Madhavi B.

I visited Pho for the first time for a Christmas meal with high hopes, but was disappointed. I ordered the vegetarian spicy mushroom and tofu Pho and the mushroom and basil broken rice, and they got both orders wrong on the first go; my pho had no mushrooms or tofu, and the rice was not fully cooked. They brought my corrected dishes, but it seemed they just added mushrooms to my original pho, which had eventually gone lukewarm with time. So I had to ask for another bowl, or for it to be warmed as Pho is best when warm! After an hour my correct dish comes out, and it was...ok. It was quite flavourless; the sides and toppings helped. The rice wasn't very flavourful as well. The staff are helpful, and the ambience is great, but not the best place for Pho.

Saffy K.

I've not had a lot of Vietnamese food in my time so I haven't really got much to compare it to, BUT I can say that the food we had at Pho was delicious. The restaurant is part of the revamped corn exchange, I really like it in there. The staff were really friendly and made recommendations. They seemed to know a lot about the dishes on offer which is a big bonus. We shared the Cha Goi (crispy spring rolls with dip) to start, these were light and tasty. I went for the Pho Tai, which is the traditional Pho soup with thinly sliced steak. I love that it comes with a platter of herbs and spices so you can adjust the flavour to your liking, it was fun! My friend went for the Cai ri which is the vege curry with nuts and rice, it smelt gorgeous and he enjoyed it. Washed down with some prosecco, i'll definitely be back. It's all pretty healthy too :)

Laura F.

Today was my second visit to Pho and it's safe to say I've enjoyed it both times. On my lunch break I fancied a bowl of Pho and so popped in to indulge. I was seated at the window straight away and handed a menu. I fancied something basic, so opted for the Chicken pho. I had previously tried the Pho with beef brisket and really enjoyed it so I was hoping this would be just as good. There's no messing around by the staff here. At lunch time they seem to be really switched on to the fact that most people get an hour for lunch, so they serve you quickly and keep you up to date on how long your meal will be. Mine was served within 5 minutes and was super tasty. I had to add some chillis and vinegar to spice it up a little, but it was great - lots of noodles and plenty of tender chicken. I'll keep coming back to Pho and it's most definitely worth a try!

Beck R.

Whilst there are a number of places you can buy Pho already in Manchester, one of the the things that makes me really happy about Pho Restaurant opening it that it will bring the delights of Vietnamese cooking to a new audience. Situated in the newly refurbished corn exchange in Manchester the restaurant is perfectly placed to attract a city crowd looking for a nice restaurant and for the tourist crowd to stumble open. The starters were excellent with my favourites being the Nem hi sn (Large crispy spring roll of tiger prawn, crab & pork with nc chm dipping sauce). I would have also rated the Mc chiên giòn (squid / calamari) higher, but having just returned from a holiday in Greece i'm not sure any restaurant in Manchester would have compared. For my main i went with Ph đc bit (Tiger prawns, tofu & flash fried steak with garlic in beef stock). For newbies to the world of pho....its like a broth soup with noodles, veg and meat chucked in. However its also important to know that every pho broth should be adjusted to your own preferred taste using the array of sauces and spices you'll find at the table. All in all i think the opening of Pho in Manchester is a good thing. Its perhaps not the most authentic of Vietnamese restaurants, but it comes close and is suited to most palates and makes the cuisine much more accessible. The other pho restaurants in Manchester may be more authentic, but they are also more canteen like and not somewhere i'd want to go dressed up for a posh doo. Pho Restaurant has opened to great reviews and quite deservedly.

Scott B.

Very good Pho. I am from the US. I really enjoyed the Pho in the UK. There must be something special in the water. It's very good and rich broth.

Penny L.

I do love a good Vietnamese dish...after missing out on a night here,I decided to come and investigate. Stepping through a massive glass door , we settled near the window. It was only then a waitress came over. Flipping the menu over exposed a small selection of beer , and unheard of cocktails.. When I enquired about a beer , i was informed it tasted like Carlsberg...that put me off. I chose a phoito instead, very like a mojito but made with rice wine. Starters were limited, a few spring roles, chicken wings, squid and prawn crackers. I went for the baby squid while he had the chicken. The baby squid was delicately battered , which came with a pot of dried seasoning and chillis. The waitress instructed me to squeeze the lime into the lot, to create my own dipping sauce. Nice touch. The chicken wings were apparently succulent in the middle, encased in crispy skin and seasoned well. These were not the cheapest of starters..the chicken was probably the best value for money. Starters scoffed we went for the ramen..you could choose the standard,more delicately flavoured broth, with steak, meatballs, prawn, tofu? With a choice of chicken or veggie stock. These came with flat noodles. I chanced the spicy prawn ramen, which offered flat rice noodles or another like 'spaghetti '..I mourned for udon..strangely enough you can only choose what noodles you want when you order the spicy ramen..othrer places I have dined let you completely tailor your dish. When the massive bowls of soup arrived, they looked tasty.. the crimson broth looked nice and leathle..however..it was tasty but not spicy for me at all....even after chucking in almost all of the chilli oil and sauce condiments in on the side...a smaller plate was laid next to this , which held mint, beansprouts, chilli and other fresh seasoning to add. The waitress even offered me a bib , she must have known I was a messy eater. This bib saved my white dress from the chilli splashback. My other halfs Ramen was unfortunately the wrong one. He had meatballs instead of the ordered steak...this was quickly swapped over.. Overall, the meal was good. Service was okay.. however I found this very expensive for what it was..at the end of the day ramen is not an expensive dish to make..and £46 was a lot for Vietnamese food... I won't be back to this one, as I do know other tastier and cheaper places.

