Mission Vietnamese — Restaurant in Brisbane City

This was a difficult review to write given that there were mixed feelings between the company I went with and myself. I have been craving good authentic Vietnamese cuisine in this side of town for a while. The few around the area lacked lustre and I couldn't bring myself to write a review for them given that they are all hardworking folks trying to make a living the best way they know how. And, most importantly, they are providing a service to the community around them by preparing meals for busy families and individuals. In light of this, here is a review of my experience at Mission Vietnamese.

I love that there is now a local Vietnamese place I can go to that brings me a lovely brothy pho when I am craving for one. The pho has all the elements of what I am looking for in the broth. While it isn't as good as the ones you can get at Cafe O'Mai or better still, The Real Viet Town in Darra, I am grateful that I don't have to travel to Darra or even Annerley to get my pho fix now.

The other meals were much better than what you would get at a Chinese Take Away or the food courts. The service was fair but the wait times for everything bar the pho was rather long. The decor of the place was considered and there were seating both indoors and outdoors. If you have a pram / stroller with you the outside seating is definitely the way to go as the interior is rather tight.

Price wise, it was quite reasonable and the staff, courteous. I love the new Cooparoo complex and the variety of things available to make it a nice evening out and about at your "local". A good pho, after doing the groceries at Aldi, catching a movie and topping it all off with some gelato makes it a nice one-stop shop for a weekday evening when you don't want the hassle or bother of going all the way into the city. Previously, the best you could for an evening as such was at Carindale Westfield which frankly, leaves much to be desired in comparison.

While there is off street parking and underground parking, I am not thrilled about the paid-parking. Parking is limited and access can be really difficult on a busy night.

All in all, a nice step up from the other Vietnamese restaurants in the area. I would...

Certainly lived up to it's name....It was a mission to order a Cold Beer...and on a summer night like tonight, it would have been nice???...I think they need to check their refrigeration. On their drinks menu, they advertised a Balter XPA, one of the best craft beers on the market. Unfortunate they had "ran out"!! Here's the irony, outside this restaurant is a bottle shop!!. Hey guys, next time for something totally wild, why not buy a six pack from the bottle shop??

All other customer service is basically non-existent with "self serve" water from a large thermos. Ordering is done via the counter and served to the table.

We ordered several dishes consisting of various entrees and mains. The rice paper rolls were stuck together and lacked flavour. I opted for the steamed dim sim which fell apart as I tried to pick it up with chopsticks.

Unfortunately, they did not clean down the table between meals and we had to politely prompt them to clear the dishes and perhaps wipe down prior to the next meal.

For mains I had the Beef Pho which was average in flavour. I was positive i had ordered a stir fry for my wife but they left it behind and had to quickly prepare the dish. When it arrived, it was dry and fairly bland also.

Having worked previously at Darra, I guess I was a little spoilt for good and honest Vietnamese street food. Mission on the other hand is a big let down. Will not be eating there...

I really want to like this place and I'm giving it every chance. But for every step forward, something else pops up to underwhelm. I had a fantastic chicken curry here once but that was the peak of my experience.

The rolls for the banh mi are a lot better than when they first opened...but the filling extremely bland. So on the next visit I ask for chilli...and find so much chilli it's eye-wateringly inedible.

On one visit the service is friendly & efficient...but on the next it takes 20 mins for a banh mi with no other patrons in the venue and no verbal warning about the likely wait.

The menu lists a range of rice paper rolls where it's two to a serve. I politely ask if they can sell a single roll. I'm not fussed if the answer is no as I understand commercial decisions. But 3-4 mins of back & forth dialogue between the staff member & the manager over whether they should or shouldn't do it, while I'm waiting to pay, is entirely unnecessary given the insignificance of what is at stake if they make the wrong decision.

If the food was as consistently good as My Street Food in Woolloongabba or even most other Vietnamese eateries around Brisbane, the other stuff would be quickly forgiven but so...