Adelaide Pho, Adelaide (SA) by Big Fil

Given its slightly off the beaten path location I was surprised at just how busy Adelaide Pho was.  I mean, just after 12 on a Thursday afternoon and we were lucky to get the last table for 2 in the place. 


Appeared quite a diverse crowd too, students, office workers, and members of the local Vietnamese community looking for a taste of home.  Tables turned over fast though, and even if full at worst I doubt we would have been waiting more than 10 minutes for a seat.

Inside it's pretty minimalist, red painted walls, fairly plain tables and chairs, just a few decorations on the wall.  It makes no pretense to fine dining but has a bit of a buzz to it, of happy diners munching through assorted rice and noodle dishes, or of slurping up their bowls of pho.


When available, something which I always like to order in Vietnamese restaurants is the grilled quail.  For me it's one of those true tests of a cheapish Vietnamese restaurant, at its best crisp, juicy and full of meaty goodness, but if not done right dry and unappetizing.  Served quartered the quail was mediocre, average rather than either good or bad.  Not too dry, fairly good flavours, but to be honest there are better available.


Better was my pho.  In what wouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me it was the combination pho for me, nicely pink slices of beef, some sliced beef sausage, and while not as much as I'd have liked a few pieces of tripe and tendon.   The soup had good flavour, the noodles were nicely done and not overcooked and sloppy, the serve generous.  Nothing spectacular about it and I would have preferred some of the fillings a touch more generous but good, honest and filling.


My favourite dish of the day through was Mrs S' combination pork on rice.  As it wasn't my lunch I only got a sample rather than the full deal, but the roast pork was good with a nicely crisp skin, and the accompanying egg properly fried so that the yolk could be mixed in with the rice.  Best part of the dish and the day though was the delicious fried pork chop, which was wonderfully moist and tender.

Overall
Friendly, quick, cheap and tasty, overall the food and service were good, the atmosphere that of a cheap and happening place where the most important thing is the food.  Just how I like my pho houses really.

Verdict
Food - 7.5
Ambience - 7
Service - 7.5
Price - 7

Address
199 Waymouth Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Tel: (08) 8212 0997