Pho 99
“Yet another Vietnamese place?”
You know the drill. Pascalito likes Vietnamese food, and it seems I am on a journey to explore every. single. Vietnamese. restaurant in Gothenburg. Pho 99 is situated in Majorna, an area I generally don’t visit often for food, simply because it’s a bit off as someone living on Hisingen. In any case, Majorna means a large vegan crowd, so restaurants have to adapt and Pho 99 seems to have a good menu for that. Let’s have a look!
Not too far away from Stigbergstorget, Pho 99 is still located in a bit of an odd place, as it’s mainly residential around it. So, it’s a little bit more your neighbourhood restaurant on that scale. Still, easily accessible.
The inside looks simple, as you expect from a neighbourhood Asian restaurant. It works, but it feels more like a place for a quick snack than a restaurant. I assume they have mostly take-away orders from the people living in the area anyways.
The menu is quite promising though. Clearly indicated vegan dishes, such as Pho, Bun Chay and the signature summer/spring rolls. And all that to very cheap prices, ranging around 109 SEK/dish. Feels like a steal.
We went for Bun Chay, a stir fry, and the Spring + Summer rolls. Costing us a total of roughly 300 SEK. That’s ridiculous, to be honest. Didn’t take too long to receive the food either, but it was a slow weekend day in Summer.
And from the looks it’s quite good. The Summer rolls are alright and lack some herbs, but certainly not the worst version I’ve had in Vietnamese restaurants in Gothenburg. The Spring Rolls on the other hand are great. Big piece of tofu inside and with the peanut sauce on the side just very comforting. Almost in the realm of Steamy Pho, so that’s a big compliment.
The Bun Chay is alright, but here they use the cheap mini Spring rolls from the wholesale (you can get them yourself at Saigon in Nordstan). But okay for that price point. The stir fry is quite alright as well. Nothing special, but a big portion with lots of tofu. I’d eat it again, but nothing I will dream about.
And there we have it. Good food, some even really good, for a very cheap price. While there are clearly some shortcuts taken to make this viable for the place, I have definitely eaten much worse in much pricier/flashier Vietnamese restaurants. This place really feels like a little gem, and I am happy I went here.
Price:
Pho: 109 SEK
Bun Chay: 109 SEK
Summer Rolls: 49 SEK/2 pieces
Spring Rolls: 49 SEK/2 pieces
The Verdict
I am honestly very positively surprised. I didn’t expect much from a typical neighbourhood take-away place, but Pho 99 is having a great vegan selection, fantastic Spring rolls with loads of tofu, alright Summer rolls and nails the Vietnamese flavour profile quite adequately. And that at a price point that just feels like you’re stealing from them. Of course, not a place to invite your in-laws to, but if you’re around, definitely a great place for some good food. I will be coming back, and I don’t even live nearby.
4/5 Leaves
Pro
Great vegan selection
Very affordable
Mostly really good food
Con
It’s a take-away place with that kind of charme
Some shortcuts taken for the pricing (lack of herbs in Summer rolls, cheap spring rolls in Bun Chay)
Location
Kommendörsgatan 33
Opening Hours
Mo-Fr: 11:00 - 21:00
Sa: 13:00 - 21:00
Su: closed
