The best Vietnamese restaurants in Melbourne

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

Hanoi Hannah’s garnered a reputation for playful Aussie spins on Vietnamese fare but their Richmond location, 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 four 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.