Review of 'Phat Phuc Noodle Bar'

Located just off of the Chelsea high street just across from the old town hall you will find a gem of a Vietnamese street food restaurant located in a courtyard just off of Sydney Street. It is not much for looks but what it lacks in this it more than makes up for in flavour.

Visiting on a Saturday afternoon there was a bit of a queue to wait for a table under the small plastic tarpaulin tent that erected in the courtyard (you can also sit at the bar style seating alongside the cooking area). Shared tables crowded together with mis-matched seats were packed with people getting their Vietnamese fix. The “restaurant” is a small shack in the corner of the courtyard where you order at a small window attached to the small cooking area and a short time later (about 15 minutes for us) your order arrives at the table delivered with little ceremony to wherever you managed to find a seat. The Ritz this is not. The tables all have the common condiments in the middle of the table - Saracha hot sauce, hot peppers in water, and dry fried onions.

The menu is quite simple: Starters, Pho (mild broth with noodles), Laksa (spicy coconut broth with noodles), Noodle Salads, and Stir-Fry. The prices are equally simple, and easy to take with mains all priced at £8 regardless of meat/veggie ingredient you choose. Drinks are basically pick the soft drink yourself from the cooler or tea (I chose the later which was cheap, a full pot with a single jasmine tea bag). We decided to give the decidedly unspectacular starters a miss but ordered two noodle dishes instead: A prawn laksa and a chicken pho.

Laksa with Prawns

The prawn Laksa was absolutely amazing: Just the right amount of spicy heat and packed with flavour with a nice number of large prawns. The noodles were perfectly cooked, al dente.

Pho Ga (Chicken)

The “Pho Ga” (chicken) was also full of flavour (lack of flavour is a risk of any pho, trying to get the broth to be more than just cloudy warm water). Again, the noodles were perfectly cooked.

Interior

Great unpretentious Vietnamese noodle bar a short distance away from the fancy shops of Chelsea. Can be busy when you may have to wait.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2020-03-14


Cuisine: Vietnamese

Address: The Courtyard 151 Sydney Street Chelsea, London SW3 6NT ENGLAND

Public Transport: TUBE South Kensington TUBE Sloane Square

Location: London (England) - Chelsea

Map:

 

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Telephone: +44 (0) 207 351 3843

URL: http://www.phatphucnoodlebar.co.uk/