Looking for some food to eat in Whangārei and was actually going to either eat Hells Pizza or BurgerFuel. However, did some googling and discovered this place. When I arrived this place was packed and busy and I had to 10 minutes for a table. However, once I ordered the food came out relatively fast.

Ordered some Pork and Prawn Summer Rolls and some Pork, Meatballs and Prawn Pho. When the Summer rolls arrived they were packed. There was a good amount of vermicelli inside and vegetables like lettuce, carrot, cucumber and surprisingly some peppers. They were definitely made to order and tasted really nice with the dipping sauce.

Then the Pho came along and nice to see a slice of lemon and some bean sprouts added to the side bowl. In the pho were heaps of noodles and a three each of the prawns and meatballs and four slices of pork belly. The noodles were nicely cooked and weren’t too soft in texture. A really like the pork belly and the meatballs were really good. I love their texture and density. The pho itself was nice but needed a bit more flavour for my liking. However, I do not think there was any MSG added or a very minimal amount in it. Overall a very good bowl of Pho.

I discovered also that this place won a local award for Outstanding Ethnic Restaurant of the year in 2020. The service is good, the food is good and priced pretty well. What else do you want?

Address: 13 Rathbone Street, Whangārei 0110

Facebook: Mean’s Vietnamese Cafe