Mama's Buoi

Mama's Buoi is a Vietnamese restaurant tucked away in Melbourne's GPO.  Brought to you by the creators of Roll'd, Mama's Buoi is the more 'up-market' counterpart, offering the likes of cocktails and authentic curries (as well as the usual Vietnamese favourites), all at very reasonable prices.

The food menu itself is extensive and drool-worthy - the hardest part of the evening being which dish (or indeed dishes) to choose!

To eat I ordered the baby beef pho ($8.00), the vermicelli noodle salad bowl with BBQ Chicken ($16.00) and the coconut pancake with coconut ice-cream ($14.00).

Unfortunately, whilst the broth of the pho was quite pleasant, the beef itself was very fatty (indeed, about a quarter of each piece of beef was made up of fat).

I did not like my vermicelli salad.  Indeed, I only ate half of it which, for those of you who know me, is definitely a big event.  There was an element of the dish which tasted like hay.  Seeing as the hay flavour seemed to have saturated the dish, my guess is that it lurked in the dressing.

The desert, however, was exceptional.  The coconut pancake was warm, the ice-cream was cold, and the fresh strawberries added the tartness that was needed to balance out the dish.

Whilst the desert was delicious, there are so many other amazing Vietnamese restaurants that have the ability to deliver on the whole menu. 

Food: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Décor: 3/5
Total: 8/15
Verdict: Don't bother - head to one of Melbourne's other amazing Vietnamese eateries.