Popular Vietnamese restaurant to make Old Town pop-up location permanent
The family behind the successful pop-up say they are “building something we hope Edinburgh will treasure”
A family-run Vietnamese restaurant has announced that its pop-up location is staying put following a successful festival season.
Pho & Roll’s has proven to be a hit with locals, students and visitors alike it moved into its Jeffrey Street pop-up restaurant previously home to brunch and dinner spot Hot Toddy.
The restaurant, which currently has a perfect five star rating on Google, will be open until October 11 before closing for a month-long refurbishment.
Owner Bau Pham started dishing up phở for diners at his family’s flagship Stockbridge restaurant in April and will be keeping his second location “firmly in the family” with his brother Thinh Pham heading up the Jeffrey Street restaurant.
Thinh Pham said: “ “We only meant to pop up for the festival, but the response has been overwhelming.
“People have crossed the city for our phở and come back the next day for more. Making Jeffrey Street permanent felt like the only thing to do, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back into a space that finally does the food justice.”
Spread across two floors, the restaurant takes inspiration from a Vietnamese teahouse and promises respite from the busy city centre outside its doors allowing people to “slow down, breathe out and let an hour or two drift by.”
The family, who have lived in the Capital for the last decade, cook authentic Vietnamese food fresh daily “with no MSG or shortcuts”.
Alongside the dish that gives the restaurant its name, it also serves a number of street-food favourites including bánh mì, hand-rolled summer rolls with a “moreish” house peanut sauce, vermicelli bowls and fried spring rolls.
The menu will include plenty of vegan options and serve freshly-tapped beer from Pilot in Leith as well as house cocktails, such as Vietnamese espresso martinis.
Founder Bau Pham said: “In Vietnamese culture, food is never just something you eat — it’s how families gather and how we show love.
“To see that spirit take root in the Old Town, led by my brother, means everything to us. We’re building something we hope Edinburgh will treasure for years to come.”