Hanoi Kitchen — Restaurant in Victoria

What a gem this place is. Location is prime, right on the corner of the top end of Barwon heads Main Street so you can look off down to the bridge and bay if seated outside. On arrival we were ushered to our seat by a very friendly and courteous waiter and given a choice of indoor or outdoor seating and then offered the menu and the wine list. The choice was varied with a choice between Pho to Moreton bay bugs to soups and noodles and specials also. Wine list included local beers and wines as well as options from overseas. We chose the Hanoi platter for 2 from the summer specials menu which had chicken wings, calamari, veggie spring rolls and pork rice paper rolls each with its own dipping sauce- $32 and absolutely devine!! Instructions were offered on how best to eat the dish and what sauce to dip each part of the dish into. The main dish we decided to share was the Bun Cha, consisting of rice noodles, fresh herbs, roast pork pieces, bean sprouts and a delicious bowl of sweet and spicy sauce with carrot in it. This was priced at $26 and was amazing also. We finally decided to share a dessert for $9 which was a coconut tapioca pudding topping with banana and black sesame toffee- we were completely stuffed at this point but had to finish it as it was so fabulous. We also had a glass of red wine Tempranillo- beautiful wine priced at $8.50 a glass. The decor was simple and elegant and the toilets were clean, unisex and wheelchair access friendly. I cannot wait to go back...

First of all, the food here was outstanding - the chicken rice paper rolls were incredibly tasty and full of fresh herbs, the green beans were tender and tangy and the BBQ pork bao buns were so delicious!

However the service we received from the host/manager really disturbed us. He was incredibly uninviting and didn’t go out of his way to be warm or inviting in anyway shape or form. Unfortunately the place was fully booked when we arrived but we were more than happy to get take-away and when we asked him if takeaway was possible, he responded with “yeah if you want” in an incredibly disinterested tone.

The host truely seemed like one of those owners who treats everyone who isn’t local with the upmost disrespect and although we have been coming down here for over 10 years - we still feel like second class citizens when entering a lot of these places. We really don’t expect much but some pleasant smiles.

Luckily we’ve never received this kind of behaviour with any of the younger waiters and waitresses - all of them are substantially younger than their owners yet twice as nice...

Shocking , food stale, waiter rude in the extreme, also asked to be out in 1.5 hr while others still eating , never go back , so not good, Flemington and Footscray superior this joint is not

Nick please do not assume I am making this up there were at least 5 tables still eating when we left . Out of politeness we decided to not argue after we sent rice paper rolls back as they were tough , indication of being made too early , the waiter argued with us telling it was our taste buds not the texture. He started out in a negative way pouting out the phone message was incorrect as your message indicated 8 pm he told me 7.30pm , possibly he was upset about fridge break down . As a patron I don’t argue with waiters neither do my friends, as a waiter he wanted to make a point he was right . I am a mature aged woman I don’t believe I have ever had a waiter speak to us in his style . . I would call you to discuss if you like , I do not have any intention of dragging this on Nick but please tell that waiter to respect patrons and leave his bad mood out the back ....