Lexa P.

The staff were completely friendly! They sat us down very quickly and gave us insight on the menu. We first ordered prawn spring rolls which tasted good! Personally I thought they weren't the best I've had, but they were still good :) I wasn't too happy that an order was only 2 rolls (they cut them in half so it looks like 4 pieces). However, I was pleasantly surprised on how well the beef vermicelli bowl was made! I love Vietnamese food and it's been a while since I have tasted a flavor profile close to what the dishes should be! Next time I will try the pho!!

Michael B.

This is probably only the third Vietnamese restaurant I've tried and I've not been fortunate enough to have travelled to Vietnam so I'm by no means an expert on this particular cuisine, however I can still compare it to its current peers in Manchester. First impressions from outside had me thinking they may have received the short straw location-wise within The Corn Exchange, the entrance being down a cobbled side street behind Sinclair's Oyster Bar. It's spread over three floors and the interior is a mix of darkened timber, exposed pipework, metal, brick, concrete and neon. They've really gone for the industrial feel, though a few more obvious elements from the 'homeland' would help soften it a little, if you know what I mean. We were there for their soft launch so the food and drinks were complimentary; so it's been taken into consideration that they're still new and rusty in a few areas. However, this is reportedly their 15th restaurant in the UK, so the food should already be at the top of its game. Unfortunately, on the whole, Pho didn't live up to Saigon Lotus in Ancoats and Viet Shack in the Arndale for me. The prawn crackers looked and tasted identical to those you'd get with any Chinese take away. On the other end of the spectrum, their stir fried morning glory (water spinach) in garlic was probably the best dish I tried all night. Our other sides of chicken wings, prawn summer rolls and beef wrapped in betal leaves were just ok; the fried baby squid didn't do anything for me, with friends commenting that its texture was inconsistent. For my main course I had the Pho bo combo (steak, brisket & meatballs) but it only had a small amount of brisket and lacked flavour, so much so I had to add plenty of traditional sauce from the bottle on the table. We had the opportunity to give the restaurant feedback on our experience which was great - I'd probably wait a while for them to have 'bedded in' before I return.

Jessica H.

I've spent a long time debating my star rating for Pho. Going anywhere on the soft launch isn't really a fair representation of a place - but the free food is always fun - so although we had a four star experience overall, if we were paying it would be a three. The decor in Pho is a little bit unusual and I really like it: lots of neon and dark wood, with nice tables and chairs. We were seated in the upstairs section of the restaurant, so we not only had a great view of everyone else (and their food!) but also a nice insight into the grandeur of the Corn Exchange building. The menu is simple and includes starters, mains - both rice and noodle - sides, and desserts. They didn't have a full bar available so we went for white wine and beer, the latter of which wasn't very good according to the other half. We busied ourselves reading the menu and exploring the various condiments on the table, including homemade chilli paste and hot sauce, the idea being you personalise your dish to your taste. To start, we had the veggie summer rolls with 'authentic' sweet chilli dip and chicken wings. The wins were really delicious, with some proper crispy skin, and it was a generous portion. The summer rolls were good, though not very exciting, and the sauce alongside was lacking in any real flavour. For mains, I had to go for the pho, so opted for hot and spicy chicken. It was a huge portion and something I imagine would be perfect for hangovers, with the right balance between healthy and indulgent. However, the chicken was a little bit dry and there wasn't the heat I was expecting. The dish was comforting and tasty but nothing that made me say wow. We tried some green beans and sugar snap peas on the side with peanut dipping sauce but they were fairly disappointing: served cold, the peanut was too sweet on the beans and we left the majority of the plate. We had started with prawn crackers but they weren't very authentic - more like the ones you get from a supermarket bag - but the sweet chilli sauce was good. Service was friendly through if a little bit shaky from certain staff members, but it's always to be expected during the first week or so. An A-OK experience but, with so much else coming in to the area, it'll be interesting to see whether the popularity remains.

Andrew Y.

