Royal Saxon’s New Era: From Parma Nights to Vietnamese-Inspired Feasts
Richmond pubs have always had their charm with beers flowing, footy on the screen, and the inevitable parma wars. But Royal Saxon, the Church Street stalwart, has decided to flip the script. Once known for its after-work pints and late-night dance floor, the pub has quietly unveiled a new chapter with a menu that’s shaking things up in unexpected ways.
Head Chef Hoang Le has introduced a line-up that blends modern Australian pub staples with Vietnamese-inspired flair. Instead of your usual pub starter, the tasting menu kicks off with house focaccia topped with duck liver parfait, quickly followed by beetroot-cured salmon and a green prawn lettuce cup spiked with ginger nuoc cham. There’s sticky pork belly bao for the bao bun faithful and a clever reworking of Bo Kho, the Vietnamese braised beef cheek, here served alongside a toasted baguette. The finale? A silky banh flan crème caramel dressed with candied walnuts and berries. It’s not the pub feed Richmond expected, but it’s the one it didn’t know it needed.
Of course, the classics haven’t been forgotten. Hoang calls his approach “pub food done simply and done well,” and the rest of the menu proves it. Steak night on Tuesdays still pulls a loyal crowd, parma Thursdays remain intact, and there’s a rotating pasta-and-pinot special every Wednesday. For the indecisive, the “Feed Me” option at $54pp does the hard work for you.
The space itself has had a facelift too. Think an expanded open-air courtyard that feels like summer on tap, a three-metre screen made for AFL season, and that infamous upstairs dance floor still waiting for a late-night revival. DJs on Fridays and Saturdays keep things lively, while Sundays are reserved for the roast crowd.
If you’re looking for value, Saxon delivers. There’s an express lunch deal that gets you a main plus a drink for $25, happy hours every day of the week, and trivia on Mondays that dares you to back your useless knowledge with the chance of winning a $150 bar voucher.
What makes the Saxon stand out is its ability to juggle both sides of pub culture. One minute you’re tucking into foie gras-level parfait with your focaccia, the next you’re cheering on your footy team with a jug of beer and a steak sanga. It’s still your Richmond local, just refreshed and broadened, proving that a pub can do both comfort and creativity without losing its soul.
Royal Saxon is open seven days a week at 545 Church Street, Richmond.
Richmond pubs have always had their charm with beers flowing, footy on the screen, and the inevitable parma wars. But Royal Saxon, the Church Street stalwart, has decided to flip the script. Once known for its after-work pints and late-night dance floor, the pub has quietly unveiled a new chapter with a menu that’s shaking things up in unexpected ways.