Phuoc Thanh Bakery Richmond — Restaurant in Melbourne

I'm not a gambling man, but I would bet the house that Phuoc Thanh is the best baker for a cheeky Banh Mi.

If you’re currently reading the reviews to see if this place is worth trying, then buckle up and let this review be the one to read.

For context, I’ve frequented many Banh Mi places in Melbourne and Vietnam, and there’s only a handful of places that I can count on one hand that makes me beg for another one right away. Phuoc Thanh is one of those places.

As a patron, you’ll most likely be waiting in line that would give the Great Wall of China a run for its length. Despite the long que, the wait time is deceptively quick – a clear reflection of how streamlined the operation is. Unlike many places, this place screams order, not chaos!

By the time you reach the front of the line, you get blessed with the authentic Vietnamese smell of baking. The smell gets you excited and serves as a great reminder why you’d be a fool if you didn’t line up.

When you place an order, the staff wastes no time and hits you with the infamous question – “chili, or no chili?”. From my observation, the moment a regular makes an order, the staff already has your taste profiles banked in their subconscious memories – a sight to behold when your order is already on the conveyor belt, primed to go. No time wasted.

From the moment you take your first bite, to when you finish, is a rollercoaster of emotions. You experience overwhelming joy the moment you whet your appetite with that first bite, but then you shed a tear when you become aware that you are on the last quarter of your roll; realising that you should’ve listened to the sin of Gluttony and ordered two Banh Mis instead of one.

Now you’re looking at yourself, your stomach, the line, and asking yourself the deep philosophical question intellectual heavyweights struggle with – “is it worth it to line up again?”. The answer to that my friends – is a resounding yes.

My usual order is the Mixed ham / Cold meat Banh Mi. The explosion of authentic Vietnamese flavour brings Mr. Ho Chi Minh to your doorsteps. The homemade pate and butter spread on the bread roll is something to fight for. It should be illegal to keep this recipe to themselves. The bread roll itself is clearly baked with love and finesse. Truly a perfect blend of flour, wheat and whatever goes into making this.

Finally, the coup de grace of the Banh Mi is the tailored service. These guys hold the gold standard as Banh Mi connoisseurs. They will examine what it is you like (and don’t like), and tailor it to your taste preferences. If they get it wrong, you can be damn sure that the next Banh Mi you get will have evolved to levels beyond what a human taste bud can...

March 2024 Update

I went here for a Bahn Mi. The service was ok, I guess. The staff weren't engaging or interested in my order, really.

This place has been really busy since it had a positive broadsheet review.

Unfortunately, the food was very average, to say the least.

My chicken Banh Mi was tasteless, to be honest. The ingredients were light on, and there was no flavour.

Despite asking for chilli, there was no chilli. My Banh Mi was greasy.

The prices have increased a lot, as this place used to be cheap. There is a lot of staff standing around chatting.

And now they just pump out the food without any attention to detail.

Previous review 2021

This bread shop bakes its own bread on site, so you know that the bread rolls are always fresh.

So it was time to go back. The service was good and efficient.

My crispy pork bahn mi was fantastic, with some fresh salad, and the pork was juicy and crispy. Yum! Not forgetting to mention my crispy roll. I would have liked some more spice, but I should have asked for more.

My partners tofu salad roll was equally as good, and we both polished off our banh mi's in no time.

This place is back, and it's definitely worth a visit.

Last review - October 2019 I haven’t been here in a while, so it was time to revisit this place. My last visit was definitely a 5/5 experience, but this visit at lunchtime just didn’t hit the mark.

The service was very good, the bread roll was ok, and my pork belly, well it was really average and the salad just ok.

The roll overall tasted alright, but I was asked if I wanted Chilli, and I said yes, please, w gusto, haha. But maybe the waitress didn’t hear me because there was no spice.

I’ll go back once more, maybe, just in case I went on an average day, but what I was hoping for crispy bread roll and spice, w some fresh salad. And that...

Delicious! They had ran out of crispy pork (approx 2pm weekday) so I tried a bbq pork and a chicken roll.. and a Vietnamese coffee. The rolls were very crispy (and big I couldn't eat them both, I suggest eating fresh and not saving for later like I tried the roll loses its crunch but is still tasty) The workers in the shop are fast and efficient and somehow keep track of their customers order through the process, which must be difficult especially when people are altering orders from the given menu eg. no tomato, or extra onion and no butter etc. Staff seem unphased by this though and still manage it. They make sure to check with each customer if you want chili or not which I'm sure many appreciate! There was a long line out the front of the shop and it was busy inside which is what made me think this is a place you want to go. No sit down places to eat unfortunately. It was totally worth it though, delicious and affordable and everyone working there was friendly, approachable and hard working. Excellent Bahn Mi, well filled with veg, herbs, pate, meat of choice (or tofu) and tasty with every bite. Iced coffee was really yummy too. I could imagine them adding some soy/seasoned soy sprinkled on the roll (eg. Maggi seasoning which I've read is quite traditional for bahn mi and I add it when I make my own) but overall I couldn't fault it. Fresh and tasty and...