Making the long-overdue, but increasingly relevant case that Richmond is not just home to cheap and cheerful pho, noodles and other Vietnamese fare, Anchovy is a very modern and very welcome addition to Bridge Road. While its utilitarian threads – stark white walls and hanging bulbs over two communal dining tables and bar seating – leave the kitchen to do the talking, we very much like what chef Thi Le has to say.

Having worked with chefs unafraid of bold flavours (Christine Manfield in Sydney, Andrew McConnell here) her menu – billed as modern Asian, modern Australian and a little bit in between – shows a similarly unapologetic devotion to refined plating of big tastes.

Such as creamy blood pudding that comes as a crisp fried rectangle served on a small lettuce leaf that’s teamed with slivers of pickled ginger to cut through the richness, with fresh herbs and the cool crispness of the lettuce completing a magic mouthful.

There’s sublime rice paper rolls that team ocean trout, fresh coconut and pomelo are vibrantly fresh, while meaty clams swimming in a turmeric broth sing of the salty sea, with fresh red chilli and dill adding verve and colour. Cauliflower fried “rice”, all charred nuttiness studded with heady lap cheong sausage and shredded cabbage and chilli jam is a side dish that’s headline worthy, but so, too, is that desserts (rarely a highlight in this neck of the woods) are great. Pillow-soft slices of poached quince and cubes of quince jelly come hidden under a puffer jacket of light lemon curd studded with white chocolate crumbs.

Drinks are equally classy, with the super tight list of wines chosen with care and cocktails, which include an excellent martini served with namesake fish on the side, are shaken with style.

Anchovy is a polished offering that’s redefining what dining Asian means in Richmond today, and heralds exciting times, long overdue.

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Tel: (03) 9428 3526