Review Anchovy - Richmond

Probably my best Vietnam food experience in Mel. They provided set menu for $110 pp. side dishes are oysters and roast ducks. I love their white wooden table and the style was natural and fresh. The main dish noodles were delicious and I kinda started to love it. My fav last night was the prawn with sticky rice. Besides, you could always have some wine and spirits in Mel together with your food. Recommend for any special days.

Last Sunday, we had lunch at Anchovy Richmond in Melbourne. It was a memorable Sunday lunch. Relax atmosphere, nice decorative and excellent care & services from staff. We had chef's choice menu. They were Coffin Bay Oysters with beautiful dressing; delicious prawns; fish marinated with turmeric wrapped in banana leaves served with fresh garden salad and herbs those are hard to find at this winter weather; yummy duck hot pot served with hand made noodles and very sophisticated home made coconut ice cream. The foods were full of flavours, mixing between Vietnamese traditional and Thi's (the Chef) personal tastes. We enjoyed so much that we forgot to take all the dishes' pictures. LOVED! LOVED! LOVED! Highly recommend!

Beautiful food, service and atmosphere. Great menu for sharing or for yourself. Simple dishes yet full of flavour. Their banh mi is a must try - pillowy centre and crisp crust!

Service was nice, if not slightly slow for our taste. Food was lovely. Bit annoyed that you have to pay $50pp to book, and then when you have a gift card that $50 comes off before the gift card... so you end up with money on gift card remaining (not enough to buy another meal), but out the booking cost. Seems backwards and left the meal rather annoyed.

Anchovy was worth the mind-numbing traffic we endured to get there. Every morsel popped with flavour and the twists on traditional Vietnamese dishes were delicate and pleasant. The “snacks” served at the start were more like entrees in their number and generosity. I kept remarking to my husband “I could eat a whole plate of these” 😅 On top of that, service was amazing. I’d definitely recommend it!

My favourite Sunday lunch of 2022 so far. Informed, attentive service and a chef that rocked my socks. Highlight was the malt vinegar sorbet oysters and multi texture coconut dessert. Just yum.

If there was a six or seven stars, Anchovy would hit them. Easy. With The at the helm in the kitchen, and Andy and JY on the floor this small Boheme restaurant in Richmond is a true delight. I can explain each of the wonderful dishes but you can't describe the joy of biting into a small mochi baked in a tea cup with a flavourful umami of shallots and fish paste on top. Or the pleasant-induced grin from a roti-like sesame bun with an anchovy butter. There's a Murray cod fish lightly grilled with an Indian inspired paste, served with iceberg lettuce, fresh herbs, a pickled Daikon, hot Brinjal-like pickles and a sweetish dipping sauce. Absolutely worth a visit. I forgot to mention the sweet dish. It's in the photos. You end up lying to your friend so you can get an extra bite.

Incredible experience at Anchovy the food is sublime. The tasting menu showcases the talents of Thi Li and was quite filling. It is a small restaurant and quite relaxed with lovely service. Every dish has a story beautifully told by the team. The owners are talented and have created something very special. Their reputation has travelled far with Nigella Lawson dining there the night before us. Thank you Thi & Jia for your warm hospitality and an outstanding dining experience.

It was an incredible evening having dinner with my family at Anchovy. I fully agreed with my hubby that it was a surprised dish after dish; yummy, tasty and so flavorful. The clams were, as good as the published reviews, may be even better… Fully agreed, the family wanted more…. Considering I am not a beef person, I really didn't think much of the raw beef, but I changed my perception immediately after the first mouth. It was beyond words of description !!!! I had only one word to describe the lamb ribs - WOW. The meat was soft & juicy, and it just came off the bone !!! The combination of hot mint tea in chinese tea cups, finishing off with hot doughnuts with coffee cream, the milk sorbet were just out of the world !!!! It was a splendid evening at Anchovy, with warm friendly ambience, great service & sumptuous foods. We will definitely return !!!

Went there for lunch on Friday. The food was sublime. Had the chefs choice. The kitchen catered totally for a few minor dislikes and the results were exceptional. The waiter was also wonderful without being intrusive. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who asked. Congratulations Thi Le

Went yesterday the food was amazing and the flavours out of this world 👍👍👍 Great, fast and friendly service with awesome food 😋😋😋

Bang on flavours Something so different in a awesome way, awesome presentation, kick ass service a must when in Melbourne

Fantastic food 🥘 fantastic service!!! Highly recommend this restaurant! Can't wait to return!

