The dining room furnishings inside Melbourne's Natural History Bar and Grill are among the quirkiest of the city's trendsetting offerings
Melbourne is a city obsessed with food. Enviable produce, curious palates and adventurous chefs drive a culinary scene exploding with vibrancy, innovation and flavour. Whatever you’re craving – be it sticky tamarind chilli duck, cold-smoked swordfish with pine-nut gazpacho sorbet, ‘nduja-spiced wood-fired pizza or salted coconut gelato – you’ll find it, down a graffiti-pimped laneway, up unmarked stairs, or perhaps on a rooftop. Of course, hotspot restaurants are only part of a scene that includes bountiful delis, sizzling night markets and lo-fi eateries serving classics from across the globe. While there are no promises on the weather, impressive feeds are guaranteed.
For further Melbourne inspiration, see our guide to the city and its best hotels, bars, cafés, beaches, attractions and things to do for free. The city's theatre scene is also a perfect avenue to indulge in some Australian culture. A great place to start is Her Majesty's Theatre, a quintessential location known for its Victorian architecture and plush, grand auditorium. If you're looking to stay close by, there are plenty of comfortable and convenient hotels in Victoria near Her Majesty's Theatre Melbourne that offer superior services and facilities.
City Gimlet
Be lured in by the big night out big city decor – a little bit of Paris flash, a touch New York bombast, something of moody Berlin too – but come back for the extraordinary attention to detail in the menu and the savvy, sweet staff. They’ll have you at the crudites and seasonally-flavoured bagna cauda; the menu’s classics-with-a-twist will enchant while the groaning grills for the table, say Berkshire pork or dry-aged club steak, elicit audible oohs and ahhs. The winelist is as brave and occasionally provocative as food of this calibre demands – friendly, helpful sommeliers are on hand for advice or just good wine chat. Watching your wallet or dining alone? You’ll be made equally as welcome to have a glass or two and a nibble at the bar, or join after 10pm for that loveliest of things, a neat little supper menu.
Contact: gimlet.melbourne
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Tipo 00 - A Step Above the Rest
Discover the distinctive flavors of Italy with a visit to Tipo 00 - a pinnacle of Melbourne's dining scene. Standing in stark contrast to conventional Italian eateries that often stick to time-worn recipes, Tipo 00 promises an enchanting gastronomic journey that truly embraces the diversity of Italy's cuisines. The establishment draws attention with its arresting, artistically rendered floor designed by Aaron McKenzie, signalling a visual feast that complements the culinary one. Prepare to be dazzled by the open kitchen's innovative dishes like ox tongue that's been slow-cooked for a whole day, astonishingly harmonized with pink peppercorns and flavorful balsamic vinegar. Dive into generously portioned pappardelle, audaciously paired with succulent rabbit, aromatic marjoram, and crunchy hazelnuts.
Feel the summer's radiance with every bite of the grilled calamari, accentuated by heritage zucchinis and the tartness of pickled lemon. It's like tasting a sun-kissed afternoon in Sicily on your plate. When winter blankets Melbourne with its icy chill, embrace the warmth of Piedmontese delicacies featuring the seasonal truffles that the kitchen team masterfully morphs into heart-warming creations.
To enjoy this exquisite gastronomy journey, be sure to make a reservation at Tipo 00. Prices are moderate, matching the delightfully premium yet accessible experience it offers. Visit tipo00.com.au to explore more about this one-of-a-kind dining venue.
Looking for dishes that conjure up images of sunny Sicilian afternoons? Then head to Tipo 00 Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen Chin Chin
From the smoking neon bunny, to the Thai lessons in the restrooms, Chin Chin embodies Melbourne’s fun, sassy, loud side. Written on paper placemats, chef Benjamin Cooper's menu is a sweet, sour, Southeast Asian-inspired tour de force. Perrenial favourites include the vibrant, silky sashimi, and crispy barramundi with green apple salad and caramelised pork. Marked 'XXX - Adults Only', the wine list is a who's who of independent Aussie winemakers. A no-bookings policy makes it sensible to head in by 5pm to get your name on the door. Bar hop a bit after that and when your table is ready, you'll get an SMS.
Contact:chinchinrestaurant.com.au
Prices: ££
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Take a dive into Melbourne's eclectic culinary scene with the offerings of acclaimed Chef Benjamin Cooper. His bold South-East Asian creations at the bustling and trendy Chin Chin reflect Melbourne's vibrant and cheeky spirit. His culinary tribute to Asian cuisine, JOSIE WITHERS MoVida, is equally unique and tantalizing.
