Food review: Pho, Grand Central, Birmingham

It wasn't that long ago when a meal at the train station meant a Double Whopper with chips, some onion rings and an unnecessarily large diet coke.

The choice of seating was either the sole plastic backless chair in the middle of the platform or my personal favourite, the dusty floor between Boots and WHSmith.

And if you really fancied going posh, an Upper Crust baguette was just round the corner.

But that's now a distant memory, the future is here and it's sensational – welcome to Grand Central Birmingham.

The shopping centre opened in September last year and has been a huge success in both visitor numbers and positive feedback.

The New Street Station redevelopment was frustrating for anyone and everyone who dared to drive in it's vicinity. Constant diversions, traffic delays and what appeared to be a never-ending walkway before you encountered a coffee shop, let alone a platform!

However the wait was truly worth it. The major overhaul has transformed the station into one of the very best multi-purpose buildings in the UK. With more than 60 new stores and a host of restaurants spread over 500,000 sq ft, New Street now rivals London St Pancreas in design, practicality and enjoyment.

And when you have been dragged through 59 of the 60 stores by your wife, a boy needs his food!

Located on the first floor, Grand Central has given the green light to a diverse number of restaurants from French to Japanese. Whether you care for a macaroon with your afternoon tea or some extra gravy with your boutique pie, there's something for everyone here.

But with my wife being half Filipino, we decided to stay in the Far East and dine at Pho. No that's not a spelling error, the name may be short and slightly odd, but the experience from start to finish was quite simply a delight.

Pho is an open plan Vietnamese restaurant that delivers quick, healthy 'street food' at a very reasonable price.

So what is the meaning behind the name? Quite simply it's the star dish that the restaurant serves – a traditional noodle soup, but more about that later.

You can't miss the restaurant, set on the balcony overlooking the shops and below the stunning glass atrium roof, it's a far cry away from crouching in a train shelter with a box of over-salted chips.

Despite offering plenty of tables, don't make the mistake of expecting to walk in and sit down. We arrived at 6pm and had to queue for around 15 minutes before we were seated. But with a perusal of the menu and a friendly meet and greet by the host, the time flew by.

Some of the best restaurants I have been fortunate to dine in around the world have been located in some of the most bizarre back alleys and shopping malls that you could ever imagine. 'Make the food good and they will come'.

Pho isn't in a bad location, but travelling to your local train station for dinner is a new one for me.

The menu is clear, well described and extensive.

And if you can't read Vietnamese, the English explanation is quoted just below each dish to help out even the most confused customer.

The staff are incredibly attentive and when I eat out I always ask their thoughts on the menu before I make my final decision, just to see if there's any 'must haves'.

The first thing I noticed was that everyone was incredibly passionate about the food. Not just the staff, but the diners either side of us who were tucking into their beautifully presented bowls of noodles and chicken.

The tables were very close together but that was through design rather than space limitations. I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea to hear the guy next to you slurping on that last noodle, but Pho is an experience of sights and sounds as much as it is taste.

To start, we ordered one Goi cuon and one brisket summer roll. I've eaten Vietnamese spring rolls plenty of times, mainly down the west coast of America where it's booming in San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, but this was up there with the very best. Forget deep fried, dry and heavy and think light, healthy and delicious.

The spring rolls were made from fresh rice paper and served with lettuce and herbs with a moreish satay or hoi sin dip. Chicken, prawn and vegetable options were on offer too. Washed down with a glass of traditional lemonade, it was the perfect refreshing start for what was to come.

'Shall we go straight for the main course?'

'No, let's share a salad.'

If you're doing a food review, you've got to taste as much as you can, right?

The Vietnamese chicken salad (Goi ga) – #wow.

For me, this was the star of the show. It was simply a delight from the first mouthful to the last. Suffice to say my wife's trip to the bathroom resulted in her only having two mouthfuls left when she returned.

The shredded white chicken strips were juicy and plentiful and combined meticulously with Asian herbs and peppers before the addition of a chilli ginger dressing that brought out every single flavour of the dish.

I defy anyone to order that salad and not enjoy it. And if they don't, I'll foot their bill! Think Asian chicken-coleslaw salad, but without any of the mayonnaise or muck that turns a 250kcal plate into an 800kcal disaster.

To be honest, I would have happily left the table feeling very content with life. But the order was already in and I wasn't going to back down from the national dish.

I do like to change things up in restaurants, however with pho, I always pick the same thing every single time – Pho chin (brisket) with extra brisket.

The huge bowl in which it was served may be slightly intimidating to the novice, but with the oversized wooden spoon that comes with the soup, they avoid that awkward, 'should I be using chopsticks?' question.

The pho also comes with a side plate of fresh herbs, chillies and beansprouts that allow you to complement and flavour the soup as you deem fit.

The side sauces are also there for a reason, don't be scared, just ask the staff and they will be only too happy to give advice. It's a fun and interactive experience.

Chilli paste gives a kick, fish sauce adds some extra saltiness or try garlic vinegar if you want to go sour.

With lean meat aplenty and rice noodles flowing, the dish provides the perfect comfort food combination, but at the same time keeping the healthy-eating element at the forefront of the dish.

For athletes, gym-goers and figure-conscious folk, this restaurant provides an excellent blend of good clean eating that will fill even the most empty of stomachs in the best way possible.

Two courses is probably enough, but there was no way I wasn't finishing that chicken salad!

Suffice to say dessert was off the menu this time, but there were a variety of different traditional dishes that looked stunning as they came off the pass.

Excellent service, delicious, healthy plentiful food in a relaxed friendly atmosphere, Pho ticks all the boxes – a must visit. The only drawback to the whole experience is that John Lewis is just a stones-throw away from the restaurant, so the obligatory 'walking off the food' stroll ended up costing me £78!

I knew I should have shared that salad – it was worth it though!

By Nathan Judah