Popular Vietnamese restaurant, Pho, is opening in Cheltenham’s Brewery Quarter – and SoGlos got an exclusive first look at the new venue before it officially opens on Monday 28 March 2022.
The brainchild of husband-and-wife team Stephen and Juliette Wall, Pho has more than 30 restaurants around the country, with the Cheltenham venue being the first to open in Gloucestershire.
The interior is impressive from the moment you step inside, with beautiful large-scale artworks from Lei-Mai LeMaow and Julian Hanshaw, bright neon signage and an eyecatching red tiled bar. With up to 96 covers inside, the restaurant also offers a small outdoor dining area, too.
The menu has an impressive selection of dishes, spanning familiar favourites like summer rolls, chicken wings and Vietnam’s national dish ‘pho’, to fragrant curries, wok-fried broken rice and vermicelli noodles served at room temperature – just like in Vietnam.
All the food is prepared and cooked on site, too, including the broth for the pho.
With 40 per cent of the menu being vegan, there are plenty of options for vegetarians and vegans (including prawnless crackers!), with hot and spicy options for more adventurous diners, too. Pho is also accredited by Coeliac UK, ideal for gluten-free diners.
As well as Vietnamese coffee, beer, cider and wine, cocktails are also on the menu, with options including the signature Phojito – a Vietnamese take on the classic mojito; a lemon and Thai basil martini; and a Vietnamese Bloody Mary made with Sriracha hot sauce.
There’s also a great selection of fresh juices to try if you’re abstaining from alcohol and caffeine.
A percentage of the cost of selected dishes on the menu at Pho go to The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation in Vietnam and Stonewall in the UK, with the restaurant aiming to support a number of local charities in Gloucestershire, too. There’s also currently a raffle to win free food for a year to fundraise for victims of the Ukraine war.
Of course, we couldn’t go to Pho without trying some of its signature dishes. The summer rolls were fresh and flavourful, while the brisket pho was aromatic, warming and delicious.
Our resident vegetarians loved the veggie spring rolls and house special ‘Spicy Green’ pho, with the prawn cà-ri coming highly recommended, too.
And if you need any more inspiration of what to choose, Pho marketing manager Malachy O’Keeffe’s favourite dishes are pork spring rolls, chicken pho and a Cà Phê Martini cocktail.
Pho opens at The Brewery Quarter in Cheltenham on Monday 28 March 2022 and is taking bookings now.
For more information, visit phocafe.co.uk.
