Yummy food, very friendly owners, pretty cheap and very quick! Very casual but great selection. Great for both takeaway and eat in. Everything you could want/expect for a local Vietnamese restaurant.
It's my first time to write a review to a restaurant. It was a lovely cozy place on the busy Johnston street. Everything looks neat and clean. We had a big group of 20 people and everyone loved their food.
The food itself was so fresh, flavoursome and diverse. The veggie platter I order was excellent (especially the bean curb, with crispy outside and flavoursome soft inside).
The service was outstanding!!!The staff are so friendly and make me feel so welcomed. Thanks Peter for your generosity and lovely service. It was really an unexpected quality find! We will definitely come back again and recommend to other friends.
Highly recommend to everyone.
This place is cheap and cheerful with a long list of items to choose from the menu. Even though I won't call the food "authentic", they were very flavoursome. Came wish a group of people and there was hardly any food left by the time we finished.
Just the best. Fresh, tasty and flavoursome food. Have been here 10+ time and it has never disappointed. Soft shell crab, calamari and mango salad phenomenal.
Cute little restaurant, ordered the stuffed crab with prawn which was very average, the salt and pepper chicken and green curry chicken with coconut rice were delicious! Service was also great too :) would recommend! Was left quite satisfied.
La Ola Es Mia Cocina.
+3.5
Good, but not great.
It’s definitely worth a visit here, but there pho is a major let down, ambience is excellent and service is outstanding !
But the pho didn’t sing to my tastebuds.
Maybe if I try a different dish next time it may be better.
My partner and friend certainly enjoyed there meal though to be truthful.
Came to Cafe 58 last night with a girlfriend before we saw a Fringe Festival Show. The restaurant is quite humble in appearance but neat and clean. The menu is very extensive and the food all sounded delicious. We got some vegetarian spring rolls, my friend had the vegetarian pad Thai and I had the Green Mango Salad with Prawns. The spring rolls were delicious and crispy and came with the perfect amount of lettuce and Thai basil. The Green Mango salad was really delicious as well and stuck the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The prawns were large and generous in portion as well. The service was really good and our waiter would regularly come over to top up our wine glasses, even though we were BYO. Byo is cheap as well- $2.50pp!
Very happy with our visit!
Cafe 58 is one of the best eating places in the Carlton area, a small hole in the wall that can be mistaken for a small cafe, hiding it's amazing restaurant and food. At my workplace, we would come here every week for a treat, and always be greeted by the amazing host, Van. He would always make the trip a pleasant one, remember our orders, and create an inviting and enjoyable atmosphere.
From the entire team, we'll miss Van and his antics, and I wish nothing but the best for this amazing place.
Dear friends and patrons of Cafe 58 aka Van,
Van passed away last Wednesday. His death was sudden and we hope that he did not suffer any more pain than he had during his lifetime. The lost of his good humour and hospitality to all will be profound. RIP my dear friend, you will be missed!
This is a great little place! Staff friendly and efficient. The owner even came out and chatted with us! Sharing platter was superb with some vegetarian choices included. The eggplant and bean curd dish was excellent! Love the BYO option too. We will definitely be dining here again!
Vietnamese or Thai?????
It doesn't matter Van said, "Nothing bad, everything good, o.k. love, Van" .... that's the spirit.
Nothing fancy, vintage building, high ceiling, a high flight of stairs, downstairs or upstairs, vibrant with lots of conflicting elements of Asia all over the joint; Japanese stitchwork, Vietnamese print and anything Orient, "Everything good, ok".
Foodwise, a taste of Thai; Pad Thai, Green Curry Chicken, a platter with Sweet Chilli sauce, etc, they are pretty good. A taste of Vietnamese/Chinese in everything else, we've ordered a few.
BYO and all that sharing food are about $30/head, great work.
Nothing bad, everything good ......
This place.was great!
Friendly staff and really authentic food. The pancake was so good- all the veggies in there were fresh as well.
