Building on the success of Viet Eat Holborn, Pho & Bun is all about offering authentic Vietnamese street food, at reasonable prices. Located on the forever busy Shaftesbury Avenue, this small and casual little restaurant is a great little spot for quick lunches and speedy pre-theatre dinners. It’s not perfect, but it does have its charm and one dish in particular will have you coming back for more – fluffy bao burgers.
To start, we ordered two of the chefs special starters. Chilli salt & pepper squid and crispy pork & crab spring rolls. The squid I loved, and was like the stuff you usually see in your local Chinese, smothered in onions, salt and pepper. The batter on the squid was nice too, a light crispy coating and very well seasoned. The spring rolls however didn’t quite hit the spot and unfortunately the centres weren’t quite heated through fully. If they were warmer, I’d probably have enjoyed as the filling was generous and the flavour was good.
My favourite dish here and one I’d come back for was the steamed bao burger. The signature steamed bao burger is freshly made in house everyday and served with salad, house pickles, fresh herbs, home-made mayonnaise and a choices of free range organic meat (or tofu and aubergine for vegetarians). I opted for the crispy lemongrass chicken which I must say, made for some delightful mouthfuls. The chicken was so succulent, the crispy coating was beautifully crisp and the lemongrass flavour really came through, but without being overly intense. The bun is filled with a plum ginger sauce and chilli mayonnaise – for extra deliciousness. If you come here, order this and pair it was a side of the sweet potato fries. You won’t be disappointed.
Less exciting for me was the Hanoi sticky rice with twice cooked pork belly. I just found this dish a little small to start and ended up having a lot of everything else left on the plate by the time I ate it with the meat, which was a little dry (even with the juicy marinade), though again the flavour was good. The rice was also meant to be sticky, but was also leaning more to the dry side and so overall with the salad and sauce on this plate – I really struggled to get excited. Even if it was only £10.95.
Apart from that delicious bao bun burger, the best things here are the desserts. We went full on banana with both of ours and I’m so glad we did. A few very nice scoops of banana ice cream which had such a lovely texture to it. As well as grilled banana with coconut ice cream. Again, the ice cream was excellent and banana grilled is always a good idea.
I’m not sure I’d rush back to Pho & Bun too quickly, but if I was in the area seeing a show or needed a quick bite to eat then I’d certainly come back for that calamari, bao bun burger, a few glasses of wine and most definitely – dessert. It’s cheap, insanely busy and quick. The recipe for any pre-theatre meal success – as long as you choose the right dishes.
I love bao buns so would definitely try the bao burger!