House of Ho Brunch, London ★★★★★

Avoid the overcrowded restaurants in Covent Garden on a Sunday and head to nearby House of Ho, Soho, for a Vietnamese brunch with a twist. Serving up bottomless prosecco along with a vast selection of sharing plates, it's good for whiling away a lazy weekend morning – and it won't break the wallet.  

House of Ho Brunch: Review

The now well-established House of Ho restaurant on Old Compton Street is becoming a worthy new contender in the latest foodie race for London's best bottomless brunch (others include Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings' brunch: review here).  

Aptly dubbed 'Bobby's Rock 'n' Roll Brunch', House of Ho's Sunday menu features sharing plates aplenty, all in an ambience of classic rock music: think Jon Bon Jovi meets spicy pork belly – a divisive idea, if you don't take your brunches seriously but you're serious about flavour, then we'd recommend keeping an open mind. 

Bobby Chinn’s restaurant reputation was aptly summed up by legendary chef and Parts Unknown presenter Anthony Bourdain: ‘What Bobby doesn’t know about Southeast Asian food is not worth knowing.’ So the arrival of this celebrity chef at House of Ho, Soho was hotly anticipated by foodie as one of the best places to eat in London – and Chin's restaurant doesn't disappoint.

The new brunch menu kicks off with a refreshing Lychee Bellini served on arrival, as well as table nibbles of salted edamame and prawn crackers for the table to share while you peruse the menu: there's a lot of choice, after all. 

With three large sharing plates per person to start – yes, to start – you're in for a filling ride: there are eight to choose from, and two people can cover most of the menu on the first hurdle. 

We'd recommend the duck pho cuon, spice marinated squid and smokey aubergine, but most of the plates are worth a try: there are also light offerings of Vietnamese summer rolls, or if you're after meat that packs a punch, try the succulent chilli-glazed chicken wings. Just be warned, once you've got through the starters you're already likely to be feeling pretty full. 

Next up there's a choice of signature Ho dishes. Two of them have a £6 surcharge, but are worth forking up for: the apple smoked pork-belly and shaking beef are incredibly succulent and served piping hot. 

But if you're feeling pocket-pinched, you can opt for the almost-as-appetising lemongrass chicken in fish caramel sauce, or for something more hearty, a Vietnamese Chicken Curry. All the mains come with sides of morning glory (a tasty-yet-sweet vegetable dish consisting mainly of water spinach and garlic) and jasmine rice. 

To finish off the menu is the 'Chef's special dessert': this Vietnamese-style rice pudding garnished with pumpkin seeds is in fact the hidden gem of the menu – sweet but not cloying, you might even find you're stomach is given a new lease of life when dessert comes around. 

Don't forget, of course, that there's free-flowing prosecco throughout, which is as good a reason as any to head down. House of Ho's brunch isn't likely to remain a secret for long, so we'd head down there pronto and indulge that hangover. Don't expect relaxing, but do expect lots of booze, lots of food, and some classic '80s hits.