Bar Soba

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

It may feel at first like a standard city-centre style bar with its muted lighting, studiously minimalist décor and languorous background beats, but Bar Soba's food is more than an afterthought to complement the range of fancy bottled beers. The kitchen tempers Asian culinary exotica with uncomplicated flavours, so sweetness and chilli pep dominate. It's an accessible brand of Far Eastern fare with a loyal following of students attracted by the big servings, while artsy professionals dip in from The Lighthouse, the architecture and design centre upstairs. Pad thai spring rolls have the satisfying flakiness and texture of good filo pastry, and a crunchy, mildly zesty filling of thin rice noodles, peanuts, green chilli, mint and coriander. Tiger prawns and squid is a typical dish of big, bold flavours: there are competing blasts of chilli and ginger in among plenty of caramel-tinged fresh Asian veg – most enjoyable before the ingredients settle into a rather sugary soup. Vietnamese chicken pho is blander than the broth you'll find in a Hanoi street café, but the freshness of the chilli, mint and beansprouts mean it's not a million miles from the real thing.

• High point: Fresh dishes that burst with colour
• Low point: Unconvincing pho