My quest to find the best Vietnamese pho in Darwin (City) reaches its second leg at Ruby Restaurant in Smith Street Mall. It was our very own Heather's birthday on Monday so the whole office headed on over for some Vietnamese awesomeness. Funnily enough, three of the Darwin Foodies team went with the pho ($13.50).

We were battling the lunch time crowd so it took a while for our meals to arrive, but when they did I didn't waste any time getting my slurp on. The bowl is big and you get plenty of stock. The generous amount of beef slices are cut beautifully thin with a bit of fat in them for tenderness and flavour – not too much fat fortunately.

Most importantly is the stock of course – the colour is a rich brown and noticeably clear of impurities. The taste is totally smashing, with a big whiff of aroma and taste bud delights, you certainly won't be needing to add any extra condiments into this one. Big thumbs up from all of us.

If I must nit pick, I prefer white onions over red, the noodles were too soft and my mouth was tingling after a while setting off MSG alarm bells, not that it worries me, but for others it may. The accompanying herbs could also be a bit more in quantity, there was only 1 and a half pieces of saw tooth coriander that came with mine. Herbs are just as important people! When I'm at home I pile half garden patch of green stuff into my soup.

Much better than the one at Saigon Star. That just leaves The Deck Bar and My Friends Kitchen – I'm comin' to get ya!

Contact details

Address: Shop 48-50 Smith Street Mall (End of The Mall, Knuckey Street end)
Phone: 8941 0933
Email: [email protected]
Open: Lunch and dinner