Vegetarian Vietnamese Food in Adelaide Chinatown — Gỏi Cuốn Chay, Chả Giò Chay & Bún Chay at Bà Năm

★ As featured in Glam Adelaide — 2025 SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist

Fresh herbs, cold rice paper rolls and golden chả giò chay come out of the same working kitchen that simmers our famous beef broth — so no, our signature Phở Tái isn't meat-free, but the vegetarian lineup at Bà Năm on Grote Street is genuine, generous and priced from $14 to $24.

A meat-free tradition that’s full of flavour

People sometimes assume Vietnamese cooking is all about beef and pork. In truth, Vietnamese kitchens have cooked vegetarian food for centuries — for Buddhist observance, for monthly vegetarian days, and simply because fresh vegetables, tofu and herbs taste extraordinary when treated with care. A good vegetarian Vietnamese plate isn’t a stripped-back version of something else. It stands on its own: crisp lettuce and herbs, soft rice paper, glass noodles, peanuts, grilled vegetables, a sweet-savoury-sour nước chấm that ties it all together. Meat-free, yes — but never flavour-free.

Bà Năm was opened in Adelaide in 2023 by founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo, carrying forward the recipes Bà Năm Lời cooked from her home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh from the 1970s. The vegetarian dishes lean on the same habits — including Sunday farm runs for fresh herbs and produce — that go into our 18-hour broth.

What’s vegetarian at Bà Năm

Our vegetarian Vietnamese lineup is small on purpose — we’d rather make a few things properly than everything at once. Here’s what’s meat-free and made to order:

• Gỏi Cuốn Chay (3 cuốn, $14) — soft rice paper wrapped around vermicelli, crisp lettuce, carrot, herbs and tofu, served with a vegetarian dipping sauce. Light, bright, and the thing we eat ourselves on a hot Adelaide afternoon. (Read more on the difference between fresh and fried rolls in our rice paper rolls guide, and the dedicated Gỏi Cuốn Chay guide.)
• Chả Giò Chay (4 cuốn, $14) — golden, crisp-fried rolls filled with vegetables and glass noodles. The crunch is the point. Full detail in our Chả Giò Chay guide.
• Vegetarian vermicelli salads — a generous bowl of rice vermicelli with fresh herbs and a pour-over dipping sauce. Start with Bún Chả Giò Chay ($20) for crispy vegetarian spring rolls, or Bún Tàu Hủ Chay ($20) with tofu and crispy bean curd; Bún Chay Đặc Biệt ($24) is the loaded combination. (Meat-side siblings include bún thịt nướng and bún chả giò.)

Prices run from $14 for cold rolls and spring rolls through to $20–$24 for the vermicelli salads. It's honest, hearty comfort food — generous bowls designed to fuel you up for a big, enthusiastic day, not tiny plated portions that leave you hungry an hour later.

One honest note on labels: these dishes are vegetarian, not certified vegan, and this is a working Vietnamese kitchen — we don’t make allergen guarantees. If that distinction matters to you, talk to the team before you order.

How to order — and what to drink with it

When you come in, just tell our team you’re vegetarian. We’ll walk you through what’s on and guide you to the dishes that suit. A good order looks like this: start with Gỏi Cuốn Chay, add a plate of Chả Giò Chay to share, and finish with a vegetarian vermicelli salad. That’s a full table, and it feeds a hungry group properly.

To drink, pair it with fresh coconut water (nước dừa, $8) — light, gently sweet and refreshing — or a Vietnamese iced coffee if you want a lift ($8). The coffee is strong, sweetened with condensed milk, and poured over ice; it’s the kind of thing that turns lunch into a small celebration. (We’ve written more about it in our Vietnamese iced coffee piece.)

This is a casual, come-as-you-are kind of place. Pull up a chair ready to be fuelled up for whatever the day holds — work, a long walk through the city, a catch-up with friends. We’re not a luxury venue, just very genuine.

On Phở Tái — our famous rare-beef “red coin”

We’d be less than honest if we didn’t mention the elephant in the room. Our signature dish is Phở Tái — the rare beef phở Bà Năm is famous for — and it is very much a beef dish. The centrepiece is the “red coin”: a paper-thin, round, red slice of rare beef laid over the noodles raw, then cooked in the bowl by our boiling 18-hour bone broth. It arrives pink and tender, barely cooked, with the broth doing the work at the table. It’s the dish that put us on the map, and you can read the full story in our bone broth & red coin article.

