Cafe O-Mai

Cafe O-Mai is a little gem of a Vietnamese cafe that occupies an historic corner shop in a quiet pocket off busy Chardons Corner in Annerley. 

On the east-meet-west menu, traditional Viet fare rules, yet the ambience is more funky café, with rough hewn brick walls, painted concrete floors, bench seating and oil paintings along one wall and original timber-framed art deco doors. And true to the café theme, the owner bakes all kinds of delicious treats onsite daily – think jam drops, rum and raisin and other sweet slices, which go down a treat with the Toby's Estate coffee.

While the lunch menu sticks to tradition – think pho, rice paper rolls and delicious banh mi (filled with chargrilled tamarind chicken, slow cooked beef brisket, housemade crackling pork, omelette, meatball, tofu or traditional pork), as well as vermicelli or papaya salad or curry – the breakfast menu is an intriguing blend of both. Choose from the Vietnamese breakfast such as Aunty Five's claypot of baked eggs, premise-made lemongrass and chilli sausages, tamarind sauce and sourdough or Vietnamese pork & prawn omelette. There's also Brioche French Toast or lighter options like eggs your way, pork dim sum or toasted fruit and nut bread.

Dessert-wise the house ice-cream has an Asian flavour – jackfruit, taro, sticky rice or hokey-pokey. And if after a refreshing drink, don't go past the Vietnamese iced coffee or coconut, pineapple or ruby grapefruit juice.

Image credit - Top image courtesy of Cafe O-Mai website.

The menu may have changed since our visit.

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Still hungry for more suggestions on where to eat and drink in Brisbane, head to our comprehensive Eat & Drink section HERE! Happy grazing!