Pho Bold Street, pronounced ‘FOH’, is a Vietnamese restaurant on Bold Street that specialises in, you guessed it, Pho. I’ve not tried much Vietnamese food myself before, so it was great to try something a bit different. As soon as we arrived, the Pho staff were very welcoming, making sure to check whether we had any allergies and explaining the menu excellently. We were also shown the vegan menu which is enormous and makes up 25% of all the food they do there, so it seems like an excellent place to go to for lots of different dietary requirements.
Pork spring rolls - £5.95
Pho’s pork spring rolls were incredible! They were lovely and crispy with loads of flavour. The Pho waitress suggested wrapping the roles in lettuce with a mint leaf and dipping into the peanut sauce, I was sceptical, but the flavours did work well together. The peanut sauce was really delicious and was one of my favourite things about the whole meal. I’m not sure why it was so good it just was! I would go back just for these.
Baby Squid - £6.95
Pho’s baby squid came with a little bowl of pepper and chilli as well as a fresh lime wedge, the Pho waitress recommended squeezing this into the bowl and mixing to use as a dip, and again this paired really well. The squid itself tasted fresh, it was very tender and not chewy as squid can sometimes be. It also had a nice light batter that meant it wasn’t stodgy at all.
Steak with garlic pho - £9.75/Beef combo pho - £10.25
The mains here are definitely the best-priced dishes. Both pho’s were huge with rich broths full of flavour, fresh herbs and lots of noodles. Fresh herbs are served on the side as well as a variety of sauces including fish sauce, sriracha, garlic and chilli paste and garlic vinegar. The idea is that you can add these to personalise the flavour of your pho and change it throughout. I liked this idea. It meant that both pho’s tasted incredibly fresh, and you can experiment with different tastes. The meat was nice in both dishes. I think the garlic steak could have had a bit more garlic, but I am a big garlic lover so that might just be me. The beef combo included meatballs that despite not looking too appetising tasted good and weren’t grisly at all. It also had steak and brisket. The brisket was by far the most flavoursome of all the meats, and they have a brisket pho on their menu, which is probably what I’d recommend. The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the coriander, which I’m not a fan of but it wasn’t too overwhelming, and if you do love coriander, you can add plenty more yourself.
Next up was dessert and we went for a chocolate truffle slice and the waitresses recommendation of pandan waffle with coconut ice cream.
Chocolate truffle slice - £6.95
The truffle slice was precisely what it says it is, rich and chocolatey. So, if you’re a chocolate lover like me, you’d definitely enjoy it.
Pandan waffle - £5.95
The pandan waffle is made using coconut milk and pandan, a popular South Asian flavour. It’s sweeter than a regular waffle and bright green. It’s cooked fresh so was warm, fluffy and delicious and went perfectly with the coconut ice cream that didn’t have too strong of a flavour. The only issue I had was that it was quite tricky to eat because of the texture; you might need to ask for a knife and fork!
Overall I enjoyed Pho, it was something different, the food was excellent and well portioned, and the staff were absolutely lovely.
Pho Bold Street - Rating
Food – 8/10
Price – 8/10
Service – 10/10
