Vietnamese Food in Adelaide CBD — Bà Năm on Grote Street, Chinatown

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

If you're hunting for vietnamese food adelaide locals actually queue for, follow the steam to 65 Grote Street on the Chinatown fringe. Bà Năm simmers real bones for 18 hours — no powder shortcuts — so the Phở Tái "red coin" arrives with a paper-thin round of rare beef laid raw over the noodles, cooked in the bowl by boiling broth at your table. Beyond phở, the table runs deep: fiery bún bò Huế, a crackling bánh xèo, smoky cơm tấm plates and fresh rice paper rolls. Not a luxury venue — just very genuine.

The Adelaide CBD Vietnamese scene — Grote Street on the fringe of Chinatown

Also see our Waymouth Street guide for the western strip three blocks north of Grote. Adelaide’s CBD eats well, and the strip around Grote Street and the Central Market arcades has quietly become the city’s most rewarding corner for Vietnamese food. You’re on the fringe of Chinatown — close enough to catch the lantern light and the bustle of the market, far enough from the noise to actually hear the person across the table. Victoria Square is a five-minute walk south; the tram stops a block away. Office workers come for a quick lunch, market shoppers drift in after a grocery run, and on winter evenings the whole street smells of simmering stock.

Among the Vietnamese restaurants in Adelaide’s Chinatown fringe, we’re the new-ish kid — we opened in 2023 — but the recipes we cook aren’t new at all. They came out of a home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, in the Tây Ninh province of Vietnam, half a century ago. That’s the whole point of Bà Năm: Vietnamese food in Adelaide CBD that tastes exactly like it did at Grandma’s table, because it is Grandma’s table.

What to order at Bà Năm

Start with the Phở Tái — our signature, and the dish Bà Năm is famous for. A paper-thin, round, red slice of rare beef is laid over the noodles raw; we pour boiling 18-hour bone broth straight into the bowl, and the beef cooks in front of you, turning pink and impossibly tender. Our regulars call it the “red coin.” It’s the bowl that travelled from Trảng Bàng to Grote Street unchanged. First-timers should order this before anything else — $20 to $25, depending on size, and worth every cent.

Then branch out. The bún bò huế is the spicy, lemongrass-and-shrimp-paste cousin of phở — richer, rust-coloured, with a slow burn that builds. The cơm tấm is broken rice grilled over charcoal, topped with pork, a fried egg and the sweet-savoury dressing that makes it a Saigon street-food icon. The bánh xèo is a crisp, turmeric-golden crepe stuffed with pork and prawns, wrapped in lettuce and dipped in nước chấm. Finish with a Vietnamese iced coffee — cà phê sữa đá — slow-dripped over condensed milk and poured over ice. It is the only correct way to end a bowl of phở.

The Bà Năm story — from a Trảng Bàng kitchen to Grote Street

Our grandmother, Bà Năm Lời — “Grandma Nam” — started selling phở from her home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, in the 1970s. She cooked for neighbours, for the families passing through on the way to the border, for anyone who was hungry. The recipes she used then are the recipes we use now: the same spice mix for the broth, the same cut of beef for the red coin, the same way of pouring the boiling stock so the meat cooks exactly pink. Nothing has been streamlined, because there was never anything to streamline — it was already right.

Bà Năm's story starts in a 1970s home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, where Bà Năm Lời cooked the broths and plates this menu still honours. In 2023, founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo brought those recipes to Grote Street, keeping the habits that made them work: local beef, real bones simmered for 18 hours with no powder shortcuts, and Huynh's Sunday farm runs for fresh vegetables. Read more about how the broth and the red coin come together, or start with our first-timer's guide to phở. In 2025 we were named a Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist for Vietnamese Restaurant and featured in Glam Adelaide — but the honest pitch hasn't changed. This isn't a luxury venue. It's just very genuine.

Local sourcing — Huynh’s Sunday farm runs

Good phở is mostly good broth, and good broth is mostly good bones and good beef. We use locally sourced South Australian beef — the same farms, the same cuts, week after week — and our recipes are authentic because we never swapped a cheaper ingredient in to save time. Every Sunday, Huynh drives out to the farms to pick up fresh vegetables for the week. It’s not a marketing line; it’s just how a small family kitchen keeps the produce honest. He’s back at Grote Street by afternoon, crates unloaded, prep started for Monday.

