Tan Thanh Loi

One of my favourite Vietnamese restaurants in Footscray. As mentioned in another review, this unassuming corner store has been around for yonks. At one stage, it was rivalling Nhu Lan bakery in terms of popularity until a health scare over 10 years ago meant it needed a change of ownership. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and I'm glad to say Tan Thanh Loi has risen from the ashes to reclaim its place as one of the best places for a Vietnamese style bbq pork roll ($5) in Melbourne. If you're after a sit down meal, they also do an awesome grilled pork broken rice dish and a grilled meats vermincelli noodles dish.

This place has been around for as long as I can recall, under different management. Theyre quite well known for the grilled pork. I was here a few days ago and was craving for the chicken grilled with broken rice, a typical Vietnamese dish that is filling and often cant go wrong if youre in the hub of Footscray. There was only 1 girl serving at the front for the walk-ins with bread takeway and serving the few diners like myself. Seeing how busy she was I went to grab the menu myself to have a look. Shortly afterwards there was another young lady who came out to serve, apologetic for the service. The food wasnt too long, 10 minutes waiting for it to come out and it was just perfect, exactly how I normally like it. The place isnt flash modern, fancy like a few others however you can get very decent authentic Vietnamese meals for a reasonable cost here.

I really enjoy the grill chicken bread rolls here. I haven't yet tried the other bread rolls as they're known to have good grilled chicken here and they sure do! The restaurant is also really great too if you want to sit down and eat. The service is mediocre, the food comes are quick and the quality is great.