New Quarter — Restaurant in Melbourne

When i heard about New Quarter from a friend, it was described as Authentic Vietnamese with a twist. Please make sure you make a booking prior to visiting (walk-ins are impossible at this famous restaurant). The set menus look great but we didn’t get it this time as neither of us had an appetite big enough for it - but would love to come back to check it out.

🫔Banh Mi Finger, Whipped Chicken Liver Pate, Chicken Skin The most perfect little bites to start us off on our modern Vietnamese meal. These were so dainty and simple, but packed full of flavour! The chicken liver pate was super smooth and tasty, i really appreciate how generous they were with it. The baguette part was so nice and crunchy, and flavours paired very well with the pickle and chicken skin, its flavours coming together to taste very similar to an actual banh mi. A little expensive for what it is but it was so worth it!

🥩Beef Tartare, Egg Yolk, Pho Jelly, Anchovy Tapioca Crisps My favourite dish of the night! So many elements and ingredients to it, so many flavours that complemented each other that gave that Vietnamese twist. The egg yolk made it all so creamy, the coriander so fragrant and the finely chopped red onions gave it a good crunch and that famous beef tartare element. The pho jelly was very interesting, it added so much flavour to the dish, truly amazing! It came with deep fried rice paper rolls that paired nicely with the beef tartare.

🍚Tumeric Fried Rice, Green Chilli Caviar, Confit Shallot, Tofu The fried rice was a little underwhelming, not as tasty as i’d hope it would be. The different textures and crunch made the fried rice really interesting. The confit shallots were super interesting and gave good crunch, so did the fried tofu chunks. The green chilli caviar was a first, have never seen this done and it really enhanced the flavour of this dish.

🍗Roasted Chicken, Fermented Chilli, Charred Lime Not going to lie, i was a little disappointed by this dish. The chicken was quite dry and not as tasty as i wished, i really thought they would nail something as simple as a roasted chicken here at New Quarter but I can’t say i loved this dish. The breast pieces were so dry, i had to dip the slices in the gravy it came with. The fermented chilli sauce was very flavourful but i wish they were more generous with it. Didn’t have enough for all the chicken.

Service was awesome but it was hard to get attention at times, we were keen on ordering cocktails halfway through the meal but struggled to catch anyone’s attention, so we gave up.

📸 Banh Mi Fingers, Beef Tartare, Tumeric Fried Rice,...

ORDERED: 🥪  Banh Mi Finger, whipped chicken liver pate, chicken skin ($9.00 each) 🍢  Nem Nuong, kebab style sausage skewer, flatbread, jaew ($10.00 each) 🍛  Kaffir lime cured cobia, nuoc nam gel, cucumber, betel leaf crackers ($25.00) 🧆 Mushroom buns, shiitake salt, mushroom pho gravy (2 pcs) ($18.00)

🍝 Black bean rice noodle, mushroom bean curd, water chestnut ($28.00) 🥔  Triple cooked potatoes, confit garlic, thai basil salt ($15.00)

🍮  Jasmine panna cotta, strawberries, lychee, pepperberry, meringue ($14.00) Whisky cake (complimentary)

I spent $92.95 here which included a drink, 10% sunday surcharge and card surcharge! I really appreciated how they made our desserts complimentary, with an additional Whisky cake for both my friend and my birthdays 😍 🎂

REVIEW: 💖  New Quarter presents a really interesting take on Vietnamese food. You've got really notable flavours such as the pate banh mi, the pho gravy, and the nem nuong with really modern, westernised takes. They're fun to eat as part of the entree, especially the savoury shiitake salt on the mushroom buns which was addictive!! The mains were sooo good too. The delicious savoury back bean rice noodles in a thickened gravy that is very typical of Vietnamese cuisine (i.e. I see the inspiration from the hu tieu kho). New Quarter have surpassed my expectations, and delivered their concept to an incredibly high standard. 🤩

➖  As great and delicious as the food is, I wouldn't be tempted to come back another time. My friend and I felt like we had tried every dish we wanted... so it's now up to New Quarter if they make any changes to the menu! 🤔

❌  Not a 5/5 experience because there were a couple of things that weren't perfect: Since the chicken liver pate focuses more on aesthetics than practicality, when you squish the bread together the filling oozes out. It's going to get everywhere: your hands, mouth and your plate. It would be nice if the bread was slightly larger to accommodate the squish! 😓 Similarly, since the flatbread has a small surface area it doesn't hold all the juices of nem nuong. It slowly drips down your fingers and down your hands. 💦

✔️  The staff take note of the messiness, and they spare no expense with providing new napkins with every switchover of course. Greatly appreciated!! ✔️  Atmosphere is casual and big. There's a grained image playing in a corner of the room, which reminds me of Firebird's concept. Really modern, adds a really interesting active creative element without being distracting....

We dined as a group of 8 and appreciated the flexibility to order à la carte instead of being locked into a set menu. The restaurant had a sleek, modern vibe, but our dining experience felt rushed - despite a 6:30pm booking, all dishes arrived in just two rapid rounds, and we were done by 7:30pm. Though we’d ordered plenty, it felt like a race rather than a meal, despite the waiter originally confirming a more spaced-out service.

Entrees Banh Mi Finger – Whipped chicken liver pâté, fried chicken skin ($9 each) – A creative nod to banh mi, with fluffy tiger roll bread and a generous spread of pâté. Chicken Sando – Cabbage slaw, hot sauce ($9 each) – Juicy fried chicken but too much sauce made it messy. Beef Tartare – Egg yolk, pho jelly, anchovy tapioca crisps ($27) – Enjoyed the dicey, more chunky pieces beef but needed more flavour. The pho jelly cubes could be smaller for better balance, and the anchovy crisps had an overpowering vinegar hit. Crispy Tofu – Kohlrabi, cabbage, tamarind, sesame, tomatillos ($24) – Crispy tofu and fresh veggies were great, but the sauce felt like it drenched the vegetables.

Mains Duck Floss Egg Noodles – Spring onion, chives, chili ($28) – had a great chewy texture and delicious sauce Tiger Prawn Noodles – Tamarind, white pepper ($30) – Spicy kick but packed with good prawn pieces. Charcoal Chicken – Chili, kaffir lime, yellow mango ($34) – Well-cooked chicken, but the sauce leaned a bit too citrusy and sour. Crispy Pork Belly – Banh hoi, sharing leaves, chili jam ($42) – A fun DIY dish, with pre-cut vermicelli pieces and condiments and generous pieces of pork belly Cha Ca Barramundi Fillet – Spring onion, burnt butter nuoc mam ($45) – Crispy skin and nice sauce Flank Steak (250g, MB4) – Bun bo hue jus, lemongrass ($45) – the steak was quite chewy, and the sauce could be a bit more flavourful Wok-Tossed Greens – Lemongrass sate, confit shallot ($15) – Another great gai lan dish with a flavourful sauce.

Obviously i know this was not in their control but to top it off, we spent as much time waiting to pay as we did eating haha - the EFTPOS machine was down, so we waited 30 minutes to settle the bill. While the food was flavourful, the rushed pacing really took away from...