One of my favourite local Richmond places for dinner - fresh, innovative, consistently excellent, delicious food. Friendly knowledgeable great service & we are always made to feel so welcome. Thank you

Amazingly perfect. We enjoyed the banquet. Every dish sparkled with joy and ignited the taste buds. Go.

Our second dinner there in two weeks. Just ask the staff to recommend from the menu and we saw one pleasant surprise after another. Great food, great ambience, great service and great people there. We will be back.

Exceptional food and very warm service.If you haven't been run don't walk

Outstanding Food , Wine and Service , a Birthday Dinner to be remembered.

Absolutely do yourself a favour! Sublime food. Excellent service.

Great place, refreshing menu! Great to see South East Asian influences executed in a modern way. Highly recommended.

Amazing food and great atmosphere. New fav spot! Highly recommended.

Classic Vietnamese flavours, modern techniques, delicious results.

Such amazing, authentic and creative food! Everything was perfection!

Probably one of my best dining experience ever. Good atmosphere, friendly staff. You can tell the staff take pride in what they do, as it translates to the food - which was amazing. <br/><br/>Perfect to celebrate a special occasion. Would definitely come back

The food was interesting although a touch expensive for what was offered. The Moreton Bay bug special was nice enough but at forty something dollars I felt it was quite expensive for one bug. <br/><br/><br/>Their zucchini was so delish and was a great starter as it’s a bit sour and get your appetite going. The pipis were amazing too! They are so fresh!<br/><br/><br/>We ordered cod for mains and a herb garden as a side salad. Cod was cooked w turmeric, garlic, corn and spring onion. The cod was a bit tough, but the flavours were amazing!!! The “herb garden” was fabulous though and goes so well with the fish flavours. So it was such a bit that the cod itself was a bit of a letdown.<br/><br/>Dessert was this durian and white chocolate parfait which was surprisingly light, a perfect finish to our night.

We thought this was a very fine place. We were here for a birthday celebration and had the feed me menu which was excellent. Dish after dish of lovely interesting and inventive food. The wine list is small but there’s enough on it that demands attention. Service overall was pretty good on the night.

The food and atmosphere are excellent, but the service we experienced was outstanding Two of our party of four do not enjoy very spicy food, so Anchovy adjusted our servings to suit It still was excellent.

What a feed. The hapuka was so fresh and tasty some of the best I’ve had. The lamb dish was also beautiful cooked and so soft and tasty. Everything we had was great. The service was a bit off (just a bit slow and didn’t seem knowledgeable but they were friendly and polite so no big deal)

If we are purely rating on food it’s a 6/5 but the service was a bit of let down I thought. Kingfish was unbelievable as was the lamb but the highlight was the hapuka, my goodness it was one of the most flavoursome dishes I’ve ever had, but at $42 for two small bits it was pushing it. Excellent joint worth a visit when the menu reads to your liking.

Flavours. This is one word that would describe this unique south east Asian/ Vietnamese fusion food. They are unique and really stimulate your senses, and the blood pudding starter was just a perfect way to "wet your appetite". We were a group of 4, the seating is squished and something definitely doesn't seem at par with the quality of food being served. Other dishes that were delish was the lamb and I loved the mushroom ice cream (don't judge till you try it). Thumbs up from me.

We came here for dinner on a Saturday. The restaurant was cosy and intimate. We decided to go with the chef's selection. We thoroughly enjoyed the calamari and pork dishes. The pork was really the star of the evening, cooked to perfection and perfectly tender. The caramelized mushroom dessert was also innovative and delicious. The other dishes were okay but nothing to shout about. The egg noodles were slightly soggy and the sweetness of the crab was lost in the curry sauce.

It’s a lovely small venue. Both my friend and I love the Vermonth drink and the beef carpaccio melted in my mouth! So good! I also ordered the calamari which has great flavor and the lamb which is amazing. Instead of dessert we had the herb garden which is up to ourselves to roll whatever herb we like to eat together. It’s an interesting experience definitely! I definitely see myself come back

Perfect place for special occasions like anniversary or date night. It is a semi-fine dining experience. Food are seasonal and too notch for most of the dishes. Highly recommended the raw Beef and the mussel if it is available.<br/>Price - $$$$

First time. Asked for staff recommendations, enjoyed our whole experience and enjoyed our meals.