So no, the Phở Tái isn’t vegetarian, and there’s no vegan pho on our regular menu. But the vegetarian lineup above is genuinely generous — five proper dishes, made the same way Grandma made them, and portioned to satisfy. If you’re dining with a mixed group, the beef-eaters can have their Phở Tái and the vegetarians can have a feast of rolls and salad, and everyone leaves happy.

Locally sourced, genuinely made

What makes Bà Năm famous isn’t a slick fit-out. It’s authentic family recipes and produce that’s actually fresh. Every Sunday, Huynh drives out to farms outside Adelaide to pick up fresh vegetables for the week. It’s a small ritual, but it’s the reason our herbs are crisp and our rolls taste the way they do — the produce hasn’t spent a week in a warehouse. Those same farm-run vegetables go into the vegetarian dishes as much as the meat ones.

That Sunday drive is part of the story we’re proud of. Bà Năm Lời cooked from her home in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh in the 1970s using what was fresh that morning. We can’t replicate Trảng Bàng exactly, but we can honour the principle: buy close, cook the same day, don’t cut corners. Not a luxury venue, just very genuine.

Where to find vegetarian Vietnamese in Adelaide Chinatown and the CBD

Bà Năm sits at 65 Grote Street, right in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown and an easy walk from most of the CBD. We're open 11:00am–9:00pm every day (until 9:30pm October to March), public holidays included. Fair warning: at peak times there's an honest 15–30 minute wait — we're not a luxury venue, just very genuine, and the vegetarian dishes get the same care as everything else.

Mixed tables are where our vegetarian menu shines: one person orders the red coin phở, another goes for gỏi cuốn chay ($14 for 3 rice paper rolls) or crunchy chả giò chay ($14 for 4), and everyone's happy. For a full meal, try bún chả giò chay ($20), bún tàu hủ chay with tofu and crispy bean curd ($20), or the loaded bún chay đặc biệt ($24) — then finish with a Vietnamese iced coffee ($8) or nước dừa ($8). Book via OpenTable, order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au, or call (08) 8151 0106 — walk-ins welcome, groups of 8+ please call first.

Looking specifically for fresh cold rolls? The dedicated Gỏi Cuốn Chay guide covers three vegetarian tofu cold rolls for $14; the Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt guide is the prawn-and-pork sibling.

Frequently asked questions

Does Bà Năm have vegetarian Vietnamese food?

Yes — Gỏi Cuốn Chay (3 cuốn, $14), Chả Giò Chay (4 cuốn, $14), Bún Chả Giò Chay ($20), Bún Tàu Hủ Chay ($20) and Bún Chay Đặc Biệt ($24), all made to order. Tell our team you’re vegetarian and we’ll guide you.

Is there vegan pho at Bà Năm?

Our famous Phở Tái is a beef dish, so it isn’t vegetarian. The signature red coin — a paper-thin, round, red slice of rare beef laid over the noodles raw and cooked in the bowl by our boiling 18-hour bone broth — is unmistakably beef. Our meat-free options are the fresh rolls, spring rolls and vermicelli salads; dishes are vegetarian rather than certified vegan, and there’s no vegan pho on the regular menu.

What vegetarian dishes do you recommend?

Start with Gỏi Cuốn Chay ($14) or Chả Giò Chay ($14), then a full bowl — Bún Chả Giò Chay or Bún Tàu Hủ Chay ($20), or the loaded Bún Chay Đặc Biệt ($24). Pair with nước dừa or Vietnamese iced coffee ($8).

How much is the vegetarian menu?

Vegetarian cold rolls and spring rolls are $14; vegetarian vermicelli salads run $20–$24. Order at 65 Grote Street or online at order.phobanam.com.au.

Is there a wait at peak times?

Expect a 15–30 minute wait during peak hours — everything is made fresh. Order ahead online at order.phobanam.com.au to skip the queue. We’re open 7 days, 11:00am–9:00pm (9:30pm Oct–Mar), including public holidays.

Where can I get vegetarian Vietnamese food in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide Chinatown, serves a vegetarian menu including gỏi cuốn chay, chả giò chay and three bún chay dishes, priced $14–$24. Open 11:00am–9:00pm daily (9:30pm October–March), public holidays included. Expect a 15–30 minute wait at peak times. One honest note: our signature phở tái is beef and there’s no vegan phở on the regular menu, and dishes are vegetarian rather than certified vegan — it’s a working Vietnamese kitchen, so we can’t guarantee against allergens. Book via OpenTable, order at order.phobanam.com.au, or call (08) 8151 0106; walk-ins welcome and groups of 8+ should call ahead.