Vietnam Pho — Restaurant in Norwich

What a crying shame, we so need an authentic Vietnamese restaurant in Norwich, unfortunately this is a pseudo Planet Wok experience with a Thai & Singapore style 'trying too hard' overpriced menu. The pork dishes (cold sliced / processed / imported / green tinged & highly suspect) were acrid, & whilst I have the constitution of an ox, my body said "DO NOT SWALLOW". This has nothing to do with fish sauce or my palate. The owner, who could not bring herself to accept anything less than a compliment (I spent way too long politely tiptoeing around her ego) insisted I eat it (yes, that really happened). Point blank refused a refund when the bill was presented. We are talking a new business & a single £6 item, incredible arrogance & naivety when I had given her the opportunity at the beginning of the meal to put it right. Instead she decided a standoff & screaming match was the best course of action. An asinine diatribe is not the way to behave (in front of my children). I'm sure it will survive on homesick UEA students, a very simple cash only takeaway stuffed with tables, & an adorable waitress - do not expect a restaurant. If you're masochistically curious stick to the meagre chicken portions, avoid anything fried = swimming in oil (& haven't been anywhere near the country..... ) My mother-in-law is English, but that doesn't exactly qualify...

I felt compelled to write a review, if only to offer an alternative opinion to the self-indulgent tirade by the previous commentator. I can't comment on dishes I haven't tried but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed my rare beef pho and accompanying iced coffee. For £6.50 you get a decent sized bowl of pho soup with tasty beef and rice noodles and a side plate of shredded lettuce and beansprouts. The condiments, including the chilli jam and sriracha add a nice kick if you want to take it up a notch. I'll give it 4 stars as the soup base could have been a little hotter and the depth of flavour could be worked up a bit. It also lacked the fragrancy of the missing coriander. Overall a pretty solid effort though. The iced coffee is revelatory, thick, creamy and with an emergent sweetness coming through from the condensed milk slowly working it's way up from the bottom of the glass. The atmosphere is friendly and unpretentious and a welcome antidote to the soulless and derivative hipster places now proliferating everywhere. People from all walks of life came and went, sharing a nice communal and egalitarian vibe with attitudes left...

Visited a couple of days after it first opened. Waited 45 mins for two mains, food was greasy, staff had no idea what they were serving (they tried to give us the wrong food and then said the wrong names of the dishes when our food was finally ready). Tables are set out really badly in the restaurant with no space to move around. Other diners had big allergy issues due to the menu not stating which dishes contained prawns etc, so watch out for that if you have dietary requirements. Limited drinks selection. No tissues/napkins provided. Overpriced at £25.75 for two small meals and one drink. It’s also cash only and offers no real bills/receipts, if you can believe it! Hopefully the owners work out the many kinks and...