Phonatic Restaurant — Restaurant in Adelaide

Revisit March 2023

It seems to have lost a bit. The beef salad is no longer rare, nor as spicy and fresh, the banh xeo is not as generous. It still is as popular as ever but doesn't quite seem the same as in its early days.

‐-------- Amazing, fresh food. The place itself has a very cool, chilled vibe. The staff are energetic, friendly and helpful when you're a bit unsure about what to get. So the crispy skin pork rolls were nice. When they came out, they were quite large and did seem rice-heavy. But appearances are deceiving, and these were delicious. Fresh, light and with pops of crunch from the pork.

The beef pho was great. I appreciate the ample herbs provided and the deep flavour of the beef stock. The large was not the biggest I have ever had but it was one of the best beef phos I have had in a while (I do try a lot here in Sydney - and a lot of the time, I am disappointed if the beef is not rare or they use chicken stock as a shortcut).

Now the star was the banh xeo - vietnamese pancake. Fantastic. Very different - a lot of textures, flavours but very fresh with the vietnamese herbs and lettuce. We will order this again but may try sharing because it is too good to keep it for one person.

Looking forward to trying out more of the menu when we...

Tuesday night service was awful, despite the meal being good. We are being treated rudely and impatiently by a female staff member. racist as prospective discrimination. She must know why I am saying this!

We sat at the back bar area. After we been seated, the female employee stands up straightly and displays an irritated attitude with us, when we just come to the restaurant and be seated. She just said, "Wait," when we asked for the water bottle to be refilled. We even wondering whether she has been working a long time and being exhausted. However, after observing how she serves other tables, we feel she is just rude and being a racist. She actually can smile and bow down, even reach down as she approaches other tables to inquire further. But for us, we have to raise the menu to ask further questions. She can smile to other tables, but with us, she consistently has an impatient attitude and facial expression! We just come into the restaurant for few minutes and...

In a word, underwhelming. Aesthetically pleasing restaurant, friendly and enthusiastic staff, reasonable prices - I'd say toward the higher end for a bowl of pho tai, quick service (although i was one of a few people in there as it was before peak time) but their claim of 'we make the best pho' is way, way, way OFF the mark. Firstly, the tide was out - that's to say the serving size of the large was a huge disappointment, and the thing about 'beef noodle soup' is that it should have beef in it. There were a few small pieces of beef but certainly not what i am accustomed to. This place should have worried less about the cool, exposed brick, funky restaurant and been more concerned with delivering their claim of 'the best pho' because the best, it certainly is not. Should have stuck to my usual MO, and gone to the dingy, plastic table and chair, cash only Vietnamese restaurant thats full of locals, because the food NEVER disappoints or leaves you still hungry when...