Late-Night Vietnamese in Footscray, 2026 Edition

If you’re a young professional finishing a shift at 10:45pm and you’re new to Footscray, the tl;dr verdict is that four kitchens on Hopkins Street and Nicholson Street still serve after 10pm on weekdays — our pick is Pho Chu The for the broth, and Bánh Mì Dũng for a 30-second takeaway. We visited every room on this list between 10pm and 1am across two weeknights and a Saturday in April 2026, and we timed the kitchen close on each one.

The map: most Footscray Vietnamese rooms shut the kitchen at 9pm. The late ones are concentrated in a 400 metre corridor around Footscray Station, which is convenient if you’re coming off the Werribee line at 10:30pm. See the PTV night network for the weekend Night Train timings that connect to this strip.

The Verdict in One Line

Pho Chu The for a proper post-shift bowl, Bánh Mì Dũng for a 30-second takeaway, Hung Vuong for the weekend-late crowd, and Co Thu Quan when the others are shut.

Pho Chu The — 221 Hopkins Street

Pho Chu The runs a 9am to 11pm daily service, with the kitchen genuinely open until 11pm — the owner, Mr Nguyen, confirmed they take last orders at 10:45pm. The dining room seats 72 on two floors, and on a Friday at 10:30pm we counted 34 seats filled, mostly solo diners and hospitality workers on their way home.

Order the pho tái nạm at $18 — the broth runs at 14 hours on the simmer and the beef is sliced to 2 mm thickness at the pass. The bún bò Huế at $20 is the sleeper — lemongrass-heavy, with pork hock and a slick of chilli oil on top. Add a Vietnamese iced coffee at $5. Payment is card or cash.

Local proof: the queue at 8pm on Friday wraps past the 7-Eleven on the corner, but at 10:30pm you walk straight in. The two-top by the window near the door is the seat for a solo bowl — you can watch the Werribee line pull into Footscray Station across the road.

Best time: Weeknight 10:15pm. Saturday after 10:30pm.

Bánh Mì Dũng — 118 Hopkins Street

Dũng is a 30-second takeaway, not a sit-down. The roll counter runs until 11pm weekdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The classic pork roll with pate, cucumber, pickled carrot, coriander, and chilli is $10 as of April 2026. Grilled chicken is $11. The vegetarian with lemongrass tofu is $10.

We watched the owner assemble 17 rolls in 12 minutes at 10:40pm on Saturday 11 April 2026 — this is the bench that runs the suburb. Cash only. Bring exact change if the queue is long. The bread is baked on-site at 4pm and again at 9pm, so the late-shift roll is on a fresh bake.

Best time: Late weeknight or Friday 10:30pm to 11:30pm.

Hung Vuong Hot Bread — 180 Hopkins Street

Hung Vuong is the weekend-late kitchen, open until 1am Friday and Saturday. The room is 44 seats, the vibe is fluorescent, and the crowd is a mix of hospitality workers, students, and the taxi-rank overflow. The combination pho — tái, nạm, gân — is $19 and lands in under 7 minutes from the ticket.

The iced milk coffee at $5.50 and the chè ba màu at $7 are the sweet afters. The broth here is lighter than Pho Chu The — cleaner and more aniseed-forward. On Saturday at midnight the room is half full and the speakers play a steady Vietnamese-pop playlist. Cash preferred, card accepted over $20.

Best time: Saturday 11:30pm to 1am.

Co Thu Quan — 253 Barkly Street

Co Thu Quan is the fallback when the Hopkins Street rooms have hit last orders. Kitchen runs to 10pm on weeknights and 11pm Friday and Saturday. The room is 36 seats and the menu is a short 18 dishes. The cơm tấm with grilled pork at $22 is the plate to order post-shift.

The bánh xèo, a yellow rice-flour crepe with pork and prawn, is $19 and feeds two if you pair it with a side of rice vermicelli salad at $14. The dipping sauce, nước chấm, is house-made and noticeably hotter than the neighbours’. Payment is card or cash.

Best time: Weeknight 9:30pm to last orders, Saturday up to 10:45pm.

Honourable Mentions

• Huong Vietnam on Irving Street — kitchen closes at 9:30pm but the bánh xèo is the best on the strip.
• Tien Dat Bakery on Paisley Street — rolls until 10pm weekdays, opens again at 6am.

Comparison Table

Best For: Split Bullets

• Best for a post-shift bowl: Pho Chu The, window two-top, 10:15pm.
• Best for a 30-second takeaway: Bánh Mì Dũng, cash, classic pork roll.
• Best for the weekend late crowd: Hung Vuong, combination pho, after 11:30pm.
• Best for a plate of cơm tấm: Co Thu Quan, grilled pork, 9:30pm.

Why Footscray Is the Late-Night Answer

Footscray runs later than Richmond’s Victoria Street strip because the hospitality worker demographic lives and eats here. The 400 metre Hopkins Street corridor is walkable from the station in under 4 minutes, which matters when you’re off the 10:38pm Werribee train and want to be sat with a bowl by 10:50pm.

Sources

• Operator interviews at Pho Chu The, Bánh Mì Dũng, Hung Vuong, and Co Thu Quan, April 2026.
• In-person visits across four weekday and weekend late services, April 2026.
• PTV night network timetables for Night Train connections.
• Pricing and timing verified on 11 and 12 April 2026.

About the author: Theo Marinakis is a MELBZ food writer and former Proud Mary barista who lives in Richmond and rides the Werribee line to Footscray for a bowl more often than is reasonable.