Vietnamese food is among my favorite foods, so when the possibility opened up to try another restaurant, I jumped at the chance. Vin restaurant lies a bit off the center of Vienna, but can easily be reached by public transport. The small restaurant had a couple of tables occupied, but our reservation for six was by far the largest group.
dining area @Vin restaurant
Once the waitress appeared we ordered drinks and food, which turned out to be a good thing. Because the moment everything was put on the table, she wasn’t seen for a long time. The restaurant is extremely busy with online orders.
Aloe Vera juice @Vin restaurant
My go-to meal at any new Vietnamese restaurant are summer rolls with shrimps and a pho with beef. It’s easy enough to judge a kitchen by these two dishes after having eaten them so often in Vietnam. Unfortunately I found both lacking.
The summer rolls with shrimps looked good enough, big and shiny if a little colorless. The absence of color translated in missing mint and Thai basil. A summer roll should burst with flavors from these two herbs with lots of salad and carrots and little rice noodles. Not so at Vin restaurant. The main ingredient were the noodles therefore lacking its distinct flavor. Even the sauce couldn’t help the bland rolls.
summer rolls with shrimps @Vin restaurant
The beef pho didn’t fare much better. The broth is usually so flavorful that it is enough to add the herbs, a splash of lime, and maybe a bit of black bean sauce. Not so at Vin restaurant. I added all of the black bean sauce, plus the available chili sauce and was still not happy. That’s the problem when you know how it should taste!
Pho beef @Vin restaurant
The overall best starter was the mango salad with shrimps. It had a wonderful color and tasted fresh. The seasoning was great, maybe a bit on the sweet side because the fruit was rather ripe as well, but overall a lovely dish to start the meal. The peanuts and fried shallots added a different texture to the dish.
mango salad with shrimps @Vin restaurant
The tofu vegetable soup looked good and was according to my friend tasty. Nonetheless she used all the accompanying condiments to boost the flavor, so I do believe it was rather bland.
tofu vegetable soup @Vin restaurant
The Pho soup with tofu had a similar verdict. The soups at Vin restaurant just missed the traditional depth and flavor. The vegetables were fresh though and had bright colors, also the herbs and the bean sprouts were completely fresh.
Pho with tofu @Vin restaurant
The Bun Dau Hu, basically a rice noodle salad with more tofu, vegetables, and vegan spring rolls was delicious. But this came from the same friend, who already pronounced the vegetable tofu soup a winner. But since the verdict was supported by another vegetarian friend, it seems to be correct: the Bun bowl was delicious. Personally I think it’s the grease from the fried spring rolls which made all the difference. I did wonder though what’s the substitute for the fish sauce in the dressing here?
Bun Dau Hu @Vin restaurant
The fried beef with the black pepper sauce and rice elicited no words of praise at all. So I must assume it was as boring as most of the other dishes. Especially since my friend mentioned that her starter, the mango salad was by far the best dish. Which was true because I ate quite a bit of it as well.
fried beef with black pepper sauce @Vin restaurant
Service was very friendly once she was at the table. But overall rather busy finalizing the online orders and a bit absent minded when it came to the customers within the restaurant. In my opinion Vin restaurant serves okay, but it’s a far cry from the Vietnamese food I know. Yours, Pollybert
Vin Restaurant
1180 Wien, Währingerstrasse 137
Tel: +43 660 9092984
Email: office@vin-restaurant.at
Tue-Fri: 11:30-15:30, 17:00-22:00, Sat-Sun:11:30-22:00
https://www.vin-restaurant.at/
