5 Best Restaurants in Melbourne, Victoria

To find out just how seriously Melbourne takes its coffee, visit this small-batch, specialty coffee roaster up "the Paris end" of Collins Street. Located in the stately Old Treasury Building, take a seat to enjoy the coffee, then shop the beans, cups, books, and coffee-brewing equipment. Aside from coffee, it also serves pastries and sandwiches. Find Market Lane Coffee's design-led outposts in several locations including Queen Victoria Markets, South Melbourne, and Prahran Market.

First opened in 1974, this iconic Romanesque bakery 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 Brunetti Oro in Flinders Lane in the city center.

Food lovers in the know are often found loitering at this tiny, bustling European-inspired bakery-café. Try the excellent pastries, fresh-baked sourdough, or more substantial offerings like the Russian borscht (beetroot and cabbage soup). It's an all-day brunch-style café, and there are often lines, so be prepared to wait for a table.

Past the yoga rooms and juice bars, Acland Street's timeless draw 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 gugelhupf (a Bundt-style cake), strudels, and the ubiquitous custard vanilla slice.

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.