Melbourne has a wide range of restaurants, with a high concentration within walking distance of the city center. Chinatown offers Chinese food as well as some Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and Vietnamese offerings. Head to Carlton for Italian, Richmond for Greek and more Vietnamese, and Fitzroy for cheap Asian, Turkish, Mediterranean and vegetarian food. Chapel Street and Toorak Road in South Yarra offer high-class restaurants, while St Kilda’s Fitzroy and Acland streets have long been popular for their diverse array of eateries.
The restaurants below have been classed into
four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over A$70)
$$$ (A$51 to A$70)
$$ (A$31 to A$50)
$ (up to A$30)
These prices are based on a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of house wine or equivalent, and includes tax and service. Tipping is optional.
GourmetCirca, the PrinceThick pink curtains, evocative lighting and an innovative ‘modern’ menu that includes exquisite seafood and game dishes make Circa a top-notch thriller in the Melbourne gourmet stakes. A constant award-winner, Circa is open for a casual breakfast and lunch, and a more formal dinner. Expect to find anything from duck prosciutto to smoked eel - for the latest menu click on the website.
2 Acland Street, St Kilda
Tel: (03) 9536 1122.
Website:
www.circa.com.au Price: $$$$
Taxi Dining RoomOne of Melbourne’s top restaurants, the Taxi Dining Room is light, bright and serves up plenty of sushi as well as filling Western-style meals with a Far East twist, from Atlantic salmon to roast rabbit. The dining room has the best views in Federation Square, with high ceilings sporting huge windows overlooking Southbank and St Kilda Road.
Transport Hotel, Federation Square
Tel: (03) 9654 8808.
Website:
www.transporthotel.com.au Price: $$$$
Vue de Monde If you yearn for ancient French dishes, with a modern makeover, then this fine-dining venue will certainly impress with its inventive recipes prepared with fresh, high-quality ingredients and great skill. The chef, Shannon Bennett, worked under Marco Pierre White in London, and he offers a truly stunning five- to fourteen-course Menu Gourmand for both lunch and dinner.
430 Little Collins Street
Tel: (03) 9691 3888.
Website:
www.vuedemonde.com.au Price: $$$$
TrendyChocolate Buddha Creative Australian-influenced Japanese organic noodles and soba dishes go down well with the hungry crowds that gather at stylish Federation Square. The tables are communal, the atmosphere is frantic on occasion, and, importantly, the food gets consistently good reviews. Try the Bloody Mary sake cocktail if you dare.
Federation Square, corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Street
Tel: (03) 9654 5688.
Website:
www.chocolatebuddha.com.au Price: $$
Fifteen Melbourne
Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Foundation charity follows the now well tried recipe, which sees disadvantaged young people being trained by experienced chefs. Under the supervision of executive head chef Tobie Puttock, the new recruits are doing well, using the finest Australian ingredients to best effect and dishing out tasty modern Mediterranean dishes.
Basement, 115-117 Collins Street
Tel: 1300 799 415.
Website:
www.fifteenmelbourne.com.au Price: $$$
Mecca Bah Expect sweet potato falafels, spicy Turkish kofte, scrumptious Turkish pizzas and velvety Turkish coffee ice cream at this casual, airy restaurant overlooking the Yarra River. Located in the Docklands, just a short tram ride from the city, Mecca Bah comes highly recommended for its good-value, yummy food and its appealing wine list.
55A Newquay Promenade, Docklands
Tel: (03) 9642 1300.
Website:
www.meccabah.com Price: $$
BudgetCafé SegoviaSmall and welcoming, Café Segovia is a bohemian institution serving scrummy foccacias, coffee, cakes and light meals.
33 Block Place, off Collins Street
Tel: (03) 9650 2373.
Price: $
La PorchettaTerrific pizzas and plenty of delicious pasta and risotto dishes are the deal in this popular, buzzing Italian eatery that lacks pretentiousness. It’s one of an ever-expanding chain, but its growth attests to its immense popularity.
33 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Tel: (03) 9525 3344.
Website:
www.laporchetta.com.au Price: $$
Nudel BarThere are noodles and there are noodles. Here, they come wet, cold, ’wokked’ and in broth and, just to make things more interesting, a whole range of pasta dishes come out of the kitchen too. It’s a wacky mixture of Asian and Italian that works. Convenient and quick, the cheerful Nudel Bar has plenty of hearty vegetarian options and a pleasing by-the-glass wine list.
76 Bourke Street
Tel: (03) 9662 9100.
Price: $$
Pint on PuntThis easygoing hotel cum bistro/pub offers backpacker accommodation and cheap nourishing meals. The food goes way beyond standard pub grub, with juicy steaks, salmon tortillas, chilli mussels and warm tandoori salad on the menu.
42 Punt Road, Windsor
Tel: (03) 9510 3310.
Website:
www.pintonpunt.com.au Price: $
Sheni’s CurriesThis tiny, earthy place sees eager crowds queuing for takeaway Sri Lankan curries at lunch times and the early birds hogging the seats. Authentic, flavorsome and hot value for money.
Shop 16, 161 Collins Street
Tel: (03) 9654 3535.
Price: $
Personal RecommendationsDonovansA smart interior, oodles of soft cushions and magical sea views make Donovans a very pleasant place to taste some of Melbourne’s freshest seafood. It’s homely inside - but what a home! The views across Port Phillip Bay are enough to stimulate any appetite for the lip-smacking dishes being ferried out of the kitchen, from warm baked oysters and wild barramundi to organic pork chops and succulent lamb shanks.
40 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda
Tel: (03) 9534 8221.
