Vietnamese Near North Terrace Adelaide: The Walk South to Bà Năm

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

North Terrace is Adelaide’s cultural spine — the Art Gallery of South Australia, the SA Museum, the State Library and the University of Adelaide all sit shoulder to shoulder along it. What most visitors don’t realise is that a proper bowl of phở, made the way a Vietnamese grandmother made it in the 1970s, is only a short walk south. Bà Năm at 65 Grote Street in Chinatown serves an 18-hour bone broth, paper-thin rare beef and no shortcuts — a fair reward after a morning of galleries, exhibits or lectures.

From the Cultural Boulevard to Grote Street

The walk from the North Terrace cultural strip to Bà Năm takes roughly 10–12 minutes on foot. Head south from wherever you finish — the Art Gallery, the Museum, the State Library or the uni’s North Terrace campus — and keep going straight down through the CBD grid until you hit Grote Street in Chinatown. It’s flat, simple walking through the middle of town, and the paifang gates tell you when you’ve arrived. Bà Năm is at number 65, in the heart of it.

If you’re mapping out the whole precinct, our Chinatown guide covers the neighbourhood in more detail, and if you’re coming from further west along the river, see Vietnamese near Adelaide Festival Centre for pre-show / Elder Park walks, or the Convention Centre and Riverbank page for the conference precinct (about 15–20 minutes). Students and gallery-goers doing the straight north–south walk — this is your page, and Vietnamese near Hutt Street for the East End strip.

Why This Bowl Is Worth the Walk

Bà Năm Lời started cooking phở in her home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, back in the 1970s. In 2023, her grandson Huynh Nguyen and owner Thi Gai Vo brought that recipe to Adelaide — not a polished-up version, the actual thing. The broth simmers for 18 hours on real bones, no concentrate, and the beef is locally sourced; Huynh still does his own Sunday farm runs to pick it.

The signature is the Phở Tái “red coin” — paper-thin rounds of rare beef laid raw over the noodles, then cooked in the bowl the moment the boiling broth hits them. They blush from red to rose at your table. It only works because the broth is genuinely at a rolling boil when it’s poured, which only works because someone stood over it for 18 hours. That’s the whole idea of the place.

What to Order After the Gallery, Museum or a Lecture

If it’s your first bowl here, go the Phở Bò — small $20, large $22 — and add a giò quẩy fried dough stick for $4 to dunk in the broth. If you want the full production, the Phở Thố Đá stone bowl is $25 on its own or $39 as a set, arriving still bubbling so the red coin beef cooks right in front of you. New to phở altogether? Our first-timers’ guide walks you through the herbs and sauces.

Not everything is noodle soup. Bún bò Huế — the spicier, lemongrass-heavy central Vietnamese cousin — starts from $20, and cơm tấm broken rice plates sit around $20 if you’d rather grilled pork and rice after a long morning on your feet. Starters like gỏi cuốn and chả giò are $14 to share, Vietnamese coffee is $8, teas are $10 and a fresh coconut is $8.

The Honest Bits

Bà Năm is not a luxury venue, just very genuine — and it’s popular, so at peak lunch and dinner there’s an honest 15–30 minute wait for walk-ins. You can book via OpenTable, and groups of eight or more should call ahead on (08) 8151 0106. Doors are open seven days, 11am–9pm (until 9:30pm over summer, October to March), including public holidays, so a late lunch after a slow gallery morning is never a problem. The kitchen was named a 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist in the Vietnamese category, and Glam Adelaide has featured the place — but the 18-hour broth speaks louder than any of that.

Coming From Somewhere Else in the City?

Also see our Waymouth Street guide for the western strip three blocks north of Grote. This guide covers the walk south from the North Terrace cultural strip. If you’re starting elsewhere, we’ve mapped those routes too: Rundle Mall shoppers, Victoria Square (about a five-minute walk south of us — walk north from the square), the Central Market next door, Gouger Street diners, King William Street office walkers, Hindley Street night owls, Adelaide Oval match-day crowds and a full Vietnamese food in the Adelaide CBD overview. Wherever you start, Grote Street is where the broth is.

Adelaide’s cultural boulevard and its Chinatown are closer than most people think — one honest walk apart. Next time you step out of the Art Gallery, the Museum or a lecture theatre with an appetite, point yourself south. Bà Năm, 65 Grote Street. The broth’s been going since before you woke up.

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

Frequently asked questions

How far is Bà Năm from the Art Gallery of South Australia?

It's roughly a 10–12 minute walk on foot. Head south from North Terrace through the CBD grid to Grote Street in Chinatown — Bà Năm is at number 65. The same walking time applies from the SA Museum, State Library and the University of Adelaide's North Terrace campus.

Is Bà Năm good for a student lunch near the University of Adelaide?

Yes — a small Phở Bò is $20 and cơm tấm broken rice plates are around $20, and it's an easy walk south from the North Terrace campus. It's open seven days from 11am, so it works between lectures. Do allow for an honest 15–30 minute wait at peak times.

What is the Phở Tái "red coin"?

Paper-thin rounds of rare, locally sourced beef laid over the noodles and cooked in the bowl by the boiling 18-hour bone broth as it's poured. The broth is made on real bones with no concentrate, following Bà Năm Lời's 1970s home-kitchen recipe from Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh.

Do I need to book, or can I walk in after visiting the museums?

Walk-ins are welcome and bookings are available via OpenTable. At peak lunch and dinner expect a 15–30 minute wait as a walk-in. Groups of 8 or more should call ahead on (08) 8151 0106.

What are Bà Năm's opening hours?

Seven days a week, 11am–9pm, extending to 9:30pm over summer (October to March), including public holidays. You can also order ahead via the app at order.phobanam.com.au.