It is clever, gentle, professionally innovative design, Modern but not too much, detailed sharp but not cutting-edge, shapely and textured but not theoretically challenging. The public loves them. But it isn't. On one wall are propped black totem poles by Bruce Armstrong, which give the feel of a museum rather than a loudly living eating institution. Yet the design seems to miss the point of Tho Tho s offerings.
Vietnamese food comes in a variety of guises.
I like the transparent wrapped vegetable rolls where the carrots, leaves and rice can be spied under the skin, or the simple clump of green raw lettuce, or the floating wonton soup with its green, red, brown and white floaters. The smells are coriander, complex mixtures of Vietnamese mints and teas, light on the chilli and delicate on the meats. Tables are set up with brand-name chilli jars, bottled soy sauce and plastic sauce bottles. One huge benefit for the place is its large glass areas which bring the neighboring buildings into the design. A lurid ultramarine wall shines through the east glass wall and the buzz of Victoria Street, lit to bursting point at night, shines in.