Banh Xeo Bar

Banh Xeo Bar isn’t another neighbourhood Vietnamese joint. There’s no pho, vermicelli salad, crisp chicken, lemongrass pork or even fresh spring rolls.

Benjamin Sinfield, the man behind it, has worked at Ester, Fred’s and London’s renowned St John, which is where he met his partner (now both in business and in life) Tanio Ho.

The duo came to prominence slinging impressively crisp and flavoursome banh xeo(fermented rice flour crepes), which are usually stuffed with pork, bean sprouts and onion, and some non-pho Vietnamese noodle soups, in market stalls across Sydney.

And at this, their first bricks and mortar restaurant, they’ve expanded their repertoire and are cooking both modern and traditional Vietnamese food.

The regularly changing dinner menu may one week include Viet-style English faggots (meatballs made with pork offal), or roasted bone marrow with fermented chilli salad and Vietnamese bread. There’s also whole fish steamed in a banana leaf, and crisp pig’s-head nuggets with shiso and pickles.

At lunch it’s more about the banh mi, banh xeo and noodle soups. The banh mi is stuffed with beef tongue, and the banh xeo with Kingsmore blood sausage or chicken. There’s also a pork and crab noodle soup called bun rieu.

The space is a bright white-tiled cafe-style fit-out in Rosebery’s The Cannery. The market stall is still running every weekend at Paddington markets.