Brilliant combination of heritage, techniques / skills and local produce makes this place a gem in Melbourne.<br/><br/>Picked calamari. Blood pudding, turnip and greens all hit the mark. The classic French desert of clafoutis was given a royal treatment and not to be missed.<br/><br/>Le’s interpretation of the classic south East Asian flavor morphed into classic French techniques is not to be missed. Friendly and forever helpful front of house staff was well appreciated. Well done thi and staff

Been meaning to come to this place for ages. Got few recommendations by couple chefs in Melbourne. The place is so cute and romantic. Perfect for special occasions or even a good date night. All the meals that we had ordered last night were totally mind blowing. My favourite one was the crab. The service was 5 stars. Highly recommended

We came here for a birthday celebration, and partook in the chefs selection. We were pleasantly surprised with all the savoury meals that came out, plus we were even offered an extra course to help fill us up a little more! The stand outs were definitely the scallop with rice cake, the lamb and pork salad wraps, and the crab with black rice flatbread. We were less taken by the desserts, unfortunately durian was not a crowd favourite and overpowered one of the two desserts. I think it should be an option on the a la carte but maybe not the chefs menu, as it is an acquired taste. Overall it was a great option to eat good quality food in a more casual environment that doesn’t break the bank. The staff were also really polite and attentive!

The food here shows a high attention to detail, and much thought has gone into the selection and composition of ingredients. It is a good sized space and not too noisy, with a fit out that is very complimentary. You will find the Asian inspired menu has a distinctive contemporary twist, with a strong seafood bias. This combined with an interesting selection of wines, and table service that hits the mark, make it easy to see why it has received so many accolades. Put it on your must visit list.

I had high expectations for Anchovy. However, we walked out very disappointed. The service was average, the seating was awkward, the cocktails were boring, and no dishes stood out! We had the chef’s selection, the Vietnams blood sausage was the only food that was nice. The main course was “make yourself vegetarian salad rolls” (don’t even remember the real name). Really? I came to Anchovy to assemble my own bloody salad rolls with kimchi? The Viet shop down Bridge Road does better rolls!  Don’t think I will return sorry!

We came here recently and had the Chef’s Selection for dinner. Unfortunately, nothing stood out. The house-made pate was nice but would have been better served on something plain like bread instead of the tortilla chip. The glass noodles were very salty:( Not sure that I would return again

We dined at Anchovy for our anniversary as my wife had been there before with her friends. We ordered the Chefs Selection which was amazing. The kitchen knows how to combine great flavours. Really innovative modern Asian cuisine. Great friendly service. 5 stars! Highly recommended.

is that there’s actually not a whole lot of anchovies on their menu - in fact, I didn't notice one.  Instead it offers a menu of modern Australian/Asian cuisine with offerings such as Vietnamese blood pudding with ginger and herbs, and twice cooked Eugowra quail. . Being our first time to Anchovy, the three of us couldn't go past the

Good, but not memorable. I think Anchovy is suffering from the enormous pressure of being a new, small restaurant that’s had a weight of accolades bestowed on it. And consequently, diners go in with high expectations<br/><br/>The floor staff seem inexperienced, offhand, even frazzled. The dishes are all very lively, but start to taste much the same after a few. And some are actually pretty difficult to eat with chopsticks (without making a mess, anyway)<br/><br/>In a market that’s crowded with pan Asian/Asian fusion/ contemporary Asian eateries, the experience at Anchovy doesn’t stand out. But I applaud them for taking on big players like Chris Lucas and the McConnells

Please, if you do go here... get the lamb! Absolutely delicious and made my night. Anchovy is a really nice, quiet space that provided some fantastic customer service.<br/><br/>Highly recommended.

Wanted to take some friends who were visiting from overseas for a “fine dining” experience without the $$$$ price tag, and so decided to book a table at Anchovy as we’d heard a lot about them. Needless to say we left full, impressed and blown away by the quality of the food and service.<br/>The restaurant is small but cosy, with dim lights setting the mood, and a lovely bar and atmosphere which foreshadowed the fine dining experience to come.<br/>For the 4 of us (with help from the lovely waiting staff) we decided to order the pickled sardines, kalettes, beef carpaccio, squid, chicken liver, Moreton Bay bug, grilled kingfish (and the herb garden to accompany this as strongly recommended by the waitress) braised lamb claypot (adding on some steamed rice), and the fermented rice cream to finish.<br/>Including drinks it all came to just under $70pp, and every single dish was fresh, and had a strong and distinct yet never-before-had Vietnamese influenced flavour! I had always been a huge lover of Vietnamese food but I was blown away by the new flavours I got to experience here. <br/>Cannot recommend them enough for a great evening of great food!

