A Vietnamese Restaurant in Adelaide Chinatown: Phở and Southern Home Cooking at Bà Năm

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

Looking for a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown Adelaide? Bà Năm sits at 65 Grote Street, a short stroll from the Moonta Street paifang gates, ladling Phở Tái with paper-thin “red coin” rare beef that cooks in the bowl under boiling broth. Every bowl starts with an 18-hour bone broth — real bones, no shortcuts — made the way Bà Năm Lời cooked it in her 1970s home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh. Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo opened here in 2023, using local beef, with Huynh still doing Sunday farm runs for veg. Not a luxury venue, just very genuine.

Chinatown Adelaide, on Grote Street

Chinatown Adelaide isn't one street — it's a pocket. The Moonta Street gates anchor it, the Grote Street dining strip carries it, and on weekend evenings the whole precinct hums with lantern light and dinner queues. Bà Năm sits at 65 Grote Street, right on that strip, open seven days from 11am. If you're exploring Vietnamese food across the wider city, our Vietnamese food in Adelaide CBD guide covers the CBD, and Vietnamese lunch near Adelaide Central Market maps a market-day lunch walk — but this page is simply about being here, in Chinatown itself. Coming from Wakefield Street in the southern CBD? See Vietnamese near Wakefield Street. Coming from Rundle Mall? Start with Vietnamese near Rundle Mall. Coming from the West End / Hindley Street side? See Vietnamese near Hindley Street. Coming from the Convention Centre or Riverbank? See Vietnamese near Adelaide Convention Centre. Pre-show at the Festival Theatre or Elder Park? See Vietnamese near Adelaide Festival Centre, our Vietnamese near Adelaide Oval guide. Already on the Gouger Street strip? Peel off one block north with Vietnamese near Gouger Street, down the main CBD spine with Vietnamese near King William Street, and Vietnamese near Hutt Street for the East End strip.

What to Order in Chinatown (Bowls, Plates, Share)

Chinatown eating is best done unhurried. A Phở Bò runs $20 small, $22 large; the spicier lemongrass depths of bún bò Huế are the same. Broken-rice cơm tấm plates with grilled pork are $20, a crackling bánh xèo is $22, and a bright gỏi bò tái chanh herb salad is $25. Sharing with a group? Rolls, wontons and prawn toast sit at $14 — see rice paper rolls — and a cà phê đá ($8) or nước dừa fresh coconut ($8) rounds off a Chinatown evening properly.

The Stone Bowl, the Red Coin, the Family Recipe

Our signature is the Phở Thố Đá — phở served in a heated stone bowl at $25, with a Bún Bò Huế Thố Đá at the same price and a Stone Bowl Set at $39. The moment worth watching is the "red coin": paper-thin rounds of rare beef laid into the bowl, cooked right there by the boiling 18-hour broth. Read more on Phở Tái and 18-hour broth & the red coin — real bones, no shortcuts, the same method Bà Năm Lời used at home in Tây Ninh since the 1970s. Every stone-bowl tái dish also comes with a TÁI CLUB ticket, drawn at noon on the last Sunday of the month — a small family tradition, nothing more.

Why This Kitchen Belongs in Chinatown

Chinatown Adelaide has always been built on family kitchens, and that's exactly what this is. Huynh Nguyen and owner Thi Gai Vo opened the Adelaide restaurant in 2023, carrying the family recipe across from Tây Ninh. Huynh still does Sunday farm runs for locally sourced beef. We're not a luxury venue, just very genuine — and it's been quietly rewarding to be named a 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist in the Vietnamese category, and to be featured by Glam Adelaide. If you're chasing best phở in Adelaide, we'd humbly put our broth forward.

Phở and Vietnamese Eating in Adelaide's Chinatown

Chinatown is where Adelaide comes for steam, noise and honest bowls, and phở belongs right in the middle of it. At Bà Năm that means Phở Bò from $20, the Phở Thố Đá stone bowl at $25 that keeps the broth rolling hot to the last mouthful, plus Southern staples like bún bò Huế, crisp bánh xèo and cơm tấm plates. We were a finalist in the Vietnamese category at the 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards — a nice nod, though the queue of regulars means more to us.

Making a day of the precinct? We're a few minutes' walk from the stalls at Adelaide Central Market, and if you're comparing bowls across town, our guide to phở in Adelaide covers what to look for in a proper broth.

Coming from south of the park lands? Our Vietnamese near Unley guide covers honest travel times from the Unley Road strip and the Parkside edge to Bà Năm in Chinatown.

Coming From the Eastern Suburbs?

Coming from Norwood or The Parade? See our Vietnamese near Norwood guide for honest travel times west to Chinatown.

Coming from further east toward Burnside Village and the foothills? Our Vietnamese near Burnside guide covers the second-ring Greenhill Road run into Chinatown.

Coming from Hindmarsh, Port Road or the Bowden edge? See our Vietnamese near Hindmarsh guide for honest travel times east to Chinatown.