Will be be coming back for sure
Came here late on a Friday night after the footy and honestly it is great. It is by no means fine dining but the flavours were amazing. We have just returned from Vietnam on holidays and the spring rolls here are top notch. The waiter recommended the pad Thai and coconut prawn such were both great choices. Also $25 for a bottle of wine with a take home option for left over food and drinks, great night out.
Amazing food, great service and definitely love their pancake so crunchy and flavorful, nice for a cozy lunch, food was fresh and flavorful just what authentic Vietnamese food would taste like
Before I came here, I thought it is a little“cafe”. But the fact is not, they provide many choices. It makes me so confusing that dunno what to eat.
the spring rolls look so cute, the chives show up. The balls taste good and the sauce is nice. The Mango Prawn taste great；taste perfect if it can sweeter and stronger flavour.
The tom yam soup is not made by the paste, it got some herb inside. So it can be a nice choice to try. The waiter is so nice, he always refill water for us and ask for comment.
We came in here quite late on Friday evening. The service wasn't particularly good, but not bad or rude or anything like that either. We had the Red curry chicken ($20) and Cashew nuts with bean curd ($17). Both dishes were lovely. I am eating the left-overs of the chicken at home on the couch and it still tastes great! ;)
This Diner Is Anonymous
+3.5
My friend and I ate here recently, and it was okay. Friendly, sincere service, but the food was a little lacking and our table was dire. We were on the table right near the door, and kept having our chairs banged. It would be a good idea to either reconfigure the room or remove that table altogether. I was surprised there was no pho on the menu. Very strange for a Vietnamese place to not have pho. I had a noodle dish that was similar, so I’m not sure what the resistance to this classic dish is. At $12 for the dish, it was at least a cheap and healthy night out.
Have Hunger, Will Travel
+4
This place used to be a firm 4.5 for me, but I feel it has slipped a little in recent times. Service is okay, but possibly a little over attentive. Food has slipped in my opinion, still very authentic, but on my last visit the flavours weren’t quite what they used to be. Could’ve been my mood, but it certainly feels like this place has lost some of its magic. I hope they can get it back!
What an unexpected quality find this vietnamese place was. Altho they interior was dated, the quality of food was excellent! Scrumptious and fresh, along with fast and very friendly service, I'm impressed!
This place has the best Vietnamese food in Melbourne its lovely and clean and the owner is very friendly. I work up the street from the restaurant and our staff are regulars there the food is consistently excellent
What a lovely little unassuming place, and a wonderful find amongst the overly self aware in the area. Enjoyable clean food, conservative pricing and respectful and lovely staff.
Absoloutly fantastic food, had a great night at this place, friendly staff, huge variety of dishes, and a very good quality. highly recommended.
This is an amazing place that serves very good quality food that is very nicely presented. I have been going here for 4 years and never been disappointed. The variety on offer is extensive and the service friendly.
Very cosy little place ,very welcoming and friendly atmosphere . The food is amazing , service and friendly staff .Desert is a must in this place .
Fabulous. The servings were large, the ingredients good quality (no weird chicken offcuts or boiled meat). The place isn't fancy to look at, but it delivers in terms of quality.
Best Vietnamese I've had in Melbourne, and I've tried a lot of them. We had the crispy quail, salt and chili squid and the boneless pork ribs. The quail and the squid especially, with coconut rice were absolutely delicious. When we told Van, the owner, that it was our first time here, he brought over a beer to share with us. Great food and atmosphere. I'm going back for lunch today :)
Wow what a delight....no hesitation in recommending cafe 58, great food, great wine list and special service all round
Best Vietnamese in Melbourne. BEST VIETNAMESE IN MELBOURNE! A bold statement to make considering how many Vietnamese restaurants exist in Melbourne... but in this case, it's true. My family ALWAYS come to this restaurant and it's no surprise why. The service is incredible (Van is such a nice guy).... and the food is incredibly delicious. We will continue to frequent this restaurant for many years to come. Book ahead - and try as much of the menu as you can (be adventurous!) you will not regret it :)
"Nothing bad. Everything good". As the sign says on the wall 'Nothing bad. Everything good'.
