Phamish Vietnamese Cafe

Make a reservation, arrive early and expect to be impressed! A lucky find while exploring Sydney.

First, love these guys — they had closed after lunch half an hour previous but let me order a quick snack. Friendly service in central Sydney — who knew?!
I ordered rice paper rolls — fresh, crisp, delicious dipping sauce. But the star was the roast Banh Mi roll. French bread and savory, falling apart pork. I dream of a sandwich this good.

You know those times when you mention to a friend that you will be coming to visit several weeks in advance… And they insist that they must, simply must take you to this ONE place?
That was the lead in for Phamish, and I did go in with a juxtaposition of high expectations and previous experience of Vietnamese food that left me thinking I’d be likely to enjoy my food, but not necessarily love it. I have previously found Vietnamese food to be lovely and light but without a lot of depth or variety.
Ok, so this place doesn’t take over the phone bookings apparently, and you need to put your name down when you arrive and wait (fortunately there are pubs around). Be aware that some people will however show up at lunchtime to reserve their dinner spot and as such the evenings can mean a significant wait.
It’s a vibrant little joint, good ambience but so noisy. Keep your conversations close and be prepared to leave hoarse.
We some salt and pepper calamari, ginger and lemongrass chicken, crispy skin chicken, caramelised pork, some vegetable dish… I feel like there was more but I can’t remember what it was. Everything was deeply flavoured and clearly unique to the other dishes on the table.
The consensus on our table was that the crispy skin chicken was the best any of us had ever had. The pork was a close second. I wish I could have tried everything.
We BYO’d wine, and between six people only had to pay 20ish per head for a very satisfying dinner. One for the memory banks for sure.

OMG come hungry… like maybe even wear elastic pants because you’ll want to eat until you can eat no more.
I’d also advise going in a group and ordering lots of dishes so that you get to sample everything. I wouldn’t judge you if you ordered a ton of food for yourself, but at least in a group you’ll save a bit of $$$.
Top picks: rice paper rolls, banana blossom salad with duck, chicken curry and the spring rolls.
The food comes quickly and has always been spot on when I visit. Just a note– it isn’t super cheap, but for the quality of the food I’d consider it great value!

Get yourself some green papaya salad and chicken curry and life is better. The service is a little brusque and sometimes the food can be a bit oily, but for the most part this place is an affordable gem that offers some of the best Vietnamese food in Sydney.

Great Vietnamese food on a budget. Forget red lantern, this place offers up really good quality Vietnamese food for half the price!
The place is no frills. You order and pay at the counter. The restaurant is byo and you sit outside in a covered area in stools. Despite this the place does amazing business and is also busy and full.
We ordered the crispy crab dumplings, caramelized pork belly with Chinese broccoli and duck in plum sauce. The crab dumplings were a bit of a let down, however the two other dishes were amazing!
The total bill only came out to $ 60 for two including rice which is great value for the quality of food.
Will definitely be back again!

Cheap, loud, and overrated — I really believe that this place is only crowded because it serves cheap meals nestled amongst beautiful dining restaurants that are triple the price. I think the surry hills crowd are sometimes guilty of wanting to be seen dining in darlinghurst or surry because they can’t afford to eat at a real restaurant.
This place serves nothing more fantastic than what you find in any typical Vietnamese takeaway.
If Sydney keep supporting these types of businesses we will kill off the art of real dinning.

The Beef Ragu, cooked with coconut and star anise –is the flavour to savour. Fall off the bone, fragrant, delicious!
Gets tropical-​hot inside on a Summers night (or in our case — a 34 degree Spring night), so get a table outside if you can.
Chockers with young, stylish, lively diners. I’d say the mean age is about 28 here. Come dressed relaxed or glammed up; you wouldn’t be out of place in either attire.
Good spot for a semi-​casual Birthday.

Very, very good — I can totally see why many people say Phamish is their go to for Vietnamese. It’s not the delightful and cheap Asian food so common in this city, but it is quality for the price, and the portions are ridiculously huge.
4 stars for the Salt & Pepper Prawns (20.50). As the name suggests, this is a huge bowl of tasty prawns, lightly flash fried and served with an almost meaty dark sauce on the side. It’s a ton of prawns … you could easily share this meal with another person (and maybe add an appetizer) and be all set.
5 stars for their special Fish curry (21.50), the flavours are layered, complex, and straight up delicious.
3 – 4 stars for the crab dumplings ($ 12, appetizer). Nice flavours. These crab dumplings are very large and good. I would have preferred some veggies in there as well, or some filling that could help lighten them as the combination of the fried exterior and the crab is a bit on the heavy side.

Relaxed, casual and fun, with funky. largely outdoor, seating. The food has been consistently good and has a wide enough selection to appeal even to me, who is not too keen on over the top spiced foods. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who likes Vietnamese food or who is up to give it a go.