Don't be put off by the sound of the menu here - Trust your instincts, the quality of the produce and the talent of the chefs and menu creators! EVERYTHING I have eaten from Anchovy has been exceptional!<br/>The current menu begins with items named such things as "Pigs head Pastry" and another dish, Kalettes, that was described as a mixture between brussell sprouts and kale with dipping sauce - I despise kale and love sprouts and I cannot stop thinking about these little bunches of charred greenery! Simply delicious!! The Pigs head pastry is presented like little balls of pastry with the most delicious, tender chunks of pork inside - almost like the most elegant and delicious party pie you've ever eaten. <br/>The Roti will come out piping hot and the garlic dipping sauce is powerful yet soft enough that it makes you want to stockpile it to dip everything in your life in it.<br/>The Three Rivers Lamb completely blew me away - it is presented on three plates; the tender lemongrass lamb on one, green leafy and pickled vegetables on another and two pastry/bread like pockets on another plate with the idea that you break open the pockets and fill with all of the fresh, perfectly created items presented in front of you.<br/>Besides the food, the ambience, lighting, and layout of this little restaurant is perfect. On a busy Saturday night, there were two waiters on who absolutely nailed whole evening - EXCEPTIONAL service!!<br/>This is the second time we have eaten at Anchovy and it wont be the last. Anchovy is my new favourite restaurant!

Tasty modern Vietnamese restaurant. Anchovy are doing their own thing in a great way. The base nationality is Vietnamese but this spot has the tastiest roti I’ve ever had in my life. The spiced bbq pine shrooms are also sensational. Lamb adobo is slow cooked spiced lamb neck, falling off the bone tender and juicy made fresh with a big hit of watercress. We also smashed a banging Vino from Jura, at $125 is the most expensive wine on the list. Garfish tamarind curry is tasty, it’s a bbq fish on curry sauce. I just wish it was not so hard for me to get here , I have to fly from Sydney, as I’d be back to eat it all again and again.

Bianca: A restaurant named after one of our least favourite fishes, how was this dinner going to pan out? Anchovy offers a modern Aust/Asian menu with an all-female team. The name you ask? Anchovies are no-where on the menu BUT fish sauce is in almost every dish and anchovies are a main ingredient in the potent condiment.

This is the first time I been to this place. Nice to try out this Vietnamese fusion food. The service is really good. Since we are sitting outdoors, we are offered some blankets to cover our legs. The food is nice in general, Iove the roti and the cured fish the best. Recommend for anyone that love to try Vietnamese fusion food.

Perfect dinner at Anchovy. I was wondering how can the score on Zomato for this little gem was not above 4 or 4.5.<br/><br/>Food: Excellent from the beginning till the end. <br/>- Smoked Mussel and Vietnamese Blood Pudding were like finger-food style but they were packed with deep flavour, especially the pudding, people please ignore the name and try it. <br/>- Jumbo Quail with Supreme Soy was extremely tender and flavourful, a perfect mix of soy sauce and some kind of fermented plum juice, I personally would come back for this dish alone. <br/>- Pork Belly with Banh Tieu was also really great, felt like I was having tasty hawker food back home in Vietnam. <br/>- I absolutely loved Fermented Rice Cream and Ginger Granita, it had complex flavours which was hard for me to figure them out, but somehow they worked well on one dish. And do not touch the Raspberry cake pan, it was extremely hot.<br/><br/>Services: The waitress who served us tonight was really lovely, helpful and friendly. She gave us a lot of suggestions for our food selections and made sure that everything was ok all the time. Great job!

But given my lower tolerance for sweet, it was the fermented rice (a custardy, pudding-like dessert) served with fresh pear and ginger granita that won over my taste buds bite and bite again. Beautiful refreshing notes that served well as both dessert and palate cleanser.

Eclectic mix of dishes, with a short but interesting wine list that touches on some unusual blends and grapes. While much of the food has something of a Vietnamese bent, other dishes take from across Asia for the most part, but with a modern Australian fusion twist. On the last night we went dishes ranged from a blood pudding done bo la lot style, to some amazing pickled mussels served on Chinese-style donuts. Yabbies done in black pepper were a bit of work, but well worth the time. Enoki mushrooms with pearl meat were also outstanding. <br/><br/>While not about to win any design awards, decor is functional and pleasant enough. Staff are knowledgeable about food offerings and very friendly. Food came out in a very well paced fashion that left us feeling neither pushed nor waiting long.<br/><br/>Very good value for the price. Ate here not long after it opened, and again recently; if anything it has improved. Highly recommended, but would suggest booking as it is small and fills up quickly.

