What’s it all about? Yummy renditions of Vietnamese street food staples, wrapped up in hip branding in a cute diner a mere stagger from Beijing’s most popular bar.
This tiny emporium ladles up a lovely bowl of beef pho – Vietnamese noodle soup comprising a rich, slow-simmered bone broth, thin rice noodles, assorted cuts of cow and a fistful of aromatic herbs (they also have chicken but as yet no veggie options).
That’s not all. Well, almost. The other main on the menu at The Pho Laboratory is World’s Hippest Sandwich™ (circa 2010), the banh mi, nicely reproduced here with homemade rolls (perhaps a shade too pillowy for the purpose), and the right amount of citrus zing, fire and crunch in the filling.
We didn’t try the fresh spring rolls (3 varieties) but hey – a splendid reason to return. Drinks include a trio of tins of Vietnamese beer, hot and cold drip coffee over condensed milk, soft options and the promise of wine and cocktails in the works.
It’s a nicely designed space too, with room for about 20 at a squeeze. The waitress told us the building used to be the home of labourers that built the Worker’s Stadium (one for you fact fans – the Worker’s Stadium (Gongti) was one of Mao’s ’10 great buildings’ put up in 1959 to celebrate a decade of the PRC Can you guess the other nine?).
How to find it? To get your pho fix, look for this tasteful neon-esque signage in the window on the south side of Xinzhong Lu, opposite Great Leap Brewing. It’s 150 yards west of the junction with Chunxiu Lu.
About the author: Tom O’Malley is Propaganda Secretary at Bespoke Beijing. A lifestyle journalist, guidebook author, glutton and bon vivant, Tom is a tireless crusader for fine food, hospitality and tourist experiences in China’s capital.