That’s really the whole operation. As Huynh puts it: “Not a luxury venue, just very genuine.” We don’t have linen tablecloths or a wine list. We have big bowls, fast service, and a broth that has been simmering since before you woke up. Come ready to be fuelled up for a big, enthusiastic day — hearty comfort food, generous portions, the kind of meal that carries you through to dinner. That’s the Bà Năm brief.

Press — 2025 SA Awards finalist & featured by Glam Adelaide

Practical info — getting a bowl on the table

We’re at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000, open 7 days a week, 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM (9:30 PM from October through March), including public holidays. Phone us on (08) 8151 0106. At peak hours — weekday lunch and weekend evenings — expect a 15 to 30 minute wait for a table. We won’t pretend otherwise: everything is cooked fresh, no shortcuts, and the broth only pours when it’s ready. If you’re short on time, order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au and walk straight to pickup, or get delivery through Uber Eats and DoorDash.

Eating with the Adelaide seasons

Grote Street flexes with the weather. Cool months lean into stews and long-simmered broth; from September the lighter share table — gỏi, bánh xèo, bún bowls, iced trà — comes forward, with stone-bowl phở still ready for sharp evenings. See our Vietnamese spring guide and the winter warmers counterpart. Planning lunch straight after the market? There's a dedicated Vietnamese lunch near Adelaide Central Market walk-through. Looking for the precinct itself? See our Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown Adelaide guide. Coming from Wakefield Street in the southern CBD? See Vietnamese near Wakefield Street. Coming from Rundle Mall? There's a dedicated Vietnamese near Rundle Mall walk-through. Coming from Hindley Street or the West End? See Vietnamese near Hindley Street. Conference or Riverbank day? See Vietnamese near Adelaide Convention Centre. Theatre or Fringe night? See Vietnamese near Adelaide Festival Centre, our Vietnamese near Adelaide Oval guide, and Vietnamese near Hutt Street for the East End strip.

Dining on Gouger Street and hunting for phở one block off the strip? See our Vietnamese near Gouger Street guide — same precinct as Chinatown, a one-minute walk to 65 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 down the main CBD spine? Our Vietnamese near King William Street guide covers the short peel-off at Grote into Chinatown.

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

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.

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

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 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.

Further out on the eastern foothills side, our Vietnamese near Burnside guide covers Burnside Village and the 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.

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

Vietnamese Food in Adelaide's Chinatown: Finding Us on Grote Street

Bà Năm sits at 65 Grote Street on the edge of Adelaide's Chinatown, a short walk from Victoria Square and even shorter from the Central Market — handy if you've just done a Saturday shop and want a hot bowl before heading home. We're open 7 days including public holidays, 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM (stretching to 9:30 PM October–March), so a late lunch in the city or an early dinner before a Grote Street show both work.

Fair warning: at peak times there's an honest 15–30 minute wait, because 18-hour broth doesn't hurry for anyone. First visit? Start with our guide to phở in Adelaide, then branch out — the lemongrass heat of bún bò Huế in a stone bowl ($25), a shareable bánh xèo ($22), and a Vietnamese iced coffee to finish. You can also skip the queue a little by ordering ahead at order.phobanam.com.au.

Frequently asked questions

Where is good Vietnamese food in Adelaide CBD?

Bà Năm Restaurant, 65 Grote Street — on the fringe of Chinatown, a short walk from Victoria Square. Famous for Phở Tái (the rare-beef “red coin”), bún bò huế, cơm tấm and bánh xèo.

What should I order at Bà Năm?

First-timers should order the Phở Tái — paper-thin local rare beef cooked in the bowl by 18-hour broth ($20–$25). Add bún bò huế or cơm tấm and finish with Vietnamese iced coffee.

What are the opening hours?

Open 7 days, 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM (9:30 PM October–March), including public holidays. Phone (08) 8151 0106.

How long is the wait?

15–30 minutes at peak hours — everything is cooked fresh, no shortcuts. Order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au, or get delivery via Uber Eats and DoorDash.

Has Bà Năm won awards?

Bà Năm was a finalist in the 2025 Hostplus South Australia Restaurant & Catering Awards for Excellence (Vietnamese Restaurant category) and has been featured by Glam Adelaide.

Where can I get good Vietnamese food in Adelaide CBD?

Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street on the Chinatown fringe, a short walk from Victoria Square and the Central Market. We're open 7 days including public holidays, 11:00 AM–9:00 PM (until 9:30 PM October–March). Expect an honest 15–30 minute wait at peak — the 18-hour bone broth is worth it, especially the Phở Tái "red coin", where rare beef cooks in the bowl at your table. Order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au or call (08) 8151 0106.