You would walk straight past this little gem if you didn't know what lay inside. Husband and wife team Van (front of house) and Sue (the magician in the kitchen) never fail to please. I've been lucky enough to call this place my local for lunch and haven't been disappointed in 10 years! Can't say that about many places.
Been here quite a few times now and really like it
Favourite dishes is the rare beef salad and mango salad
It can be spicy at times so we usually ask for them not to add too much chilli
Very nice staff
Usually can walk in and get a table here
Might not be so lucky on a Friday or Saturday night so book ahead
Awesome. I've been coming to this place for years, the decor is simple but nice , the owner vanh is very hospitable, the place would have to be the cleanest Vietnamese restaurant in melbourne and the food is superb in particular the crispy quail is off the wall. The best part is it's consistency. Well done vanh.
We came here yesterday and shared a couple of plates between 4 of us. We had two serves of crispy wontons, two serves of rice paper rolls with prawns and vegetables, chilli and lemongrass prawns, soft shell chilli crab and Mongolian beancurd. Everything was amazing and service was very friendly and quick even if they were quite busy with a couple of bigger tables celebrating birthdays. We brought out own wine and ended up paying $100 for all that food- good value. Especially soft shell chilli crab and the lemongrass chilli prawns! Will definitely return and redomend this to friends
Excellent Authentic Vietnamese. Have been hearing about this place for years & finally went last Saturday night. We ordered spring rolls & curry puffs for entrees, boneless caramelised pork ribs & lemongrass & chilli chicken for mains, followed by banana fritter for desert. The entire meal was excellent with authentic flavours. The service was excellent, the owner walks around & chats with the patrons. The entire meal cost $63 dollars and this included a $5 corkage fee. Amazing value for money, I will be returning often!
Best Vietnamese I have ever had. I went here with a group of friends for my birthday and the waiters and owner were extremely kind, funny and generous. A friend had the best green curry she'd ever tried. Everything else that was ordered was also cooked to perfection. I can't wait to go again!
Good. Great food, friendly owner but unfortunately no good beer.
Love love love Cafe 58. I'.... Love love love Cafe 58.
I'd eat here every night if I could.
Always fresh and tasty and cooked to order.
I have been coming here for about 7 years now thanks to my dear friend Cate 'discovering' it and it has very rarely disappointed. Yes, the decor is a bit dated and a lot of the serving dishes are chipped and it's almost impossible to understand 100% of what the owner, Van says... But this place has a warm ambience, generally good and quick service and it serves up consistently delicious, fresh food. I have too many favourites to mention them all, but some of them are: beef vermicelli salad (lunchtime only) - OMG amazing! green curry chicken, lemongrass and chilli beef, salt and chilli bean curd, sizzling lamb to name but a few. I live further away from Cafe 58 than I used to and I now have 2 young kids but its worth the effort every time I manage to eat here. NOWHERE that I've ever tried on Victoria St even comes close to this place. Do yourself a favour and try it. It's got more and more popular over the years so don't be surprised if you need to book a table at busy times. Enjoy!
Good menu - good food. An excellent Vietnamese restaurant that offer a comprehensive menu of traditional and adapted items. The salads in particular are delicious. The prices are about average for this type of restaurant, but it's always full and while the service can vary from visit to visit it is by no means terrible, it can sometimes take a minute or two to catch the waiters eye
So great... don't tell anyone ;). Loved the food, the service, the ambience, the price, the location..
CAN'T GO WRONG! No where on Victoria St hits the nail on the head like this place..
What a gem!. This was a real find! The friendly attentive service through to the clean fresh flavours of the excellent food. Good portions and great price. Van, the owner is a delight. We will be returning.
Beautiful fresh aromatic ingredients. Best Vietnamese restaurant north of town. Fantastic, fresh, genuine Vietnamese cuisine. The yummiest rare beef salad ever and the spiced squid just fabulous.
