Press Release

Reopening of Anchovy: A Flavour Powerhouse Returns

Melbourne, 24 June 2024 – After a two-year hiatus, Anchovy is delighted to reopen its doors on Thursday 27 June 2024 to the public. This beloved Richmond eatery returns to the Melbourne culinary scene and its roots as a Viet Kieu: of a Vietnamese identity naturalised in Australia. 

Anchovy - known for its bold flavours, its innovation and its advocacy of Vietnamese cuisine and techniques – now captures the unique duality that is recognising our identity is neither native nor adopted but simply acculturated. The result is a venue that celebrates its coming of age with a dining experience that is at once familiar and whimsically unexpected.      

“We are thrilled to reopen our doors to welcome patrons who have missed the soul of Anchovy as well as customers who have not had the chance to dine with us previously,” says owners Thi Le and Jia-Yen Lee. “We have spent the past two years working on some personal projects and refining other aspects of our business. These ventures have given us pause to refine our direction of Anchovy. Its DNA remains but, like the teenager that left for their gap year, Anchovy has returned with a stronger sense of self and a deeper conviction in its identity as a Viet Kieu. Our goal remains to provide a dining experience that reflects the diversity of the Australian dining landscape overlaid with Vietnamese sensibilities.”

For now, guests can look forward to a menu anchored by noodles, a component integral to Vietnamese, and the wider South-East Asian, cuisine. Highlights include Casarecce, Lao sausage, snake beans, garlic chives; silver needle noodles, pine mushrooms & papaya relish; as well as stand-alone snacks such as raw mullet, persimmon and mắm tép, a fermented shrimp paste that has always been part of the kitchen’s favoured arsenal.

Like the good Asian child that never strays too far from the family home, Anchovy has taken up residence in its childhood room at 338 Bridge Road in Richmond. The mirrors and shelves on the wall remain sentinel for now, waiting to reflect the prodigal child’s newfound wisdom. The venue and a la carte menu remain best suited for solos and duos seeking an abbreviated night out or those simply in search of a fuss-free and nourishing meal. Bookings are available and walk-ins are very much welcome.

Anchovy re-joins its siblings Jeow and Ca Com along the folds of Bridge Road. Reservations are now open, and we invite everyone to join us in celebrating this exciting new chapter.

Anchovy – 338 Bridge Road, Richmond

Dinners only Wednesday to Saturday from 5.30pm