Vietnamese Food & Phở Near Light Square, Adelaide

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

Light Square sits in Adelaide’s west-end pocket of hotels, offices and green space — Currie, Waymouth and Morphett latitudes — and a genuine bowl of Southern Vietnamese phở is only a flat 8–18 minute walk away in Chinatown.

Bà Năm isn’t a luxury venue — it’s a genuine Vietnamese kitchen opened in 2023 by Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo, cooking recipes that started in Bà Năm Lời’s home kitchen in 1970s Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, in Southern Vietnam. The broth simmers for 18 hours on real bones, no concentrates or powders, and the signature Phở Thố Đá arrives in a stone bowl still boiling at your table. If you work, stay or pause anywhere around Light Square, this page covers exactly how far the walk is, what to order, and how to skip some of the queue.

How Far Is Bà Năm from Light Square?

Light Square is the west-end green pocket of the Adelaide CBD, ringed by hotels and offices along the Currie, Waymouth and Morphett latitudes. The walk to Bà Năm is mostly flat — head east toward the King William Street / Victoria Square corridor, then onto Grote Street and west into Chinatown. You’ll spot 65 Grote Street on the Chinatown strip, a short hop from the Adelaide Central Market.

• Eastern / King William edge of Light Square: about 8–12 minutes.
• Mid-square / Currie–Waymouth side: about 10–15 minutes — see also our Currie Street and Waymouth Street guides.
• Western / West Terrace edge: about 12–18 minutes — the Morphett Street approach also works cleanly.

If you’re actually one block north on Franklin Street, or further toward the Convention Centre and Hindley Street, the walk stretches a little but stays flat. Grote Street runs right through the best-smelling stretch of the CBD — spice, grill and broth the whole last block.

It’s a genuine lunchtime or after-work walk — long enough to earn the bowl. If you’re on a tight window, order ahead through the app at order.phobanam.com.au so your food is underway before you leave. There’s a small credit on your first app order.

What to Order After the Walk

You’ve earned a proper bowl. Start here:

• Phở Thố Đá — our signature stone bowl phở. The broth arrives still boiling at the table, so the last spoonful is as hot as the first.
• Phở Tái — the classic. Our “red coin” rare beef is sliced paper-thin and cooks in the bowl in front of you. Read more on the phở tái page, and if you order the stone-bowl tái dine-in, you’re automatically in the TÁI CLUB monthly lucky draw.
• Bún bò Huế — for spice-leaning days, the bún bò Huế brings lemongrass heat.
• Cơm tấm — broken rice with grilled pork, egg and pickles. The lunch that makes the walk back feel shorter.
• Gỏi bò tái chanh — lime-cured rare beef salad, bright and sharp, good for sharing.
• Finish with a Vietnamese iced coffee for the stroll home.

Still weighing options? Our honest take on what makes a good bowl of phở in Adelaide lays out how we think about broth.

An 18-Hour Broth from a Trảng Bàng Home Kitchen

Bà Năm started long before Adelaide — in the 1970s home kitchen of Bà Năm Lời in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, in Vietnam’s south. Founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo carried that recipe here and opened on Grote Street in 2023.

The method hasn’t been shortcut. The broth simmers for 18 hours over real bones — no concentrates, no powders. The beef is local, topped up with Sunday farm runs. At peak times you might wait 15–30 minutes for a table, and we’d rather tell you that straight than pretend otherwise. Not a luxury venue. Just very genuine. In 2025, the restaurant was named a finalist in the Vietnamese category at the Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards — finalist, not winner — and Glam Adelaide has featured the kitchen twice. The honest measure is still the broth itself.

Practical Notes from Light Square

• Address: 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000 — in Chinatown
• Walk time: about 8–12 minutes from the eastern / King William edge; 10–15 from mid-square / Currie–Waymouth; 12–18 from the West Terrace edge
• Hours: open 7 days, 11am–9pm (until 9:30pm October–March), public holidays included
• Phone: (08) 8151 0106
• Walk-ins: always welcome; honest 15–30 minute wait at peak
• Bookings: OpenTable via /book/ — groups of 8+ please call ahead
• App: order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au — there’s a small credit on your first app order
• TÁI CLUB: order the stone-bowl tái dine-in and you’re in the monthly draw — details on the TÁI CLUB page

Coming From Somewhere Else in the CBD?

Light Square isn’t the only west-end or CBD start we’ve mapped honestly. If you’re starting elsewhere:

• Vietnamese near Waymouth Street
• Vietnamese near Currie Street
• Vietnamese near Franklin Street
• Vietnamese near Morphett Street
• Vietnamese near King William Street
• Vietnamese near Hindley Street
• Vietnamese near Victoria Square
• Vietnamese near the Adelaide Convention Centre
• Vietnamese near Gouger Street
• Vietnamese near Gilbert Street
• Vietnamese near Whitmore Square
• Vietnamese near West Terrace
• Vietnamese near South Terrace
• Vietnamese in Adelaide Chinatown
• Vietnamese food across the Adelaide CBD
• Vietnamese near the Central Market
• Vietnamese near Hindmarsh — first western-suburbs guide (Port Road / Bowden / Thebarton edge)

The Short Version

From Light Square, Bà Năm is an 8–18 minute flat walk east toward King William / Victoria Square, then onto Grote and west into Chinatown — look for 65. Order the Phở Thố Đá stone bowl or the red coin Phở Tái, know the broth took 18 hours, and use the app if you’re short on time. Open 7 days, 11am–9pm (later in summer).

Bà Năm — 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000. Open seven days, 11am–9pm (until 9:30pm October–March), public holidays included. Phone (08) 8151 0106. Order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au — there’s a small credit on your first app order. Bookings via OpenTable; groups of 8+ please call.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Bà Năm from Light Square?

It’s a mostly flat walk of about 8–12 minutes from the eastern / King William edge of Light Square, 10–15 minutes from mid-square or the Currie–Waymouth side, and 12–18 minutes from the West Terrace end. Head east toward the King William / Victoria Square corridor, then onto Grote Street west into Chinatown — Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street.

What is the “red coin” Phở Tái?

It’s paper-thin round slices of rare beef — the “red coins” — served over noodles and cooked right in the bowl by the boiling 18-hour bone broth. The beef finishes cooking in front of you in seconds. We use local beef, topped up with Sunday farm runs.

What is Phở Thố Đá?

Phở Thố Đá is Bà Năm’s signature stone bowl phở. The heavy stone bowl keeps the broth boiling when it reaches your table, so the rare beef cooks tableside and the soup stays piping hot to the last spoonful. Order the stone-bowl tái dine-in and you’re also in the running for the TÁI CLUB monthly lucky draw.

What are Bà Năm’s opening hours?

Bà Năm is open 7 days a week, 11am–9pm, extending to 9:30pm from October through March. That includes public holidays. At peak times, expect an honest 15–30 minute wait, or order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au.

Is the broth really simmered for 18 hours?

Yes — the broth simmers for 18 hours on real bones, with no concentrates or powders. The recipe comes from Bà Năm Lời’s home kitchen in 1970s Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, and the beef is local, sourced on Sunday farm runs.