Things to do in Victoria
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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 Cafe
Russian flavours infuse the lovingly prepared breakfast and lunch dishes, and the heady aroma of cinnamon and freshly baked bread makes even just a coffee worth queuing for. Cakes are notable and can be taken away whole.
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Melbourne Cricket Ground
It's one of the world's great sporting venues, and for many Australians the 'G' is considered hallowed ground. In 1858 the first game of Aussie Rules football was played where the MCG and its car parks now stand, and in 1877 it was the venue for the first Test cricket match between Australia and England. The MCG was also the central stadium for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The William Barak Bridge links it to the CBD. MCG membership is a badge of honour for Melburnians of a particular class. It involves having two members propose and second your nomination and a wait of around 20 years.
If you want to make a pilgrimage, tours take you throug…
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Moroccan Soup Bar
Prepare to queue before being seated by stern Hana, who will then go through the menu verbally. Best bet is the banquet, which, for three courses, is tremendous value. The sublime chickpea bake has locals queuing with their own pots and containers to nab some to take away. It's an alcohol-free zone, but (shhh) there's a cute bar next door. From Fitzroy, continue north along Brunswick St and cross Alexander Pde. It's on your left past the bowling club.
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Flinders Street Station
Melbourne’s first railway station, Flinders Street was built in 1854. Two railway workers won the design tender. This might explain why the station contained such fabulous facilities for railway workers, now, sadly, in disrepair. In its heyday the building buzzed with a concert hall, a library, a crèche, meeting rooms, even a ballroom. Stretching along the Yarra for a block, the station is a city landmark. You’d be hard pressed to find a Melburnian who hasn’t uttered ‘meet me under the clocks’ at one time. On any weekday, well over 100, 000 people weave through the station’s underpasses, escalators, stairs and platforms. The grand old dame’s underground tendrils conne…
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Camy Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant
There's nothing fancy here; pour your own plastic cup of overboiled tea from the urn, then try a variety of dumplings with some greens. Put up with the dismal service and you've found one of the last places in town you can fill up for under $10.
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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 in the light, bright and newly renovated room upstairs for fine 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 – though there can also be a wait downstairs.
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Lentil as Anything
Choosing from the always-organic, no-meat menu is easy. Deciding what to pay can be hard. This unique not-for-profit operation provides training and educational opportunities for marginalised people, as well as tasty, if not particularly notable, vegetarian food. They also have a branch at the Abbotsford Convent and in Footscray.
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Mansfield Hotel
The flashiest of Mansfield’s pubs has a huge dining room and extensive, innovative bistro menu to go with it. Pull up a couch by the fireplace in winter or eat out in the sunny beer terrace in summer.
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Federation Square
Striking Federation Square has become the place to celebrate, protest or party. Occupying a prominent city block, the 'square' is far from square. Its undulating forecourt of Kimberley stone echoes the town squares of Europe. Here you'll find the subterranean Melbourne Visitor Centre.
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Cookie
Stylish and cheeky, this bar tiles its high walls with kitschy books and vinyl, and pours fine European, Asian and Oz beers. The wine list is commendable, the Thai-inspired tapas is classy, and jeans and a T-shirt are just as welcome as designer duds.
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Abbotsford Convent
The convent, which dates back to 1861, is spread over nearly 7 hectares of riverside land just 4km from the CBD. The nuns are long gone – no-one is going to ask you if you've been to Mass lately – and there's now a rambling collection of creative studios and community offices. The Convent Bakery supplies impromptu picnic provisions, or Steve at the 1950s-style (no soy, no skinny, just what's on the menu) bar Handsome Steve's House of Refreshment will mix you up a Campari soda to sip on the balcony while you're overlooking the ecclesiastic architecture and listening to the footy on the radio. There's a Slow Food Marketevery fourth Saturday, and Shirt and Skirt Market e…
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Italian Waiters Club
Down a laneway and up some stairs, the inside of the Italian Waiters Club will make you 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
Movida is nestled in a cobbled laneway emblazoned with one of the world's densest collections of street art; it doesn't get much more Melbourne than this. Line up along the bar, cluster around little window tables or, if you've booked, take a table in the dining area. Movida Next Door is the perfect place for a pre-show beer and tapas, while way in the lawyer-end of town is larger Movida Aqui, with its lovely terrace.
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Ian Potter Centre: National Gallery of Victoria Australia
This houses the NGV's extensive collection of Australian paintings, decorative arts, photography, prints, drawings, sculpture, fashion, textiles and jewellery.
The gallery's Indigenous collection dominates the ground floor and seeks to challenge ideas of the 'authentic'. Upstairs there are permanent displays of colonial paintings and drawings by 19th-century Aboriginal artists. There's also the work of Heidelberg School impressionists and an extensive collection of the work of the modernist 'Angry Penguins', including Sir Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Joy Hester and Albert Tucker.
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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 warm room of dark wood, subdued lighting and pencil sketches is a St Kilda institution. The inspired Mod-Med menu is smart and generous, and the service warm. They don't take bookings; eat early or while away your wait in the moody little back bar. Check out their new restaurant, Ilona Staller, in nearby Balaclava.
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Pellegrini's Espresso Bar
The iconic Italian equivalent of a classic 1950s diner, Pellegrini's has remained genuinely unchanged for decades. Pick and mix from the variety of pastas and sauces; from the table out the back you can watch it all thrown together from enormous ever-simmering pots. In summer, finish with a ladle of watermelon granita.
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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 both refined and hearty. Lunch deals, including a glass of wine, are good value at $37, or head to the front bar for (cheaper) finds. From Queen Victoria Market head west along Victoria St, then take a right at Errol St.
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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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Vegie Bar
Delicious thin-crust pizzas, tasty curries and seasonal broths can be eaten outside along fab Brunswick St itself, or in its cavernous, shared-table space inside.
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Queen Victoria Market
Chaotic, friendly, multicultural – the Queen Victoria Market is one of the largest open-air markets in the southern hemisphere and the grand dame of all Melbourne markets. Over 600 traders hock their wares here and it’s been pushing trade for more than 125 years. You’ll find everything from perfectly ripe brie to perfectly rank moccasins. An organic corridor in the fruit and vegetable section is stocked with fresh produce grown without a hint of chemicals or pesticides. The bustling night market runs between late November and mid-February.
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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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