I went to this place a few weeks after it opened and booked a table for 2. It was bustling when we got there at 8pm and we had to wait 15 mins for them to clear the table. Got our drink order in and then had to wave them down to get our food order in. Waited 45 mins and after seeing others served with food who arrived after us we enquired about our food. Finally a dish arrived but it was one we didn’t order. They ended up giving it to us on the house as they realized they hadn’t put the order in! We left hungry and very annoyed. I didn’t review then as they were new and finding their feet.<br/><br/>We gave them another go this year and while it wasn’t as haphazard, the service really needs work. The waiter was too busy chatting with a table of mates to take our order. The manner of this waitress was brusque and almost petulant when she finally made her way to us. Thank goodness we got another waitress serving our dishes later who was friendly and pleasant to deal with. Had to grab my own coat when I left. <br/><br/>But I will say the food is very good if you can put up with the poor service in return for fine dining prices. Was hoping this would be a neighborhood favourite but sadly not.

Innovative, fascinating and highly sensory experience. Lovely service. Deep and explosive flavours. Interesting wine. A great night. Not cheap, but very special.

Had a perfectly okay dinner until one of the staff suggested I had being doing drugs in the toilet. God forbid a blind person taking time in the toilet. What a dogshit bigot restaurant. Ruined the night. Deeply unprofessional and a terrible wine list (that seems focused on matching and largely distanced from actual quality). Food, middling.<br/>Will absolutely never go here again, have never felt so embarrassed or horrible in my life. Really really hurts to hear people are judging you and discriminating based on your disability. Even worse to hear excuses taking priority over any apology. Bad people. A traumatic experience that still makes me shudder. Just horrifying. 😪😪😪

A hole in the wall restaurant which has received lots of hype, great reviews and recommendations from friends! I was excited. We booked a last minute dinner at the bar and as it was our first time we had the chef's selection. First up was the pumpkin pita with dip which had great flavours; hot and spicy, then a version of lamb jerky - not a hit for us. Then it was a downhill slide until dessert - which I don't normally have but I was starving. I must comment on the goat tartare though which was probably the best dish besides the dessert. All of their dishes were tiny serves including the main which was a whole john dory fish which I had to fossick to find enough flesh to feed the 2 of us. I'd like to point out that they served a mushroom dish with orange flavours and when the wait staff asked what we thought we said it was our least favourite. The orange flavour didn't work at all with the mushrooms and made the dish very bitter. She said that was the feedback she was getting. So if you know that it's not a hit why continue to serve it? <br/><br/>Unfortunately the food wasn't great, the servings were small and so I won't be back nor recommend it. Sorry.<br/><br/>On a happier note the service was amazing, and the ambience was lovely.

Dined solo today and had the chefs selection menu. Service was excellent all the dishes explained to me and the waitress had a lovely personality and just the right amount of banter. The food was lovely, perfect balance of flavour and spice, stand out dishes were the tomato and fig salad and venison tartare.

Anchovy Richmond is a little gem in the Bridge Road dinning scene. Owners Thi Le (Chef) and Jia-Yen Lee have drawn upon their South East Asian roots and their experience at venues such as Town Mouse, Cumulus Inc and Supernormal to create a flavour packed menu which utilises modern techniques.

Food was mediocre at best. Service even worse - the waitress needs a lesson in manners. Not one to complain much but this was such an unpleasant experience that people need to be aware.

Had a really lovely meal at Anchovy tonight - hadn't previously heard of it as we don't venture to Richmond too much these days but glad the in-laws invited us out to try it. Hard to pick a favourite dish as they were all good, but standouts were definitely the moreton bay bugs, the tempura vegimite (yes, vegimite - amazing!), and the calamari.

So the festive season is fully in swing now and Steve and I thought we'd try and find some calm amidst the social tornado that comes round this time of year with a dinner date at the much lauded Anchovy in Richmond. We arrived on time for our 8 pm reservation behind some other diners. There seemed to be a little confusion with the people in front of us and then we were shown to two stools at the window bar. It was right next to the front door which I thought might become annoying but it didn't turn out so.

i think i went in with too high expectations given it won the best new restaurant award 2016, was excited and hyped up the girls for this dinner event but unfortunately was really disappointed. we had the tasting menu, first off was thegrilled prawn, it was soaked with spring onion, once i scraped that off, the prawn was the best dish for me that night. then we had the spanner crab,calamari pasta, zucchini, tofu, til this point everything was too salty, no balance between the mixture of dishes, Ocean trout (yummy but piece was soooo small) with a bowl of rice & dessert...i was still hungry, and would i recommend this place...no.

