A good bowl of pho is a small miracle, a clear broth simmered for hours, soft rice noodles, a tangle of fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime, all built at the table into something fragrant and restorative. Portsmouth has quietly become a fine place to find it, with a handful of Vietnamese kitchens turning out pho, summer rolls and strong iced coffee across Southsea and the waterfront.
You might also like
The city’s Vietnamese scene is small but genuinely good, so rather than pad a list we have stuck to the places that earn their reputation. Our team weighed the city’s Vietnamese restaurants on the same criteria, leaning hardest on what diners say, drawing on aggregate ratings and recurring comments from Google and Tripadvisor rather than a single visit.
Reviews carry the most weight, balanced against the food and its authenticity, consistency, the setting and value for money. The result is an editorial snapshot, not an official verdict, and it is a living list we will update as the scene grows.
Here are the best spots for pho and Vietnamese food in Portsmouth, starting with the best and working down.
1. Viet Quan, Southsea
Tucked onto Landport Terrace near the city centre, Viet Quan takes the top spot as the place reviewers keep calling the best authentic pho in Portsmouth. It holds a 4.7 across more than 700 Google reviews, a strong score on a serious sample, and the comments return again and again to the same words, fresh, generous and fairly priced.
The pho is the headline, a clean, deeply savoury beef broth that regulars rate as the real thing, but the wider menu is where it wins loyalty. Diners rave about the fried noodles with prawn, the roast pork rice and the sheer size of the portions, all at prices that feel almost too reasonable for the quality. The room is bright, clean and welcoming, and the service stays fast and friendly even when, as reviewers note, a single server is running the floor.
It is popular and compact, so it is worth booking ahead at busy times, and the odd note about an over-sweet Vietnamese coffee is about the only complaint you will find. A bowl of pho runs around £11 to £12 and most mains land between £13 and £17, strong value for the quality and the portion size. For authentic pho done with care and value, nothing in the city quite matches it.
What’s great
- widely rated as the most authentic pho in the city;
- huge portions at genuinely low prices;
- a broad menu beyond pho, from fried noodles to roast pork rice;
- fast, warm service in a bright, clean room.
What to know
- it is small and popular, so booking helps at peak times;
- the Vietnamese coffee can run a touch sweet.
If you only try one Vietnamese kitchen in Portsmouth, make it this one.
2. Pho Portsmouth, Gunwharf Quays
Up on the second floor at Gunwharf Quays, Pho Portsmouth brings the national Vietnamese chain to the waterfront, and the setting is a big part of the draw. It carries a 4.7 across a remarkable 3,600-plus reviews, by far the largest sample in this list, which makes that score about as reliable a signal as you will find anywhere in the city.
The pho is consistent and crowd-pleasing rather than fiercely traditional, and the kitchen spreads its talents across summer rolls, a much-praised squid starter, papaya salad and condensed-milk ice cream. Two things come up over and over in reviews, the harbour views from the terrace, which are hard to beat on a sunny day, and the care taken with coeliac and gluten-free diners, who repeatedly say they felt safe eating here.
Being a chain, it is a little more polished and a little less homely than the independents, and prices sit slightly above them. The occasional review flags a patchy server, but with a sample this size the overall picture is reassuringly steady. A bowl of pho costs around £12.50 to £14 and starters such as summer rolls sit near £7.50, a little above the independents.
What’s great
- a rock-solid 4.7 across more than 3,600 reviews;
- harbour-view terrace seating at Gunwharf;
- reliably good pho plus strong starters and sides;
- genuinely careful with gluten-free and coeliac diners.
What to know
- a chain feel, so less homely than the independents;
- prices run a little higher than the city’s smaller kitchens.
For a safe, scenic bet that rarely disappoints, especially for a group, Pho Portsmouth is the dependable choice.
3. Bubble & Pho, Southsea
Over on Albert Road, in the heart of Southsea’s restaurant strip, Bubble & Pho does exactly what its name promises, pairing Vietnamese kitchen staples with a full bubble tea menu. It holds a 4.7 across more than 600 reviews, and it has built a steady local following for cheap, generous, reliable food.
The pho and the chicken versions in particular draw repeat visitors, one regular calling it one of the best chicken phos they have had, and the fried rice, chicken wings and vegetarian summer rolls all get a nod. Portions are large, prices are kind, and there are gluten-free options if you ask the staff to check for you. The bubble tea is the extra hook, a sweet finish or a takeaway treat that sets it apart from the straighter restaurants.
