Pho Cue

Pho Cue. Say it out loud. Naughty, right? Not as wickedly delicious as their barbecued lemongrass lamb chops though.

Pho Cue is a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown and trade is brisk – turn up at peak time and you’ll have to queue. It’s worth the wait. 

The food is similarly no-nonsense. If it’s meant to be eaten fresh then it’s served fresh, no exceptions. The sauces are prepared that day, and might seem simple but every element is balanced to within an inch of its life. 

It’s a family-run restaurant, which means your money isn’t going towards buying distant shareholders a yacht, pleasingly. Though if owner Cue Tran wants to splash out on a cruiser, so be it. He’s earned it. 

The family feel is right there. The staff are friendly, not fawning, and the clientele are a cross-section of modern Manchester. Early Friday evening, there are groups of Gen Z mates grabbing a snack before a night out, multiple date nights, family meet-ups, and various locals and regulars popping in. 

The king prawn banh xeo, aka Vietnamese tacos, are a good place to begin. The crunchy shell contrasts well to the lightly springy shrimp and fresh veg, crisp bean sprouts, all with a subtle, dark salty flavour. 

The papaya salad is a winner too, deftly avoiding the oversweetness of many a Thai salad, by balancing the papaya and mango with the precise amount of zingy lime and earthy chopped nuts. 

But meal of the month has to go to those lemongrass lamb chops, under the Dad’s Special section. Tran the Elder should be proud – the quality of the meat is through the roof, the surface sizzle is all there and the sauce hits all the requisite taste receptors without ever overpowering things. 

In an area packed with excellent restaurants, Pho Cue stands proud. It might not be the showiest place on the block, but, name aside, greatness doesn’t have to mean gobby too.