After reading about Anchovy in the September Gourmet Traveller we were excited to get a booking on Saturday night with only a few hours notice.<br/><br/>(Mind you we weren't told we would be sitting on stools at the bar)<br/><br/>The menu is simple with starters, medium size dishes and mains. Our lovely host Andrew (who is also the sommelier) suggested we have a couple of starters, 1 or 2 medium dishes and a main, which we obliged. He also helped us navigate around the wine list and suggested a fantastic Nebbiolo Barbera from the Clare Valley that was served chilly, was utterly delish & a reasonable $54 a bottle. <br/><br/>For starters we had the blood sausage & the rice paper rolls - both a taste sensation and accompanied the best tasting nuoc cham I've ever had.<br/><br/>Our middle dishes - we chose the asparagus, egg and wild garlic. Everything about this dish was incredible. If you see it on the menu - have it! The menu descriptions are minimalist so you need to ask questions before, during & after the dish! We were delighted that this dish had mackerel in it to give it a lovely salty edge. So cleverly done. We also had the duck, fermented red rice, radicchio, celeriac - not a grain of rice to be found - instead a puree of red fermented rice. So exciting and clever.<br/><br/>For main we enjoyed the Pork belly, pickles, banh hoi, leaves and herbs. WOW! So fresh, tasty, textured - ticked every box.<br/><br/>The delightful thing about Anchovy is that after all of this food we were happy & saoitisfied but because the dishes are light we had room for dessert (this never happens to me!) So we tucked into the Dark chocolate, kumquat, cardamom ice cream - the choiclate cam ein the form of a brownie - the textures and flavours were spectacular!<br/><br/>We licked every plate clean and we will be back (I believe the menu changes regularly in line with seasonal produce). <br/><br/>For $160 including a bottle of wine for two we really enjoyed a great night out.

We had a great dinner here tonight. The food was unique and delicious and our waitress was very informative and helpful. Beautiful wine and a brilliant experience overall!

Delicious, fun and inventive.<br/><br/>While Vietnamese seems to dominate the menu at first glance, the kitchen really doesn't hold itself to any set rules, and instead provides their customers with an interesting and clever fusion of cuisines.<br/><br/>Few would have thought stratciatella would go so well with roti, herb oil and apple slaw - but it does. The regularly changing menu also makes it worth coming back sooner rather than later.<br/><br/>Attentive and friendly staff are knowledgeable and seem genuinely interested in what diners think of the chef's adventurous dishes - no doubt a deliberate strategy which will ensure the kitchen knows what dishes are hitting the mark and which need refining.<br/><br/>This approach should only see the food at Anchovy getting better over time, so we'll definitely be back

The service here was very welcoming. I only wished they spent a little time explaining the menu as I really wasn't keen on one of the dishes (being raw meat) and as we opted for the Chef's Selection, but they were very sweet and accommodating and re-cooked the meat. The appetisers such as the Vietnamese hand roll and beans weren't anything to write home about, but the Tamarind cooked fish and the Duck were deliciouso. The duck was so tender and tasty, we could have eaten that dish twice over! The dessert apple style bake was also a sweet sweet taste party. Only thing to note, if you are after a quick-ish dinner, don't opt for the Chef's Selection, the gap between courses is much too long and we did not anticipate a 3 hour dining sit that evening. Only other thing I should really be looked at is the bench style casual sitting as this doesn't really match the multiple courses menu - we sat at a bench and had slightly sore necks after 3 hours of swivelling our necks to chat. (Tip is to then switch seats after a couple hours)

Very disappointing. Small menu and they had run out of a couple of the best sounding dishes. What we did get seemed to have been pre-cooked and the flavours seemed confused- a bit like when a friend experiments with a cuisine they haven't cooked before at a dinner party. All the reviews are so good? I don't understand. Maybe they were just having a bad night. We won't be back to find out.

Best feed in Melbourne .Limited but wonderfully designed menu and wine list-  all class .Well priced. Courteous and efficient staff. Don't miss the flounder .And none of this forced,  overpriced degustation or fixed price crap

Nailed it. One of the best meals I've experienced in Melbourne. We are going back a second time to ensure that we haven't missed anything on the menu.

great food & clean and nice space. we had the pork neck, spatchcock, zucchini, taro chips, pipis, and prawns. all excellent! great service too

YUM! The food here is so interesting and delicious.... they do some interesting things here which can read strange off the menu but they work! Service could have been a little better but we had a great night. Looking forward to going back and trying more!

I love this place!! Amazing different cocktails... Friendly staff... Seasonal menu changes.. All the good is so fresh with amazing flavours.. U must try raw beef salad, and lamb ribs.. You need to book this place can get busy!! I have never had a bad meal or experience here.