The space is small and the vibe is casual rather than special-occasion, and there is no separate gluten-free menu, so coeliac diners need to ask. A bowl of pho is around £12, the special £13.50, and a bubble tea about £5, which keeps the bill easy on the wallet. As a dependable neighbourhood spot for a quick, tasty and affordable Vietnamese meal, it delivers every time.
What’s great
- well-liked pho, with the chicken version a favourite;
- large portions at affordable prices;
- a full bubble tea menu alongside the food;
- friendly service and a loyal local following.
What to know
- small and casual rather than a special-occasion room;
- no separate gluten-free menu, so you need to ask.
For a relaxed, good-value meal with a bubble tea to finish, Bubble and Pho is a reliable Southsea stand-by.
4. Pho Lounge & Bar, Southsea
The newcomer on Elm Grove, Pho Lounge & Bar, arrives with the highest rating of the lot, a near-perfect 4.9, though across a much smaller count of about 50 reviews so far. That is why it sits fourth rather than first, the quality looks outstanding, but it has not yet been tested at the volume the others have.
What those early reviews describe is very promising. One Vietnamese diner says the food tasted like home, others praise fresh, aromatic, well-balanced cooking, generous portions and fair prices, with the summer rolls and the takeaway iced Vietnamese coffee picked out as highlights. The room is cosy and nicely decorated, and the service gets warm marks for being attentive without hovering.
The only real caveat is time, a handful of months and 50 reviews cannot yet prove the consistency that a 700-review score can. Note too that it closes on Tuesdays, and prices sit in line with its neighbours, with a bowl of pho around £11 to £13, so check the current menu when you book. If the early form holds, do not be surprised to see it climb this list on the next update.
What’s great
- a near-perfect early rating and glowing first reviews;
- fresh, authentic cooking praised by Vietnamese diners;
- standout summer rolls and Vietnamese iced coffee;
- a cosy room with warm, attentive service.
What to know
- only around 50 reviews so far, so consistency is unproven;
- closed on Tuesdays.
An exciting new arrival that could well rise up the ranking once it has more miles on the clock.
The ranking in full
| Position | Venue | Area | Pho price | Score (out of 10) | % (out of 100) |
| 1 | Viet Quan | Southsea | around £11 to £12 | 9.2 | 92 |
| 2 | Pho Portsmouth | Gunwharf Quays | around £12.50 to £14 | 9.0 | 90 |
| 3 | Bubble and Pho | Southsea | around £12 | 8.6 | 86 |
| 4 | Pho Lounge and Bar | Southsea | around £11 to £13 | 8.2 | 82 |
How the scores compare (out of 10)
What the ranking reveals
The clearest pattern is that Portsmouth’s best pho comes from its independents, not its one big-name chain. Viet Quan tops the list on authenticity and value, and Bubble and Pho and Pho Lounge fill out the field with homely, affordable cooking, while Pho Portsmouth earns its high placing on sheer consistency and setting rather than tradition. If you want the real thing, the small kitchens deliver it; if you want a safe group outing with a view, the chain has its place.
Geography tells its own story too. Three of the four sit in or around Southsea, on Landport Terrace, Albert Road and Elm Grove, making that corner of the city the natural place to go hunting for a bowl of pho, with only Pho Portsmouth drawing diners to the Gunwharf waterfront.
The scores also show why review volume matters. Pho Lounge’s 4.9 is the highest average of all, but across only 50 reviews, where Viet Quan and Pho Portsmouth have earned their marks over hundreds and thousands of visits. That gap is the whole reason the newcomer sits fourth for now. For more of the city’s Asian cooking, our guides to the best Thai food in Portsmouth and the best restaurants in Portsmouth are worth a look.
How we ranked them
This ranking is an editorial snapshot from October 2026, not an official guide. To build it we compared Portsmouth’s Vietnamese restaurants against one another on the same weighted criteria rather than visiting each as a paid test. Diner reviews and reputation counted for the most, at around 35 per cent, weighing both the average score and how many reviews stand behind it. The food and its authenticity made up roughly 25 per cent, value for money and price another 15 per cent, consistency backed by review volume 15 per cent, and the setting and atmosphere the final 10 per cent. We checked the current menu price of a bowl of pho at each kitchen as part of that value score.
The ratings and recurring comments were drawn mainly from Google and Tripadvisor at the time of writing. Menus, prices and opening days change, and a brand-new restaurant can climb quickly as it gathers reviews, so treat the details here as a guide and check the current menu, price and hours with each venue before you go. The order is our considered view on the day and will shift as the city’s small Vietnamese scene grows.
