If you live in Sydney and love Vietnamese food, you really should try this place – at least once!

Phamish recently moved from the lower end of Darlinghurst and is now closer to the city on 50 Burton Street, Darlinghurst. This isn’t a restaurant for everyone really. If you feel like having a romantic evening, with quite conversation and nibbling on some rice paper rolls – find somewhere else! Phamish is quick, fast paced and for them – time is money!

If you want to get to Phamish, try getting there early. Aim for 6pm or thereabouts (the time they open) because you can’t book for a table. You will have to wait in line or put your name down. They will tell you what time to come back and make sure you turn up at that time. Else, be prepared for a frosty reception. The lady will either yell at you for being late – or have you wait longer by giving your table away.

So, it’s a first-come-first-serve basis, where even ordering your food requires you to wait in a line. But the result is worth it. While Phamish is surrounded by other restaurants – a Thai, a modern Italian and another which I couldn’t pay attention to, you find that they are pretty quite. Sometimes you will find familiar faces there – and they would be people who no longer prepared to wait at Phamish.

The menu is fairly simple – a variety of rice paper rolls or pancakes for entree, curries or stir fry for mains (with rice, if you like).

I thought the chicken rice paper rolls would be nice, however they had prawns in it. Surely they could make mine without prawns. So, I put the question to the man behind the cashier and he gave me a look of “make the rice paper roll now?”. That’s when I understood that their rolls were pre-made – they just plate it and get a waiter to bring it to your table. I therefore resorted to the vegetarian rolls.

Given that the rolls are pre-made, there is a sticky feel when trying to pull each of the rolls apart – however, the taste with the accompanying sauce is bliss. I believe their pancakes might be premade too and warmed a little when served. For $12 per plate you get 4 rice paper rolls – good value in my opinion.

For mains we ordered a plate of kaffir lime chicken and another of sesame seasoned lamb fillets with rice on the side. The Vietnamese love their lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves – and the chicken dished boasted strong flavours. With each spoonful you get that smell of fresh citrus flavours and curry tasted perfect. Mains vary between $14 to $20. Once you’ve finished your dishes and placed your chopsticks down – expect to see 2 pairs of hand suddenly do a magic trick of “now you see, now you don’t”, as your plates, dishes and cutlery very quickly disappear – it’s time for the next waiting person to take your seat – so get out.

Phamish is a licenses restaurant and permits BYO – so for $2 corkage per head, I suggest you bring a bottle.

Don’t expect to have great experiences at Phamish – just expect good food. As I said, it’s not a restaurant for everyone. And if you want take away – then so be it.

Atmosphere – 6/10
Food – 8.5/10
Staff – 4.5/10
Value for money – 8/10