Best Restaurants in Richmond 2026: Swan Street & Victoria Street

Updated 16 March 2026 | 6 places tested | Jules Marchetti reporting

Richmond has always been Melbourne’s most interesting eating suburb — and I’ll die on that hill. You’ve got Victoria Street running its legendary Vietnamese strip, Swan Street evolving into one of the city’s most diverse dining corridors, and Bridge Road quietly housing some of the most ambitious restaurants in the inner east. Throw in the creeping influence from neighbouring Cremorne and Collingwood, and you’ve got a suburb that refuses to sit still.

I spent three weeks eating my way through Richmond for this guide. Six restaurants made the cut. Here’s what earned a spot.

1. Minamishima

4 Lord Street, Richmond VIC 3121 | Japanese Omakase | $325 per person

There’s a quiet, one-lane street in Richmond where Melbourne’s best sushi happens behind a modest door. Koichi Minamishima’s omakase-only restaurant has been the gold standard for Japanese dining in this city since it opened, and heading into 2026 it remains as extraordinary as ever.

There’s no menu. You sit at the hinoki counter — twelve seats, book them early or miss out — and you trust the chef. What arrives over the next ninety minutes or so is a progression of nigiri that will ruin every other sushi experience you’ve ever had. The fish is sourced directly from Toyosu Market in Tokyo, flown in multiple times a week. The rice is seasoned with aged red vinegar that gives each piece a warmth and depth that lingers.

Signature dishes: The otoro nigiri (fatty tuna belly), the uni (sea urchin) with a whisper of wasabi, and the anago (saltwater eel) brushed with a house-made tare that’s been going for years. The chawanmushi — a silky steamed egg custard — is a quiet masterpiece.

The vibe: Hushed. Intimate. The kind of place where you catch yourself whispering. Forty seats total, with the counter being the obvious pick. Soft lighting, clean lines, not a single unnecessary detail.

Worth knowing: Bookings open on the first of each month and sell out within minutes. The $325 per person price includes the full omakase. Optional add-ons like fugu (pufferfish) can push the bill higher, but the base experience is complete and generous.

How it compares: If you’re exploring the broader inner east, Minamishima sits in a different league to anything in nearby Cremorne or South Yarra. It competes with the best in the CBD — and often wins.

2. Anchovy

338 Bridge Road, Richmond VIC 3121 | Mod-Vietnamese Tasting Menu | $120–150 per person (set menu)

Thi Le and Jia-Yen Lee’s Anchovy is, quite simply, one of the most important restaurants in Melbourne. The fixed-menu format takes Vietnamese cuisine far beyond pho and banh mi — not by abandoning tradition, but by treating it with the seriousness and technique it has always deserved.

The dining room on Bridge Road is understated and warm, with a kind of considered simplicity that lets the food do the heavy lifting. Every course is a study in balance: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami — all present, all in conversation.

Signature dishes: The nuoc cham-glazed snapper is extraordinary, arriving with a clarity of flavour that makes you rethink what fish sauce can do. The wagyu beef tartare with rice paddy herb and crispy shallots is a Le signature, and the lamb shoulder with lemongrass and fermented black bean is the kind of dish that haunts you days later.

The vibe: Smart but relaxed. This is a place for people who care about food but don’t want to feel like they’re attending a lecture. The staff are knowledgeable without being preachy, and the wine list leans towards interesting Australian and natural producers.

Worth knowing: Anchovy earned a Chef’s Hat in the Good Food Guide, and it’s held that reputation through multiple iterations of the restaurant. The set menu changes seasonally, so your experience will differ from mine — but the quality won’t.

Cross-suburb note: If you love Anchovy, the Collingwood dining scene — particularly along Smith Street — has some of that same energy. Places like Etta and Bar Exuberante share a similar respect for Asian heritage dishes executed with modern technique.

3. Hanoi Hannah New Quarter

79 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121 | Modern Vietnamese | $15–45 per dish

Hanoi Hannah’s New Quarter outpost has been swinging open its big windows on Swan Street for years now, and it’s still one of the best casual dining options in Melbourne full stop. This isn’t the stripped-back original Hanoi Hannah on Trunk — it’s the bigger, bolder, more polished sibling, and it’s better for it.

The corner location at Lennox and Swan is prime Richmond real estate, close to the MCG and the sporting precinct, which means it gets buzzy on game days and weekends. The fit-out is sharp — dark tones, open windows that catch the breeze, and a bar that does serious work with Vietnamese-inspired cocktails.

