Local Chook — Restaurant in Melbourne

Came expecting some Viet fud, walked away satisfied from a smorgasbord of Oriental flavours.

Ordered the "Feed Me" menu, which consisted of a serve of Coconut Prawns, Pork Bao*, Red Chicken Curry, a sizzling plate of Scotch Fillet in Plum sauce, Green Apple & Papaya Salad, and a serve of Salt & Pepper Calamari. Half expecting it to be scaled down (there were only two of us), colour us surprised when more then generous portions were served.

*Though do check the bao! First came a pair of steamed pork buns, expecting a serve of the sandwich style baos. But thank you Local chook for letting us try a serve of the bao anyways, despite the confusion.

The sheer size of the feed me left us very satisfied and with plenty of left overs for days. A good mix of flavours, from the tanginess of the Papaya Salad, to the spices of the curry, and subtle sweetness of the beef. Plenty to enjoy for everyone's tastes.

To top off the great food, was the more than exemplary service. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful, and up for a good banter. Our first time here was for a quick take away Salad. We left without getting the dressing, and credit where credit's due, one of the staff came running after us!

...all in all. Great night out. And still perplexed by the name. But don't let that take anything away...

I was part of a small group who had been to the movies and then decided we wanted pho for dinner. One of our group had walked past Local Chook, and thought it looked great - they were right! We didn’t have a booking, but were invited to wait, and were soon seated. We ordered some small plates to share, and each got a bowl of pho. The staff member came back to us to offer to add extras to our small plates, so that we could each have a portion. I’m not sure if we were charged extra for these or not, but I thought even the offer was great customer service. Our food was delicious, and arrived quickly, and piping hot. I will say, I found the restaurant quite loud, as there were a number of large groups who were obviously having a great time. That was manageable, but I think it’s worth being aware of. I guess it would be quieter other nights, or earlier in the day. There is a small step up into the restaurant and the tables are quite close together. I did see staff providing a high chair for a group with a baby. I would certainly return to Local Chook, I thought the food and service...

The Local Chook is a delicious Vietnamese restaurant hidden gem in Hall Street.

After previously ordering (and loving it) through Uber Eats, I decided to go in person this time around, and will be doing that every time from now on!

The restaurant has a fun vibe with decorations to match, kind service staff and the food was fresh, full of flavour and served in large portions.

I ate with one other person and we got the Feed Me set ($49.50pp at lunch time for min 2 people) and had so much that we both took a container home of leftovers at the end.

The set came with a mix of spring rolls, pork bao and crispy coconut prawns for entree, followed by a papaya salad, yellow chicken curry (which we substituted for fish), calamari and rice for the main.

For my taste, it wasn’t spicy enough, but probably well suited to the usual crowd who would visit.

Including the bottle of wine we got, it came to about $80 each, which was so reasonable for all it offered.

On top of all that, the gentleman serving us was also very kind and attentive.

Would recommend it and will be...