South of the River Vietnamese

Updated: Feb 14, 2022

On the hunt for some REAL good Vietnamese food near you?

If you're like us and you want the good stuff, not a softer version, youll know South of the River Perth doesnt have the nearly the abundance of choice as North, but the good news is its starting to improve!

We have been back from Vietnam for 3 years now, and i would often buy a bowl of disappointment. Even in comparison to Sydney and Melbourne, Perth just wasnt up there. But things are changing...

Eg- Perth Banh Mi’s are really good now... The competion has driven the quality really high.

Esp the banh mi Heo Quay, roast pork. Excellent now in many places.

Slowly we are trying all Vietnamese food South of the River. Weve tried about 15 places, and will slowly upload our experiences.

#1 Cafe 228 Vietnamese Street Food

White Gum Valley

Located on South St, Cafe 228 is a deli/lunch bar that serves traditional Vietnamese food as well as general cabinet food such as hot pies/chips, etc.

Must try dishes: Pho and Bun (rice vermicelli dishes)

Here they use a different type of rice noodles rather than the classic flat and wide noodles that you usually get in your pho. They use a much thinner noodle, but we like the flavours in the broth. So next time your in the area, maybe swing by Cafe 228 where you can have some PHO TWO EIGHT!

However , you can get better Banh Mi at Viet Kites 10 mins away.

MAP HERE

Price: CHEAP CHEAP!!

Almost everything on the menu is only $12!!!

#2 Happy Chopsticks

Hamilton Hill

A small cafe along Forrest Rd.

No need to say much really. Straight to the point. They're Vietnamese pancakes (Banh Xeo, pronounced bun seo) are just BOMB. Definitely one of best SOR. If youre a small eater, when you come in here to try their banh xeo, make sure you bring a friend because it's big.

Price: Cheap,

Quality: Decent

+ nothing over $14 and really good portions

#3 Garling Cafe & Lunch

O'connor

Here's a teenee tiny lunch bar on Garling St that also serves yummy pho and honestly, it's not bad for the money. Though if you have time, there are better Pho places 10 mins away.

The flavours in the soup are just the balanced, but in our opinion it tastes somewhat Westernised, however this is the problem with most places in Perth

So give this one go too, but keep in mind it can get super busy during lunch time!

Price: Cheap, everything on the menu under $13.

#4 Viet Kites

Yes it may have the best Banh Mi in all of Perth, not joking. Lucky for us Southies....more to come on this awesome place that specializes just in Banh Mi and coffee.