The House of Phở — Restaurant in Lincoln

This review is long overdue, as I have been enjoying the takeaways and sit-down meals at House of Pho ever since they opened. The food here is consistently excellent, especially the restaurant meals, which are so nicely presented, and extra delicious when enjoyed fresh and piping hot from the kitchen, and it is all very fairly priced, too. There are abundant options for everyone, including vegetarians and vegans, with plant-based variations spread throughout the menu (I love the spring rolls, the eggless vegetable pancakes and the chilli salt and pepper tofu). Some of the food will remind you of Chinese, Indian or Thai food, but if you have never tried a Vietnamese curry, creamy, mild and with a hint of nutmeg, you are really missing out! The food ranges from gently flavourful and aromatic to the seriously fiery, so whether you like it spicy or just nice and tasty without a lot of heat you will not be disappointed. House of Pho do all the classic Vietnamese dishes, including their signature pho: big, hearty bowls full of broth with noodles, vegetables and your choice of meat or tofu and mushrooms. The friendly people who run this lovely little no-frills eatery are always ready with a welcoming smile, and once they have seen you a couple of times they treat you like family. They now have a liquor license, so you can enjoy a beer with your meal if you so wish, but there are plenty of soft drinks to choose from, too. You may be aware that there is a new pho place in the city centre, also serving good Vietnamese food, but this new place is part of a nationwide chain; House of Pho is independent, run by a local family and the food here is cheaper than that other place and, to my mind, healthier and more authentic. Give it a try! Have fun and explore the menu. I’m sure that you will return for a second helping (those chilli salt and pepper dishes are...

Service was lovely, very friendly front of staff. That's where the joy ends, unfortunately.

I ordered the three meat Pho, and Rainbow Rolls to start. The rainbow rolls were very bland, and the king prawns just tasted like water, paired with the very overwhelming branch of basil and mint which was hard to ignore. The dip for that was not as expected, previous experiences with this dish has been that the dipping sauce was zingy, sweet and tangy wih fresh chilli and lime (in other Vietnamese restaurants) but this sauce was thick, and manufactured.

The three meat Pho, was infact, duck, chicken and beef, but also with the added addition of a very strange sausage, which was literally grey. Again, normal expectations were beansprouts on the side, but they were already in the dish.

The duck was fatty, beef grey and human like and the umami fragrant flavour of Pho was nowhere to be found. I cant explain but if you have ever eaten something before and thought there is something not right? This was that situation. I am so sad that this experience wasn't better as I had taken my mother and brother for there first Vietnamese Pho experience, which sufficed to say, was a 2 out of 10 at best. Underwhelmed, disappointed, and queezy. Thanks for having us though, and again, very polite welcoming...

We’d been wanting to try this place for a while so popped in whilst passing for a quick Monday lunch. Honestly, we left feeling robbed. We ordered a coffee, a peach and orange iced tea, the chicken skewers starter, a beef noodle main dish from the specials menu and a bbq pork with egg fried rice main course. The place was not busy as there was only another table of 4 people finishing their food when we ordered. Our drinks didn’t seem to turn up at all and then the chicken skewers turned up…. Very greasy and the meat was super rubbery. Then the main courses turned up (still no drinks). Quite frankly it was all inedible. The meat in both dishes was really chewy and a weird colour, it seemed like it might have been there for a while. The egg fried rice was just a dry tasteless lump. The drinks did eventually turn up and the iced tea was lovely and Vietnemase coffee was very good. We decided to leave and not eat the food as were worried about the meat. Then we went to pay…. £44 for 1 starter, 2 mains, and 2 soft drinks. We basically gave them £44 for food that needed to go in the bin. Not sure if this was leftover food from the weekend, but it was rank. Our advice - don’t go here, go to Thai marina next door. Thai marina is our favourite restaurant in Lincoln and the food...