I'll be staying at the Langham in Melbourne and have done some restaurant research.
My question is how expensive, time-consuming, and/or difficult would it be to go to dinner in St. Kilda, South Yarrow or other areas outside of the City Center.
I'd rather spend my money on a better bottle of wine or more expensive entree than on a high cab tab.

You could easily get a tram to St Kilda or South Yarra from the city centre.

South Yarra/ St. Kilda ...The short answer is - none of them.
Melbourne is a very easy city to negotiate and these suburbs are quite close to the city centre.

"other areas outside the City Centre" - depends where you're headed, I guess.

St Kilda is about 6km from the CBD.
It should cost about $12-$15 depending on traffic. Ditto South YarrA (not Yarrow). You can spend whatever you would normally tip on the vino or the entree because our cabbies don't expect it. Sure, they like a tip - but we pay ours enough so they don't depend on tips and don't abuse non-tippers.

The trams can be quite fun, too. Maybe take a tram out and a cab back to the Langham.

BTW, when will you be in Melbourne?

I'm there for a few days in September and would be interested in your impressions of the Langham.

Bokhara2,

I'm not going until October. Sorry.

The trams sound good.

At that time of year, a tram trip could be really very pleasant - it's Spring, it'll likely be warm and you'll be able to see lots along the way as it will be daylight saving.

It's also a nice way to "live local", without having to brave the peak-hour rushes.

With regard to that nice bottle of wine, bear in mind that BYO restaurants are very common in Australia, and there's no stigma attached to bringing your own wine at a substantials saving, even allowing for a corkage (screwage?) charge. Liquor stores, including those attached to supermarkets, are everywhere, and for $15-20 you'll get a very decent wine.

If the restaurant has a liquor licence, as most do, BYO usually applies only to table wine, not aperitifs, liqueurs etc., which you'll be expected to order off the wine list.

If you're from North America, remember also that tipping in Australian reastaurants ranges from non-existent to modest (10%). The waitstaff are paid a living wage and don't rely on tips to pay the rent. In bars, tipping is not practiced at all, although you may see an entirely optional tip jar in some places. We don't, as a rule, tip cabbies either.

You may want to consider combining trams/dining and book to go on the restaurant tram. You'll get a full dinner (or lunch) whilst wandering around Melbourne on a tram - definitely an unique experience.

On a slighlty contradictory note the tourist tram restaurant is really that : a tourist venture. If you are a foodie in any way, give it a miss as the food is very ordinary and expensive for what you get.You can replicate part of the tram experience by jumping on the free City Circle tram.

Melbourne is the food capital of Australia undoubtedly, and there are restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. Neil's idea about BYO licensed restaruants is still valid, but sadly these restaurants are becoming rarer and fully licenced (no BYO) are more common .

www.thatsmelbourne.com.au is Melbourne City Council's great site for information about Melbourne, its food culture, restaurants and all types of dining, as well as general tourist information. I've used it a lot for planning whenever I have visitors to Melbourne as it has some good maps to help you find where to eat.

Enjoy your stay!

The Langham is a beautiful and luxurious motel on the Southbank where you will find some very fine reataurants on the doorstep.Enjoy your stay.

Thanks for all of the info. It helps me focus my own restaurant research better.
I will be taking the dining tram, only because it is part of a tour I am taking that begins in Melbourne. It does sound touristy, but then again I will be a first-time visitor to Australia.
I'm really looking forward to the trip.

By all means explore St. Kilda ( Donovans, The Steakhouse, Cafe di Stasio and Circa at the Prince are all excellent) and South Yarra (The Botanical, Da Noi both on the number 8 tram route) but some of Melbourne's best restaurants are within walking distance of The Langham e.g The Press Club, Vue de Monde, Grossi Florentino, Sarti and several very good new restaurants at Crown Casino http://www.crowncasino.com.au/Content.aspx?topicID=458

The Tram Restaurant is very good and suprisingly the food and wine is also very good .

Near where you are staying Crown Casino (which I hate after battling crowds etc there last night to get to dinner at Rockpool)has some great restaurants - "Rockpool" was lovely and happily I was a guest , "Nobu ", "Bistro Guillaume" . In St Kilda think about "Stokehouse "for lunch or dinner which is by the sea as is Donovans . "Circa" at The Prince is lovely or if you just want comfort food - Scheherezard ( sp? ) in Acland Street for schnitzel and cherry strudel or Monarch Cake Shop for wonderful baked cheese cake , or chocolate Khugelhopf .Cicciolina in Acland is also wonderful and casual .Lau's Kitchen in Acland Street has fabulous chinese that just got another rave review .

In South Yarra "France Soir" for quintessential french or "Da Noi" for casa linga Sardinian food which has no menu - the chef cooks 4 or 5 little courses .Lovely .