Pho Vietnamese
12 Black Lion St, The Lanes Brighton
1/5
After a few days in Brighton I was taken to lunch by my brother who lives here, this particular time to a place called “Pho” who's main dish is the quintessential Vietnamese dish Pho. Now I know most of my Australian friends have eaten a great Pho purely because I’ve been there with them when we got it and naturally Australia is one of the best places to get Vietnamese in the world. So I headed into this restaurant with probably the expectation that would be impossible to meet, simply due to the fact that a massive population of Vietnamese people and access to warm tropical ingredients do not exist
The dining environmental was slightly disappointing having a bland boring feel lacking any energy and feeling like the kind of restaurant catering to people who don't want to eat Asian food. However the issue with this is the fact that Pho serves the most south east Asian dish possible as its main option, the Pho which with its combination of minty and lemongrass freshness combined with the spiciness of Thai chilli's doesn't suit the palette of those not looking for the south east Asian flavour profile. The only attempts at creating an environment conjusive to authenticity were negative, with the inclusion of wicker seats being nothing more than an uncomfortable inconvenience. The service in the restaurant was quite good, however it was surprising in the fact that everyone involved in the front area staff was European, this I believe has no bearing on the reality of dining its just contrary to all of my experience of eating at Asian restaurants in Australia.
Onto the most disappointing part and the most satisfying part of lunch, the food. Quite simply the problem with the food at Pho was that it lacked the potency that exists in so many Vietnamese dishes i've had in Oz. For starters we had summer rolls that lacked both the massive mintiness that every summer roll ive ever had has had or the underlying meat/seafood or vegetable flavours that make summer rolls more than just mint wrapped in rice paper, this was upsetting for me considering that I had never eaten summer rolls that tasted so bland in comparison. For a main I ordered the steak and brisket Pho which came out with rather nice meat in it but lacked the crazy freshness that every pho I have ever eaten before has, everyone who has ever eaten a pho knows that pho's are meant to taste like that first breath of fresh air after leaving the sauna. A relieving cooling dinner that fills you up without feeling the gluttonous bloating of eating a heavier meal. The Pho I had at Pho lacked that fragrance or feeling and the mint and chilli came out separately from the soup meaning I had to mix them in myself resulting in the unfortunate lack of mintiness absolutely required to make a Pho the achiever of its potential.
However judging a Vietnamese dish in Britain against its counterpart in Australia is a tad unfair as again the UK lacks a large Vietnamese population that Australia has, and while I would say to steer clear of a place that had this level of blandness in their Pho's in Australia I think the lack of competition in Brighton Vietnamese places works to their advantage and the fact that their Pho is passable creates a situation where the simple fact that it is Pho makes me want to go there again.
Pho have a website for their chain at http://www.phocafe.co.uk our starter cost approx 4 pounds and our mains cost around 8 pounds, there are vietnamese beers available for around 3.50.
