Xin Chào Restaurang
“I promise I won’t do it again. Please don’t bánh mì.”
It’s another one of those Vietnamese restaurants! Xin Chào, meaning “Hi!” in Vietnamese, opened it’s doors in 2020 right next to the former classic Sticky Fingers at Kaserntorget. The interior is charming and inviting, though from the facade it looks kinda shady. So, how is the food?
Upon entering, a little slide makes you come in faster. It was a rainy day and the entrance has no door mat nor is it wiped, so watch your step, I guess. But with that little adrenaline rush, it was nice to sit down at a nice little table. Mostly, the interior is set up as tables in a row with some lounges on the other side. All in all quite charming though.
The menu itself has your classics with a symbol to signalise “vego”. That means both vegetarian and sometimes vegan. A bit annoying, but the ingredients are listed and the staff can adapt to your wishes. With the starters you have your Summer rolls and Spring rolls, with mains you have your Phó or stir fry. The prices are a statement though with 189 SEK for a main and 85 SEK for a starter. Definitely higher than the average in Vietnamese restaurants, but I suppose the location is not cheap.
In any case, we went for the standards of Summer/Spring rolls, Pho and stir fry with tofu. The food arrived quite quickly and the first let-down was served. Both the Summer and Spring rolls were quite bland in taste. While I appreciate the big slice of tofu in the Summer rolls, they were lacking some fresh vegetables or herbs. It didn’t help that the sauce was basically just your standard soy sauce with added acid. The Spring rolls are done as the Vietnamese style mesh-type. Over-fried and tasteless, but even more problematic: they are fried in the same oil as fish and have therefore a very fishy taste. While I don’t mind using the same oil and am not that strong opinionated as a vegan, it is something that should at least have been mentioned when asked about veganising the food. After this, the mains did arrive shortly thereafter.
While the Pho is presented in a basket and the broth served on the table, the stir fry is a bit your standard vibe. Taste-wise, the latter is just not having it. It feels like the sauce is just a splash of soy sauce, thickened with corn starch. Just not good. The Pho comes off better, but lacks vegetables and is just served with a massive Pak Choy inside. The broth is quite hot in terms of chili, but reminds more of a Ramen and lacks the signature spices a Vietnamese style broth usually has. So, while okay, it’s just no good Pho if you look for that.
And that’s the end of it. Little taste to a high price-tag. The charming interior can’t mask that the kitchen is just not worth it.
Price:
Summer Rolls: 85 SEK / 2 pieces
Spring Rolls: 85 SEK / 2 pieces
Main dish: 189 SEK
The Verdict
With so many Vietnamese options in Gothenburg, it’s difficult to stand out. Xin Chào has a charming interior, but the menu presents itself as complicated. High prices, no clear vegan tagging, but your standards are there and in fact vegan. An important note: the oil to deep fry is also used for fish, so vegan Spring rolls will have a fishy taste. This needs to be mentioned by the staff upon ordering.
Apart from that, the presentation is cute, but the food ends up being very tasteless. The Pho is alright, but lacks the signature spices of Vietnamese cuisine and the broth feels more like it belongs to Ramen. Herbs are barely used and the stir fry with tofu is just below average with a sauce that tastes like thickened water with a splash of soy. For a price tag as high as this, I’d say, avoid Xin Chào all together.
2/5 Leaves
Pro
Cute interior
Presentation of food is nice
Con
Menu is tagging only vegetarian options
Vegan options are fried in the same oil as animal products
Food is generally tasteless
High prices
Location
Kaserntorget 6
Opening Hours
Mo-Th: 11:00 - 21:00
Fr: 11:00 - 22:00
Sa: 12:00 - 22:00
Su: 12:00 - 20:00