Signature dishes: The banh mi fingers are obligatory — crispy baguette batons served with a trio of dipping sauces that make sharing dangerously easy. The beer tartare with pho jelly is a clever play on flavours that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. For something more substantial, the shaking beef (bo luc lac) with a runny egg is a crowd-pleaser that never misses.

The vibe: Loud, fun, social. This is where you bring visiting friends, where you start the night, where you sit at the bar with a Saigon beer and watch Swan Street go by. It’s not a quiet dinner for two — it’s an event.

Worth knowing: The drinks list is well curated, with Vietnamese lagers, Australian wines, and cocktails that use lemongrass, star anise, and other Southeast Asian aromatics. The share-plate format means a table of four can easily try eight or nine dishes without breaking the bank.

4. Noir

175 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121 | French Bistro | $30–55 per main

Noir is the restaurant that proves Swan Street isn’t just about Asian food. This dark, moody French bistro has been quietly doing its thing for over a decade, tucked between takeaway shops and sneaker stores, and it remains one of Richmond’s most romantic dining rooms.

Step inside and you get black walls, candlelight, fresh white lilies at the bar, and a wine list that’s almost entirely French — Champagne, Burgundy, Rhône Valley — alongside a solid selection of Australian drops. It feels like a neighbourhood bistro in the 11th arrondissement, except you’re ten minutes from the MCG.

Signature dishes: The duck confit with lentils du Puy is textbook done right — the skin crackles, the meat falls, the earthiness of the lentils grounds everything. The steak frites with bearnaise is what you order when you don’t want to think. And the cheese board, curated with care and served with proper accompaniments, is one of the better fromage selections in the inner suburbs.

The vibe: Intimate. Dim. Slow-paced in the best way. This is a place for long Tuesday nights and anniversary dinners, not quick bites between errands. The staff are old-school attentive without hovering.

Worth knowing: Noir’s set menu nights (usually midweek) offer outstanding value for the quality of the cooking and the cellar. It’s also one of the few Richmond restaurants where you can have a genuinely quiet, grown-up meal without competing with a thumping soundtrack.

5. Thy Thy Counter & Canteen

60–66 Victoria Street, Richmond VIC 3121 | Contemporary Vietnamese | $15–30 per dish

The original Thy Thai opened in 1980 and was one of the very first Vietnamese restaurants on Victoria Street. It closed, the owners stepped away, and for years Melburnians mourned the loss. Then, in 2021, the Le family brought it back — not as a replica, but as a contemporary reinvention at a new address on the same strip.

Thy Thy Counter & Canteen sits on Victoria Street and looks nothing like its predecessor. The fit-out is retro-modern: think clean tiles, bold colours, and a canteen-style ordering counter. But the food honours the lineage. It’s Vietnamese as told by a family that’s been cooking it for over forty years, with a generational confidence that no amount of culinary school training can replicate.

Signature dishes: The pho — still the benchmark on the strip — arrives with a broth that’s been simmered for sixteen hours, deeply aromatic without being heavy. The bo la lot (grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves) is smoky and fragrant, served with fresh herbs and nuoc cham. For something different, the banh flan (Vietnamese crème caramel) is a perfect, jiggly dessert that closes the meal with sweetness and restraint.

The vibe: Casual, quick, and unpretentious. This is a counter-service spot — you order, you sit, you eat, and the food arrives fast. Perfect for weeknight dinners when you want something real without the faff.

Worth knowing: Victoria Street between Church Street and Burnley Street remains Melbourne’s spiritual home for Vietnamese food. Thy Thy sits in excellent company, with spots like Borsch Vodka Tears, Miss Ping’s, and Pho Tam all within walking distance. If you’re exploring the strip, make an afternoon of it.

6. Cochin Wine Bar & Restaurant

256 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121 | Vietnamese-French | $25–50 per dish

Cochin is the restaurant that answers the question: what happens when you cross a French wine bar with a Vietnamese kitchen? The answer, it turns out, is one of the most delightful dining experiences on Swan Street.

Named after the port city in southern Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City) where French colonial and Vietnamese culinary traditions have been intertwined for over a century, Cochin takes that fusion seriously without taking itself too seriously. The wine list is thoughtful — French and Australian bottles, a solid by-the-glass selection — and the food walks the line between both traditions with genuine fluency.

