A Belfast-based Vietnamese restaurant empire expands to Dublin

On Monday, the sign is up at what is to be the first of several Madame Pho locations in Dublin, on Exchequer Street.

Inside, workers are putting the finishing touches on the ground-floor space, a shopfront next to Fallon & Byrne.

In the basement below, there’s another big room, this one with a long bar and room for tables.

Construction is nearly done, says Fu Xue, the man behind the Belfast-based brand, which he says has seven locations in Northern Ireland.

The plan is to clean out the construction dust and debris over the next few days, bring in the tables and chairs – and open on Friday or so, Xue says.

A few minutes later, seated upstairs at a foggy window above South William Street in Kaph, as the rain falls outside, Xue and marketing director Peng Lin tell their story.

They’re part of a business group that has more than 10 food businesses in Northern Ireland – restaurants and takeaways.

And now they’re moving south, with plans already in place for three locations, and a vision for more, Lin says.

“We’re here to stay,” Lin says. “We’re going to stay here over 10 years.”

Rapid expansion

At the table in Kaph, Xue – who’s not that confident about his English – lets Lin, the marketing director, do most of the talking.

Their business group started with a Chinese take-away in Belfast 20 years ago. Xue was the chef, Lin says.

He had learned a lot of his cooking skills in Vietnam, so he started adding Vietnamese dishes to the menu – and they turned out to be popular, Lin says.

These days they’re running Madame Pho locations across Belfast.

The Belfast Telegraph reported in August that the company had opened four new locations in the previous six weeks or so.

But Belfast – and Northern Ireland – are only so big, Lin says. Dublin’s a bigger, more “international” market, he says.

After the Exchequer Street location opens, the next one up in Dublin is on Thomas Street, at the corner of St Augustine Street, where there used to be a Boojum.

They plan to open that Dublin 8 location in about six weeks, and then open another Madame Pho in Drogheda.

And then more, says Lin. “I can’t say how many, exactly.”

Costs

Before Madame Pho, the location on Exchequer Street was the restaurant and karaoke bar Ukiyo.

They say they talked to Ukiyo owner Duncan Maguire before deciding whether to open in Dublin, and whether to open in that particular location.

“He told us a lot about the running costs,” Lin says, his coffee growing cold in front of him on the light-grey table in Kaph as he enthuses about his plans.

“But we have a lot of confidence for running the business,” Lin says. After all, they have seven locations already, and they’re going well, he says.

The business environment is definitely different from Belfast, he says. “Here it’s more madness. Most products, here compared to Belfast, are more expensive.”

They are expecting running costs for a Madame Pho location in Dublin to be 1.2 times to 1.5 times higher than costs for a location in Belfast, he says.

Opening hours will be noon to midnight, at first, Lin says. They’ll expect to get about 30 percent of their business at lunchtime, and 70 percent in the evenings, he said.

A customer can drop in for a relatively quick sit-down meal at Madame Pho at lunchtime for about €18 all-told, he said.

For dinner, they’ll hope customers linger a bit longer and spend more, ordering a starter, a main, a cocktail, maybe a dessert, he says.

The menu

The heart of the menu will be pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup, which can be topped with thinly sliced brisket, or chicken, or prawns, among other options.

It’s very traditional, Lin says. “You can find it from like 100 years ago.”

Among other dishes, there’ll also be bánh mì, sandwiches on baguettes, he says.

It’s hard to find a perfect Vietnamese-style baguette, crusty on the outside, and soft and pillowy inside, Lin says.

They have a supplier in Belfast they’re happy with, and will be bringing baguettes from there to Dublin from there to start, he says.

“Dublin has everything, it just takes some time to find it,” Lin says. “We’ve only been here two or three weeks.”

By Lin’s count, there are only three Vietnamese restaurants in Dublin at the moment. So he thinks there’s room for more.

“There’s not really a lot of competition in Dublin,” Lin says.

As they gather their things and stand up to walk back through the rain, over to the Exchequer Street location, Xue says something to Lin, and indicates that he should translate it into English.

“He says he’s quite nervous about opening the first premises in Dublin,” Lin says.