Vietnamese Near Sturt Street, Adelaide: The Flat Walk to Bà Năm

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

Sturt Street sits down on Adelaide’s southern fringe — quiet, tree-lined, close enough to the South Terrace park lands that you can smell the grass after rain. What it doesn’t have is a bowl of phở built on real bones. For that, you point yourself north toward Victoria Square, swing west onto Grote Street, and walk into Chinatown.

At 65 Grote Street you’ll find Bà Năm — a Southern Vietnamese kitchen built on a recipe from a 1970s home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh. We’re not a luxury venue, just very genuine: 18-hour bone broth, paper-thin “red coin” rare beef, and a stone bowl that’s still boiling when it hits your table. This page is the honest walk from Sturt, what to order when you arrive, and why people keep making the trip.

How Far Is Bà Năm From Sturt Street? (Honestly)

The route is dead flat and simple: head north toward Victoria Square, then turn west onto Grote Street and follow it into Chinatown. Honest walk times:

• Western Sturt (near the King William / Whitmore Square latitude): about 12–18 minutes. See also our King William Street guide.
• Mid-Sturt: about 15–20 minutes at an unhurried pace.
• Eastern Sturt (toward the Hutt / East Terrace latitude): about 18–25 minutes — or check the Hutt Street route if you’re starting further east.

If you’re actually one block north on Carrington, you shave a few minutes — there’s a Carrington Street guide for that. And if your walk takes you up past Wright Street or along Gouger Street, you’re basically following the smell of char-grilled pork the whole way. Grote Street runs right past the Adelaide Central Market, so the last stretch is the best-smelling part of the CBD.

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. It’s the dish people cross the city for.
• 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.

The Kitchen Behind It

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 Sturt Street

• Address: 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000 — in Chinatown
• Walk time: about 12–18 minutes from the western / King William end; 15–20 from mid-Sturt; 18–25 from the eastern / Hutt latitude end
• 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?

Sturt isn’t the only southern fringe street we’ve mapped honestly. If you’re starting elsewhere:

• Vietnamese near Carrington Street — one block north of Sturt
• Vietnamese near Wakefield Street — three blocks north of Sturt, still southern CBD
• Vietnamese near Angas Street
• Vietnamese near King William Street
• Vietnamese near Hutt Street — the eastern fringe
• Vietnamese near Wright Street and near Gouger Street
• Vietnamese near Victoria Square — the hinge on the walk north
• Vietnamese in Adelaide Chinatown
• Vietnamese food across the Adelaide CBD
• Vietnamese near the Central Market

The Short Version

Sturt Street to Bà Năm is a flat 12–25 minute walk depending on which end you start from: north to Victoria Square, west along Grote, and you’re in Chinatown. Boiling stone bowls, 18-hour broth, red coin rare beef. Walk in, or book for groups.

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 Sturt Street?

It depends where on Sturt you start. From the western end (near the King William / Whitmore Square latitude) it’s about 12–18 minutes on foot; mid-Sturt is about 15–20 minutes; the eastern end toward Hutt Street is about 18–25 minutes. The route is flat — north toward Victoria Square, then west along Grote Street into Chinatown.

What is “red coin” rare beef?

Our Phở Tái comes with paper-thin rounds of rare beef — the “red coins” — that cook gently in the hot broth right in your bowl. We use local beef, topped up with Sunday farm runs.

What is Phở Thố Đá?

Our signature stone bowl phở. The broth is served in a heated stone bowl so it’s still boiling when it reaches your table, keeping every spoonful hot to the last. 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?

Open 7 days, 11am–9pm, extending to 9:30pm from October to March. We’re open on public holidays too. At peak times, expect an honest 15–30 minute wait, or order ahead via the app at order.phobanam.com.au.

Is the broth really simmered for 18 hours?

Yes — 18 hours over real bones, with no concentrates or powders. It’s the same approach that started in Bà Năm Lời’s home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, in the 1970s.