Restaurants in Melbourne

Jessi and Jenny Singh have quickly created a very popular Indian eatery that’s fun and noisy and focuses on good food. You’ll find curries of all kinds, Indian street food, and good service. Don’t skip dessert; go for a simple Kulfi ice-cream, served on a skewer. There’s a good…

If Flower Drum is full or strains your budget, try this more budget-friendly place, esteemed by both the Chinese community and local business big shots. The service is a pleasure, and the food is definitely worth writing home about. The waiters will help you construct a feast from…

Tucked away on a quiet lane, this favorite of Melbournians consistently lives up to its many awards and accolades. Here you find stylish service and stylish customers, all without pretension. The cuisine mixes Italian favors with Australian flair. Try the roast duck with grappa…

Don’t be daunted by the crowds around the cake counters—and there will be crowds! This is a real Italian/Melbourne experience. A move—just around the corner onto the main drag of Lygon Street—in mid-2012 has seen some changes, but the essence of Brunetti remains the same. New are the…

This place offers mostly organic produce, including some organic wines. Based generally on Japanese-inspired noodle, ramen, and soba dishes to which the kitchen adds meat, chicken, or seafood, it’s casual yet satisfying dining. The best way to eat here is to order dishes to share.…

It’s difficult enough to get a table at this wonderful but understated place, which doesn’t take bookings for dinner, without encouraging more people to line up. But I’d be depriving you of a terrific night out if I kept quiet. So if you’re looking for somewhere that’s intimate,…

Watching the sun go down over St. Kilda beach from the veranda at Donovans (with glass in hand) is a perfect way to end the day. Gail and Kevin Donovan have transformed a 1920s bathing pavilion into a welcoming restaurant designed to make you feel as if you’re a guest in the Donovan…

Praise pours in from all quarters for this upscale restaurant just off Little Bourke Street, Chinatown’s main drag. Take a slow elevator up to the restaurant, which has widely spaced tables (perfect for politicians and businesspeople to clinch their deals). Take note of the…

Under the management of the Grossi family, this is probably the best Italian restaurant in Melbourne. It has a casual bistro downstairs, next to the Cellar Bar (where a bowl of pasta on the bar menu is less than A$20); upstairs is the fine-dining restaurant, with its chandeliers and…

The first cup of tea served in this Melbourne institution left the pot in 1892. The Hopetoun Tea Rooms is very genteel, with green-and-white Regency wallpaper and marble tables, but the fine china has gone by the wayside in favor of rather chunky cups, and the sugar comes in paper…

Walk into Il Bacaro and you’ll experience a little piece of Venice. Dominated by a horseshoe-shaped bar, it’s jam-packed with small tables and weaving waiters carrying interesting dishes such as Roman-style braised goat with tomato, green beans, potato, and truffled pecorino. The…

This below-ground restaurant consists of two parts. The casual bistro or caffeteria has a blackboard menu offering good pastas, soups, and salads. Then there’s the sharper and more upmarket trattoria, with an à la carte menu of northern Italian dishes offering the likes of…

Though you’ll find plenty of Japanese sushi and noodle bars around Chinatown, there’s nothing quite like raw fish with a bit of panache. Koko’s decor is contemporary-traditional, with a goldfish pond in the center of the main dining room and wonderful views over the city. There are…

Kebab joints are a fixture in most world cities. But a refined restaurant that introduces diners to the complexity and breadth of Middle Eastern cuisine? That rarity, in Melbourne at least, is named Maha (for the wife of chef Shane Delia) and it's upturning diners' expectations for…

Opened in the 1980s by two Italian-Australian friends, both called Mario, this place has ambience, groovy decor, and impeccable service. There is little here you can fault, including the food. Offerings include a range of pastas (like gnocchi with pancetta, peas, basil, tomato, and…

Barcelona-born chef and co-owner Frank Camorra has made MoVida one of the most talked-about restaurants in Melbourne. His restaurant reflects the spirit of Spain, relaxed and fun, with seriously good food and good wine. Melbournians flock here, and it’s truly one of those places I…

A favorite among city slickers, the Nudel Bar serves a variety of noodle dishes—from Italian to Asian—to diners at the crowded tables and bar. Examples include cold, spicy green-tea noodles and mie goreng (a Malaysian noodle dish with peanuts and, here, often chicken). The signature…

If you like your pizza thin and crisp, made from organic or gluten-free flour and adorned with tasty organic toppings, then this 1950s-style diner is the place for you. Some unlikely combinations include the “green” pizza—topped with zucchini, ricotta, mint, garlic, and lemon (with…

Good vegetarian food isn’t just a meal without meat; it’s a creation in its own right. At Shakahari you’re assured a creative meal that’s not at all bland. The large restaurant is quite low-key, and there’s a lovely courtyard out the back. The signature satay dish—skewered, lightly…

This small, basic, very busy place seats only 30 and offers a range of authentic, excellent-value Sri Lankan curries. You can dine in or take your lunch special to go. Choose from three vegetable dishes and a selection of meat and seafood options. All meals come with rice, three…

Head here if you get the Chinese-food munchies late at night. It’s a friendly place with a mixed crowd of locals and tourists chowing down on such dishes as steaming bowls of congee (rice-based porridge), barbecued suckling pig, mud crab, or stuffed scallops. Everything here is the…

The large restaurant at this Tudor-style pub on the seafront is very popular, and the outdoor beer garden overlooking the sea is hard to beat on a sunny day. This sprawling old hotel—looking better than ever after a spruce-up—has a large terrace area at the back, so you can enjoy the…

Melbourne’s oldest and most famous pub is a great place to stop in for a drink in the bar or a meal in the stylish upstairs restaurant or bistro areas. It’s a landmark on the corner opposite Federation Square and Flinders Street Station. Head upstairs to see the nude Chloe, the…