Coming from Goodwood, Goodwood Road or the Millswood edge? See our Vietnamese near Goodwood guide for honest travel times north into Chinatown.

Practical: Finding Us, Waits, Bookings

You'll find us at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000 — a short walk from the Moonta Street gates. Open 7 days, 11am–9pm (9:30pm close October through March), public holidays included. At Friday and weekend peaks there's an honest 15–30 minute wait; it's the sign of broth made the slow way, and Chinatown is a lovely place to wander while you're in the queue. Walk-ins are welcome, OpenTable takes bookings via our book page, groups of 8+ should call (08) 8151 0106, and you can order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au. Next time you're under the gates, follow the steam to Grote Street.

Working the civic end of town? See also our Vietnamese near Victoria Square guide — about a five-minute flat walk north to 65 Grote Street.

Heading to the Art Gallery, SA Museum, State Library or the University of Adelaide on North Terrace? Our Vietnamese near North Terrace guide covers that 10–12 minute walk south into Chinatown.

Coming from the western office strip? See also Vietnamese near Franklin Street or Vietnamese near Morphett Street.

Working further north on the same strip? Our Currie Street guide covers the 8–12 minute walk from two blocks north of Grote.

One more block north on the same western strip? Our Waymouth Street guide covers the 10–15 minute walk from three blocks north of Grote.

Coming from the eastern CBD office strip? See Vietnamese near Pirie Street or Vietnamese near Grenfell Street. Coming from Flinders Street itself? See Vietnamese near Flinders Street.

One block south of Grote on the quiet Wright Street strip? See our Vietnamese near Wright Street guide (honest 2–8 minute walk for most of the street).

Also useful if you’re one street further south: Vietnamese near Angas Street (5–15 minute walk north to Chinatown).

Also useful if you're coming from the eastern CBD spine: Vietnamese near Pulteney Street or Vietnamese near Frome Street.

Also mapped nearby: Vietnamese near Carrington Street (one block south of Wakefield on the southern CBD fringe).

One more block south on the fringe: Vietnamese near Sturt Street (flat 12–25 minute walk north to Chinatown).

Between Gouger and Sturt: Vietnamese near Gilbert Street, Light Square (flat 8–18 minute walk north to Chinatown). Whitmore Square (flat 10–22 minute walk north to Chinatown).

Southern park-lands edge: Vietnamese near South Terrace (flat 12–25 minute walk north to Chinatown).

Coming from the western park lands instead? See our guide to Vietnamese near West Terrace — often an 8–12 minute walk east along Grote into Chinatown.

Eastern park-lands edge: Vietnamese near East Terrace (flat 12–22 minute walk west to Chinatown).

Coming from the suburb north of the park lands? See our guide to Vietnamese near North Adelaide — honest walk and drive times from O’Connell Street and Melbourne Street across to Chinatown.

Coming from further north? Our Vietnamese near Prospect guide covers the second-ring Main North Road / Prospect Road run into Chinatown.

Frequently asked questions

Linger on Grote Street after dinner with chè thái — the $10 tropical dessert glass that keeps tables in Chinatown a little longer than they planned — the silkier chè khúc bạch — or traditional sâm bổ lượng, the longan herbal iced drink.

Where is Bà Năm in Chinatown Adelaide?

We're at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000, on the Grote Street dining strip a short walk from the Moonta Street paifang gates. Open 7 days, 11am–9pm (9:30pm close October through March), including public holidays.

What should I order on a first visit to Bà Năm in Chinatown?

The Phở Thố Đá stone bowl ($25) is the signature — thin rare beef cooked in the bowl by boiling 18-hour broth. Phở Bò is $20 small / $22 large, cơm tấm plates are $20, and bánh xèo is $22.

Is there a wait at Bà Năm in Chinatown Adelaide?

At peak times, honestly, yes — usually 15–30 minutes. Walk-ins are welcome, OpenTable takes bookings, and groups of 8+ should call (08) 8151 0106 ahead.

How is this page different from your Adelaide CBD and Central Market guides?

Those guides cover the wider CBD and a market-day lunch walk. This page is about Chinatown Adelaide itself — the Grote Street strip, the gates, the precinct — and Bà Năm's place within it.

What makes Bà Năm's phở a Chinatown Adelaide signature?

An 18-hour bone broth made from real bones with no shortcuts, following Bà Năm Lời's home-kitchen recipe from Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, dating to the 1970s — brought to Adelaide by Huynh Nguyen and owner Thi Gai Vo in 2023.

Where can I get phở in Chinatown Adelaide, and do I need to book?

Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street, near the Moonta Street gates, open 7 days from 11am–9pm (9:30pm close October through March), public holidays included. Walk-ins are welcome — honestly, expect a 15–30 minute wait at peak times. You can book via OpenTable, call (08) 8151 0106 for groups of 8 or more, or order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au.