Phuong, Sydney

87 Willoughby Rd
Crows Nest NSW 2065 Map

You can find Phuong on Willoughby Road, the main thoroughfare of Crows Nest. Although advertising itself as a Vietnamese restaurant it also has a section of the menu offering Thai dishes.

The menu has a fair smattering of dishes suitable for vegetarians and we've been there a couple of times.

The vegetarian spring rolls on the starter menu may be a simple dish, but it is lovely. The vegetables are crunchy and fresh and the bean sauce served with it compliments it perfectly. There isn't anything else on the starter menu that is suitable for vegetarians, but I wouldn't let that put you off, I could eat the spring rolls all day!

For the main course, there are several meat and fish free options and the ones I have tried are the Vegetarian Hot Pot and the Vegetarian Noodle. Of the two, I preferred the Hot Pot which consisted of various mixed vegetables and ginger in, what is described on the menu as, a vegetarian sauce. The noodle dish was fairly tasty and was pretty much as you'd expect - stir fried vegetables with noodles. For me, there was far too much celery in it. However, if you are a celery lover then this may be the dish for you!

We sat outside, which in the early autumn in Sydney is very pleasant. Willoughby Road can be quite busy, trafficwise, however the outside dining area is separated from the road by shrubs so this doesn't become a problem.

Service was okay, but the waiters could do with a little more training. I'd expect them to at least be able to tell which of the house wines were dry or sweet (or at least go and find out). Instead they just looked blankly at us until we gave up asking.

Apart from that it was a pleasant and reasonable priced evening.