cafe o-mai

cafeo-maiis has never failed to serve me a satisfying meal. me and my boyfriend were there last saturday for brunch. most of the time i would crave for their pho. the homemade broth has such a rich flavour and the beef always tender. would definitely recommend to friends to family. if i were to give a note for improvement...would be great if both our meals were served at the same time or not too far of a waiting time between both. just a gesture of respect to start eating together. overall, fantastic place for brunch!

really fantastic, the owner doing really good things for the brisbane food scene and deserves the accolades. bun bo hue; really well done, authentic with a great flavour. coffee is great and the range of fresh juices are terrific. well done cafeo-mai- awesome

i would definitely recommend cafeo-maito anyone looking for a delicious place to have lunch but wanting something a little different. i had the vietnamese cold drip coffee (if only i could have that everyday!) and the muesli. the smells from the kitchen smelt wonderful and everyone’s meals around us looked amazing! can’t wait to come back.

cafeo-maiis very popular- and for good reason. the cafe was buzzing with people for our midweek lunch visit. we were seated quite quickly though and loved our experience.
the cafe boasts a bright and lively feel, decorated with a colourful mural and rustic timber tables and chairs.
the menu is excellent with so many choices, including an extensive vegan menu.
we ordered rice paper rolls, spring rolls, tofu curry and pho. food was brought out promptly and was delicious. full of flavour, large portions and a good amount of chilli.
affordable prices and friendly service.
can't wait to come back!

today i finally get to visit cafe o-mai! since a few of our zamato friends have recommended this restaurant, i feel compelled to try their vietnamese soup noodles. we arrive at 11.45am and spend a moment to admire the interesting decor then seated ourselves in the middle of the restaurant. after an awkward 4 minutes a waitress asks if we're ready to order. i smile at her and ask for the menus. the menus are provided promptly with a bottle of cold water and after a quick chat i'm impressed as i can see she is run off her feet today.

this is a professionally run restaurant. from the kitchen to the beverage staff, food servers, wait staff and cashier. every staff member knows what is expected of them and the restaurant performs like a well-oiled machine. i order the mandatory pho (combination) dac biet and a slow drip iced coffee. my girlfriend, the bun bo hue and a premixed iced coffee. our drinks arrive within 10 minutes. both iced coffees are served strong and sweet but i prefer flavour of the coffee bean used in the slow drip.

the waitress delivers the salads and herbs for our soup noodles. i notice the brown roots of the bean sprouts, they look 1-2 days old. the salad for the bun bo hue looks sad and lacking with a dozen bean sprouts and no rau muong (kang kong) or alternatively shredded cabbage. our meals arrive 15 minutes later looking well presented and appetising. i sip the pho bo and bun bo soups and both are flavourful and delicious. we both agree the soups need to be 15-20 degrees hotter. the noodle and combination meats in both noodle dishes are quite generous.

the pho (combination) dac biet was good but was let down by the warm soup. it rates 4/5.0. the bun bo hue was also good but was let down by the lacklustre salad and warm soup. it rates 3.5/5.0.

a material consideration on my reviews is price/value for money. on average cafe o-mai's price for these two noodle dishes are 25-35% above the prices charged 15 minutes away in inala by tan thanh, pho tung and chac's vietnamese. a fair rating for this restaurant based on the food, service and impressive decor is 4.0/5.0 but i feel the need to deduct a half point for value. for diners hesitant to drive to inala, i would recommend cafeo-maifor authentic vietnamese soup noodles. bon appetit!

cafeo-maigoodness!!!

i have had this place bookmarked for forever! kicking myself that we didn't attend sooner.

from the street, it looks quite small until you walk in and realise it is actually a lot bigger than it looks. a little confused by the decor but the mural on the wall is beautiful.

food! so many delish options - i love that the menu has what our server described as 'australian' dishes, then dishes that were a vietnamese and aussie fusion and then authentic vietnamese options. i had the aunty five's claypot baked eggs with vietnamese lemongrass pork sausage with mushroom, tomato and tamarind sauce served with sourdough. i noticed that some of the other dishes had the pineapple and chilli jam and avocado and coriander salsa. i needed to taste both and although neither options are on the menu as a side that you pay extra for - i asked the server and he was happy to provide it as a side for me.

oh my word - it was an explosion of flavours and textures with every bite. the sausage was freaken amazing! the tamarind sauce - amazing! avocado and coriander salsa - so light and refreshing - it was amazing! the pineapple and chilli jam - put it this way, i offered to pay for a jar of this delicious jam but it was made in house and not for sale. my goodness - the jam was beautiful! the fritter i got on the side too was really good. my coffee was also really, really good.

service was a little slow, the other half had to get up and ask someone to come and take our order. other than that, everything else was great. definitely on the list for us to come back and on the list of few places that we would recommend to others.

thank you cafe o-mai!

