Viet 80’s on Friar Lane in Nottingham is the latest Vietnamese restuarant to open in Nottingham. People have said that it is very authentic and that the menu and the food matches that expectation.
Indeed with a dish of Pigs Tripes and Black Pudding being a special it certainly isn’t catering for the vanilla diner.
They first welcomed diners outside in April when they were giving away bowls of Pho to the first customers, then in May they were finally allowed to invite Diners inside
I had this place on my radar for a while but for one reason or another had not taken a chance to visit. This week though I made a concerted effort and headed up towards the Castle to get a bowl of Pho
PHO MENU
I am a bit of a sucker for any bowl of noodles and so on my first visit it was always going to be a bowl of Pho that I ordered. There were a few options I fancied including rare beef and brisket beef, so basically beef 🙂 and in the end I ordered a bowl with the Brisket Beef for £12.50
BEEF BRISKET PHO
A short time later a big steaming bowl of vietnamese beef soup and noodles arrived at my bench. I would say table but as a single diner I had been seated on a stool in the window.
The bowl was very full and as well as slices of brisket I could also see chopped red onions and scallions floating about. Peering a little deeper through the thin soup I could see the noodles.
The broth was quite light and I would say subtle in taste as opposed to bland, the menu tells us that the broth for the Pho is made from stewed Beef Bones and that it is flavored with spices including cinnamon, anise, ginger, cardamon, cloves and coriander.
You could just about pick out those flavours and the good thing was that nothing was really overpowering anything else so it felt quite well balanced and almost healthy as I slurped up a few spoonfuls to garner my first thoughts and impressions.
To accompany the bowl of Pho was a side plate with some beansprouts, thai basil, chopped chilli and lime wedges. I gamely added some to my bowlful, not all that chilli though, let it steep for a moment while I had a sip of beer and then had another taste. The lime had picked it all up a bit and I confess then I did also add a squeeze of sriracha, since it was placed on the table as the dish arrived.
Was that a good idea? Had I now ruined the authentic flavours? Honestly I don’t know and perhaps I am some sort of heathen demon. Having said that it did make the dish more interesting and I was enjoying it a little more.
With or without the additions I always love a bowl of noodles from any region and this one did not disapoint. There was a lot of it, a lot of broth which I did keep on spilling as I slurped.
There were plenty of slices of brisket but in hindsight maybe I should have gone for the rare beef.
The thin flat noodles were bountiful in number and actually were quite tricky to fish out with chopsticks that were provided. So I ended up eating them with the golden fork (also provided) which was much easier and only slightly less messy.
Either way you can eat as you choose and if like I you are placed in the window then as you dribble and drop you can provide entertainment to the tourists passing by
HANOI BEER
To accompany my food I did order a bottle of beer, in this case some Hanoi Beer which seemed ok, although all I was really doing was adding even more liquid to my ever burgeoning belly. It was quite refreshing all the same but in the end it was just cold beer.
All in all I like the place and I quite enjoyed my bowl of Pho. The actual restaurant is nice and bright inside and looks good, sadly facing the window I missed out on all that but I did peek now and again lol
Food wise the menu was interesting and I could be tempted back to try some of the other noodle dishes like the Spicy Beef Bun Soup which has beef, pork and black pudding in it. Maybe as we approach the cooler weather the desire for a steaming bowl of broth and noodles will be just what I am looking for.
Located at 57-59 Friar Lane, Nottingham, NG1 6DH Viet 80’s is a short walk from the Castle and just across the road from the Central Travel Lodge on Maid Marian way. It is also next to Kaspa’s Desserts if that helps you radar.
You can check them out on their Facebook Page, their Instagram Profile and their Twitter Feed. Instagram seems to show the best photos of the food and will give you a good idea what to expect.