Food review - Pho, Vietnamese kitchen, Low Petergate, York

Always famished by this point (shopping is a serious work out after all), the Trinity Kitchen food hall is a welcome sight.

Despite the many options available, I only ever have eyes for Pho, the street food counter selling hot noodle, salad, curry and rice dishes inspired by all the flavours of Vietnam. Fresh and tasty, it never disappoints, so I was super pleased to see a Pho restaurant opening in York.

Pho (pronounced fuh and the name of Vietnam's national dish, an aromatic and healthy rice noodle soup served with a side plate of fresh herbs) is part of a small chain of eateries. It first arrived on the British food scene 17 years ago when Stephen and Juliette Wall opened the first Pho following a trip to Vietnam where they fell in love with the food.

Priding themselves on serving great value, healthy Vietnamese food that's cooked fresh in each kitchen, Pho has established a loyal fan base, including yours truly.

So I was looking forward to trying out the new restaurant which has opened in Low Petergate.

It was my third visit to the restaurant which only opened last month. On this occasion, I'd been invited to pop along with a friend to try the menu and report back to readers.

Just after 6.30pm on a chilly autumn mid-week evening, we took our seats in the back downstairs dining room and immediately ordered two Phojito cocktails (white rum, mint, lime and soda, £7.95) as we studied the menu.

If you are familiar with this restaurant (previous incarnations included Solita burger restaurant, The Old House, The Wagyu Bar and Grill, and Strada Italian), you will know that it is a warren of different rooms over three levels.

Inside, lighting is low (we used our mobile phone torches to help us read the menu and to light the dishes when we took our photos), but it makes it cosy and inviting.

We were soon feeling very relaxed and enjoyed chatting to our friendly and informative waitress about the menu who helped us navigate the sections and make our selections.

Noodle soup with beef, prawn and chicken at Pho (Image: Newsquest)

If you like Asian ingredients and flavours, then Pho should tick your box. Starter dishes include the usual suspects along with some surprises. So there are spring and summer rolls, but also a seafood spring roll, a delicious crispy wrap stuffed with king prawn, crab and pork (£6.50). Melt-in-the-mouth beef betel is also recommended, but big enough to share (£7.95). Tonight we tucked into a bowl of fried baby squid (£7.95). Tender and dusted in a feather-light and crispy batter, we dipped it into a side dish of salt, pepper, lime and chilli. Simple and delicious. A good start.

The next round was equally good. Main choices are split into a selection of Vietnamese noodle soups, fresh and zingy salads, and rice dishes.

My dining partner chose the classic chicken curry with rice (£12.50). There is an option to swap for cauliflower rice; great if you are counting your carbs. This was deemed delicious (I can concur because this is my go-to dish at Pho). The sauce is rich and creamy, full of the flavours of coconut and lime with just the right measure of heat.

Opting for something new, I plumped for the Pho house - a bowl of light beef broth laced with thick noodles, meaty king prawns, strips of moist chicken, and pieces of flash-fried steak lovingly seasoned with garlic (£12.95). It was really tasty and felt thoroughly nourishing.

It was a relatively lighter option, and not as filling as the curry and rice, which meant I was able to enjoy a dessert too.

Choices here included ice-cream, sorbet, chocolate truffle slice, and Vietnamese affogato. We opted for the banana fritters with coconut ice-cream and pandan waffle with a honey and ginger ice-cream. Both were delicious but the waffle had the edge. A new dish for both of us, it amounted to a thin, warm, lightly crisped pancake, flavoured and coloured by the green and aromatic leaves of the aromatic pandan plant. It came in the shape of a muffin case with the ice-cream inside. The ice-cream was knock-out too, a winning combination and thoroughly recommended.

We finished off a herbal teas: one mint, one jasmine. These amounted to clear, glass mugs which allowed you to see the pretty contents; one full of mint leaves, the other a single dried jasmine flower.

The drinks were much like the rest of the meal: fresh, aromatic and full of flavour.

If you have yet to try Vietnamese food, Pho is the place to start. It's a lot nearer (and cheaper) than booking a ticket to Hanoi!

Pho, 75 Low Petergate, York