Yen for Viet

Ok — trying to keep my ‘constructive’ hat on during this review.
I can’t say a bad thing about this place, yet there isn’t much to rave on about either. I’ll start with a compliment — this place was very busy when we got there at 730pm on Saturday — it would seem that you really do need to book, however the staff were friendly and found us a table for two right at the back — thanks staff!
The place was neat and tidy, but the ambiance was fairly flat and light. Not overly energetic or engaging to the senses. The menu was comprehensive without going overboard — we ordered eggplant fritters, rice paper rolls, papaya salad and a chicken and veg dish with rice with two glasses of red. The papaya salad was nice but everything else lacked a bit of punch and character. I know Vietnamese food is a little more modest compared to its Asian neighbours, but something was lacking… Maybe we just ordered the wrong dishes!
I am however going to rate the service, and quality and freshness of the food and flexibility of the staff and also the price point too! If I could go 3.5 stars, I would but today I’m feeling a tad on the generous side!!!

A reservation is a must so you don’t miss out. They are not open during the day on weekdays so it’s a little hard to make a reservation but they are open from 5.30pm so call ahead.
Don’t even bother with the other Vietnamese restaurants in this strip
Yen for Viet is the place to eat!
We had a group of 6 so we got to try a range of dishes. For entrée we shared S&P calamari, stuffed squid and the prawn pancake. For main we enjoyed Pork belly, prawns with spicy seafood sauce, prawn and papaya salad, caramelised fish clay pot and wagyu beef which was served with rice paper, salad and noodles to make your own rolls. We BYO two bottles of wine so including corkage and a decent tip our feast only cost us $ 35 each. Cheap and fantastic.
The food was delicious and the service was fantastic.
A big thumbs up for this restaurant we will defiantly be returning.
No website but they have a FB page.

We decided to choose Yen for Viet after reading the review below, and Im glad we did.
Illawarra road could easily be known as ‘Little Hanoi’ there are 4 or 5 Vietnamese restaurants on this strip, (and one funky little café on the corner called ‘Cornersmith’ which I have also read about on Unilocal)
The brighter and newer looking PHD, looked very busy, however I was determined to try Yen.
I booked a table, though when we arrived there seemed to be a few available. The staff were all really friendly and professional. After about 15 mins, the place filled up as passers by saw that it was actually quite a popular place. It just isn’t as noticeable as the one up the road.
I tried the Bahn Xeo with Duck, as an entrée. We like our food, so we ordered that as well as Prawn balls. When the Bahn arrived it was huge. And also delicious. My eyes just about popped.
Not realising how huge the servings were we kind of went hell for leather and ordered the two entrée, and 2 mains and a combination fried rice. We couldn’t fit it all on the table!
I ordered Caramelized pork belly in a clay pot. Anything pork is right up my alley, so of course it was a cracker. Quite salty but also sweet, finely chopped ribbons of pork belly that simply melts in your mouth.
We also ordered the Chicken and coconut cream curry. A favourite at other Vietnamese restaurants, we like to try it everywhere because it varies so much between chefs. It was earthy and you could tell the curry had been freshly made.
The combination special fried rice was awesome. with plump juicy little prawns mixed in. You could easily get away with just the rice and Bahn for teo people and still be stuffed.
I noticed some other people having the whole ginger fish, which looked like a great option for two people at about $ 35.
There is a Wine list, or you can BYO wine only.
This place would be great value for money for groups, the servings are large and the staff are really accommodating.

I’d heard people raving about the phở at Yen for Viet, but then I started hearing about how amazing the banh xeo was too. And whoa, did the food live up to the hype! We have plenty of Vietnamese restaurants in Marrickville, but there are only a bunch that pass the take-​your-​parents-​out-​to-​dinner test. With its lovely décor, friendly staff and high standard of cleanliness, Yen for Viet satisfies the Mum checklist.
Whatever else you order (and I assure you, it’s ALL good), make sure you sample the $ 12 five-​spiced beef noodle phở and the pork and prawn banh xeo. If you haven’t tried one of these before, they’re essentially crispy yellow pancakes filled with a combination of flavours and textures. The version here is big and packed full of goodness. The pancake is a nice mix of rice flour and turmeric, and has a savoury flavour that blends perfectly with the warm pork and prawn meat. I’ve eaten it more times than I should admit to… So I won’t.