Vietnamese Restaurant & Cafe

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

143 Jackson St, Petone.

We’d heard... It’s a local place for local people, not flash, but tasty and comfortable.

The vibe... Is rustic, which is being kind. But you don’t go for the decor, you go for the food – it’s cheap, cheerful, plentiful and very tasty.

I ordered... Summer in food form. There’s just something about Vietnamese food that fairly yells summer to me – that combination of coriander, mint, lemon and spicy sriracha sauce.

The summer rolls ($7) are the epitome of that. Light, fresh, soft on the outside and crisp on the inside, spiked with mint and ready to be dunked in a sweet, nutty dipping sauce.

I teamed that with a classic Vietnamese coffee ($4). If you’ve never had one before, think part drink, part science experiment, all fun.

It comes unmade, with a miniature coffee press on top of your glass.

After that came the pho ($14). I can never pass one up. You can’t help but feel nourished and revived by that heady combination of mint, lemon, chilli, broth and steam.

This fragrant, piping hot, bowl of noodle-y goodness had mountains of well-cooked chicken, oodles of vegetables and a heap of fat rice noodles.

For dessert, I had a che thap cam ($5.50), which is usually like a yellow bean parfait of layered yellow bean custard, jack fruit, jelly pearls and coconut cream. This one was more like a yellow bean custard bubble tea, but refreshing and light.

If you go… Don’t expect anything flash, this is a local cafe, for locals. Plan to take a stroll on the beach afterwards, if you want to feel truly virtuous. Service: Attentive, speedy and friendly. Overall: It’s cheap, cheerful and delicious.