March 21, 2026
When we first arrived in Melbourne, I thought Tom Phat looked so cool. It maintains the same vibe 20 years later, and I still think it looks pretty cool. That said, we've had some really mixed experiences, both within and between meals, and it has never really earned our loyalty. We've popped in for the odd late-night espresso martini or dietary-friendly friend date since our 2016 anniversary post and not been moved to document them. But we can't resist a longitudinal analysis, so here we are, back blogging Tom Phat in 2026.
Tom Phat continues to cover the larger floor space it had expanded to by 2016, and it is filled pretty effectively on a Saturday night. Tom Phat used to be an all-hours venue, from brunch to late-night cocktails, but now it's strictly a dinner-and-drinks affair. The drinks are good fun! A dozen cocktails and four mocktails focus on south-east Asian flavours, with numerous tropical fruits, lemongrass, and ginger.
It was harder than we expected to order dishes we'd had before; tempeh, in particular, seemed to be off the menu. The hoisin tofu baos ($14) were a fun and tasty DIY experience, with more pickley bits than we could fit into the buns. The grilled roti with satay sauce ($12) is one of the few menu fixtures and sadly one of the least inspiring, with little flakiness or toastiness.
The choo chee curry with rice ($24) has a tofu option for the veg*ns, and it's an enjoyable if not memorable coconut milk-based curry with a good variety of vegetables.
Kung pao cauliflower ($24) was another new-to-us menu item, a bit spicy and plenty sweet, with lovely roasted cashews. The cauliflower florets were thickly battered, the effect was too heavy, and we didn't make it through the whole plate.
I had vowed to order the banana roti pancake for dessert if it was still around, but it was blessedly absent. While the menu has technically changed, this version of Tom Phat didn't really offer us anything new.
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Tom Phat
184 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
9121 3377
Accessibility: Tom Phat has a small ramp on entry. Tables are aligned through the length of the building with a corridor through that starts off wide but gets a little more crowded towards the end. Furniture is a densely-arranged array of regular-height tables with backed chairs and bench seats. There is a disability-marked toilet out back. We ordered at our table and paid afterwards at the low-ish counter.
