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Aux Batifolles
Francophiles flock here to be reminded of 'that little bistro in Paris' that they loved. It's a restaurant that can be a big occasion or a simple weekday night out. The red-meat dishes are particularly good and the chef's skills are especially impressive with duck. Desserts such as crème brûlée and tarte Tartin (French apple tart) are delicious and well priced. The modest wine list doesn't give much scope to splash out. Bookings advised.
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Basque
Small Spanish offerings, by way of tapas and cute-kitsch religious iconography, have been something of a revelation to Chapel St devotees. They come en masse to sit casually chatting, drinking and nibbling. Breakfast is less lively - it takes every ounce of energy to digest a serve of chocolate y churros (long Spanish doughnuts). Service can vary from twinkly to truculent.
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Becco
Sexy in the best possible taste, Becco is a long-established favourite for an eclectic mix of diners and bar babes from the business, art and fashion circles. Staff are invariably attentive, bringing to the table classic Italian dishes and drinks. After dinner, try the upstairs bar where you can keep an eye on the comings and goings through the video camera trained on the laneway below.
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Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel
Local chef's French comfort food is probably just what you need when the roulette table has got the better of you.
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Cafe Di Stasio
White-jacketed waiters, a jazz soundtrack and subdued lighting provide moody ambience at Cafe di Stasio (not to mention the original Bill Henson photograph gracing the back wall). But it's the sublime Italian food, such as handsome meat dishes, that has kept this place at the top of the dining food chain for over 15 years. The weekly changing fixed-price lunch menu (two courses and a glass of wine) is great value.
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Carlisle Wine Bar
Dark and inviting, this is the kind of place that makes you wish you were a regular. In summer, pavement tables are perfect for a beer and a long segue into a rustic Italian dinner. The wine list is top notch, including reasonably priced old and rare bottles. But it's not all about wine. A handsome barman will whip you up a fine cocktail, in between flipping over the vinyl. Friday and Saturday can get rowdy.
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Carlton Espresso
The piadinas and paninis at this café are stuffed with a wonderful array of fillings and the little tarts and biscotti are homemade. This place bustles with contemporary Italian brio rather than the rather drab nostalgia often found elsewhere.
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Cicciolina
This St Kilda institution is a warm room of dark wood, subdued lighting and almost inappropriately arse-friendly black swivel chairs. The inspired Mod-Med menu includes great staples like linguine with smoked salmon and capers or culinary pyrotechnics like baked figs with Dolcelatte (blue-vein cheese similar to Gorgonzola) wrapped in prosciutto. It sounds highfalutin but it's not. It's smart, delicious food with a considered wine list.
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City Wine Shop
Though relatively new, the old-school European ambience here comes effortlessly. The Wine Shop comes from pedigree stock, which tracks through at least half a dozen of the city's respected eateries - including its older sibling the European, next door. Despite its name, this is no blow-in bottle shop. The bar menu and regularly changing mains are as much a feature as the venerable wall of wines. And its super busy street-front hatch despatches coffee and croissants to on-the-go office workers.
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Courthouse Hotel
This corner pub has managed to retain the comfort and familiarity of a local while taking food, both in its public bar and its more formal dining spaces, very seriously. The European-style dishes are refined and hearty. Lunch deals are great value, and there is a tasting menu at dinner.
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Da Noi
Da Noi has captured the imagination of diners with its exciting Sardinian dishes and constantly changing seasonal menu. The spontaneous kitchen might reinterpret the chef's special three times a night. Just go with it; it's a unique experience that many it seems are keen to know - and know in quintuplicate, by way of the five-course chef's selection. Bookings advised.
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Dino's Deli
At the time of writing, the deli half of Dino's was yet to open, but the clubby café-bistro is in full swing. The pan-Med menu is especially strong on Spanish flavours and the space is beguilingly eclectic.
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Donovans
Who doesn't love to be beside the seaside? Especially when you're ensconced in a wicker chair and there's a team of people attending to your every whim. Donovans has a venerable reputation. Its seafood-dominant menu reads like a trophy room, unfortunately including threatened species like Patagonian toothfish and swordfish. There's also a range of pasta, risotto and salad, plus an accomplished wine and drinks selection. Book well ahead.
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Enoteca Sileno
This groaning enoteca imports some of the city's best quality Italian provisions; you'll see them employed in the menu of regional standards. The Italian wines are also exemplary; pick up a bottle and a jar of carciuga (artichoke anchovy spread) to take home.
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European
The menu traverses France, Italy and Spain - pairing fruit and flesh with finesse. And the extensive wine list reads like a who's who of European wines. The recycled-wood panelling, black-and-white checked floor and bentwood chairs make for classic surrounds, popular with pollies from Parliament House across the road. The European's breakfasts are something special.
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Gill's Diner
Tucked up the back of the Commercial Bakery, Gill's post-industrial pastiche is an immediate charmer. Add old vinyl and freshly baked bread to the mix and it makes for an archetypal Melbourne moment. Lunch can be as simple as smoked salmon and prosecco (sparkling wine), while dinners are hearty, simple European fare done with effervescent flair.
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Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons
Prodigal (and preternaturally talented) Maurice Terzini sold Melbourne's café e cucina concept to Sydney, now he's brought Bondi Italian back south.
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Grossi Florentino
If you're into grand dining or are celebrating a special occasion, Grossi Florentino will impress. The opulence distinguishes itself in every detail, from silverware to little footstools for the ladies' handbags. Head chef, Guy Grossi, is something of a Melbourne celebrity who made his name (in every way) on this classy classic restaurant. The Cellar Bar next door is fashionably brooding, intimate and affordable.
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Il Fornaio
Famous for its bread, croque-monsieurs and cakes, Il Fornaio also does simple Italian pastas, risottos and wine at night; its street tables are a summer must.
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Il Solito Posto
This Italian job attracts a steady stream of finely cut suits talking shop between mouthfuls of meat or pasta. After dark, the bar area makes a casual prop for a preshow meal. The wine walls and wooden tables in the basement dining room set the scene for a slower meal, starting with a chunk of ciabatta and olives that get to the table before you do. Enter from George Pde.
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Italian Waiters Club
Down a laneway and up some stairs, the entrance to the Italian Waiters Club is like walking through a wormhole to another era. Opened in 1947, this low-fi place was once reserved for Italian and Spanish waiters to unwind after work. Now everyone, from suits to students, comes for hearty plates of pasta and the regularly changing roster of specials, and to eat up the cheerfully clandestine atmosphere.
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L'oustal
No cookie-cutter Francophilia here. This cute neighbourhood bistro is breezy and informal and does simple French standards with good produce and a light hand.
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Libertine
Locals love this small, traditionally decked out shopfront for its real French country cooking. The menu includes whole suckling pigs, though you'll need to bring nine of your mates to help out, and is requisitely strong on its game and cheeses.
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Melbourne Wine Room
In the iconic George Hotel, the refined Wine Room is like the cone of silence compared to the heaving front bar next door (where bar meals are also available). Naturally for a wine room, there's a stellar selection on offer. Critics have acknowledged the service here as the city's best, and the Wine Room's overall reputation for fine dining remains unblemished.
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Pelican
St Kilda's pretty young things love Pelican. Its idiosyncratic design (by the ubiquitous Six Degrees team) makes the most of its corner position with a wraparound terrace. Tapas are the heroes here; order pickled octopus or fried cheese balls while watching the Fitzroy St circus in full swing. Pelican's casual ambience sits well with breakfasters too, especially champagne breakfasters.
