Press Visit
I hadn’t tried Vietnamese food before so was a little unsure what to expect from my first visit to Pho in Bournemouth (located conveniently right in the town centre, just along from Slug and Lettuce), however I needn’t have worried as the staff were so welcoming and friendly. I have literally never been put at ease so quickly and our waitress was so knowledgeable too, giving us a really in-depth and helpful explanation of what dishes were, portion sizes and a little background on the Vietnamese cuisine too.
My sister has coeliac disease, so we are used to being a little wary when we go out for a meal together but Pho make it clear that having a dietary requirement is not an issue. Not only are all but a few items on the menu gluten free, they are also certified by Coeliac UK, something they proudly note on their website, and the menu has asterisks next to the items that those unable to eat gluten can’t eat, rather than the other way round (which is a nice touch). Seriously, my sister was spoilt for choice when it came to what to eat – we will definitely be back for that reason alone. Even the drinks menu had a gluten free beer available – I was very impressed.
We were served some prawn crackers and sweet chilli sauce whilst we looked over the rest of the menu, they were huge and so moreish, we had to stop ourselves from eating all of them as we ordered three starters (one each and one to share, on the suggestion of our waitress). We also ordered a couple of cocktails and both fell in love with mine, the Spicy Margarita, which had a chilli pepper garnish and was just the right mix of sweet and spicy – I need another one now!
For our starters, I had the Spring Rolls – I opted for Pork, and I had the nuoc cham dip. My sister had the Vietnamese Pancake (a savoury crepe) with Chicken and Prawns, with the same dip, and then we shared the Pork and Lemongrass meatballs, which were hands down the best starter out of the three and I could and would have eaten the whole thing – the dip was a peanut sauce and was also delicious (I wasn’t as keen on the other dip as it was fairly watery and just didn’t pack a punch.
For my main I had the Spicy Beef Brisket Curry with Broken Rice and oh my word was it good! I have been dreaming about this since I ate it and must go back and have it again. The sauce was peanut again, and it had fresh red chillies and betel leaf as well as the mouthwateringly tender beef brisket. The rice was just right and complemented the dish perfectly. My sister had the Chicken Noodle Soup, which she was able to fully adapt to her own individual taste with herbs and spices provided on the side. The bowl was absolutely huge and she didn’t manage to finish everything, but she said it was incredible.
We really pushed ourselves to eat as much as we could manage, and really didn’t need dessert but felt we should give it a go for the purpose of the review. My sister had the chocolate ice cream and I went for the Chocolate Truffle Slice with Honey and Ginger ice cream. The dessert was lovely, but I simply could not manage to finish it as I was so full from the other courses. Our waitress had warned us that they really liked to feed you, but we hadn’t realised quite how generous the portion sizes were of everything. When I come next, I will probably skip dessert as the starters and main courses are so good and I want to be able to eat them.
During our visit the service was a little slow getting the starters, which was fine as we had time to chat and catch up, but way too fast between starter and mains – we both had quite a bit of food still on our plates when the next course arrived and the table wasn’t big enough for everything, which left us feeling a little rushed. I would suggest waiting to order the main after you finish your starter unless you are ok with eating fast. I wish we had been given a little longer to savour those delicious meatballs.
We both really enjoyed our visit to Pho in Bournemouth. The atmosphere was fantastic, the food was sensational and the cocktails were brilliant! The only niggle was how close the tables were to each other as at one point the woman on the table next to ours almost knocked our drinks flying as she got up to go to the toilet. It was also a little hot in the restaurant, but these were only very small negatives in what was an amazing evening and, as I say, they were fantastic for my sister, so we will definitely be returning soon.
We were provided with a complimentary meal in exchange for a review, however all words and images are my own.
