Welcome to Dao Vien Vietnamese Restaurant

I don't care that the ambience and service aren't that fantastic here because the food is fantastic.

I have always enjoyed vietnamese food but since travelling to Vietnam this year, I have been craving it.

There were four of us and we each had an entree (soup) and a main meal and we were struggling after the entree alone. Luckily the waitress had warned me about the size of the dishes so I only had a small entree.

The mains were fantastic but I think my favourite for the evening was my partner's pho tai (I'm pretty sure this is the one he had - very much like pho bo) which was beautiful.

The other great dish was the salt and pepper squid - again pretty sure that's what was ordered and it was delicious. Really tender.

Again don't care that it doesn't look like a 5 star restaurant because the food is amazing.

Have not been to Dao Vien for some time and decided it was time to return for our favourite, the special beef rice noodles ($8.10). You get the works in this soup dish. Here, the serve surpasses other Vietnamese cafes with a generous serve of beef slices, stewed beef, beef balls and tripe with white flat noodles. A plate of bean sprouts and Vietnamese mint leaves accompanies this dish and to me is a necessary addition to fully flavour the soup. Also, their sauces are a must with a combination of hoi sin and chilli which enhances the taste of the meat. This dish has not once failed to satisfy us.

We also ordered the broken rice ($7.80) served with pork chop, fried egg, pickled carrot/cabbage and shredded meat with vermicelli. The accompaniment is the fish sauce and a bowl of clear soup. Generally, not too bad but we have had better ones at other places. Something that we tried for the first time was the dry vermicelli with braised beef and spring rolls ($8.80). Very flavoursome dish with the addition of coriander leaves but not 100% accurate in their description as it was not braised beef but rather beef slices. However, the beef was tender and so we refrained from complaining.

This café is situated opposite the railway line on the fringe of Northbridge and there is limited free parking behind the restaurant accessible via Roe Street. A very basic restaurant but spacious and have tables to fit large groups. Also, it is in the Entertainment book.