Pho uses its noodle

Pho, pronounced like the French 'feu', is Vietnam's national dish: a noodle soup eaten every day for breakfast, lunch or dinner - and sometimes all three.

There's a delicacy to the flavours that makes it fragrant rather than in-your-face and a simplicity to its presentation that leaves less-than-fresh ingredients no place to hide. Pho the restaurant is a smart, informal cafe on St John Street. The choices have been kept simple: 11 takes on pho, four varieties of bun (another noodle dish) and Vietnamese-style baguettes, salads and side dishes.

The most you'll pay for a dish is £7.45 which, considering the large portions, is great value. It's also, without fail, delicious food. Phos come with a side plate of basil, coriander, chilli, lime, saw-tooth and bean sprouts. The stock with my chicken pho, although fresh, wasn't knockout when it arrived but after some careful additions it became a thing of wonder that we couldn't slurp up fast enough.

The vegetable stock that arrived with date's prawn pho was astonishing from the start. All stocks are made from scratch and take 12 hours: this mighty creation was concocted from myriad veggies and flavourings such as lemon grass, star anise, cinnamon and clove and left us gasping in admiration.

Add to that a tremendous chicken and papaya salad with peanut crunchiness and zingy dressing, spot-on Vietnamese beers and friendly service and this place deserves a lot more custom than it had on Friday night.

Pho Cafe
St. John Street, London, EC1M 4EH