Excellent and friendly service. We will be going back again and again....
Thank you for a memorable dinner out.
Van is the man! We braved the weather and went to cafe 58 for dinner last night. The food is always delicious and the service friendly. Without a doubt our favourite place to eat in the area :)
Came here for dinner last night and the food met our expectations. The vegetarian entree platter was perfect. It had a good variety of fried wonton, rice paper rolls, salt and pepper tofu, spring rolls and additional curry puffs. The laksa was amazing too! Would recommend Cafe 58 to anyone who loves Asain food. Service is a plus! Would definitely be going back!
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Recommended + Worthy of your business. The hospitable owner Van doesn't conclude his menu with the following phrase for no unworthy reason...
"Nothing Bad, Everything Good, O.K, Van"
Myself and nine friends dined in the private upstairs room this week for the first time after reading other positive reviews. The service, food and value for money were faultless. All the dishes ordered were delicious and fresh. Amongst our selection for the evening the green chicken curry and soft shell crab were stand outs however everything we ordered was great.
On top of what you'd hope to expect in a small yet welcoming Vietnamese restaurant they amplified the experience by delivering two complimentary alcoholic drinks + dessert for the birthday girl in our group. They had all the simple customer service check boxes ticked, even consistently topping up our water glasses.
I couldn't resist taking the scraps of the green chicken curry home, I didnt think it would be possible, but it tasted even better two days later. YUM! One of the best green chicken curries I've ever tasted (Thai restaurants included).
I was hoping to try the Orange Chicken which had been recommended by other reviewers, however this was sold out which can only mean its very popular... looking forward to trying it next time.
Faultless.. Friendly and efficient service. Excellent food.
Great service and accommodated a table of 12 with ease. Delicious food, especially the zesty salads and the light & fresh dipping sauces. My new favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne
Fantastic food and even better service. The plum duck is highly recommended. The waiter was attentive but not intrusive. Worth being a regular diner there.
My fail-safe vietnamese restaurant which covers all the bases: fresh, healthy, clean, n reasonably priced, with friendly staff & a kitchen which is open late enough for a post-bikram meal! ive been a regular at cafe 58 for over a year & have been coming for my weekly dose of vegetarian egg noodle soup which they are more than happy to tailor to my fussy tastebuds (lots of veggies, less noodles, & hold the carrots please), aka 'the usual'. if only they could hook me up to this soup on an iv drip!
I am addicted to this place love van ! And the pork and prawn pancake is just to die for ! Me and my partner have been coming pretty much every week for about 2 years just amazing :)
Cute Vietnamese restaurant somewhat out of place on the Spanish end of Johnston St. Friendly attentive staff and varied menu with Thai and Chinese dishes included. although perhaps not the most authentic, food was nice and servings were ample.
Amazing. I've been here at least ten times and the food is amazing. Great Vietnamese/French food - the eggplant beef is not to be missed. Ditch "Los Amates" and come here instead.
Delicious, large and interesting menu! Good prices too. I can't believe I live down the road from this place and have only just eaten here! I will most definitely be coming back. The rice paper rolls, pancake and soup were absolutely wonderful. Although, I did expect a proper pho, the soup that came out was just as yummy. Everything on the menu looks amazing and the staff were lovely. Be nice and you'll get extra lollies when you pay :)
Great food that doesn't water down the flavours for the western palate. Slightly over-bearing waitstaff
Slow but worth the wait. The rare beef salad is the best. Rice paper rolls were too dry but spring rolls were excellent. A bit slow for main meals to arrive initially given we were a big group of 18 people but they all appeared piping hot one after the other once started. Good Work guys wish you could open up a restaurant on the southern side of town. Finding parking round there is a problem.
