Adelaide’s about 7000km from Vietnam, but it’s not hard to find fabulous pho, brilliant banh mi and ripping rice paper rolls in the South Australian capital. Feast on the Southeast Asian classics at these 10 quality Vietnamese eateries in Adelaide.
Smack bang in the middle of the city is a place that fries up some of the best Southeast Asian street food this side of the Mekong. Yen Linh — which also has a venue in Croydon — is a bustling little Chinatown diner boasting a menu that packs a punch, including stacks of share plates as well as a long list of Vermicelli salads and stir fried meals.
This trendy North Adelaide eatery serves Asian fusion flavours that are every bit as contemporary as the bold geometric art that adorns its walls. Featuring a neon-lit cocktail bar and a lively kitchen whose noise spills out into the dining area, Gin Long Canteen is renowned for modern Asian-inspired dishes as well as inventive drinks like the Phat White, a twist on the White Russian using Vietnamese coffee.
Cafe Saba’s speciality is pho but there’s plenty more on the menu at this modern Norwood restaurant, which prides itself on sourcing the freshest South Australian ingredients to put into the whopping 60 dishes on the menu. Lines often snake out the door up the Parade at lunch and dinner, especially on weekends.
The Phan family didn’t put too much effort into coming up with a creative name for their restaurant, but instead saved their energy for the delicious food this genuine Adelaide institution is famous for. The Phans have been creating authentic Vietnamese cuisine for three decades, racking up award after award as one of Adelaide’s premier Asian eateries.
Crusty bread rolls are a huge part of Vietnamese cuisine and there’s no shortage of quality banh mi shops springing up around the city. It’s hard to go past this tiny Goodwood takeaway joint, though, which churns out zesty, crunchy, spicy Vietnamese rolls at a rapid pace, and for a budget-friendly price around the $5 mark.
NNQ moved from its old digs in Ferryden Park to an old bank building in Woodville three years ago and it hasn’t missed a beat, cementing its reputation as one of Adelaide’s top Vietnamese restaurants. Feast on all the Viet classics — cold rolls, egg and rice noodles, plus a range of pho — at the main Woodville restaurant, as well as Little NNQ on Gouger St and Third by NNQ on King William St in the city.
This Waymouth St favourite only opened its doors in 2012, and wasted no time establishing its standing among Adelaide’s most flavourful pho. The broth itself is a slower process — almost 100kg of beef bones are left to simmer for a full 24 hours to create steaming hot bowls of finger-licking pho every day.
A couple of blocks north of Gin Long Canteen lies Saigon Gate, plating up huge portions of traditional Vietnamese fare. The extensive menu also contains Chinese and Malaysian meals, making it a popular takeaway option among the North Adelaide locals, and there’s a second location in Kilburn, too.
Located near Adelaide Central Market off Gouger St’s renowned strip of Asian eateries, Thanh Thanh doesn’t look fancy from the outside — but their pho is among the best in Adelaide. The broth is a family recipe and that’s what lures hungry diners to Thanh Thanh, plus there’s an extensive menu of other Viet dishes to peruse, too.
Leafy Tea Tree Gully on the north-eastern outskirts of Adelaide isn’t renowned for its Asian cuisine, but this Vietnamese restaurant is a gem of a find. Other Australian-Asian classics, such as salt and pepper squid and Mongolian lamb, find their way onto the restaurant to complement all the reliable Vietnamese go-to options.
