Pho Restaurant – Norwich!
YES! We’ve been waiting for a Pho to come to Norwich for years and now we finally have one. The still relatively small chain of restaurants has found its way to Norfolk and we couldn’t be happier in its new choice of home. We loved visiting when we lived in London, my children have all, always been mega fans of noodles and I have never been to a more child friendly restaurant in terms of the food, atmosphere and welcome. Everything about Pho screams family and I LOVE it!
The new restaurant in Norwich centre opened its doors a couple of weeks ago on Queen Street. It’s in an absolutely beautiful location, near the cathedral, in a really buzzing part of the life and soul of the city and when we visited it had had a while to calm down from the novelty of a new joint in town and yet still was superbly busy and vibrant. Set in an old bank (I think), the building is as gorgeous as we new the food would be. A giant roof window allows light to flood onto the darker decor creating the most delicious invite to dine. It feels comfortable and both calm and alive with noise all at the same time.
Staff were attentive, not just to us while we were there to review, but I watched and the whole room was packed with smiling, happy faces enjoying their incredibly healthy (as well as tasty) meals. I was told that the food, prepared on site from scratch (no central kitchen like at Wagamama to send in anything frozen), are mostly dishes under 500 calories. I also noted how much choice there is for anyone on a GF diet.
We tried masses of the starters which were absolutely amazing and then the noodles and pho, oh my! To say I wished I could have expanded to eat more would be an understatement, I was planning my return visit (for my birthday in a couple of weeks) while I was still sat in the restaurant!
My children are good kids but we tend to get in and out of restaurants before someone loses the will to live after getting bored. Somehow we managed a two and a half hour dinner experience and no one got even remotely ansty!
The food, for children and adults alike is absolutely incredible. It’s filling, and tasty and makes you just want more, more, more. Raffie finished his and then hoovered up the noodles donated to him from anyone else on the table who would and it turns out Posie knows how to use chopsticks? I’m not sure how on that front but she just picked them up and off she went as if it was second nature. They do provide children’s chopsticks too but nope, she went for the real deal!
The drinks are pretty special too, we began with fresh juices and home made lemonades (I recommend the spicy lemondade) and finished with a cocktail, jasmin tea and a Vietnamese coffee.
Of course we didn’t finish there… We finished at dessert which was out of this world! Waffles and ice cream but… That sounds like waffles and ice cream, this was something else! Waffles and ice cream extraordinaire! And sorbet as well as the most delicious banana fritters I’ve ever tasted. Oh yum! We were stuffed but so happy. We can’t wait to come back – I’m taking the big kids for lunch on my birthday and am already thinking about what I’m going to order!
I’d also like to say this, because I think Pho will always be compared to Wagas, and I can totally see why, but I think they’re better. We love the food at Wagamama but this is why Pho wins for me:
- The food is equally as delicious.
- The portions are bigger.
- You get to sit with the people you came with and don’t have to share a table.
- You all get your food at the same time. So, while Wagas think they’re all incredibly fashionable saying you get your food when its cooked and we all just accept that, I’d like to have my starter before my main and at the same time as everyone else in my party thanks!
- It’s a good couple of quid cheaper per dish.
- Everything is made from scratch in the kitchen of the restaurant you are dining in, on that day!
We loved Pho, can you tell?! Check out my Instagram reel for a bit more FOMO!
We were invited to dine at Pho Norwich as guests of the restaurant.
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