Unfortunately disappointing food. Food was "nice" - not great as you would expect for the price. Nothing outstanding. All very "okay". For a modern take on cheapy vietnamese I would expect an exciting reinvention. Not just raw ocean trout rolled in a standard vietnamese rice paper roll. Sitting on high stools crammed at the bar in a minimalistic bare room was not comfortable or cool. Kong, chin chin and coda all do it much better. <br/>

One of the best restaurants in Melbourne. The food is very good, distinct flavors in each dish, the service is excellent and its good value for the quality of food that you get. I couldn't fault it.<br/><br/>The steamed clams and sauce are the best I have had.

Food excellent and a refreshing take on Vietnamese cuisine. Service could be slow if you were after a quick meal for 2 but fine if you were after a relaxed social meal. Layout has you sitting on highish stools at communal tables which is not for everyone. Lots of hard surfaces and can be noisy. I think better for a group of 3 or more rather than 2. No BYO.

No complaints about the food at Anchovy, which as one member of our party of five described it "was punchy with flavour and piled with asian herbs". However, the service was agonizingly slow (a Wednesday night) and we were there for almost 3 hours waiting for the small plates which arrived in fits and starts. Unfortunately this meant we ran out of patience and we had to forfeit dessert. We ordered almost every dish on the menu but I am sad to say we left hungry. Warning bells sounded when I saw that two of the three main dishes were quail and ribs. The third main was flounder, but it must have been a baby flounder because it was the smallest flounder I had ever seen. Admission: after we left we went to Grill'd a few doors down and ordered a couple of burgers.

Creative and delicious take on Vietnamese food. Expect to be surprised and delighted by the flavours and originality of the cooking.<br/>Good wine list and excellent cocktails. The package is completed by highly competent and very pleasant staff. <br/>A great place for high quality dining in a casual atmosphere.

Loved it. Fun playful food done really well. The rice paper rolls, tartare & blood pudding all exceptional. Great little wine list. Excellent service great for a cheeky bite & gossip.

Highly enjoyed all the food. It's hard to find modern contemporary Vietnamese done well and everything we had on the night was really good. It is all the flavours I grew up with but presented in a much more elegant and sophisticated manner. We missed out on the pipis because they ran out for the night but will definitely come back for next seasons menu. Best dishes were the Pate So and the Raw Beef.

Wow. Just wow. This place is barely a 2 minute walk from home which I think has had a paradoxical effect on us trying it. Kicking myself that we waited so long. Some nights everything lines up to create one perfect dining experience: walking in early-ish (with no booking) to some great seats, a pared back but comfortable setting -no mean feat considering I usually HATE bar stools, professional and courteous staff, a tightly polished drinks list, and the food! The crispy prawn heads with a siracha style mayo took us instantly back to our honeymoon in Vietnam, the fermented pork sausages lit up our tastebuds with its chilli lime dressing and had us salivating for the mains. Then on to the pipi's with yao tiew (chinese fried bread stick pieces). If you take no other suggestions from this, just do yourself a favour and order the pipi's. Conversation with the husband ground to a momentary halt and both of us considered licking the bowl after we'd consumed every last morsel. Neither of us were convinced any dishes after that could match it but were still delightfully pleased with the rice cakes and fried duck egg, and the barramundi curry with eggplant and okra to follow (more kick!)(not a bad thing in my books). We shared the dessert of poached quince, lemon mousse and white chocolate (also delicious) just as the crowd reached fever pitch. Whilst we had no delays to any part of our meal, I do wonder what the wait time was for the patrons who arrived the hour after us. But now that I think about it, I wouldn't even mind waiting a lil longer so long as it meant I could hoover up some more of those pipi's.... $70 pp including 3 drinks between the two of us, and bookings I'm guessing on nights where the rain and footy hasn't kept the crowds away (or at least delayed) a must.

Bridge road has been moving away from discount warehouses over the years to more trendy cafes and recently, up market diners. There are now so many good food options around here that we are really spoilt for choice. Recently Anchovy popped up as a modern Vietnamese inspired restaurant that follows the format of other successful restaurants with menus that make up of small plates, medium to share and larger serves. They have done a great job of it. Fun cocktails to start the evening off and a short but decent wine list with the ability to order half bottles as well as by the glass - genius! <br/>Quite reasonably priced food that ranges from good to very good. The periwinkles and fish curries were the 2 outstanding dishes. Spatchcock was tender and flavoursome, another must try. My only suggestion is not to come with more than 6 people, or you will find yourself ordering repeats because the menu is quite small.<br/>I do have a question for the owners though - Why Anchovy? I love anchovies but not everyone does. Would the name put people off? Don't let it. Be brave and try it out. It has nothing to do with anchovies, be that a good thing or a bad thing.

