The House Of Ho - Bringing Sexy Back To SoHo

The Eatery: The House of Ho, 57-59 Old Compton St, Soho, London W1D 6HP
The Site: http://www.houseofho.co.uk/
The Companion: Late night dinner with a date or small group of friends
The Dolla: A meal for two with drinks costs around £70

The deviously named 'House of Ho' is located in the heart of Soho on Old Compton Street. It's sleek, fun, sexy and the food isn't bad either! This is definitely a night-time venue, perfect for having a few sharing plates with friends along with some sake and a few too many delectable cocktails. I went for the cocktail of the month; the Ho'rny Devil of course; chilli vodka, lemongrass vodka, coconut water, a dangerously large Vietnamese Devil chilli floating on the top and coconut flakes frosting the rim of the glass.

The menu at House of Ho is split into Light & Raw dishes, Hot & Grilled dishes, Ho’s Dishes, Sides and Dessert. All the plates here are designed to share which adds to the fun and games.

Starting with the Light & Raw dishes the Crab Pomelo Salad is definitely a good option, it's light and fresh and is made up of a variety of different textures.

Crab Pomelo Salad, Vegetable Noodles, Mint, Lemon Oil & Crispy Vietnamese crackers

I also enjoyed the Spicy Salmon Tartar. Beautifully presented and again featuring a good range of different textures on the plate. However, I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the depth of flavours, for me Vietnamese is all about strong fresh flavours and fiery chilli - I found these dishes falling slightly short in this arena.

Spicy Salmon Tartar - Chopped Pistachio, Shiso, Jicama with Asian Vinagrette

If you're feeling like satisfying your guilty pleasures then go for the Spicy Chicken Wings and BBQ Baby Back ribs from the Hot and Spicy section of the menu! Probably give the Hanoi 5 Spice Quail a miss as it was fairly dry and bland!

Now onto the star of the show, mixed reviews on how delicious it might be based on this photograph, but I have to rave about the Shaking Beef one of the 'Ho's Dishes'. Tender, tasty and one of my favourite dishes of recent months - definitely worth giving it a go!

'Shaking Beef', grass-fed, 21 day-aged fillet

PLEASE give it a try with some Morning Glory, in my opinion one of the most delicious Asian vegetables you can find -I'm addicted.

Morning Glory

If you're feeling extra naughty, go for the Molten Marou Chocolate Cake (basically a chocolate fondant) - I couldn't resist.

The verdict - although head chef Bobby Chin owns restaurants in both Saigon and Hanoi, I have to agree with many of the other critics when I say that this is not the most authentic of Vietnamese restaurants, not necessarily always a bad thing, for example the elements of fusion such as ceviche are delicious and give the menu a good range, but for me it lacked the explosions of flavour you tend to expect from Vietnamese cuisine. However, I have to say that I did enjoy the food overall especially the different components that feature on the plates and the sharing element. The drinks have certainly kept me coming back for more and I can confirm that with it's sleek style House of Ho has brought a little bit of sexy back to Soho.


Food photographed by my gurl Amandine Powell