BOOKINGS: ⁷⁄₁₀
— Yes, they do take them. If you are calling early to ensure you get a table leave a message and they will call you back.
— Maybe, we had a booking but when we showed up, and every time other patrons showed up the hostess looked mortified. I think they must have taken bookings from absolutely everyone that called.
RESTAURANT: ⁸⁄₁₀
— It is cafeteria style as other reviewers mentioned. You go up to the front where there is a giant menu, order and pay. After ordering you may be sent back outside to the front while they try to find you a table. Once said table is ready they put your number on it and you are good to wait for your food.
— Crowded (it was a Friday night). If you come in a group, be prepared to sit around a small table. This will bring you closer to your friends.
— The ambience was quite nice. TBH, it felt romantic which not a bad thing since I was dining with my partner.
FOOD: ⁹⁄₁₀
— Spring rolls: WIN. I believe there were 6 perfectly stuffed, fried amazing yummy spring rolls
— Carmelized pork: WIN. Good sized serving with rice and veg
— Salt and pepper prawns: WIN. Quite possibly 12 good sized prawns on my plate.
— Rice was $ 3 pp and I’m not sure if we needed it. Quite full at the end.
COST: around $ 65 for 2 pp
SUMMARY
Overall a good dining experience. I wouldn’t trek to Phamish again but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to my friends. A bit on the pricey side as they fashion themselves as trendy. The hostess was very friendly but I found the guys at the counter to be a bit rude.
TIPS
Bathroom
— Around the corner and you need a key
BYO
— It is BYO and you are charged $ 3pp — I believe just beer /​wine
KIDS
— Yes and No — not a lot of room to move around in the restaurant but outside there is a cement area where they can run around, be seen and not end up in the street.

Amazing salt and pepper tofu and beautiful little dumplings. Delicious!

Vietnamese is fast becoming one of our favourite Asian cuisines. We love the clean flavours, the balance of sweet and sour and their use of fresh aromatic herbs. So tasty!
Let us introduce you to one of our favourite Vientamese inner city spots, Phamish.
Now, we must warn you, this is not a fancy place. There is not a white tablecloth in sight. You will sit on plastic stools and drink your (BYO) wine out of tumblers. But, that all adds to the charm.
Phamish relocated from it’s old Paddington digs to Darlinghurst some years ago and it now sits in the courtyard off Palmer Street, next to Lucio Pizzeria and Universal. They don’t take bookings and they get busy. You’ll want to arrive with your bottle of wine in hand, put your name down for a table, leave your number and head off to nearby East Village Hotel for a drink while you wait.
Once you take your seat on the plastic stool, you’ll be met with a no-​nonsense menu of reasonably priced Vietnamese dishes. We can never go past the Duck Pancakes to start and the Salt and Pepper Squid is a knockout. The food has met a consistent standard for years.
Whilst we admit, you may find more authentic Vietnamese restaurants in Cabramatta, we can’t help but love this little gem, plastic seats and all. We hope you love it too.

This place is now a monthly essential. The queues at dinner are manageable and the menu board is a great idea as long as the pancakes don’t disappear just as you (me) are about to order them.
Flavour to burn, and keep burning for quite some time. But really lunch is the go. Theres usually only a smattering of people and everything happens quickly, I don’t even need to order anymore — my two rice paper rolls and salt and pepper squid are just brought out as a matter of course. I have to be quick if I want something else.
Chicken salad with crispy something and god knows what else that just hits the spot like only good Vietnamese can. Phamish’s salt and pepper squid is the best in Sydney. The Phở Ga is authentic and honest, an absolute classic.
This is a sensational lunch spot … BUT… its only open for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays at the moment.

Phamish! Scooting though Darlinghurst you could easily miss this gem. But you need to visit.
We went here on Sunday afternoon at 5:30pm as they opened and got seated immediately. Staff are definitely not the friendliest faces in the Sydney restaurant scene but they are busy! So I will excuse that in this review.
The food is delicious with every single dish we ordered ⁵⁄₅ stars. Just go up and order a table full of food and enjoy! Try the specials they were a real treat :)

Ok, I’m gonna call it — my favourite asian in sydney!
Phamish is an institution, newcomers to the inner city are always taken here by me and their own worship begins immediately.
The dishes are so yummy and great, and its so fresh that when its sold out, its taken down off the wall. My favourite is the lemongrass and chili chicken, the spring rolls are by far the best in sydney that I’ve had, and the satay chicken is also good. I don’t eat beef but my friends always order the sesame beef.
The service: Its good, its not over friendly but its still nice. I’ve never been able to walk in and get a table, always a wait, but they are really good at calling you before or on the time they said they would, and you can go drink at the east village hotel while you wait.

one of the best casual asian food spots in sydney. every one of their dishes is just buzzing with flavour. squid, pork, chicken lemongrass to name a few are the cult dishes.
this food seriously is is up there with 40 — 50 dollar a dish places — for the price of 18 bucks!
thats value for money — and there is a great vibe. this is my fave casual asian food spot in sydney!

Great value. Delicious food.
Some friends took me here the day before I left Sydney. My only regret was that I didn’t find it earlier. Kinda trendy and outdoor seating, tucked in a quiet part of town.
Try the duck pancakes!

Great value for sure. Love this spot.
We spent $ 25 a person on our dinners here and shared plates among four of us including an entrée. It’s a couple dollars for BYOB and we grabbed a bottle of wine from East Village Hotel (around the corner).
The salt and pepper squid, soft-​shell crab, duck salad, vegetable curry, beef ragu and rice paper rolls are all amazing. You order at the counter and it comes out super quick. I like that too.
The only bad thing about Phamish can be the wait, especially if you’re really hungry. Go early if you want a table right away. Otherwise I’d say it’s well worth your wait.

My friends LOVE Phamish… I don’t… why because I don’t eat meat or calamari or whatever other animals Phamish serve up… basically what I’m saying is if you’re vegeterian you’re going to have a very poor expereience at Phamish.
The veggie options are bland and you kind of get the feeling they needed some greenery on the menu to counter all the meat dishes…
Those of you who know me, know that I don’t have a problem with people eating meat — I just have a problem with restaurants forgetting that there may be customers (and an increasing amount of customers) who don’t eat living creatures…