I’m excited! Modern Vietnamese has hit Bridge Road in Richmond in a big way. The good looking clean lines of the interior translate to the food being dished out. Anchovy is the new kid on the block and has made an instant impact. Having tried to get a table after 9pm the week prior (and not succeeding), we book a table tonight by email during the day. It is a system that works well on this occasion.

Excellent lunch here yesterday. Innovative drinks and cocktails and quality food and service. Highlights were the braised goat with yam that was perfect for a winters day and also the raw beef which managed to be light but extremely tasty at the same time. Not cheap but good quality food and hope to be back for sure.

PHOTOS: Wok-tossed garlic shoots, spiced salt | Duck and water chestnut pátê sô, black fungus, pickles | Cauliflower fried rice, lap cheong, preserved radish | Grilled lemongrass beef intercostals, banh hoi, coconut nuoc cham | raised goat, preserved bean curd, taro, chrysanthemum

Anchovy's take on modern Asian cuisine certainly works! <br/>This was our opinion after ordering nine of the sixteen dishes on offer!<br/>We thoroughly enjoyed our food, particularly the Vietnamese blood pudding, duck and water chestnut pátê sô also the rice cakes, fried egg, green papaya, chilli soy.<br/>The wine list, like the menu is relatively small but good!<br/><br/>We will return for sure!

Welcome to Richmond Anchovy! Enjoyed our food enormously and the service was impeccable. Order the beef intercostal - you won't be disappointed. Be back again soon!

Good food but not quite so amazing that i had to run around high fiveing all the rest of the customers.<br/><br/>Clean slick space thats a little to austere and uncomfortable<br/><br/>The owner is lovely and has hospitality but found the manager to be a little to cold and professional but missing any love for the customer.<br/><br/>The beef ribs (minus the ribs) was the standout dish <br/><br/>worth a look

Great meal, good service, simple and effective decor. Menu set for sharing. Would certainly visit again if I were in Melbourne. Shared meal between 4 of: oysters, rice paper, prawns, spring rolls, sticky rice cakes, clams, raw beef, beef intercostals and goat curry. Finished with the beignets. Stand outs were the prawns, rice cakes, and beef dishes. Everything is nicely presented and well made. Good selection of beverages (including non-alcoholic options) and refreshing mint tea.

Amazing food & wine, early days and finding its feet but wonderful. Our friend said go to this place so we did. Seriously amazing food - I've not been to Vietnam but at least in Australia I've never had a rice paper roll like the Kingfish one we had. We had a little porky pate pie with the most heavenly pastry. The rice cake is like a serve of delicious little gnocchi with the most perfect spicy salad and fried egg, loved. Don't miss the flounder and have the pear for dessert. Can't wait to return.

Nice ambience, needs more spunk, the lift music needs adjusting. I wanted to venture out from the usual traditional vietnamese food/scene in Melbourne, Springvale and Footscray offered great food but nothing I was exceptionally excited about. My friend and I came across this restaurant during its second week of opening and Im glad we did. This restaurant was interesting and had a very tasty menu. Food has a a lovely twist on the traditional Vietnamese flavours, and tastes great. Staff are so accomodating and attentive. Worth every cent, try the blood pudding and tamarind prawns.

Find new favourite on Bridge Rd. Anchovy is a new breadth of eating Vietnamese food in a rustic and modern way. Flavours are just awesome and honest, clean taste. I am truly falling in love with the egg noodles love - perfectly cooked offals, tamarind prawn sweet and sour and particularly grilled lemongrass beef tender and fresh herbs so tasty. Will definitely come back again!!!

Brilliant food. Second time here, exceeded my expectations! Attentive and helpful staff but not annoying. Food was delicious, refreshing vietnamese flavoured influences, my ultimate fave dishes include the blood pudding, raw beef And tamarind prawns. There isn't a dish I wouldnt have again, give it a go!

Minimalist and marvellous.. Cool concrete, edgy lighting, non - precarious stools and very helpful staff. But the food. Wow. Asian as we know it is reinvented here with a small, varied and well thought out menu. The usual suspects were missing save for the excellent spring rolls. We four tried several offerings, all delightful. The standout being beef intercostal with lemongrass and the clams in a complex turmeric broth.<br/><br/>Return visit April 2017. Upped the anti to 5. It was a sublime degustation. Thank you.

Third time back in 2 weeks. I can't seem to stay away! The food is so fresh and unique. Love the modern feel to the place. My top 3 picks on the menu are the Vietnamese blood pudding, raw beef dish and flounder in burnt butter!