In the heart of the artsy and vibrant Hosier Lane, adorned with edgy graffiti, lies MoVida - the crown jewel of Melbourne's top chef, Frank Camorra's culinary dynasty. To get prime seating on popular Fridays and Saturdays, it is recommended to make reservations several weeks in advance. Nevertheless, early dinners and lunches during weekdays can be relatively easier to book. Although tapas restaurants might seem commonplace, MoVida is in a league of its own. A bite of the anchoa, a delicate blend of anchovy and smoked tomato sorbet atop crispy bread, can confirm this fact. For those who are left without reservations, there is always the laid-back sibling eatery – MoVida Next Door, which operates on a first come, first serve basis.
Contact information: movida.com.au
Pricing: ££
Advance booking is recommended for a smooth dining experience.
The MoVida empire may be expanding but the original, found among street art on Hosier Lane, is the best Big Esso
Looking for a uniquely Australian culinary experience that goes beyond the Mod Oz mix of great produce and a Med or Asian melange? Come and sample dishes inspired by the Torres Straits heritage of Big Esso’s chef, Nornie Bero, that utilise the spice and tang of indigenous ingredients such as pepperberry, finger lime and salt bush. Some are smart, say wild boar with native lemongrass and warrigal greens, others nostalgic, and well, smart too, like the tinned meat (ie corned beef) croquettes with pickled karkalla (a coastal succulent) aioli. Match these with something from an all-Australian wine and spirits list, or a non-alcoholic beer from the Aborignal-owned Sobah brewers, and bask in the ‘Island Radio’ soundtrack featuring blak musicians and Australian classics. Bungil, the city’s ancestral eagle spirit, must surely approve.
Contact: mabumabu.com.au/dining
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Cumulus Inc.
An airy, industrial space with no shortage of media types, sharp suits and interstate foodies, Andrew McConnell's 'Eating House' has been turning out food that’s effortless, seasonal and smashingly good for well over a decade. Everything, from menu stalwarts like tuna tartare with crushed green pea salad to a whole slow-roast lamb shoulder, pops with flavour and finesse. Enquire if there’s a guest chef in residence in the upstairs dining room. A tip: head in just before the after-work crowd to avoid a long wait for a table.
Contact: cumulusinc.com.au
Prices: ££
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Breakfast spot, coffee hangout, casual lunch, dinner hotspot, bar for booze... Andrew McConnell's Cumulus Inc is a place for many occasions Supernormal
Neon cherries and Japanese vending machines peddling Pocky sticks and Hello Kitty cookies. This is un-fine Melbourne dining at its best – playful and inclusive, yet razor sharp and gastronomically impressive. China, Japan and Korea influence a menu that includes vibrant sauteed greens spiked in piquant blackbean sauce, and a phenomenal slow-cooked Sichuan lamb with spring onion pancake and coriander paste. McConnell's lobster rolls enjoy cult status, along with a peanut-butter parfait that only a fool would ignore. Cocktails are suitably impressive: theKombu martini (Tanqueray, sake, kombu) will be your new bragging rights discovery.
Contact:supernormal.net.au
Prices: ££
Reservations:Recommended
Supernormal remains playful while being gastronomically impressive, offering a menu influenced by Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine Tonka
Down a dodgy-looking city alleyway, Tonka is awesome for several reasons. It's in the same building that once housed the legendary 90s sin-pit nightclub Honky Tonks; it's both a restaurant and bar; and the kitchen reworks trad Indian flavours into bold and thrilling dishes. A pani puri (dainty, flavour-packed pastry) comes filled with mung beans and spiced potato, spiked with date and tamarind chutney, and mint water, or clams are done Mangalorean style with coconut and fennel, while main-course curries are deceptively rich and complex. The cocktail list is equally a smashing fusion of creativity and geography – Darjeeling Fizz, anyone?
Contact:tonkarestaurant.com.au
Prices: ££
Reservations:Recommended
Best table:Window seats are nice and light but don't look over anything much; seats by the bar are more fun
The kitchen at Tonka reworks traditional Indian flavours to create bold and thrilling dishes Di Stasio Cittá
Ronnie di Stasio may well have invented the Instagram hashtag ‘Italianality’ along with embodying the concept at his St. Kilda institution, Cafe di Stasio. His Spring Street all day dining space gives it a city airing and then some. Forget the soulful Italian south – this place could out glam Milan. An austere concrete bunker enlivened by red stools and edgy video art sets the stage for sophisticated riffs on the Italian kitchen, from a crispy caper topped vitello tonnato and moreish sage wrapped and deep fried anchovies to a proper risotto Milanese or fennel sausages and onions. Pull up a stool for a coffee or quick but slick solo lunch at the bar, by all means, but come evening, expect theatre, and dress to play a part.
