The Big Bowl

We got really excited by all the good reviews for The Big Bowl. With their prices and the fact that they offer delivery, we had hoped to be in noodle heaven! But alas, although the food arrived quickly and was hot, we were both disappointed to find our soups bland and lacking all but an obligatory amount of accoutrement. My chicken phở contained a fair number of chicken slices, but they were very thin; altogether, probably less than half a chicken breast. My husband’s hot and sour seafood contained four fish balls but only two, YES ONLY TWO, prawns. Our garnishes, a stem of coriander leaf, a stem of mint, two tiny slices of chili and a slice of lime, were standard. I was disappointed not to have a few more chilis and some beansprouts. There was a tiny bit of chili sauce which we assumed was for my husband’s hot and sour soup. I nicked a bit and it really helped. In summary, the soup was ok. We ate up the meaty goodness in just a few bites and were left slurping up noodles with mediocre broth. It reminded me of something I’d eat while suffering from a cold. There are definitely better noodles to be had in Brighton.

Nice food, very friendly atmosphere, I loved starter, spring roll very very fresh and reasonable price.

I heard about this place from a friend about a month ago and I have already been here thrice since. The menu is small but has the classics — phở, bun vermicelli, summer rolls etc. Service is fast and friendly. And the food has been unfailingly fresh and flavourful. My advice — skip the over rated Phở restaurant next to Jamie’s Italian and head here for your Vietnamese fix.

There’s a distinct lack of good Vietnamese restaurants in Brighton & Hove. But that’s all changed. I just discovered The Big Bowl last week and what a revelation! Delicious and quick Vietnamese food in Brighton at long last… The Big Bowl offers a simple menu but it covers all the Vietnamese favourites such as Phở, Bun Noodles, Chicken Curry, Beef Noodle Soup, Summer and Fried Spring Rolls, etc. So far I’ve tried the Honey Pork Bun Noodles and the Chicken Curry. Both dishes were really tasty and authentic. The pork was so tender and fragrant and the Chicken curry was light, aromatic and delicious. The food is all home cooked… chain style ‘mass produced’ food this is not. The service is really, really friendly, attentive and helpful. The restaurant itself is quite small, there’s only room for about 20 people. They also do take away. I’ll be back very soon to try the Phở! Highly recommended ++