Pho Manchester — Restaurant in Manchester

Roll with the rolls at Pho

In the more peaceful aspect of Manchester in Corn Exchange, Pho gives you the Vietnamese Street food that you didn’t know you were craving. With their new Christmas menu, and a special Vegan Christmas menu at that we were very much intrigued. So off we went to sample the Christmas menu before it’s available to everyone else from 24th November. 2 courses on the Vegan menu is £14.50 with 3 courses at £18.50, and the normal Christmas menu is just 45p more.

Now, to walk you through our eating for the day and to begin with our starters; \Goi Cuon (rice paper rolls) - Usually don’t like this, as it’s not filled with the good stuff. This, on the other hand, was filled to the right amount and dipped in the peanut sauce definitely made our bellies happy \Cha gio (spring rolls) - We did not realise that you’re supposed to wrap your roll with lettuce before you dip in the sauce. Aren’t we glad the waiters are good at Pho and explain it all to you \Rau muong xao (water spinach) - This was so addictive and moreish, and yes that’s probably the garlic calling you for more \Much chien gion (baby squid) - Now that we write it as baby squid, we feel a little uneasy but the little squid lightly fried were crunchily good

And on to the mains in order of our preferences; \Ca-ri (Vietnamese curry) - Rich, aromatic flavours and suited for those who like their food a little spicy. We thoroughly enjoyed this and was a really hearty meal \Pho, Spicy Green (Noodle soup) - Definitely was not expecting to like this as much as we did. It’s a bit difficult to eat and share (and if you know us by now, we love having a bit of everything). This is one of those dishes that is perfect for a cold, winters day to warm your stomach \Pho Xao, Prawns (Wok-fried noodles) - A simple dish, that was good with the chilli dip on the side \Bun, Tofu & Mushroom (Vermicelli noodles) - A little bit dry, and definitely needed the soy sauce to give it something. A good option for those who want something less messy to eat

Even though we were quite full, we had to get some sweet stuff; \Chuoi chien (Banana fritter) - Fried goodness and if you like bananas and you like them sweet, this is the one...now imagine with some chocolate and our day is made \Kem sorbet, Strawberry & Basil (Sorbet) - Vibrant, refreshing flavours to cleanse the mouth at the end of the meal \Kem, Macapuno coconut (Dairy ice cream) - Subtle flavour and every so addictive

There’s a variety of dishes available on the Christmas menus at a reasonable price, so try it out if you like the taste of the Far East.

Recommended for: Vietnamese, Spring Rolls, Curry Service: Medium (Mains took a while to come out) 1.30 hour wait Price: ££ Halal:...

The service here is dreadful. We waited a while to be seated, then 10-15 mins to place our order (only after asking for some service) and then far too long for the food to be served despite it being 2 metres away going cold on the serving counter while the staff giggled and chatted to each other at every opportunity. The problem is the Manager. A good restaurant manager runs the operation: checks customers aren't waiting to be seated, ensures they get prompt attention for ordering, knows they're probably going on to a show so ensures the food is served quickly and efficiently. They have eyes on everything. But this guy just chats along with the staff and wanders around in a relaxed manner like everyone else letting the standard drop so low. When the food finally arrived our waitress apologised for the long wait then when I agreed with her that the service was poor she started defending the service. The Manager's last comment was that his staff were "working hard" but the whole problem was that they weren't. Upstairs wasn't open and there were empty tables so who knows how they'd have fared with more customers. Then he said he'd taken the service charge off as if that was a great favour - that service charge has to be earned; you don't get it for providing bad service. This is in the city centre where customers are going on to events so efficient and professional service is key but these people act like they're in a remote location in the middle of nowhere and the customers have nothing to do but stay there all night. We got to our show with 4 minutes to spare. Not recommended until the Manager and staff learn...

We had a random lunch meal here, and we glad we made the right choice to come here!

Curry king prawn noodle soup The broth was very creamy and flavorful, it taste a bit like the Singapore dish laksa (not sure if it's exactly the same thing?). King prawns were pretty big, and it didn't have the tail that you need to take off which was great!

3 meat combo rice bowl It was a perfect size for me, not too much not too less. It came with grilled chicken, grilled pork and beef rolled in betel leaf. On the side in the bowl, it came with cucumber, marinated raddish & carrot, coriander, cherry radish (non marinated) and Chinese leaf. Chicken & pork had good grilled flavor; beef wrapped in betel leaf, the flavor was a bit plain, so I dipped it in the sauce that came with the side dishes we order.

Pork spring rolls (side dish) It came with 3 chunky rolls per portion, one peanut dipping and one vinegar dipping. The roll itself was crispy and chunky, really tasty! Especially with peanut dipping. The only down part is the portion was a bit small, so we ended up ordering one more portion.

Chinese leaf (side dish) It's stir fried with chillies & soy sauce. The flavor was good, wasn't too spicy, it was more like comfortable kind of spicy. But also, the down part is the portion was a bit small.

Vietnamese iced coffee The flavor did reach the standard, tasty but not wow. It's regular Vietnamese iced coffee you will get in most of the Vietnamese restaurants.

Overall it was a great meal! We left the restaurant with fulled stomach! Just wish the portion of the side dishes we had could be a bit...