Pho88
“I keep on finding Vietnamese places!”
Yet another place in the long long list of Vietnamese restaurants. At least that’s what the name suggests. Pho88 is a pretty new addition and in the newly redeveloped area around Elisedal. Plenty of new apartments and offices and hence new restaurants to cater to the people living and working there. Let’s see what Pho88 can do!
Situated in the ground floor of an apartment building, the area starts to get some more life recently. Since it’s a new development, the place itself is fresh and modern. I’d even say it’s fairly cosy, even though rather metropolitan and with a lack of uniqueness due to that, but all good here.
The menu is plastered around the walls or at the counter to order. It offers a variety of food and this is where the first red flags starts blinking. Plenty of different options that are clearly a best of “Swedish Asian food”. So you have your Vietnamese classics such as Summer Rolls or Pho, but also Wontons, Pad Thai or Red Curry. Not a good sign.
But thankfully, as a vegan (or vegetarian) options are very limited, as they use animal broth or curry paste with animal ingredients (shrimps) in most of their dishes. Options are hence limited to basically only some stiry fry and summer rolls. Disappointing to say the least, but it is cheap with a price of 65 SEK for summer rolls and 120 SEK for the stir fry - even on a weekend without a lunch offer.
Short wait, food comes and the portion size is massive! They really give you plenty of food to make it worth the little money you pay. I’d love to say I appreciate it, but here comes the problem.
The food is not good. Not good at all. The summer rolls are pretty sad and mainly full of rice noodles without much crunch or freshness from herbs. But the stir fry is outright bad. Plenty of vegetables and tofu is good, but the sauce is basically just a simple thickened soy sauce. Pretty disgusting if you eat more than 2-3 bites.
And this is where it already ends. Not many vegan/vegetarian options, clear focus on animal ingredients, but also simply pretty bad execution of the food. While it is cheap and portion sizes are good, I’d really say it’s nothing to come back to. I do appreciate the open allergy communication though. I see too many red flags though.
Price:
Summer Rolls: 65 SEK
Stir Fry: 120 SEK
The Verdict
Pho88 is a pretty new place in the redeveloped area around Elisedal. With a modern, but also metropolitan and somewhat generic look it is still quite inviting. The menu is clearly communicating allergenes, but this is also where the disappointment kicks in. Most options always contain animal ingredients, so as a vegan/vegetarian, you are very limited, even though Vietnamese cuisine is rather vegan friendly. On top of that, the menu is another red flag by being a sort of “best of” of Asian food in Sweden, with the likes of Pad Thai and Red Curry next to the Vietnamese options.
The food itself is cheap and portions are big, but the quality is not worth it. The summer rolls are mainly rice noodles and lack crunch or fresh herbs, the stir fry is a simple thickened soy sauce that gets disgusting after 2-3 bites - so the large portion size doesn’t help.
Plenty of better places in the city.
2/5 Leaves
Pro
Cheap
Open communication about allergenes
Con
Mostly non-vegan/non-vegetarian options (broth, curry paste based on animal protein)
Very average food
More of a mix of different cuisines than one thing done well
Location
Fredriksdalsgatan 4A
Opening Hours
Mo-Fr: 11:00 - 20:00
Sa: 12:00 - 20:00
Su: 12:00 - 19:30
