The best Vietnamese restaurants in Melbourne

After a two-year hiatus, Richmond locals and broader Melbournites alike can rejoice – Anchovy is back. Chef Thi Le is emphatic that Anchovy is not a Vietnamese restaurant but rather an amalgamation of Australian and Vietnamese dining. Exploring the concept of "Viet Kieu" (the term for a Vietnamese person who lives outside of Vietnam), Anchovy simultaneously represents provenance and metamorphosis, in the most gloriously edible way. 

Thy Thy has held its corner location in West Richmond since 1989 and though it briefly changed hands, the venue came full circle when the original owners’ children purchased the business in 2021. Now known as Thy Thy Counter and Canteen, the shop slings fresh takes on the Southern Vietnamese dishes the family became known for, plus a few new additions – think clay pots of caramelised salmon, salt and chilli quail and vermicelli cakes with aromatic betel leaf-wrapped beef.

Melbourne has no shortage of east-meets-west-fusion-style venues. Still, Rue de Tanh's blend of Vietnamese flavours and French techniques is to be commended. Vịt Giòn ($42), crispy duck, looks straight out of a Parisian brasserie and comes swimming in an intensely earthy jus ripe with plump shitake mushrooms, red and black dates and lily flowers. Aesthetically, it's all France, but flavour-wise, it's a complex blend that knows no geographical bounds. 

Ask a Melburnian near Richmond where to get a good, cheap bowl of pho and you'll probably hear this joint come up a lot. Widely recognised as one of the most popular and reliable slingers of the slurp-worthy broth, I Love Pho is a family-owned business that keeps it simple. Expect fresh ingredients, a fragrant and beefy soup that will warm you up on the chilliest of nights, and plenty of fun sides like spring rolls, com tam (broken rice) and rice paper rolls. I Love Pho may stick to the basics but boy, do they get it right. 

Many Vietnamese dishes take influence from France, but few so explicitly as banh xeo, a thin and crispy crepe dyed yellow from a blend of rice flour, coconut cream and turmeric. It’s not particularly hard to find in Melbourne but few spots have perfected it quite as well as Thanh Hà 2. This version is large and abundant, filled with a combo of sliced pork and prawn (or assorted veg if you prefer to skip the meat). Steamed rice cakes in various forms are another highlight here. Bring some friends and order them by the platter, as this spot is great for groups.

Okay, so we might be cheating a little here, since Banh Mi Stand is not really a restaurant, but rather a hole-in-the-wall situation. But if you're on the hunt for some fresh Vietnamese flavours in the CBD, the bánh mì here are just too good not to mention. It’s not a sandwich you’ll want to inhale in a hurry; it’s a complete meal that you’ll rather want to savour and prolong. Just as the Vietnamese took the French baguette and made it their own, Banh Mi Stand has taken the bánh mì and evolved it into something experimental and uniquely Melbourne.

Even if you’ve never been to Hue, Vietnam, you’ve probably heard of it thanks to its popular export, Bun Bo Hue, a deeply savoury noodle soup loaded up with chilli beef, pork and cubes of blood jelly. It’s one of several Hue specials on offer at Co Do, which has locations in Springvale and Richmond. It joins a stew-heavy menu of drop-noodle soups, congees and family-style seafood steamboats, perfect for warming up on chilly nights. 

Hardware Lane may not be top of mind when it comes to Vietnamese food but unbeknownst to many, it’s home to one of the city’s best bowls of pho. Find it at Pho Thin, a Hanoi export famous for its savoury, garlic-fried beef noodle soup. It’s made with flat rice noodles and an abundance of fresh herbs but if that’s not enough, you can add extra protein such as meatballs or Vietnamese sausage. Some quẩy (deep-fried crullers) to soak up the last bits of broth are also strongly recommended.

Everything tastes better charred – and Firebird, a restaurant dedicated to smoke, flames and fire that opened on the brink of the pandemic, got the memo. with every dish in some way, shape or form having been licked by the fire, and it’s all the better for it.You’ll find the 110-seater space on Prahran’s High Street. The Vietnamese-leaning menu will come as no surprise given it's owned by the Commune Group (also behind Hanoi Hannah, Tokyo Tina and wine bar Neptune directly across the road). It’s constantly vibing. The music’s loud, the warehouse-style space has videos projected on the walls, and the splashes of green tiling make it feel a little retro.

