Fate finally brings Vietnamese Pho to Nottingham’s Hockley
Pho, a 100-cover Vietnamese restaurant serving fresh, healthy Vietnamese food is currently finalising an extensive fit out and is set to open soon in Hockley on Monday, 31st January.
Creating 30 new jobs, the 4,000 sq ft restaurant has undergone a back to brick restoration. The Pho team has transformed the ground floor of the former National Video Game Arcade building in Hockley into a vibrant, Vietnam-inspired space to meet, eat and sample a range of soups, sides and specials.
Pho founder, Stephen Wall, comments: “I know the city well and we’ve been working with Box Property to try and find the right site for years. We saw this site a few years ago and were keen, so to finally get the opportunity to open here feels like fate and a long time in the making.
“We absolutely love the site and pitch. We’ve built it from scratch, with the walls, columns and other existing features at the centre of the design. It’s a wonderful building to open a restaurant in as the space almost designs itself.”
It is the latest opening for the family run business which was established in 2005 and now has more than 30 locations nationwide from Covent Garden to Edinburgh. It was let to Pho by Box Property following a four-year search to find the ideal location.
Ben Tebbutt co-founder and director of Box Property, adds: “We’ve worked closely with the Pho team to find a suitable site in Nottingham for several years. They started their search in Hockley initially, then came close to taking a lease in the King Street/Queen Street area but that didn’t feel quite right.
“We’ve championed Hockley for a long time and it was always the preferred option. Owner Stephen Wall felt that Hockley was the only location for them.”
“It was a complicated deal to put together, with lots of landlords works and a listed building in the mix, but what the team has done to transform it is fantastic. It’s another asset to Hockley and we can’t wait to get stuck into a steaming bowl of soup.”
Pho, (pronounced ‘fuh’) is the national dish of Vietnam. Its menu almost completely gluten free (accredited by Coeliac UK and about 40% plant-based) – including many of its broths which are simmered for at least 12 hours before they hit the bowl. Each are made fresh every day in the restaurant. In addition to noodle soups it offers a range of tasty starters to share, salads, delicious curries, rice bowls and wok-fried noodles plus a handpicked wine list, cocktails, fresh juices and Vietnamese beers.
Stephen and Juliette Wall opened Pho in June 2005 after they travelled to Vietnam and fell in love with the food. They made the decision to start a restaurant serving phở while sat on high stools, slurping pho bo, in Ho Chi Minh City. Almost seventeen years later, Pho is still a family-run business serving great value, healthy Vietnamese street food, freshly cooked daily.
The Pho team has big plans for growth and will be opening further sites this year, firstly in Cheltenham and then across the country. Anyone with an interesting site or venue opportunity is encouraged to get in touch with Box Property with potential location ideas.
To find out more information about the Nottingham opening or to book a table, visit www.phocafe.co.uk/book.