You pronounce it “fuuh”, which always makes us feel slightly ridiculous.

The neat little restaurant, which will seat just over 30 at a push, is set in an attractive white-walled and sheltered yard right on the corner of Street 51 and Street 242. The simple set-up, with solid, low black wooden tables and stools is elevated by thoughtful touches, such as dark blue table cloths and (new, as of late 2015) matching T-shirts sported by the staff. It’s also spotlessly clean. But, to be quite frank, even if this place looked like the pits of hell, you’d still come for the pho anyway.

Comfy, cosy, clean and charming.

With beef, chicken, fish and pork balls, and “special” at $2.50 a bowl, it’s not the cheapest in town — though it’s not far off — but the rich, flavourful broth, abundance of noodles and great pile of fresh green herbs, onions and bean sprouts easily settle the question of why. $2.50 is ridiculously cheap for food this filling and this good. Also, a note for the squeamish, they’ve taken out the bones and gristle that you’ll find in cheaper, theoretically more authentic, versions.

It’s hard to choose beyond the pho, but they also serve a selection of regional specials like spring rolls, which are always good too. And their iced coffee with sweet milk is one of the better we’ve had in Phnom Penh to boot.

One of the city’s cleaner, and more delicious, kitchens.

The staff are very friendly and helpful, in our years of going there, they’ve never once had a bad day, or a bad soup. They don’t all speak English, but the menu does. Let your fingers do the talking.

About five years ago, the restaurant moved from a very busy spot on Street 178, just behind the FCC, to its current quieter location on Street 51. Some online information still identifies Fortune Pho by its old address, where there is now a new pho restaurant. They are not the same.