I came to Pho a few days ago when it was still their "preview/soft launch". Now I don't know whether to review/rate Pho with the whole soft launch thing in mind?? When we booked, it said that the food would all be complimentary :) it turned out that it was ALL free including the drinks. I have not had Vietnamese food that many times. Actually I originally thought I had never had it before being reminded about going to Saigon Lotus (and also been to Viet Shack a couple times!). Pho is one of the many new restaurants opened (or opening) in the new Corn Exchange. I think there will be 12 restaurants in total. Its still a work in progress Corn Exchange with the main central area (which used to have escalators) now quite bare and a bit cold. Also, not many restaurants/bars have opened. I have never been to a Pho before so don't know if the decor is always the same but I liked the style - the lighting, dark woods etc. There were 4 of us so we decided to pick some starters/sides to share and then pick our own main. For starter, we had some summer rolls (not bad but had coriander in it - which I dont like), chicken wings (really nice), baby squid (was OK but some people were not keen on it) and beef wrapped in betal leaves, served with rice vermicelli sheets & nuoc cham. Never had anything like this before - I really liked the beef but it was all unusual trying to wrap it in the vermicelli sheets - which the waitress explains was what supposed to do. One of the sides we ordered was some prawn crackers which arrived just before the starters. I was a bit disappointed with them. Nothing wrong with them as such but they just tasted like they were from a packet bought from a supermarket. I have had fresh prawn crackers many times and these were certainly not fresh. I think you would be a bit annoyed if you paid £2.75 for them. For mains, I picked one of the house specials. Ph bò nm trúng which is Brisket, enoki & button mushrooms, creamy egg yolk, in beef broth. Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed with this as there was hardly any brisket in it. And the broth didn't taste of much and was lacking. Maybe we were supposed to add some of the numerous sauces on the table to it? It actually says on their web site about pho that: "The addition of these herbs and table condiments is an essential part of eating ph and adds another dimension to the dish - our chilli paste for a kick, fish sauce for extra saltiness, garlic vinegar for sourness. Don't hold back." But personally I think that the broth should have tasted good without having to add stuff yourself. Personally, for a similar ish sort of thing to the pho, I prefer Wagamama. But I should say that I actually like Wagamama - I know many people don't but I have also had a good food there. We got our other sides with the main which was morning glory (water spinach). I have had this a couple times before in Chinese restaurants and always enjoyed it. Enjoyed it this time if maybe a bit too salty - but thats just me. Everyone else really liked it. I had a couple Saigon beers with my meal and it was OK. Overall, its a nice place with potential. The service was good. I think Vietnamese food is one of those cuisines that uses coriander quite a bit - which is a bit of a problem for me since I dont like it.

Kathryn Y.

Pho-nominal, is all I have to say about this place (and not just for the sake of using the pun). There are so few places that you can get Vietnamese food from in Manchester, that when a good one comes along, you really can't put it down. Being located in the corn exchange already gives it extra umph as you can have the feel of outdoor dining yet still be tucked in a warm cozy environment. Especially since it's coming up to the winter time now, the comforting meal plus friendly ambience paired each other wonderfully. My friend ordered the curry rice, I had the prawn, beef pho special and we shared a classic summer roll wrap. Food arrived so quickly we were worried it wasn't fresh...but nope! Rolls were crisp and aromatic and both are meals were pipping hot just like a home cooked meal ought to be. My noodles were quite close to authentic Vietnamese pho but maybe not quite there yet (hence the 4 stars) but the curry was delicious and enhanced with a lovely coconut flavour. Price range wasn't too bad - on the upper range but still reasonable. All in all, if anyone is ever craving some South East Asian cuisine, this is the place to be.

Angelo E.

Every time I feel like I'm going to get sick my go to is a big bowl of pho! My friend was getting sick so I suggested we should eat Vietnamese food for lunch so we went to this place. There was no wait for lunch and we were able to sit in the courtyard area of the corn exchange. The menu is 80% pho and the rest are appetisers or other types of noodle dishes, so if you come here, you should really get their pho. We did order shrimp chips which was pretty good cause it was thickly cut with a sweet and sour sauce. There's many types of pho on their menu, but really they all have the same broth and noodle. The only difference with their pho is the type of meat they include. I was disappointed they didn't include protein like fish balls, tripe, pork. I opted for a pho that had a mixture of three different types of beef- meatball, thinly sliced beef, and shredded beef. It came with the traditional mixture of bean sprouts, mint, coriander, lime, and chilli slices. Wasn't really impressed with the veg side cause it wasn't a lot and I'm use to getting a big plate of it. The flavour was good, had a rich deep beef stock flavour. It was well seasoned and had the same taste as other pho I've had in the past. The dish was only £8.95 so that was cool and definitely filling. It was more than enough for one person. The staff was pretty helpful and welcoming. The restaurant is clean, sleek, and trendy. If you're in the area and hungry after shopping or just need to warmed inside, this place is a good spot for Pho.

Jessica C.

My friend and I got here around 8pm for a late dinner. They advised that the broth was made overnight with bones to give the depth of flavour. I totally agree with this, the flavour is amazing! I had the combo pho with brisket, meatballs and steak. The brisket came as strips of meat, which were a bit dry but very flavoursome. Meatballs are juicy. Steak were pieces of bulgogi slices of thin meat. I assumed the meat goes in raw and cooks with hot soup because when it was served the meat was a bit pink but by the time I finished mixing the pho the meat was cooked through. I also ordered the chicken rice spring roll - this was ok but not as good as others around Manchester. Plus the chicken was a bit dry. Overall the pho was great and I would go back for that especially. I gave it 3 stars because we had to wait a while before being seated and being served, but otherwise the service was good.