Website:
www.donovanshouse.com.au Price: $$$
Flower DrumChinatown’s premier Cantonese restaurant is certainly up there with the best in Australia. Don’t go past the signature dish, the magnificent Peking duck, and if you’ve never tasted abalone, a large sought-after shellfish, then this is the place. The service is courteous, the interior pleasant, and there’s an impressive wine list too.
17 Market Lane
Tel: (03) 9662 3655.
Price: $$$$
Hopetoun Tea RoomsThese refined tea rooms have been pouring pots of tea since 1892. Pop in for heavenly cakes and scones and a belly-warming cuppa.
Shops 1 & 2 Block Arcade, off Collins Street
Tel: (03) 9650 2777.
Price: $
Pireaus BluesThe best Greek food this side of Athens features live Greek music several times each week, along with authentic Greek dishes including rabbit casserole, saganaki and of course, souvlaki. It’s food like Mamma used to make - in fact Mamma’s in the kitchen, and there are the family snaps on the bright yellow walls. All in all, it’s good, home-cooked grub in a friendly environment.
310 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Tel: (03) 9417 0222.
Website:
www.pireausblues.com.au Price: $$$
Nightlife:Melbourne is Australia’s bar capital and hub of live music. With the addition of a rockin’ clubland, the city covers all styles and caters to all tastes. The central business district not only serves its after-work drinkers but also attracts a young, trendy crowd of inner-city professionals. Many of Melbourne’s smarter bars are tucked away in the city’s numerous narrow lanes. Across the Yarra River, Southgate provides the arts precinct with a strip of bars with riverside views.
Many Melbourne venues function variously as bars, clubs and live-music rooms, depending on the night and the hour. The varied nature of the bars and clubs means that the dress code also varies enormously - generally the trendier the place, the stricter the dress code. The snooty trend of vetting customers according to style is unfortunately apparent in some parts of cosmopolitan Melbourne. Entrance to most clubs is free but a fee may be applicable on weekends.
Gay Melbourne has an established presence in the inner suburb of South Yarra, with various pubs, clubs and discos clustered around Commercial Road. Other inner-city districts, such as Fitzroy and St Kilda, by Port Philip Bay, feature further options for a city that loves to be out after dark. Very relaxed licensing hours mean that it is possible to drink through the night. The minimum drinking age is 18 years.
Free listings magazines include
Inpress and
Beat. Friday’s
Age newspaper contains the entertainment listings supplement
EG. Information is available online (website:
www.streetsofmelbourne.com.au or
http://melbourne.citysearch.com.au).
Bars: Centrally located cocktail bars include the popular and ultra-glam
Chaise Lounge, 105 Queen Street, and the very smart
Hairy Canary, 212 Little Collins Street. The sumptuous Chesterfield lounges of the
Melbourne Supper Club, 161 Spring Street, are also a great place to enjoy cocktails and an impressive array of wines, as is the renowned
Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar, 333 Lygon Street, in Carlton, Melbourne’s ’Little Italy’. Fans of the ubiquitous Irish bar should head to
Bridie O’Reillys, 62 Little Collins Street, for a huge range of beers and live music most nights.
More discerning drinkers might swoon at the Thai eatery, beer hall, and slick cocktail bar found at
Cookie, 252 Swanston Street, while those in their 20s will get a kick out of a tiny laneway bar called
The Croft Institute, 21-25 Croft Alley, which is famous for its cocktails and collections of laboratory apparatus. One of the most popular bars in Southgate is
Walter’s Wine Bar, Upper Level, Southgate, noted for its fabulous wines, good food and sterling views. The beachside outpost of St Kilda is home to the
Belgian Beer Café Bluestone, 557 St Kilda Road, which serves up excellent full-bodied Belgium beers in a merry atmosphere.
Clubs: Within Melbourne’s CBD, the
Metro,
20-30 Bourke Street, is a large venue that offers a wide variety of musical styles on different nights. Turning on smooth clubbing nights too with its curvaceous bar is
The Prince of Wales, 29 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. Some of the best international and local DJs regularly spin their tunes here.
Rotating guest DJs attract the party set to
Room 680, 680 Glenferrie Road (website:
www.room680.com), in inner-eastern Hawthorn. The entertainment at
Revolver Upstairs, 229 Chapel Street, Prahran (website:
www.revolverupstairs.com.au), ranges from breakbeat and drum’n’bass to soul and funk, featuring top DJs. Many of the biggest international touring DJs play house, funk and R&B at
QBH, 1 Queensbridge Street, South Melbourne. Another club making waves is
Seven, 52 Albert Road, South Melbourne. It boasts four distinct rooms and serves up quality dance music and a diversity of pumping beats.
Live Music: On the city’s north side, you can see alternative bands, including interstate and international acts, at
The Tote, 71 Johnston Street, Collingwood (website:
www.thetotehotel.com), while heavier punk-style acts often perform at
The Arthouse (website:
www.thearthouse.com), 616 Elizabeth Street.
The Corner Hotel, 57 Swan Street, Richmond (website:
www.cornerhotel.com), is another large band venue that books acts of all kinds.
In St Kilda, the legendary ’Espy’,
The Esplanade Hotel, 11 Upper Esplanade (website:
www.espy.com.au), is probably Australia’s most famous alternative and rock music venue, featuring a big line-up of bands most nights, as well as regular comedy shows. Nearby, the
Prince Bandroom, 29 Fitzroy Street (website:
www.princebandroom.com.au), hosts the cream of local, interstate and international acts, as well as club nights. In the CBD,
Bennetts Lane, 25 Bennetts Lane (website:
www.bennettslane.com), is Melbourne’s prime spot for jazz artists, both Australian and international.
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