Buffalo Boy — Restaurant in Melbourne

With our fast looming trip to Vietnam 🇻🇳 this Southside venue has been high on my wish list all year.

Walking up to the restaurant the smells wafting in the walkway before we opened the door, teasing us with samples of flavours to come.

A mixed family early Saturday night last minute booking for 10pax at 6.15pm and we were pleasantly delighted by a lovely dining experience overall

We shared numerous plates and dishes were explained by trained friendly staff who knew their menu well

We tried everything on the smaller plates, apologies we were having such a lovely relaxing dinner I did not take many photos of the food & plating presentation.

All were delightful and delicious you’ll just have to take my word!

Our kids (5yrs to 21yrs) absolutely devoured the Pork Bao bun, Spring Rolls, bbq Chicken Satay skewers and crispy Chicken Wingettes

Prawn dumplings, salt and pepper lemon Calamari and bona fide Nahm Jim

The tie breaker for stand out dish was from Big plates. The Five spiced Pork Belly, honey soy, fennel and herb salad (purely from the amount of reorders) and the Massaman Lamb curry Slow braised w/ roasted peanuts, fried shallot, chat potato, lotus root, Thai basil and steamed jasmine rice purely because my teen reordered and declined politely to share it was so good!

On the Sides we ordered everything. A traditional crispy shallot Vietnamese slaw and the authentic nuoc cham sauce. Bowls of Jasmine rice. Delicious perfectly crispy sweet potato fries, chilli mayo and my necessary side, the oyster sauce seasonal green vegetables. I can eat a bowl of this as a meal with rice!

Not many drinkers tonight only 2 gorgeous arrival cocktails (Margarita & Lychee Martini both $20) and a glass of red wine ordered.

Everything was smooth, relaxing and fun. Atmosphere clearly set the pace for a great night.

Mot,...

We had an unfortunate experience here this evening which was made so by the rude FOH staff with zero custom service skills.

The service was totally rushed, we were in the restaurant for 45 minutes in total from sitting down to being back in our car. We ordered the $45pp feed me menu, and it came all almost at the same time inc starters and mains. Normally this kind of experience is supposed to be staggered with so much food and you can pace yourself and enjoy it.

The servers were so desperate to get us out of there and they hurried the food to us so quickly the guy dropped some of the curry on the floor. The rest of it was put down in a rushed manner. No asking how the food was or if we wanted more drinks or more water (basic hospo service??)

I have to say though the worst part was that while we were trying to eat the server started mopping the floor / closing up the restaurant and the whole room smelt like chemicals. It was so overpowering that it was in no way enjoyable to eat while he was doing this.

We felt so rushed we asked to take food home with us and had two plastic containers thrown down on the table with no comment. We actually found it so rude that me and my mum were laughing at just how oblivious the staff were of how much we weren’t enjoying the experience.

And to top it off- as we started to leave the restaurant the outdoor lights had already been turned off and we had to use our phone lights to get out the side. It was only 9:40pm…

Service honestly worst than what you’d expect at a fast food restaurant, not when you’re spending $180 and be in and out in 45 minutes.

A real shame as the food was actually good. Management - please train your staff or pay them more so they act like they care about working at...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Buffalo Boy and I must say, it was a fantastic experience! Despite not having a reservation, we were able to get a table and dive right into their 'feed me' set menu. The dishes were all bursting with flavour and the variety was impressive - I definitely left feeling very satisfied!

One thing that really stood out to me was how accommodating the staff were. I don't eat sashimi, but they were happy to swap it out for calamari. The massamum curry was delicious and the pork bao was delicious which ended up being a highlight of the meal. Although the inside of the restaurant was a bit cramped, it still had a cozy vibe that made for a great dining experience. Next time, I'd love to try sitting outside for a change of scenery.

The service was top-notch too - our servers were attentive and friendly throughout the meal, which really added to the overall positive experience. The only minor downside was the lemon lime bitters, which didn't quite hit the spot, but that was a small blip in an otherwise great evening.

All in all, I highly recommend Buffalo Boy to anyone looking for a delicious meal with great service in a cozy atmosphere. I'll definitely be back to try more...