finally got to experience cafeo-maiand what a up and down experience indeed. the major thing that needs improvement is the service, we got seated and given menu's within minutes of turning up which was good however that was the end of it, didn't get given table water till after we ordered meals and waited about 10 minutes till we had our order taken, i noticed this happened to alot of customers and not just us. having someone take our order required me to go and physically get up and find someone to tell them we want to make our order now. things improved after this, coffee's turned up quickly and boom!! magnificent coffee! main brekky turned up shortly after and what beautiful presentation! the stand out here was the coffee, pork sausages and the chilli jam, no words can describe how good the sausages were and then to have them accompanied with one of the yummiest chilli jams was just amazing!!!

great food but service definitely needs mass improvement.

we had high expectations and really looked forward to going to cafeo-maiwith it's high zomato rating.
we made sure we got there at the stroke of 12 to ensure we wouldn't miss out with the lunch time rush.
it was a good call because sure enough the whole place was filled up 5 minutes later, with  staff looking  super busy.
we ordered the crackling roast pork banh mi, the pulled beef brisket banh mi and the sugarcane prawn vermicelli noodle salad.
the best of the dishes was the pulled beef brisket banh mi. the bread for both banh mis was excellent, but we felt a bit let down with the flavour of the fillings. the vermicelli salad and the sugarcane prawn were both okay.
although it was quite good, we can't really say we were blown away. mrs kan do was a bit more critical than me, but that may have also had to do with the brusqueness of the first waiter who met us at the door.
in terms of vietnamese fare, there's a lot better around brisbane, and this place is more expensive. perhaps it's just that we've been spoilt with scotts rd takeaway in darra and nom nom cafe in salisbury who do great banh mis, or maybe we didn't order their best dishes on a busy day.
in any case, the rating of 3.5 out of 5 is probably slightly generous considering that we were somewhat underwhelmed.

the meatballs family ventured down to cafeo-maiin search of a vietnamese breakfast and to see if they live up to their 4.5 rating.

toby's estate coffee (latte) was good (4) and the babyccino was nicely presented with two marshmallows (4).

the classic pork roll banh mi was great - one of the best we've had in brisbane - 4. the bacon and egg banh mi with soy sauce was quite unique, but also very good - 3.5. the best part of both banh mi was the bread - 5.

the blueberry and coconut muffin was served piping hot and was delicious - 4.

a very enjoyable experience!

banh mi tip: jan power's farmers markets @ queen street...the best banh mi we've found yet.

best beef pho in brisbane, perfect every time. the difference between the pho at cafeo-maiand other cafes is that the broth is so rich and deep in flavour. i can't help but want to drink every last drop.

cafeo-maiis something of an institution in annerley. it has been serving the denizens of the south brisbane area vietnamese food and good coffee for years, and over that time has expanded its footprint to accommodate the customer influx. i had been meaning to do post on it for some months now, but procrastination got the better of me. a revisit proved a good excuse to try more food, and an opportunity to get new photos.

cafeo-mainever disappoints. the menu is extensive, not just for meat eaters but vegetarians as well. as a vego, i am happy to share that they don't just have one veggie bahn mi option, but two! i have tried both the omelette bahn mi and the tofu version and they are packed with ingredients. the tofu rice paper rolls were fresh and the veggie pho - wow! i honestly thought i would never have the opportunity to eat pho again since beef stock is a key ingredient in the dish but the veggie pho was packed with flavour and i was impressed by how close it actually tasted to regular pho. the only downside of the place would be the slow service during peak hours (usually weekend brunch) but that can be forgiven when you're finally digging into the food.

picture fresh food full of the flavors of veitnam, coriander, pineapple chutney and condensed milk drip iced coffee. i believe many of the best breakfasts in brisbane are at this one cafe. we have breakfast there regularly outside with our dog. it had also become the place we take visitors from out of town and the place to go for birthdays. it really is something special. the staff are also super friendly and even ask about our canine friend when we leave him at home. personal favourite is corn fritters bit there are many vego options which are all excellent. also chilli is always optional so it's family friendly. so in summary caféo-maiis kid friendly, grandma friendly, dog friendly, queer friendly with great food and exceptional staff.

well done caféo-maiteam, pretty much back to wonderful, meant to update my last review for ages - sometime a little café is soo good it gets swamped by folk all wanting food and attention. love it!
* happy to delete my negative comment.

"oh mai oh mai! seconds please!"

pho and bun cha gio lovers would go crazy for this place. broths with deep flavour, extremely generous servings of proteins, balanced seasoning, great char, and it's quick.

if you had pho before and want to venture out to try something a bit different; i recommend the spicy pho with hint of lemongrass. i just loved how refreshing and nourishing it tasted. unlike most places that loads up on rice noodle; cafeo-maidefinitely loads your bowl with protein.

if you don't feel like soup or salad noodles; just give the bah mi sandwiches a go. flaky crispy baguettes filled with tender charged proteins and slightly sweet & sour pickles... mmmm

it was definitely worth the drive and we'll be back for more