VietnamesePreston Street

The Big Bowl

Homemade pho and bun bo hue beat the chains

7.1/10

Local score

No. 74 of 300 places to eat on r/brighton, from 17 locals across 14 threads.

96% would send a mate. Still recommended in 2026.

Locals repeatedly rate The Big Bowl on Preston Street as Brighton's best Vietnamese, ahead of the Pho chain, praising the homemade pho, bún bò Huế, spring/summer rolls, vegan options and their own lemonade. It's cheap, cosy and family-run, though it's small and one diner felt its phở was a 'weird interpretation' and less authentically Vietnamese than rivals like Earl's.

Go for: Cheap, homemade Vietnamese pho and rolls
Heads up: Small space; a few feel it's less authentically Vietnamese

What locals say

As an ethnic Viet guy in Brighton I recommend Earl's Sandwiches and Big Bowl for Viet coffee. Stay away from Milk No…

u/kruczinski, 202320 upvotes“Where in Brighton can I get Vietnamese coffee?”

Glad to see most people here are wise to the terrible coffee at Milk No Sugar! Big Bowl is great, especially their version of Bun Bo Hue, and they do pretty decent ice coffee, too. Also, there’s an Asian supermarket in Crawley called Longdan which specialises in Vietnamese products. They deliver: you can order Trung Nguyen coffee and a “phin” to filter it yourself for ca phê sữa at home!

u/sofinho1980, 20232 upvotes“Where in Brighton can I get Vietnamese coffee?”

…and chips on delivery, they do use a separate fryer for everything including chips. Smashburger/Honest Burger as mentioned above, both chains so are very hot on gluten-free. La Choza (often too busy too be doing delivery) otherwise Wahaca for Mexican, both do corn tacos. Big Bowl hands down best Vietnamese. Kambis for kebab/Lebanese. Quick and easy food in the city centre when you’re hungry and can’t be doing with Googling allergy menus - Tortilla, Smashburger, Leon.

u/edFEVRS, 20232 upvotes“Gluten free restaurants/take aways near the pier/regency square?”

Also they have some weird interpretations of phở. For a place boasting to serve Vietnamese food, it's the least Vietnamese place of all the places in Brighton (Pho, Big Bowl, Earl's).

u/kruczinski, 20231 upvotes“Where in Brighton can I get Vietnamese coffee?”

Ranked from 21,200 r/brighton comments. Summaries are written by AI from what locals said; quotes are word for word. Not affiliated with Reddit. Back to the guide