Richmond’s favourite Thai restaurant.

“Not your average Thai. Not your average night out.”

Ladyboy Dining & Bar is Richmond Melbourne’s favourite Thai restaurant — landing on Bridge Road with one clear ambition: to do Thai food and cocktails the way Bangkok actually does them — loud, proud, and completely uncompromising. The name raised eyebrows. The food shut people up.

The room tells you everything before you sit down. A giant Buddha mural watches over a ceiling hung with Thai parasols. Exposed brick meets neon. Colourful pendant lights string across a dining room where the walls are covered in signatures from people who’ve been here before and will absolutely be back.

The kitchen keeps it honest. Pad Thai the way it should be. Slow-braised massaman that’s been on the stove long enough to be worth the wait. Soft shell crab sliders, crispy barramundi, and a Penang curry that’s been requested so many times it’s become part of the furniture. The banquet exists for a reason — the food is made to share.

Out back, there’s an open courtyard that’s become one of Richmond’s best-kept secrets — green, dog-friendly, and the right side of laneway energy. The bar runs all the way from a $10 happy hour spritz through to cocktails that take a little longer to make and are entirely worth it.

Ladyboy Dining is what happens when you stop trying to be refined and start trying to be good. Tuesday through Sunday, from 4:30pm.

Come hungry

Reservations available Tuesday through Sunday from 4:30pm