Vina Vegetarian Restaurant seems lesser known in Newtown than Green Gourmet but I was more interested in tasting its Vietnamese cooking, craving some fresh vegetables and herbs. We arrived early and had no trouble securing a table; the demand for eat-in and takeaway food only grew over the next hour or two.
Vina's menu runs to several pages - though it's not clearly marked, I gather that most dishes are vegan, and the introductory page says they'll try their best to accommodate any declared dietary requirements. Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable, seeming very much up to that task. There's a range of fried and fresh foods, mock meats and whole vegetables: salads, soups, noodles, rice paper wraps, stir fries, hot pots and rice.
Safe within the walls of a vegetarian restaurant, we tried an entree whose name we didn't recognise - Xui Cao ($6) - and were treated to some crunchy-fried dumplings filled with finely minced vegatables, tofu and noodles.
We find it impossible to resist sweet, pillowy steamed mock BBQ pork buns wherever we find them ($4.50).
Michael focused mainly on a bowl of vermicelli with spring rolls, some delightfully flavoured and shredded mock chicken, lettuce, mint, cucumber and dipping sauce ($12).
I was at least as impressed again by the DIY rice paper rolls ($16) - they featured a mix of tofu, mock beef and crispy-skinned mock pork rubbed with lemongrass and spices, served with the requisite vermicelli, lettuce, mint, vegetables and dipping sauce. We couldn't bear to leave a shred of this behind.
While Vina is not particularly atmospheric, it had a appealing golden light on this grey evening and the staff were welcoming. The food - particularly our main dishes - was terrific! The noodle soups, noodle bowls and fried rice plates are especially good value at just $12 each. If only I lived a little closer, I'd love to slink in for regular low-fuss feeds.
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Every blogger who's posted about Vina would recommend you visit, see exploding wonder storm castle, vegansydney.com, Sydney Food Guide, Diary of a Ladybird, Conquering King Street, Newtown, Compassionate Vegetarians and I Ate Sydney.
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Vina
395 King St, Newtown NSW
(02) 9557 0456
veg entrees $4-6, mains $6-18
Accessibility: Vina has a ramp on entry and moderate-to-tightly spaced tables. We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets, but Toilography did.
I really really wish we could have eaten this when we were down! I had heard about it but didn't realise it was a proper vegetarian restaurant! Cheap and cheerful, mock alongside veg, with yum sounding sauces - what more can you ask?
ReplyDeleteMatt - yep, veg all the way. Put it top of your list for next time!
DeleteIt sounds promising. A friend and I are planning a trip to Sydney and I am always keen to try new places that are not the grossly trendy, impossible to get into scenes.
ReplyDeleteCakelaw - ha! I think we managed an even mix of grossly trendy scenes and not. ;-)
DeleteThere's loads of authentic vegan Vietnamese restaurants in Cabramatta but I also rate Vina's and have a soft spot for the family that runs the place. Looking forward to your Green Goumet review, it's still my favorite restaurant of all time. I'm surprised it's taken you this long!
ReplyDeleteHi Lyf! Actually we didn't even get to Green Gourmet on this visit, sounds like we're missing out. Thanks for the tip on Cabramatta too, I think I read a bit about the options there on vegeTARAian once.
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