In late 2023, this beloved Vietnamese diner in Hawthorn East embarked on a brand new chapter under the guidance of celebrated chef Jerry Mai (Pho Nom, Annam, Bia Hoi Beer Hall).  Since opening in 2015, St. Cloud Eating House has been serving ferociously fresh Vietnamese food to Melburnians from its locatio. Known for her punchy, innovative Vietnamese flavours, Jerry Mai has reimagined the venue's food offering with a fresh, creative menu. From small plates such as grilled scallops with wild onion butter and nuoc mam and sticky lamb ribs to mouthwatering mains including a crispy fried whole snapper and braised beef cheek green curry, the new offering at St. Cloud Eating House is designed for sharing.

It's been a few years now that the bar formerly known as The Long Room completed its $4 million transformation into The George on Collins. And while the space has retained its sleek, ultra-comfy atmosphere and after-work drinks appeal, it's the food that's the major drawcard these days. Masterchef alumni and social media personality Khanh Ong has developed a Vietnamese menu alongside head chef Quim Hernandez, catering for a lunch and dinner service all the way to late-night bar snacks. The lunch and dinner offering includes share plates and casual options like bo la lot, Ca Mau sticky chili caramel chicken wings and a Khmer-style salmon ceviche. 

Ca Com Bánh Mì Bar is the casual sibling of fine diner Anchovy. Situated in Richmond, it's the brainchild of Anchovy's chef-owner Thi Le and partner Jia-Yen Lee. During the longest lockdown of 2020, the team started serving khao jee pate – a Laotian baguette-based sandwich, and later started slinging bánh mì out of Anchovy’s window instead. It's proven to be so popular that Ca Com Bánh Mì Bar is now a permanent fixture next door to Anchovy.

The Hanoi Hannah concept has garnered a reputation for playful Aussie spins on Vietnamese fare but its Richmond outpost, aptly titled New Quarter, is a little more refined than its siblings. The space fuses kitschy, retro-inspired decor with a sleek warehouse fitout, laying a beautiful backdrop for the share-style menu. Start with snacks such as bánh mì fingers topped with chicken two ways (whipped liver pâté and crackled skin), then make your way to larger plates such as beef tartare with pho-inspired jelly and anchovy tapioca crisps. The cocktails, often subtly spiked with Vietnamese flavours, make the perfect accompaniment. 

Good Days is a small spot with a stripped-back menu of only a few main dishes – but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. The pho is made with sous vide Victorian Angus beef and bone marrow or braised and grilled mushrooms for a vegetarian option. You could also easily make a meal out of a few snacks (think sweet and sticky glazed chicken wings or pork and prawn spring rolls) and drinks, which revolve around natural wines and local craft beers. To top it all off, nearly everything is gluten-free, and with many vegan-friendly options, this is a safe bet for those with allergies or dietary requirements.

Pho and rice paper rolls are staples of Vietnamese cuisine, but if you’d like to broaden your horizons, look no further than Co Thu Quan. This spot specialises in less-represented Northern Vietnamese fare across its Richmond, Footscray and Springvale locations. The com am phu is a great opportunity to sample a bit of everything, pairing rice with four different side dishes such as pickled unripe eggplants and chilli-fried baby crabs. For something a bit less conventional, try a 'salad' made from lightly moistened rice paper muddled with beef jerky, herbs, peanuts, dried shrimp, cumquat and a hard-boiled quail egg.

Though the name’s not a giveaway, Olivia Spring Café in Moonee Ponds is home to one of Melbourne’s best com tams – and it just so happens to be entirely vegan. Buckle in for a fully-loaded platter of plant-based pork, cha trung hap (Vietnamese steamed egg meatloaf), shredded tofu and fish sauce. If that doesn’t take your fancy, a vegan pork banh mi or mock shrimp and chicken rice paper rolls surely will. On a sunny day, Queens Park across the way is the perfect place to picnic.

Soft, sticky and delightfully chewy banh cuon (made from steamed rice noodles wrapped around various fillings) is the staple at this Sunshine diner – and it's well worth leaving the inner-city circuit for. The translucent sheets come filled with your choice of protein such as pork meatloaf, prawns or tofu, best doused liberally in nuoc cham. All rolls come topped with crispy onions and served with an abundance of fresh herbs, offering a balanced blend of temperature and texture.