Five Course tasting menu at Pho & Bun

Last week I went along to Pho & Bun, in London’s Soho, to review their 5 course tasting menu and I took along the lovely Natalie Seldon of Pretty Edible Stylist as my dinner date. Following the success of their sister restaurant Viet Eat Holborn, Pho & Bun opened in Soho and offers authentic Vietnamese street food at an affordable price. I absolutely love Vietnamese food so I was excited to see if Pho & Bun would live up to my expectations.

The menu is indeed, very reasonably priced at £27.95 for 5 courses. This includes 3 starters, 1 main and 1 dessert. Also included in the price is a glass of wine, a beer or a soft drink. And, whilst it says it’s a tasting menu, the portions are very substantial. I was so full after the meal!

There’s also a vegetarian menu to choose from and lots of gluten-free options too. They’re also happy for you to pick and choose from either menu and combine some vegetarian dishes with some non-vegetarian ones.

What I loved about the menu was that, whilst there were enough choices, it wasn’t a big menu. That gives me confidence that the food is both fresh and that there’s minimal food waste (one of my pet peeves).

On to the starters! Luckily Natalie and I had opted for completely different starters, meaning we did get six different dishes. We also both ordered a glass of Rosè wine, which was included in the tasting menu deal.

I chose the chili salt and pepper squid, the mango salad with tiger prawn and the pork and crab spring roll. All were absolutely yummy. The squid was so moreish… I wish there had been more but obviously it’s a tasting menu so the portions are smaller than on the ala carte menu.

The pork and crab spring roll was also really good and the mango salad with tiger prawn was so refreshing – and I didn’t have to share with Natalie as she’s not a fan of fruit in savoury dishes!

Natalie chose the sticky honey chicken wings, the honey glazed spare ribs and the charcoal grilled aubergine with dill mayonnaise. If you’re coming here on a first date, don’t order the ribs! Watching Natalie eat them was hilarious…

Whilst we were eating our starters, we got chatting to a couple next to us who were in London for three nights. They had actually been to Vietnam before and assured us that the food was authentic.

For mains, Natalie ordered the 28 days dry aged beef bao burger and a side of Chinese Choi Sum (not included in the tasting menu deal) for a ‘bit of greens’. Natalie thought it would be shredded beef but it was like a proper burger patty. I thought it was really cute that they put the Vietnam flag in the steamed bao bun!

Natalie would have preferred it to have been shredded beef (in fact she did ask if it was before she ordered it), however she was pleased that it was cooked well – pink, as she likes it.

I am such a sucker for tofu and mushrooms so when I spotted the fried pho with mushroom and tofu on the vegetarian menu it was ‘SOLD’. Not only did it look pretty but it tasted great too. There was a good ratio of tofu and mushrooms to the pho.

After our mains we decided to head over to the Ham Yard Hotel for an after dinner drink until we remembered – DESSERT! Honestly, I can’t believe we’d forgotten about it. If you’re gluten intolerant, you’ll be delighted to know that most of their desserts are gluten-free.

I opted for the Vietnamese Flan Caramel, which should have had Vietnamese coffee with it but I asked to have it without (can’t drink coffee at night but also don’t like the taste of it at night!). Natalie chose the Pandan and coconut panna cotta. Oh wow. They were both very, very good. I do love creme caramel and this was very similar. Top marks for dessert.

All in all, we had a fantastic meal at Pho & Bun. The food was delicious, the portions were decent and service was really good too. Decor-wise it’s quite casual and they describe it as ‘a setting that will make you feel as if you’ve stepped foot in Vietnam’. Top tip, if you do go, request a table upstairs.

I would 100% return here for a meal. The 5 course tasting menu with a drink at £27.95 is really excellent value for money. Thanks Pho & Bun for having us!

Our meal was complimentary in exchange for an honest review.