Contact: distasio.com.au/citta
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Inner North Cutler & Co
Cutler & Co is the most prestigious of Andrew McConnell's knockout Melbourne restaurants, as hot today as when it hit the scene in 2009. This place just gets it; from the faultless wine list to the attentive yet unobtrusive service, to a striking interior that marries the building's gritty industrial past with its sophisticated present. McConnell's dishes deliver without ever feeling gimmicky or contrived, like a seductive pairing of marron tail with sea urchin custard and Otway shitake broth. A less expensive set lunch menu is offered on Sunday, a popular option with gourmands on a slightly tighter budget.
Contact: cutlerandco.com.au
Prices: ££
Reservations:Recommended
Best table: Any of the smokey-toned, leather-seated booths
A faultless wine list, incredible service and sophisticated dishes at Culter & Co means it packs as much punch as it did when it opened in 2009 Marion
Whitewashed brick walls, light-soaked windows, oak, leather, copper and soaring wine racks lend Marion a tactile, warm feel but what really sets this place apart, though, is the wine list. Come with an open mind and explore less-common drops, including many orange and minimal-intervention wines. With insightful anecdotes from the well-versed staff, one glass will end up a bottle, and a veritable feast of beautiful, Italo-leaning dishes like lemon-spiked zucchini flowers or kingfish crudo make for dinner. That the food is fabulous makes sense, as it’s the little sibling of super-chef Andrew McConnell’s Cutler & Co. next door.
Contact: marionwine.com.au
Reservations: Recommended
Price: ££
Napier Quarter
Daniel Lewis and Simon Benjamin have created a delightful home-from-home in this Parisian-feeling old corner shop. Pop in for good coffee, pastries or their signature egg and anchovy on toast on weekend mornings, or, during the week, once the sun is over the yard arm, hit the impressive blackboard of whites, reds, sparklings and skin contact drops from Australian and European producers. Daniel will soon clock your palate and will happily match a glass or bottle accordingly. The menu scales up from precision snacks and pretty, inventive small plates (say, straticciatella with nectarine, pink pepper and basil or their ) to a very well-priced set evening menu, with small dishes and sides along with main of perhaps slow braise or line-caught fish.
Contact: napierquarter.com.au
Reservations: Not necessary
Price: ££
D.O.C. Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar
Snub the Lygon Street touts for this real-deal italiano around the corner. Perpetually packed and noisy, its thin, bubbling, wood-fired pizzas, topped with premium ingredients flown fresh from the mother country, are the stuff of local legend. A Ferrari-red meat slicer also gets a thorough workout shaving juicy legs of San Daniele prosciutto, and there’s a fantastic mozzarella degustation showcasing an ashy, smoked Australian scamorza. Book onlinr or prepare to wait (if it's the latter, hang in there – it really is worth it).If you can’t secure a table, hop around the corner to D.O.C. Espresso for a plate of pasta, or grab supplies for a hotel room picnic at their next door delicatessen.
Contact:docgroup.net
Prices: £
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Head to D.O.C. Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar early or you might face a long wait (though it is entirely worth it) Heartattack and Vine
This dark and vivacious Venetian joint is part of a wave of svelte new venues revitalising the top end of Lygon Street, and it's a favourite spot for an early evening graze. Simply scan the counter and choose whatever takes your fancy (staff suggestions will help the uninitiated), from luscious polpette (meatballs) and arancini, to creamy baccalà (salted cod) on crostini and anchovy-stuffed olives. Cicchetti aside, the place also dishes out fine coffee, pastries and simple, addictive lunch options such as a prawn brioche roll, and slow-cooked porchetta rolls spiked with house-made salsa verde.
Contact:heartattackandvine.com.au
Prices: £
Reservations:Walk-ins only
Staff can help the uninitiated decide what to order from Heartattack and Vine 400 Gradi
Running this perpetually bustling place is pizza-meister Johnny Di Francesco, who won the 2014 Pizza World Championship, much to the indignation of Italians. The pizzas here really are that incredible – big, pliable discs cooked the proper Neapolitan way. The dough is low in yeast, resulting in pies that are wonderfully light and digestible. The signature pizza, the margherita verace, is topped with sweet San Marzano tomatoes, silky buffalo mozzarella and pungent basil. Johnny's weekend pizza master classes (AU$120/£66) are fantastic fun, not to mention hugely popular (you'll need to book months ahead; they are also available at Gradi at Crown Casino).
