Soho Pho Noodle Lunch Picker for a Friend From Hanoi

Ask anyone from Hanoi about pho abroad and you will hear a gentle complaint: too many herbs, too much sauce, a broth that tastes sweeter than at home. Taking a friend from northern Vietnam to lunch in Soho is a chance to test that claim together. The Vietnamese and pan-Asian rooms scattered between Chinatown, Old Compton Street and Berwick Street serve a lunchtime crowd of office workers, students and theatre staff. This pho noodle lunch picker is for that meal: how to choose a room, how to order the way your friend would at home and how to talk about the differences.

Pho was born in northern Vietnam, around Hanoi and Nam Dinh, in the early twentieth century, and the northern style remains the reference for many Vietnamese. Pho Bac, as it is called, has a clear, savoury beef broth, wide flat rice noodles, plenty of spring onion and very little else. It is served without a big plate of herbs, and many Hanoi eaters season it only with a squeeze of lime, a few slices of fresh chilli or a splash of chilli and garlic vinegar.

When many northerners moved south in the middle of the century, pho travelled with them and changed. Southern pho, Pho Nam, grew sweeter and more generous: a bigger herb plate with Thai basil and bean sprouts, hoisin and chilli sauce on the table, and more freedom for the diner to build the bowl. Most Vietnamese restaurants in London follow that southern pattern, which is why your friend may raise an eyebrow when the herb plate arrives.

Soho's restaurants run from tiny counters to large, busy rooms, and for a comparison lunch you want somewhere you can talk. Avoid the loudest places at the peak of the lunch hour, when office groups fill every table. A smaller Vietnamese room on a side street, or one near the edge of Chinatown, usually has more space to sit opposite each other and taste slowly.

Look at the menu in the window if one is posted. A short menu built around pho, a few noodle salads and some rice dishes is often a sign that the kitchen cares about the broth. Your friend will probably judge the place by smell before anything else, so let them lead at the door. If they wrinkle their nose and walk on, follow them without argument.

Ask your friend to order first and listen. A northern eater might ask for pho tai, thin slices of rare beef, or pho chin, well-done brisket, rather than a mixed special bowl. Some will ask for extra spring onion, or for a bowl of hanh dam, onion in vinegar, if the kitchen has it. If a quay, a crunchy fried dough stick, is on the menu, they may order it to dip into the broth, which is a Hanoi habit.

Then order your own bowl the southern way, with the herb plate and sauces, so you can taste side by side. Swap spoonfuls of broth before either of you adds anything. Your friend can point out what they miss, whether it is the depth of beef bones, the gentleness of the spice or the width of the noodles. The comparison is half the lunch.

The bottles of hoisin and sriracha on most London tables are where Hanoi visitors often draw the line. In the north, pouring sweet brown sauce into a carefully made broth can seem a little like adding ketchup to a good stew. Ask your friend to taste the broth plain and give a verdict. If the soup is good, they may not want anything else beyond lime and fresh chilli.

That does not mean the southern way is wrong; it is simply different. If you enjoy hoisin, put a little in a separate dish and dip the beef into it, a habit many Saigon eaters share. Tear some Thai basil into your own bowl and offer your friend a leaf to try. Many northerners admit, after a few weeks abroad, that the herbs grow on them.

Lunch in Soho is usually quick, with office workers in and out within half an hour. If you are hosting, you can afford to slow down, but be aware of people waiting at the door. Eat while the broth is hot, then order tea or Vietnamese coffee and keep talking. Many rooms are happy for you to stay a little longer once the first rush has passed.

Vietnamese iced coffee, strong and sweetened with condensed milk, is a good topic of its own. Your friend may tell you that in Hanoi, egg coffee, whipped egg yolk with sugar over strong coffee, is the real treat. If the restaurant offers it, order one to share. If not, add it to the list of things they will have to show you when you visit Vietnam.

After lunch, walk your friend through Chinatown, a few minutes south of most Soho restaurants. Gerrard Street, with its red lanterns, ornate gates and supermarkets full of familiar ingredients, often surprises visitors from Asia. Your friend may want to stop in a grocery shop to look for fish sauce, rice paper or the herbs they have been missing, and it is worth giving them the time.

Then head north to Soho Square, a small garden with a mock-Tudor hut in the middle and benches under plane trees, a calm place to sit on a dry day. Berwick Street, with its old fruit and vegetable stalls and fabric shops, is nearby. If the weather turns, the record shops and small galleries of Soho make a good indoor walk before your friend heads back to their hotel.

On weekdays between twelve and one, and on Saturday afternoons before matinees, Soho's restaurants can be crowded. If your first choice has a queue and your friend is jet-lagged, do not wait in the cold. Head a few streets away from the busiest corners, or eat slightly earlier or later. Asking a staff member how long a table will take is perfectly normal in Soho.

If you cannot get a seat anywhere, buy two banh mi to take away and eat them on a bench in Soho Square or Golden Square. Your friend may have strong opinions about London bread as well, which is another conversation to enjoy. Then plan a proper pho lunch for another day, perhaps at the quieter end of the week.

Before the day, ask your friend what they miss most about pho at home and whether they have tried any in London yet. Choose a time that avoids the busiest lunch hour, and check whether anyone has allergies, since broths and sauces often include fish sauce and some dishes are finished with peanuts.

The Karpo APP can help you shortlist a few rooms. Search for pho near Soho or Chinatown, save two that look calm enough for a long lunch, and let your friend make the final choice at the door. Whether they decide London pho is too sweet or surprisingly good, you will both leave knowing more about a bowl that means a lot to a whole country.