Signature dishes: The “feed me” menu ($65 per person) is the move — it takes the guesswork out and lets the kitchen send out a curated spread. Expect dishes like lemongrass chicken caramel, pork belly with pickled mustard greens, and a stellar beef rendang that borrows from the broader Southeast Asian pantry. The charcuterie offerings nod to the French side of things, and they pair beautifully with a glass of Côtes du Rhône.

The vibe: Relaxed, convivial, slightly bohemian. Cochin feels like a neighbourhood wine bar that happens to serve exceptional Vietnamese food. It’s busy without being frantic, and the staff are genuinely passionate about the wine list.

Worth knowing: Lunch service Thursday through Sunday is the hidden gem — less crowded, same food, and you can snag a table by the window. Dinner Tuesday to Sunday from 4pm. The pet-friendly outdoor area is a bonus on Melbourne’s shoulder-season evenings.

🍽️ Quick Poll: What’s your go-to Richmond food street?

A) Swan Street — the full stretch B) Victoria Street — Vietnamese strip, no contest C) Bridge Road — the quiet achiever D) Church Street, Richmond — underrated

Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Instagram @melbzfood.

What We Skipped and Why

Every guide like this involves hard calls. Here’s what didn’t make the cut and why:

The Young Victoria Hotel — Still solid pub food, but this guide is about destination dining, not “pretty good for a pub.” If you want a steak and a pint after the footy, it’s there. It just doesn’t belong alongside Minamishima.

Fast-casual chains along Bridge Road — Richmond’s Bridge Road outlet scene has nothing to do with this article. We’re here for kitchens, not discount racks.

Pop-ups and rotating concepts — Several promising pop-ups have appeared in Richmond in early 2026, but we only include restaurants with a permanent home and a track record. Check our monthly roundup for temporary openings.

Restaurants that closed in 2025 — A handful of well-known Richmond spots served their last meals last year. We don’t include closed restaurants. If they reopen under new ownership, we’ll reassess.

Pure bar/snack venues — Wine bars and cocktail spots that only serve small bites aren’t restaurants in our book. We love them, but they belong in our drinks guide.

🗺️ Plan Your Richmond Food Crawl

Pro tip: Start with drinks and banh mi fingers at Hanoi Hannah New Quarter on Swan Street, walk east to Cochin for a glass of wine and two shared plates, then head north to Bridge Road for the main event at Anchovy. If you’ve got room (and bookings), finish at Noir for cheese and a nightcap.

The Bigger Picture: Richmond’s Food Identity

Richmond’s dining scene in 2026 is defined by two forces pulling in different directions. On one side, you’ve got Victoria Street — the strip that put Richmond on the food map — still delivering genuinely excellent Vietnamese food at prices that the rest of inner Melbourne can’t match. On the other, Swan Street has evolved into a more diverse corridor, with Japanese omakase, French bistros, and modern Vietnamese sharing plates all vying for the same diners.

The result is a suburb that can feed you at almost any price point and mood. A $25 pho at Thy Thy, a $325 omakase at Minamishima, a $65 feed-me menu at Cochin — all within a fifteen-minute walk of each other. That range is rare, and it’s what makes Richmond one of Melbourne’s most rewarding eating suburbs.

If you’re coming from Cremorne (just across the river), you’ll find the dining more spread out and business-lunch focused. Collingwood to the north shares some of Richmond’s experimental energy but trades the Vietnamese influence for more Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours. And South Yarra to the south-west brings a higher price tag and more polished fit-outs, though the food quality is often a toss-up.

Richmond, for now, holds the balance. It’s got the depth, the diversity, and the prices to prove it.

📊 Price Guide at a Glance

📝 Before You Go: Good to Know

• Bookings: Minamishima and Anchovy require advance bookings — sometimes weeks ahead. Hanoi Hannah, Cochin, and Thy Thy are more walk-in friendly, but weekends fill up.
• Vegetarian options: Noir and Cochin have the strongest vegetarian offerings. Minamishima does not accommodate dietary restrictions easily (it’s omakase — the chef decides).
• Accessibility: All six restaurants have ground-floor access. Thy Thy Counter & Canteen is the most accessible format (counter service, no stairs).
• Parking: Richmond is a nightmare for parking, especially on Swan Street near the MCG. Take the train to Richmond Station or East Richmond, or ride-share.

That’s the list. Richmond is doing the thing it’s always done — feeding people well, at every level, without pretence. See you on Swan Street.

— Jules Marchetti, Senior Food Editor, MELBZ