Caphe House relocates to Smithfield and re-brands as Caphe Pho

The 86-cover restaurant will open its doors on 26 May where the business will continue to serve coffee, banh mi and pho, but in a larger site and with a new name. 

Owner and founder Trung Phan said: “Vietnamese cuisine has grown in popularity in the UK recently – and rightly so. The public are more knowledgeable about food from the country and we want to build on that – showing people how delicious and healthy Vietnamese cuisine is and also educate them on the traditions and culture.” 

Phan said the decision to change the name had come from the fact that despite starting out as a coffee (caphe) shop six years ago, the site had started to sell more bowls of the Vietnamese noodle soup than the hot beverage in recent years, so it was time to have a name that better reflected the business. 

During the day Caphe Pho will serve banh mi, rice and noodle dishes, steamed buns, salads and chargrill skewers to eat-in or takeaway with the latter expected to comprise 60 per cent of the business. 

An a la carte menu will be available in the evening, featuring dishes such as steamed scallop and smoked jasmine tea duck. The restaurant's signature dish will be pho and its signature drink - Caphe spirit - a homemade rice spirit served with mint, lime and soda. 

The restaurant's decor will take inspiration from three regions in Vietnam - Ha Long Bay, Mekong Delta River and Hoi An.