The Vietnamese family restaurant opening on lively Edinburgh Old Town street

There’s a new resident on this thoroughfare

When Pho & Roll moved into their Jeffrey Street premises over the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it was only going to be a temporary home.

However, the Vietnamese street food pop-up proved so popular that they’re making it permanent. They have closed for refurbishment with plans to reopen as a freshly transformed long-term resident in mid November. It’ll be their second Edinburgh restaurant, to join their smaller Stockbridge branch at 1 Dean Bank Lane. We spoke to co-owner, Thinh Pham, about the plans.

Tell us about the people behind Pho & Roll

It’s very much a family business, led by my older brother Bau and me, with my wife Jenny also working closely with us in the kitchen. Bau is 48 and I’m 28, and we’re two of ten siblings. There are 20 years between us, so growing up Bau was always someone I looked up to. He supported me a lot when I was younger, and being able to stand beside him now while he builds something he has dreamed about for years means a lot to me. Bau moved to the UK in 2013 with the dream of one day having a restaurant of his own. I spent several years working in hospitality in Berlin, including restaurant management, and later helped run a restaurant in Germany. Our cousins also built the Umami restaurant group in Berlin, so hospitality has been around our family for many years. Eventually Bau opened the first Pho & Roll in Stockbridge, and Jenny and I moved from Berlin to Edinburgh to join him. Now it feels like all those different journeys have finally come together.

Why did you decide to open a permanent restaurant?

Jeffrey Street was never supposed to become permanent at first. We came in for the Festival to run a pop-up and see how people responded. The reaction surprised us. People came back, recommended us to friends, and some crossed the city specifically to eat with us. Stockbridge had already shown us that if we focused on good food and looking after people properly, customers would find us. But it’s small, and guests often ask to reserve tables when there simply isn’t the space. Jeffrey Street gives Pho & Roll room to grow – reservations, larger groups, a proper bar, private gatherings and more than 120 covers across two floors. What began as a temporary pop-up started to feel like the natural next chapter.

How do you think it’ll differ from offering street food?

The food will always have its roots in Vietnamese street food. What changes is the experience around it. Street food in Vietnam is quick and simple, but also very social. People sit close together, talk and share food. We want to keep that informality and energy while giving people somewhere warm and comfortable where they can stay a little longer. The larger restaurant also lets us bring in another important part of Vietnamese food culture: sharing. We’d like to introduce sharing-style dinners and platters, including vegan options, so groups can experience a little more of that culture here in Edinburgh.

Why did you choose that location?

Jeffrey Street felt special straight away. It’s in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, close to the Royal Mile and Waverley, with residents, workers, students and visitors from all over the world. We wanted to bring fresh Vietnamese cooking into the middle of that – food made carefully and from scratch, but still approachable enough that someone can walk in for phở or bánh mì without needing a special occasion. The pop-up also allowed us to test the location first. The customers showed us the demand was there, which gave us confidence in making it permanent.

What changes will you make to the interior?

After the pop-up, we’re carrying out a full refurbishment. We want the restaurant to feel warm and calm, with natural timber, deep greens, a darker ceiling and linen lanterns creating soft light. There will also be a curved bar and furniture inspired by the simple wooden tables and stools you see at street-food stalls in Vietnam. The basement is being transformed into another dining area for larger tables, group bookings and private gatherings. We want it to look beautiful, but still feel relaxed. We want Pho & Roll to be somewhere people can feel completely at ease, share food, laugh around the table and enjoy spending time together.

What will be on your food menu, and what are your specialities?

Phở will always be at the heart of Pho & Roll. Alongside it we have bánh mì, hand-rolled summer rolls and spring rolls, rice and vermicelli bowls, bún bò huế and both meat and vegan dishes. We prepare as much as possible ourselves, fresh each day. Our spring rolls, for example, are hand-rolled by us rather than bought ready-made, and we don’t use MSG. We deliberately keep the menu focused. We would rather make fewer dishes really well than try to offer everything. Sometimes the phở broth sells out before the end of service, but we would still choose that over compromising quality. What makes Pho & Roll different is our family’s recipes, the way we prepare things and the experience we want people to have when they eat with us.

What is your personal favourite dish and why?

For me, it has to be bún bò huế. I love phở too, but bún bò huế has a deeper, more intense aroma and a little more character. I’ll happily have it for breakfast. It can look simple in the bowl, but behind it there is broth, herbs, spice, time and preparation. It’s comforting food.

Tell us about your drinks menu

Jeffrey Street is fully licensed, so we can do much more with drinks than we can at Stockbridge. We have draught beer from Pilot in Leith, wine and cocktails, including our Vietnamese espresso martini made with Vietnamese coffee. We also make non-alcoholic drinks including lemongrass iced tea, Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk and mango smoothies.

Do you think Edinburgh already has a lot of good Vietnamese restaurants?

The Vietnamese food scene in Edinburgh has grown enormously, and I think that’s something to celebrate. When bau first came here, Vietnamese food was much less visible. Now there are more Vietnamese businesses and more people discovering our cuisine. I don’t think it’s our place to say who is better or worse. Every restaurant has its own recipes and its own story. We simply focus on traditional cooking, fresh ingredients, consistency and hospitality. If more people in Edinburgh fall in love with Vietnamese food as the whole scene grows, that’s good for everyone.

Are you nervous or excited about the opening?

Definitely both. Going from a small restaurant in Stockbridge to a restaurant of this size is a huge step for our family, with a major refurbishment, a much bigger team and more than 120 seats. Of course there are moments when it feels daunting. But mostly, we’re excited. During the Jeffrey Street pop-up, we received a 5.0 Google rating from more than 80 customer reviews, and seeing people enjoy something our family has worked so hard to create has given us a lot of confidence. But what matters most to us is earning that trust again with every guest who walks through the door. When we officially reopen in mid-November, we simply want people to feel genuinely welcomed, enjoy food we are proud to serve, and leave wanting to come back. If we can create that feeling every day, then for us, Pho & Roll will be a success.