Contact:400gradi.com.au
Prices: £
Reservations:Recommended
Award-winning pizza meister Johnny Di Francesco runs 400 Gradi, which cooks up proper Neapolitan treats Southside Da Noi
Despite the fact this super-skinny Italian has been around forever, its linen tables are never short of a crowd. Sardinian-born head chef Pietro Porcu and his team turn seasonal regional produce into revelations, best experienced by opting for the chef's four-course set menu. It's a pot luck of sorts: you might get earthy parmesan and zucchini fritters, crab-laced tagliarini pasta, or superbly tender Victorian venison marinated in red wine with caramelised red onion, celeriac puréeand wild mushrooms. If the universe is on your side, the trio of desserts might include a mascarpone cigar with poached white peach.
Contact: danoi.com.au
Prices: ££
Reservations:Recommended
To get the best out of a visit to Da Noi, opt for the chef's four-course set menu Credit: EDOARDO CAMPANALE Bar di Stasio
Owner Ronnie di Stasio is Melbourne’s most staunch champion of ‘Italianality’, a mecurial quality that this casual counterpart to upmarket Cafe di Stasio next door, utterly embodies. It’s a seductive, sexy space, packed with seductive, sexy locals, and tended by kind, knowing staff. Take in conceptual art star Callum Morton’s blood red-scaffolded portal then perch at the marble bar overlooked by a blownup Baroque masterpiece. Wines are Italian or from small local producers, there’s winning negronis and a concise menu of moreish things like herbed frittatina (mini-frittata), seafood fritto misto in a cone, lamb chops or a sublimely simple spaghetti.
Contact: distasio.com.au
Reservations: Recommended
Price: ££
David's
Whitewashed walls, studiously peeling chairs, and a splash of porcelain blue – this relaxed classic ditches Chinese kitsch for a crisp, clean look that's beach-shack chic meets Shanghai French Concession. Bespectacled owner David Zhou is true-blue Shanghainese and his repertoire of produce-driven regional dishes includes some rather spectacular old family recipes. Don’t go past Grandma's 8, a spicy blockbuster stew of scallop, shrimp, pork, chicken, chestnut, cashew, bamboo and shiitake mushrooms that feels like a culinary hug. Especially good value is the weekend yum-cha lunch, with unlimited dumplings for AU$38 (£21) on Saturdays and AU$40 (£22) on Sundays.
Contact: davidsrestaurant.com.au
Prices: £
Reservations:Recommended
Produce-driven Shanghainese regional dishes shine through at David's – don't miss Grandma's 8 stew, a spicy family recipe Hawker Hall
Cravings for spice, heat and real-deal Malaysian grub? Dive into this southside take on the Southeast Asian hawker centre (food court), a sweep of playful vertical signs, industrial fittings and hungry 20-somethings tucking into punchy dishes like prawn and ginger dumplings with soy and black vinegar caramel, fiery Portuguese devil chicken curry, and otak-otak (fish custard in banana leaf). Then there's the satay: succulent, beautifully barbequed and paired with sauce so good it borders on the divine. What you won't be necking is a bottle of Tiger. This is Melbourne after all, where they pour cognoscenti beers like Mildura Honey and Panhead Quickchange.
Contact: hawkerhall.com.au
Price: £
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Hawker Hall feels similar to sister restaurant Chin Chin but serves spicy, hot and real-deal Malaysian grub Credit: RICKY-SAM Donovans
Donovans is a Hamptons-style beachside classic – the kind of place to book when old friends hit town for the first time or when a relationship is getting serious. If you're not organised enough to book a window seat well in advance, don't despair – the plush, striped interiors are wonderfully cosy and the modern, Mediterranean-inspired menu fabulous, wherever you're sitting. Dishes are deceptively simple yet sophisticated, and the 'over charcoal' offerings are among the best you’ll have – don't miss the Queensland leader prawns flecked with chili and oregano or a whole backed duck with spiced jus, witlof and fennel salad for two.
Contact:donovanshouse.com.au
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Best table: Any of the window seats (though you’ll need to book at least three months in advance)
The modern, Mediterranean-inspired menu at Donovans is fabulous, and serves some of the best 'over charcoal' options in Melbourne I Carusi II
Don't be fooled by the flouncy bistro chairs and vintage posters – I Carusi II is Italian right down to its rustic sopressa (aged salami). This is the south-side spin-off of trailblazing Brunswick pizzeria I Carusi, one of Melbourne's first artisanal, Neapolitan-style pizza peddlers. The crust is bubbly, the dough pliable and light, and the toppings top-notch, from the sublimely sweet tomatoes to the succulent mozzarella. Pizza snobs know that simpler is better, and the margherita and neapolitan varietieshere are both delicious cases in point.
