Restaurants in Melbourne
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Brunetti
Bustling from dawn to midnight, Brunetti is a mini-Roman empire. It’s famous for its coffee, granitas and authentic pasticceria (pastries). Bain-marie meals can be on the stodgy side (and sometimes that’s just what the locals want) but the toasted tremezzini always please.
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Babka Bakery Café
Famous for its breads, pastries and eternally wholesome-looking waitresses, Babka is also famous for its sensational breakfasts, massive sandwiches, blinis and borscht.
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Moroccan Soup Bar
This squishy, brightly coloured soup bar is a vegetarian’s haven. There’s no menu, just the renowned owner who rattles off a list of soups, starters and heavenly North African tagine.
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Camy Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant
If you like your dumplings hot and plentiful, your service simple, your surrounds no-nonsense and your bill bottom dollar, the Shanghai is your Shangri-La. Fifteen dumplings for six bucks is hard to beat – it’s as Chinatown as it gets.
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Don Don
A Japanese eatery, Don Don, serves great bentō (boxed lunches).
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Stokehouse
Two-faced Stokehouse makes the most of its beachfront position, cleverly catering to families and drop-ins downstairs, and turning on its best upstairs for finer diners. It’s a fixture on the Melbourne dining scene and known for its seafood, service and the bay views on offer. Book for upstairs.
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Lentil as Anything
What’s the clincher? Is it the organic and vegetarian ingredients? Or the Moroccan, Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese or Sri Lankan flavours? That it’s a nonprofit enterprise? Or perhaps it’s the fact that you decide how much your meal is worth, and that it’s worth a mint.
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Italian Waiters Club
Down a laneway and up some stairs, once inside the Italian Waiters Club you’ll feel like you stepped into another era. Opened in 1947, it still bears ‘50s drapes, wood panelling and Laminex tables. Once only for Italian and Spanish waiters to unwind after work over a game of scopa (a card game) and a glass of wine, now everyone from suits to students is allowed in for hearty plates of red-sauce pasta and the regularly changing roster of specials.
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MoVida
Pull together a small group, book a table and share a round of the innovative tapas this subtly slick restaurant is known for; artichokes with almond sauce and manchego cheese, and Galician-cooked octopus (pulpo) with kipfler potatoes and paprika. MoVida is a consistent award-winner and reservations are a must. Fortunately MoVida Next Door (open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday) caters to the unorganised, with similarly divine fare and a no-bookings rule.
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Madame Sousou
Elbow your dinner partner out of the way to get the soft-leather banquette seat. The polished concrete floors, copper trimmings and aged posters give the impression you're in for some French dining. Perhaps, but don't rule out other Euro dishes, prepared with organic produce whenever possible.
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Cicciolina
This dark and intimate, bustling institution doesn’t take reservations, and it’s always packed. The mod-Med menu offers prosciutto-wrapped baked figs with blue-vein cheese and earthier pastas. A snug bolt-hole of a bar out the back sorts out the queue.
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Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar
This family-run 1950s-style espresso bar hasn’t changed in years. A gleaming coffee machine (allegedly the first in Melbourne) churns out the good stuff and mama brews good honest pasta and sauces from scratch out the back.
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Courthouse Hotel
Fans of nouveau gastropub fare will be in heaven here – the international menu features succulent food and fine wine, and service is helpful.
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Chocolate Buddha
Slurping organic soup noodles, or sharing gyoza (dumplings) and steamed edamame (fresh soya beans) is a cheerful way to enjoy the vibe of Federation Square. Chummy communal tables, wireless waiters and a mechanised ordering system make the place feel like a futuristic uni caf. It could be the location or the organic ingredients, but Buddha's always busy.
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Gill’s Diner
Tucked up the back of the Commercial Bakery, Gill’s postindustrial 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; dinners are hearty, simple European fare – squid ink pasta, cotechino duck – done with effervescent flair. Details are attended to: the clafouti (custard) is individually baked to order and made with the most deliciously sour cherries.
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Grossi Florentino Grill
The Grill won’t wow you with culinary curiosity, but it does offer an authentic regional Italian menu with metropolitan flair and great produce. The Cellar Bar next door is brooding, intimate and affordable: a great place to have a quick bowl of pasta and a glass of pinot grigio. Service is snappy and professional. If you’re into grand statements (with mains hitting the $50 mark), upstairs is an opulent fine dining stalwart.
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Shakahari
Shakahari’s limited seasonal menu reflects both Asian and European influences, with dishes made from great produce. Established over 20 years ago, and bedecked with a wonderful collection of Asian antiques, Shakahari takes its mission seriously. If the weather is in your favour, ask to be seated in the palm-fringed courtyard. The curries, tagines (spicy Moroccan stews) and noodle dishes are delicious, whatever the setting.
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Small Block
In this village-like strip of shops, Small Block acts as the community centre; its neighbourly drop-in and stay-awhile vibe is a hub for local activity. Big, beautiful breakfasts (eggs and otherwise) are worth writing home about. Salvaged service-station signage and concrete floors, plus warm and efficient service combine to make a super environment in which to write postcards home too.
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Blue Chillies
The dark-wood shelving artfully stacked with Asian produce makes for ambient casual dining at Blue Chillies. For entrée try the ikan billis (fried whiting in sambal) followed by a piquant, creamy laksa. Meals come in quick succession, so if you want to linger, let the obliging staff know. You can BYO wine or swill from the decent varieties on offer.
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Baker D Chirico
The Baker’s sourdough is some of the city’s finest. Stock up on house-baked granola, or stop for a coffee, rhubarb danish or a calzone. Beautifully designed packaging (look for the boxed nougat) spreads the good taste around, and their footpath seating is some of the neighbourhood’s most popular.
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Lounge
Upstairs is a student stamping ground where the next generation perfect their pool and social skills. No-fuss bar service and a scrummy pub-style menu keeps them seated. Monday nights you ‘pay the time’, so if you order at 6.30pm your dinner will cost $6.30. Downstairs the menu is more refined and atmosphere more subdued.
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I Carusi
Find out how pizza became so popular by tasting the definitive version. I Carusi does thin, crisp crusts without too much adornment. Synergetic combinations of toppings, as well as basic classics, are at the centre of all tables here. I Carusi is BYO and fills up fast, so book ahead or come early. Cash only, no cards.
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Marios
Breakfast, accepted as one of the best, can be ordered all day. Waiting for a table is part of the ritual, so grab a superb coffee and a spot at the bar window for a moment to check out the Fitzroy scene. Marios' waiters run a tight ship with terrific service and speedy customer turnover; the wait is never long.
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