If you’re looking for Vietnamese fine dining in Sydney, you definitely have to head to Red Lantern, which is located in Surry Hills, a stone’s throw away from Central. I first came to know of this restaurant after coming across the cookbook written by its owners in a friend’s place in London. Titled Secrets of the Red Lantern, it’s one of the prettiest cookbooks I’ve ever come across. Apart from recipes, it contains the story of the main author’s (Pauline Nguyen) family journey as Vietnamese war refugees in Australia.


The book chronicles her parents’ decision to smuggle themselves out of Vietnam because of the Vietnam war in the 1970s. People like them were known as the ‘Boat People’. Their struggle and resilience in surviving and adapting to a foreign land is well documented by Nguyen. She also writes about her growing up years and trying to find the balance between being ethnically Vietnamese and culturally Australian.
The well written and beautiful book with its fantastic graphics and well-designed layouts made me want to pay the restaurant a visit during my next visit to Sydney. And I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed. I was there with two other friends and here’s what we ate.


Entrance of Red Lantern
Red Lantern is housed in one of the charming rows of terrace houses in the suburb of Surry Hills. On foot, it’s about a ten-minute walk from Central Station. Surry Hills is a very quaint and charming suburb with nice bars and restaurants along Crown Street and Cleveland Street.


Red Lantern interior
Warm, red tones dominate with dim lighting, reminiscent of the old Asia.


Mussels with glass noodles and clear broth
Our entree was delicious with the mussels being fresh and the broth absolutely flavourful.


Vietnamese pancake with seafood filling. Loved the grilled smoky flavour!
What I love about Vietnamese food is the raw vegetables that accompany many of the dishes. It’s so refreshing to eat them!


Beef brisket with warm French baguette
The baguette had been put over a grill, thus it possessed that smoky flavour which made that just that bit more delicious in addition to it being fresh.


Grilled pork with preserved vegetables
This tasted delicious with the pork being well marinated and grilled to perfection with a smoky flavour.
If you have a group of four persons or more, I’d suggest going for the tasting menu as it is good value for the amount of food you get which, according to the waiter, is ‘a lot’. The restaurant has two seatings – the first at 6pm and the second at 8pm. Service was good and expect to spend about A$40 per person.
Red Lantern
545 Crown Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010
Phone: +61 (0)2 9698 4355
(Closed on Mondays)