Contact:icarusiii.com.au
Prices: £
Reservations:Recommended
I Carusi II is a south-side spin-off of trailblazing Brunswick pizzeria I Carusi, Melbourne's first artisanal, Neapolitan-style pizza peddlers Credit: EB PHOTOGRAPHY Milk the Cow
Dedicated to the most sacred of unions – wine and cheese – this licensed fromagerie (over 150 cheeses and counting) makes one ponder the big questions: Yarra Valley Dairy De Jack or Bleau de Basque? Beaufort D'Alpage or Cropwell Bishop Stilton? The wine and cheese tasting flights are enlightening, and you can always opt to pair your cheese with artisan beers, ciders, sakes or whiskies instead. For the ultimate thrill, order the Grundlegend fondue (AU$35/£19), an insane concoction of Cacio di Bosca Tartufo Stagionato, Swiss Appenzeller, Gruyere L Etivaz, Remy Martin VSOP Cognac, Madame Coco Blanc de Blancs Brut and truffle honey.
Contact:milkthecow.com.au
Price: ££
Reservations: Walk-ins only
The wine and cheese tasting flights at Milk the Cow are enlightening, but for the ultimate thrill order the Grundlegend fondue Attica
Be swift to secure a table at Attica, a rare Aussie restaurant with a spot on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list; reservations are only accepted three months ahead, and they disappear in minutes. Causing the commotion is expat Kiwi, Ben Shewry: chef, surfer and quite possibly the nicest guy in an apron. What makes Shewry stand out is his boundary-breaking, thrilling use of native ingredients in dishes such as bunya bunya with salted red kangaroo, or bush currant granité with lemon aspen and rosella flower.
Contact:attica.com.au
Price: £££
Reservations:Essential, three months in advance, bookings released 9am, first Wednesday of the month
Kiwi chef Ben Shewry caused waves by putting native Aussie ingredients at the heart of Attica's menu, catapulting the restaurant among the world's best Around Melbourne Tedesca Osteria
Red Hill makes for a remarkabley rustic reset just an hour’s drive from the city centre and no better reason could there be to make the trip than this glorious celebration of the table and the hearth. The dining room centres, literally and symbolically, around a wood-fired oven and grill. Chef and co-owner Brigitte Hafner hand writes a set menu each weekend, responding to the produce available from the surrounding gardens, pastures and sea, along with the season, the mood. When you arrive, you’ll see her rolling pasta that you’ll later eat, before she tends to the fire where the main of meat or fish is next readied.
Wines are deliciously eclectic, classy, and often sourced from the peninsula by another co-owner, James Broadway. In the days of 1.5 hour dining windows, the one seating policy is a dreamily indulgent luxury, especially so if you’re here for a long Sunday lunch, so settle in, take it all in, and even perhaps stay the night. Graceburn, the property’s stylishly reimagined farm house or a ridiculously romantic glasshouse for two take guests.
Contact: tedesca.com.au
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential, well ahead
Innocent Bystander
Loud, action-packed Innocent Bystander wears many hats: artisanal bakery, fromagerie, coffee roaster, pizzeria, bistro, café. It's large, airy and slick, and never short of camera-toting day-trippers or celebrating families looking for wood-fired satisfaction. The organic sourdough crust is wonderfully light and delicately charred. If you're a two-legged mouse, opt for the cheese platter, which shows off both homegrown and foreign slabs at peak maturity. You know the drill: if the plan is to have lunch at weekends or on public holidays, head in early as the queues can, and do, get ridiculous.
Contact:innocentbystander.com.au
Prices: ££
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Innocent Bystander is large, airy and slick, and never short of camera-toting day-trippers or celebrating families looking for wood-fired satisfaction Brae
In a homestead up a gravel driveway off a narrow country road, nearly two hours from the centre of Melbourne, Brae's remote location and simple interiors might seem incongruous for such a coveted table. But then, surprise is something head chef Dan Hunter (formerly of two-Michelin-starred Mugaritz) does exceedingly well. Native ingredients, produce from the property itself, and Hunter's wild imagination come together to create unexpected revelations such as grilled and brined radicchio with duck liver parfait, confit gizzard and freeze-dried mandarin, or parsnip and apple mousse with chamomile caramel. It’s a (just) doable round trip from the city, but best to book a bed in Brae’s own luxe suites.
Contact:braerestaurant.com
Prices: £££
Reservations:Essential
