual dinner.
I have been here several times and even taken friends here. What keeps me coming back is that the food is always tasty and very healthy.
The staff are friendly and the prices are really great - I never manage to spend more than £20 on dinner for two here even when we're having lots of choices.
The phos are very tasty (have the spicy one if you like real spice) and I also love the buns (noodles with hot toppings), which are huge and delicious. They have a Vietnamese chef here or so I am told so I guess that is what makes the food so good. You get a really nice decor too, without the crap ugly almost food hall style you get in some Vietnamese restaurants.
Pho
3/8/2009
I guess i liked this place quite a lot, as i made quite an effort to get lunch from here. At that point of time i worked near St Paul's, and from there had to go to Smithfields and beyond that down St John's st to Pho was a good 15 minute walk. But it was worth the effort for a friday lunch during the recession ravaged (read no work) 2008. :)
The pho here is very tasty ... and by tasty i mean hot and spicy. Available in various flavours (types of meat), it was quite a hit at my desk ... even the vegetarian version. The quantity was substantial. I would be surprised if a person with a normal appetite can finish off a full bowl for lunch.
Tip (more to myself than to anybody else): Make sure you don't have a meeting in the afternoon, i usually end up spilling a substantial amount of the soup on my shirt :(
The only drawback of this place is that it is very small and hence gets very very crowded for lunch. So unless you are there at the door before 12:30, you can expect a total turnaround time of 1hr +.
Listed in: Lunch in the City
