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$ | Brunswick |
For the freshest rounds of Lebanese bread, go to the source of the best khobz (bread) in the city: A1 Bakery has been running the ovens here since 1992. Sit in for Lebanese pizzas and kibbe (deep-fried lamb mince in cracked wheat) or order a platter of dips and kofta and a falafel wrap to go. Don't forget the baklava.
643--645 Sydney Rd., Melbourne, Victoria, 3056, Australia
Known For
- Inexpensive
- Baklava
- Delicious bread
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$$ | Carlton |
First opened in 1974, this iconic Romanesque bakery has moved around Carlton on several occasions, and the masses have followed. Its biggest undertaking is in the heart of Lygon Street and still filled with perfect biscotti, mouthwatering cakes, and great service. In addition to an expanded lunch menu, a wood-fire oven—specially imported from Italy—makes pizzas, and you can finish it all off with a perfect espresso or a thick European-style hot chocolate with a cornetto con crema (custard-filled croissant). Enjoy the same tempting delights at the beautiful, birdcage-like café in Flinders Lane, and at little outposts in the Myer department store in Bourke Street and Melbourne Airport (T4).
380 Lygon St., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Known For
- Chocolate eclairs
- Decadent cake display
- Italian-style espresso
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$$$$ | City Center |
You’ll find your place in one of the three levels at Farmer’s Daughters, in the fine-dining restaurant, in the deli, or up on the rooftop---its focus is the produce drawn from the rich farmlands of Gippsland, a region the size of Switzerland, to Melbourne’s east. Share small plates in the deli or opt for the chef’s selection (A$70), choose the Gippsland Getaway set menu in the restaurant (A$110), or take a cocktail made with locally sourced spirits up on the roof, for a true farm-to-plate experience. Its pantry serves coffee from 7:30 am on weekdays.
95 Exhibition St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- Locally grown ingredients
- Excellent cocktails
- Offers fine dining and a more casual deli
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$$$$ | City Center |
Since 1928, dining at Florentino has meant experiencing the pinnacle of Melbourne hospitality. After taking a seat in the famous mural room, with its huge chandeliers, wooden panels, and Florentine murals, you can sample dishes like suckling pig, and spanner crab risotto. The three-course menu is A$150 while the five-course Gran Tour menu costs A$180. Downstairs, the Grill focuses on wood-fired dishes including pici (pasta) with wild boar ragu or grass-fed steaks, while in the Cellar Bar, you can start your day with Italian pastries and espresso on the outside tables from 8 am, or finish the night with a glass of wine and pasta of the day.
80 Bourke St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- Food and wine pairings
- Romantic atmosphere
- Tuscan dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Sat. Closed Sun., Reservations essential
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$ | City Center |
Serving restaurant meals at breakfast and brunch, Higher Ground leads the pack for early morning dining. Grab a well-crafted pour-over and pastries, or linger over eggs paired with cauliflower, market fish, or the best ricotta hotcakes in town. The dinner service takes it up a notch with 12-hour lamb and a drinks menu that featuring Australian craft beers and wines. With its vast ceilings and raw brick walls, the decor is pure industrial chic. Avoid the busy peak periods.
650 Little Bourke St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- Excellent coffee
- Innovative food pairings
- Soaring interiors
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.--Wed.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$ | Fitzroy |
Locals and tourists alike can be found queueing outside Lune each morning for the city's most beloved pastries including what some say are the world's best croissants, which take three days to create. Not afraid to experiment, seasonal flavors may include pumpkin pie or Persian love cake. Inside a Brutalist concrete warehouse, croissants and cruffins fly out of the oven and into the hands of eager customers until there are none left. The pastries are best consumed with Lune's excellent coffee. A city outpost is located at 161 Collins Street.
119 Rose St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3065, Australia
Known For
- World-famous croissant flavors
- Great coffee
- Legendary kouign amann
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$ | City Center |
At one of a series of hole-in-the-wall diners in busy Centre Place, pull up a stool and load your little table with stewed pork-belly buns, made from a family recipe employing 10 different spices. The little diner and its mother restaurant, in the Midcity Centre arcade, are also justly famed for their dumplings filled with a fine mackerel-and-coriander mousse. Wash it all down with an Australian craft beer. The queues move quickly, and it's worth the wait.
5 Centre Pl., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Known For
- Pork-belly buns
- Craft beer
- Quick service
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$$ | City Center |
This all-day bar and kitchen brings Indigenous food and culture to the center of the city. First Nations chef Nornie Bero draws on her upbringing in the Torres Strait Islands to create a menu loaded with uniquely Australian herbs, spices, and teas. Seeking to use sustainable and social enterprise suppliers, try the house damper and wattleseed coffee, and get adventurous if you find emu fillets or pickled watermelon salad on the menu.
