REVIEW: House of Ho, Percy Street, Fitzrovia, London

Vietnamese is one of those cuisines which I really don’t eat enough of, and mainly because there simply isn’t as much of it around as you may think – yet its the type of food which uses such a vast array of fresh & vibrant ingredients that even the most basic of eateries can offer fantastic value for your money. One of the newest Vietnamese offerings in the centre of town is House of Ho. You may recognise the name as being located on Old Compton Street, but that site has since rebranded as Ho Modern Vietnamese and this new flagship Fitzrovia site taken on its name. A little confusing for SEO no doubt, but with all the recent press and praise it’ll no doubt sort itself out.

Head chef at this new flagship House of Ho is Ian Pengelley, who comes with a wealth of experience and strong background in Asian cuisine, having worked at the likes of Gilgamesh in Camden. Over the years I’ve eaten in both restaurants and from what I can see, Ian has been consistently evolving. His food is developing more intrigue, more precise flavour combinations and visually it has much more finesse to it. As it stands, Ian is in my eyes one of London’s most exciting chefs cooking this type of food with still has much more to give. One cold and rainy weekday evening we sat down to a gorgeously laid table in this huge five-story Georgian townhouse on Percy street, tucking into the likes of thin and crispy chilli squid, succulent beef la lot (Black Angus filet wrapped in leaf) and some delicious dumplings. A fantastic, if not rather indulgent start to our evening.

House of Ho’s most awe-inspiring dishes has to be the gargantuan bowl of perfectly fried soft shell crab, seasoned to perfection and floating in a bowl full of dried & intensely flavoured (extremely hot) chillies. The oil from the molten chili’s slowly seeps out into the batter of the crab, adding a delicate trace of heat, but a smokey, lingering flavour. It looked great, smelt amazing and tasted even better. This soft shell crab IS on the menu and was not just a party piece sent out to impress all us foodies, so order it.

Coming down from the adrenaline off that soft shell crab experience, main courses were yet to come and had a lot to live up to from what was an already fantastic start. Shaking beef is a staple across both Ho sites, but here its a million times better. The beef could have been cooked a little more pink if I had my way but the flavour was superb, with a lovely streak of smokiness running through it like silk. Chilean seabass with plum sauce was faultless – contained in a single leaf held together by bamboo which when unwrapped revealed flaky & tender flesh. Classics such as lemongrass chicken were as crispy, succulent and sticky as I hoped, while the crispy duck with fresh watermelon and cashew nut salad reminded me of when Ian was back at Gilgamesh, I think they still even have it on the menu – probably because it’s too good to lose.

Vietnamese desserts are lets face it, rather boring. I know I’ll get some stick for saying that but it’s true – so I was rather intrigued to see what they’d come up with and to my surprise they were all rather good. Not really traditional in any sense, but flavours and ingredients had a definite nod to the east. Banana crumble was a nice affair, if not a bit messy – but better was the green tea molten pudding served with fruity sorbet and fresh passionfruit.

House of Ho is a fantastic addition to Fitzrovia and worlds apart from what is now Ho Modern Vietnamese on Old Compton Street – yet both offer something different and unique depending on the occasion. Ian has done such a fantastic job here and while it may be to “western” and “modern” for some tastes – I for one really couldn’t care because the food has tons of flavour, it’s bright and bold to look at and given the area it’s all rather competitive. If you want flavour and a good time then come here. It’s fantastic.

8/10