Vina — Restaurant in Graz

I can't for the life of me understand the high rating. The food is not reminiscent of Vietnamese 🇻🇳 cuisine at all.

The level of cooking is low and the service is right out unfriendly, the prices are sky high.

I came at 14:15 and the waiter looked at me as if I had just entered his home uninvited.

I never encountered such a rude "welcome" in any restaurant as long as I can remember.

I realised that the waiter was disappointed I arrived because there were only two other tables occupied who were about to finish their lunch and the staff was probably planning to shut the place earlier than 15:00 (they reopen at 17:00).

The venue has not one but two WiFi networks - one for guests and one for the staff. Both show as having excellent reception.

As I am carrying two phones and am in roaming mode on only one of them I asked the male waiter for the password and he said he must check inside. When returning he said there is no WiFi (!).

The spring rolls are below average and they come with a sauce similar to yoghurt mayonnaise sauces people in German speaking countries were fond of adding to their salad in the 1980's.

The pho with tofu is ok but it lacks some of the ingredients a real pho should have, ie no coriander, no chilli, no lime, no mint, no vegetable besides onion (thankfully I downsized it to a starter portion so it cost 'only' 12 Euros).

The Saigon beer was served not chilled to an acceptable degree (especially seeing it is July).

The so called "organic beef" tastes like thin cheap cuts of beef which I suspect is what they are.

That this dish comes in a soy sauce identical to what is typically served in cheap and less desirable Chinese 🇨🇳 eateries in malls (except the size is smaller than what you get in a wok box from a food court in a mall or train station) but costs 22 Euros is surprising.

At 14:40 the same waiter I mentioned above began wiping the tables and moving every two single tables together to prepare them for dinner.

For some unknown reason he was pushing and pulling the tables very loudly and was evidently frustrated to be there because he was uttering what sounded like unhappy phrases.

Just as he and the female waitress were done wiping and arranging the tables two couples came to dine in a minute interval.

It was almost 14:50 and he told them the restaurant closes at 15:00 but they insisted to have beers and a snack so four of the ten dining tables he so loudly attended to were arranged for nothing and was all the drama...

Sorry.....I hate to break the chain of "wow so delicious" but for me, this food is bland. It lacks authentic flavours, it's just non-descript Asian food with no clear Vietnamese identity. The restaurant itself has no feeling of Vietnam either, it's just a dark restaurant. I've had Vietnamese food in London, New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong - it all packed a punch. This food though? Just like every other Asian restaurant in Graz where the food is watered down for the Graz people. The logo and website makes it look pretty good, but the proof is in the eating, and I highly doubt you'll find ANY Vietnamese people who would say this is the real deal. I bet if you took this food to the streets of Vietnam and asked people to rate its authenticity, it wouldn't do well at all. There's no passion in the food, it's bog-standard bland food, and why? Because the vast majority of people who eat here don't know any better, sorry to say. Same with Indian restaurants here, bland...

My gf brought me to this wonderful Vietnamese restaurant. As an Asian, I can say it is a very authentic Vietnamese restaurant with simple and yet modern and hip design! The ambiance of the restaurant gives a sense of serenity , calm and good vibes . We ordered the spring rolls with prawn ; pork chop with lemongrass and chicken with vege and lemongrass and curry and coconut milk. The pork chop is cooked in correct tenderness and chewy and the juice was remained within the meat! You will ask for more ! Dessert : banana bread pudding with coconut sauce! They know that cooking the coconut milk should put some salt to bring up the whole taste to another level where sweet and salty mixed up will increase the whole umami ! We will definitely come back for sure ! Great and friendly staff ! Would recommend the guests to book everything in advanced to avoid...