Flinders St. and Swanston St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- Indigenous music
- Artworks by First Nations artists
- Supporting social enterprises
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$$ | St. Kilda |
With a philosophy of celebrating local produce, Fitzrovia is known for fresh flavors with a European twist. The building, one of Melbourne's historical mansions overlooking Albert Park, is suitably grand while the food is hearty and sophisticated. Upmarket all-day dining and friendly service give the café a welcoming attitude, and a brunch cocktail is always worth consideration.
2/155 Fitzroy St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3812, Australia
Known For
- Vegetarian-friendly dishes
- Door-stop sandwich (bacon, mozzarella, and pear relish)
- Laid-back lunches
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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$ | City Center |
Designed to showcase the building's warehouse origins, Krimper's design is rough-hewn but warm. Hidden away among former motorcycle repair shops and a burgeoning dining laneway, Krimper serves innovative food, excellent coffee, and hot chocolate from local company, Mork. Breakfast includes Australian classic Avo on Toast, you'll find barramundi fillets and an Aus-Asian fusion in its ribs, burgers and green bowls on the lunch menu.
20 Guildford La., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- Great coffee
- Hip vibe
- Classic breakfast with a twist
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$$ | South Yarra |
Vegan and vegetarian fare is the focus of this restaurant, set in the new Ovolo South Yarra hotel. With a strong Latin American vibe, choose the vegan versions of chicken tamales, the Brazilian seafood stew moqueca or the queso con chorizo, and vegetable dishes from its charcoal oven. The hotel restaurant is an all-day affair, morphing into a wine bar later in the evening, with cocktails with Latin zing. For more plant-based goodness by pioneer chef Shannon Martinez, try her vegan belwether restaurant and deli Smith & Daughters, in Collingwood.
234 Toorak Rd., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Known For
- Vegan dining
- Some vegetarian options
- Some alcohol-free options
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$ | St. Kilda |
Past the yoga rooms and juice bars, Acland Street's timeless drawcard is its old-school cake shops, and Monarch has been doling out its creamy glories since 1934. Fresh cakes and slices are displayed behind glass windows that lure the crowds, before being packed carefully in boxes to go, for an instant picnic treat. Most recipes give an indication of the founders' Eastern European origins: make the difficult choice from its array of Polish baked cheesecakes, chocolate kooglhoupf, strudels and the ubiquitous custard vanilla slice.
103 Acland St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3182, Australia
Known For
- Monarch's famous plum cake
- Cupcakes of all hues
- Glorious window displays
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$ | City Center |
With one of Melbourne's first espresso machines installed here in 1954, it was the beginning the city's love affair with both Italian coffee and Pellegrini's. Take a stool at the bar or the table in the kitchen and choose from such classics as lasagna or cannelloni—servings are fast and vast—then let the staff talk you into a slab of strudel to finish.
66 Bourke St., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- Iconic diner
- Huge serves
- Neighborhood vibe
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$$ | Richmond |
Opened by iconic Australian cook Stephanie Alexander, this bright and buzzy café–cum–produce store is a local mainstay. The bistro fare brims with wonderful flavors, from house-made dips and charcuterie boards to seasonal salads, seafood, and burgers. Desserts are mouthwateringly simple and impossible to resist. It's so popular you might have to wait briefly if you haven't booked a table. After you've eaten, pick up some marvelous cheese and country-style bread from the adjoining cheese room and grocery.
48–50 Bridge Rd., Melbourne, Victoria, 3121, Australia
Known For
- <PRO>grilled cheese toast</PRO>
- <PRO>all-day breakfast</PRO>
- <PRO>charcuterie boards to share</PRO>
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner, Credit cards accepted
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$ | City Center |
Melburnians love to head out for breakfast, and Little Mule is one of many popular laneway cafés satisfying the hunger. Excellent coffee is teamed with simple meals made in the tiny, open kitchen. Look for the fresh cookies and make your own dream breakfast with the flexible mix-and-match menu.
19 Somerset Pl., Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
Known For
- <PRO>quirky decor</PRO>
- <PRO>fresh bagels</PRO>
- <PRO>homemade staples</PRO>
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$ | South Yarra |
There's a Gallic devil-may-care attitude to brunch in these former stables, with Bloody Marys and Mumm champagne listed beside the granola and eggs on sourdough. Or you could try matching its cocktails—espresso martinis or a Pimms with the French toast and croque fromage. Highlights include the lemonade scones with Chantilly cream and the Wagyu beef cheeseburger. Follow with a walk around the gardens of Como House, built in 1847. Picnic lovers note that The Stables also prepares picnics for lawn lounging.
Williams Rd. at Lechlade Ave., Melbourne, Victoria, 3141, Australia
Known For
- Lunches to go for picnics
- Lemonade scones
- Cocktails