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Authentic Vietnamese in Fitzroy. Apart from struggling with the whole car park scenario in Fitzroy, cafe 58 presents slightly dated decor but it is probably what you expect for SE cuisine. When we arrived, friendly waitstaff greeted and escorted us to our table. As we weren't that hungry, we had Vegetarian and Pork spring rolls as an entree and followed up with Chinese broccoli and Lemongrass and chilli chicken for mains. The spring rolls were absolutely wonderful especially wrapping them in fresh iceberg lettuce. The broccoli although a very basic dish was incredibly tasty and healthy ( I wish Mum presented broccoli growing up). The lemongrass and chilli was fragrant and flavoursome with slivers of onion, capsicum, fresh tomato, lettuce and cucumber to complement the chicken. The size of the servings were generous ensuring that the above fed us adequately. When you consider the overall price including drinks (1.5 std drinks in a wine glass pour) was only $59. We will definitely be back and might drive in from Ivanhoe for take out (if they do it:-) ).
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Consistent, fresh and delightful. We've been visiting Cafe 58 for around 3 years now, and in our opinion, the experience is hard to fault, we've never had a bad meal!.
Van, the affable owner, his wife in the kitchen and other staff take pride in running a very professional operation. Quite simply, they set cafe 58 above other Vietnamese options in the area by providing consistently great service and extremely tasty, fresh dishes using quality produce.
Must tries include the deliciously fragrant green curry, packed full of fresh veggies and aromatic basil leaves and the "spicy eggplant with oyster sauce", a dish of surprising depth - the smokiness of the eggplant braised in rich gravy sauce with beef or beancurd. Similarly, both the rare beef salad and the salt and pepper tofu are the best examples we have tasted, the former perfect for a summer's evening. Entrees including delicate beef wrapped in vine leaves and the satay chicken (fresh breast chicken threaded onto skewers with home made satay and a side of cucumber and pineapple), present great value. Finally, the wine list is (surprisingly) well thought out and includes a very interesting and accessibly priced assortment of boutique wines amongst the usual favourites.
Delish Viet. We dined here last night and the food was so delicious and fresh, we had vietnamese spring rolls, prawn dumplings, the sizzling chicken with ginger and the lemongrass & chilli rockling fillet. And to top it off they had our favourite bottle of Bay of Fires Pinot Gris (Tasmania). A great wine list. Soooo good, we will be back. Try it!
Incredible meal, the owners a total dude and plays chilled Afro beats. Well priced and leaves you feeling warm and full. Good times :-)
Food was really great and service was beyond amazing! Will definitely b coming back!
Impossible not to love. Best, most attentive staff. The owner is a really sweet guy who really looks after his customers and the staff seem happy to be working there! (Just look at how much people tip in the tip jar when you leave- you WANT to tip). Most of the food is really good too and really fresh.
Seriously incredible food - very different to a lot of the Victoria St Vietnamese food. 58 really showcases the French influence on Vietnamese cuisine (do yourself a favour and order the orange chicken. Oh. My. God. So good) as well as some definite Thai flavours, with coconut rice and incredible green curry duck. Highly recommended!
Yum, very friendly and great advice for those going to Vietnam. Everyone loved what they ordered. Friends indicated they are going to Vietnam next month and owner zapped up a list of hints and tips. Awesome!
My new regular.. Wow. Just discovered this place recently and I can't get enough. Hands down best Vietnamese food in the area. Great value for money and good quality food. Friendly staff keep me coming back, that and the soup.
Best vietnamese EVER. I cannot rave enough about this place! They are the BEST Vietnamese in Melbourne hands down. They have the best rice paper rolls I have ever had, so much so, I don't bother ordering them anywhere else anymore as I'm always comparing and always disappointed. All the food is really fresh and delicious (again best black bean sauce dishes and love their salads) and I'm always taking friends there and get they always love it too. Can't recommend it enough! The staff are just lovely too.
Delicious food, friendly staff, good value. Had a great meal here, the whole family liked every dish on the table. Standouts were the hotpot rockling and the whiting, but everything was delicious. Staff very kind and friendly. We'll be back! :-)
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