The original Vietnamese restaurant in Birmingham

Family-run independent since 2018. Two restaurants — Bullring at St Martin's Square, Resorts World by the NEC. My grandmother's recipes, passed down to my mother, cooked the way we were taught.

  • 4.6 3,400 reviews
  • OpenDaily · 12pm
  • Birmingham · 2 restaurants
A spread of Vietnamese sharing dishes at Vietnamese Street Kitchen Birmingham

Family-run · since 2018

What kind of Vietnamese restaurant we are

Birmingham has Vietnamese takeaways, banh-mi vans, two chain bowls, and a couple of pho counters in food halls. What it didn't have, before 2018, was a family-run restaurant serving the food the way you'd eat it at home in Hanoi — share three small plates, pass them round, top up the broth, keep ordering until you stop being hungry.

Vietnamese Street Kitchen is that restaurant. My grandmother's recipes, passed down to my mother; my family cooks them; we run the floor. Two restaurants now — Bullring at St Martin's Square (opposite Selfridges, in the heart of the Bullring) and Resorts World beside the NEC (on-site parking, walking distance to the arenas).

Two restaurants

Which location suits the night

Bullring is the flagship. Twenty tables, a long centre row that takes a 24-person birthday, and a bar that handles a pre-Hippodrome rush. Bottomless brunch runs Sun–Thu, £32.99 pp. On St Martin's Square, opposite Selfridges, with the Hippodrome a short walk down Hurst Street. Pre-theatre dinner is this restaurant's speciality.

Resorts World is where we first went full-service. Bigger restaurant, family-of-eight friendly, parking on the door. If you're seeing a show at bp pulse LIVE or the NEC, eating there means you don't move the car after dinner. Resorts World is open daily; the kitchen's busiest before arena doors — book ahead and tell us your start time.

The menu

What we cook

The menu runs the full spread. Pho in several bowls — beef, chicken, king prawn and a vegan tofu — on a broth simmered for 25 hours. Bun cha — char-grilled pork patties with vermicelli and nuoc cham on the side, the Hanoi capital dish. Bao buns proved in house, four fillings, served in pairs. Big Bowls for sharing — our 8-hour lemongrass beef curry, crispy belly pork, salt & chilli king prawns and char-grilled lemongrass chicken — each built on rice, noodles or salad.

Drinks are Vietnamese: phin-filter iced coffee, a Lychee Cooler, Rhubarb Breeze or Passionfruit Martini, and Bia Vietnam on draught. The bar handles food allergies the same way the kitchen does — every dish carries its diet flags (veg, vegan, GF) on the menu page, and the team will talk you through the safe paths before you order.

Bun cha at Vietnamese Street Kitchen Birmingham — char-grilled pork patties with vermicelli and herbs
Bun cha — char-grilled pork, vermicelli and nuoc cham. Hanoi's capital dish, on the menu every day.

Where we fit

The Birmingham Vietnamese options, honestly

Birmingham has a few formats serving Vietnamese-or-Vietnamese-adjacent food. Chain bowl restaurants cover the basic intent and do it well at scale, with tighter price points and faster turnover. Banh-mi vans and street-food counters serve a brilliant lunchtime sandwich and are right for a £10 weekday meal. Sushi-and-pho fusion spots cover the Pan-Asian crowd.

What we do that those formats don't: serve the wider Vietnamese repertoire as a sit-down dinner, in a family-run restaurant — the full menu, not the pho-first shortlist most chains lead with. Bun cha is on the menu every day. The pho broth is house-made, not Sysco. We've been open in the city since 2018, before most of the chains arrived.

Bookings

How to eat here

Most bookings come through the book page; we use Stampede so confirmation is instant by email. Walk-ins are welcome at both restaurants but not guaranteed at weekend peak — book ahead for Friday or Saturday evenings, or any Sunday brunch slot. Groups of 16 or more should use the celebrations enquiry: a long-table at Bullring (12–40) or whole-room hire at Resorts World (40–90 seated) needs a quick chat about the sharing spread and deposit terms before we lock it in.

If you're in town for a show or an arena event, tell us the start time on the booking note and we'll pace the meal so you're not running for the curtain. It's the single most-asked-for piece of timing and we're set up for it.

Bottomless brunch

Birmingham's first Vietnamese brunch

90 minutes, unlimited cocktails, beer or fizz, plus one sharing platter per person. £32.99 pp, Sun–Thu, both restaurants, 18+ with ID. The platters are designed around the Hanoi menu — summer rolls, sweet-soy wings, bao pairs, bun cha and a small pho — so brunch eats like a real Vietnamese family lunch, not a deep-fried hangover cure. Full platter breakdown and booking.