31 Best Restaurants in Melbourne, Victoria

A chalkboard on the exposed brick wall of this long-standing favorite lists eight dry and six sweet sherries to start (or finish) your Andalusian dining adventure, and there are Spanish and Portuguese wines to accompany your selection of tapas and larger shared plates. Seated at a table or on a stool at the bar, begin with anchovy tapa, and go on to the authentic paella. Just leave room for dessert; the churros and chocolate are sinful. If you really can't decide, order the dessert tasting plate for two.

This all-day bar and kitchen brings Indigenous food and culture to the center of the city. First Nations chef-owner Nornie Bero draws on her upbringing in the Torres Strait Islands to create a menu that uses 100% Australian products, and its packaged herbs, spices, and teas make unique Australian gifts. 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.

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.

One of the best tables in town, this upscale bistro treads a very fine line between mannered elegance and decadence. A sleek marble bar and modishly ravaged walls contribute to the sense that you've stepped into a scene from La Dolce Vita. Happily, the restaurant is as serious about its food as its sense of style. Crisply roasted duck is now a local legend, and the pasta is always al dente. For an informal drink before your meal, an adjoining bar has local wines and a light menu of the same high standards for those who failed to get a booking. For long lunches in sunny courtyards, book a table at its sublime Carlton restaurant, there's also an outpost in the city center.

Grab a window table at this very popular, very stylish bay-side restaurant (housed in the former 1920s bathing pavilion), and enjoy wide-open views of St. Kilda Beach and its passing parade of in-line skaters, skateboarders, dog walkers, and ice-cream lickers. Start with the day's oysters, move to the fish and meats cooked superbly over charcoal, and slow it down over wine and cheese at this long-standing St. Kilda icon. Owners Kevin and Gail Donovan are such natural hosts you may feel like bunking down on the plush cushions near the cozy fireplace afterward.

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 (from A$85), choose the Gippsland Getaway set menu in the restaurant (A$140), or take a glass of Gippsland wine or a cocktail made with locally sourced spirits up on the roof, for a true farm-to-plate experience. Its pantry serves coffee from 7 am on weekdays. Chef Alejandro Saravia also heads up Victoria and Morena restaurants. 

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 duck and porcini tortellini from the à la carte menu. The seven-course tasting menu costs A$210. 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 9 am, or finish the night with a glass of wine and pasta of the day.

Superb Cantonese cuisine is the hallmark of one of Australia's truly great Chinese restaurants, which is still receiving awards after opening in 1975. The restrained elegance of the design, deftness of the service, and intelligence of the wine list puts most other restaurants to shame. Those in the know don't order from the menu at all but simply ask the waiter to bring the specials, which often change between lunch and dinner with the arrival of produce fresh from suppliers.

The name means "alleyway" and in a sea of dumpling houses in Melbourne, down this little alleyway, you'll find the best of them all. The menu includes popular steamed pork dumplings, and the pan-fried variations of pork, chicken, prawn, and chives hold up well, too. The staff is highly trained, and if the space on the ground floor is too snug, ask to go upstairs where there's room to breathe. Bookings are essential, but if you're feeling lucky, arrive at 11:30 am on the dot to try for a table—there will probably be a line of hopefuls already.

With one of Melbourne's first espresso machines installed here in 1954, it was the beginning of the city's love affair with both Italian coffee and Pellegrini's, and the creation of a city institution. Take a stool at the bar or the table in the kitchen and choose from such classics as lasagna or cannelloni—servings are fresh, fast, and vast—then let the staff talk you into a slab of strudel to finish. The off-menu watermelon granita is a delight.

Taking inspiration from the steak houses of North America, Rockpool is one of Australia's premier grill restaurants. Start with the whole king prawns hot from the wood-fire grill, and move onto a range of beef cuts that have been aged and butchered in-house, then cooked over fire. Expect deeply knowledgeable staff who can answer your questions on dry aging, Wagyu grades, or why they serve antibiotic-free beef. One of the city's best-kept secrets is the spectacular Wagyu burger on the bar menu. Pair it with one of Rockpool's excellent wines by the glass.

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. But the signature of this little diner is its top-notch dumplings filled with a fine mackerel-and-coriander mousse. Wash it all down with an Australian craft beer. For more, visit its mother restaurant, ShanDong Mama, in the Midcity Centre arcade. The queues move quickly, and it's worth the wait.

This is the place for authentic Italian pizza: chef Johnny Di Francesco trained in Naples to make pizza to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana rules, and has consistently won titles of world's best margherita, and also best pizzeria in Oceania. Besides pizza, the restaurant serves excellent pasta and other Italian dishes in a buzzing section of Lygon Street. There are also iterations in Essendon, Southbank, Mornington and the Yarra Valley and an aptly titled gelato spinoff, Zero Gradi, in locations including Brunswick and Crown Casino.

Matriarch Abla Amad has been re-creating the much-loved family recipes from her homeland of Lebanon since 1979. This intimate restaurant resembles a lounge room of a family house, which with Abla walking around talking to diners, adds to the feeling of being looked after. Bookings are recommended and you can BYO wine.

If you're looking for a quintessential Italian dining experience in a place where it's easy to imagine yourself back in the old country, this is it. Fashionable, look-at-me types flock here for coffee and pastries downstairs, or more-leisurely meals upstairs in the warm, woody dining room. Try the melt-in-your-mouth carpaccio, or calamari Sant' Andrea (lightly floured and shallow fried).

Charcoal Lane is a social enterprise restaurant providing vulnerable young people with an opportunity to transform their lives by gaining a traineeship in the restaurant business. The inventive menu includes many Australian bushland ingredients, and the dishes have an Aboriginal influence. Named after a song by acclaimed Aboriginal singer/songwriter Archie Roach, it is housed in the former health service community center, dubbed Charcoal Lane by the many Aboriginal people, who for decades would drop in and swap stories and wisdom. They might include starters of roasted emu fillet or a wild food tasting plate of native produce. Mains include wallaby wrapped in Parma ham and pumpkin and wattleseed gnocchi. Desserts also have a "bush tucker" influence.

Shared plates of Southeast Asian dishes form the basis of Chin Chin's popular menu. Modeled on hawker-style dining, book ahead or come for early or late to avoid the rush at this perpetually popular restaurant. Otherwise, grab a table, a playful cocktail featuring Asian ingredients and order from the same menu at the GoGo Bar downstairs---DJs set the tone late into the night Thursday to Sunday.

A major player in Melbourne's pizza wars, D.O.C. has perfected the art of using fresh, simple ingredients to create something special. The real treat lies in the pizza of the day. One with Ubriaco Amarone cheese, Romana artichokes, smoked toasted almonds, radicchio, and shaved Parmesan might be on offer. Whatever is in season or comes in, they will use. A Belgian white chocolate pizza is at the ready for those with a sweet tooth. They also have a delicatessen around the corner, which could be a good option for a packed lunch, and there are other locations in Southbank, St. Kilda, Surry Hills, and the picturesque seaside town of Mornington.

With its blazing fires, artfully smoky walls, and striking, art deco–ish wrought-iron ceiling lights, this three-decade-old restaurant has a lived-in, neighborly look. The food is good, its Australian wine is taken very seriously, and the kitchen is open until late each night.

Chef Teage Ezard's adventurous—and often exhilarating—take on fusion pushes the boundaries between Eastern and Western flavors. As with all upscale restaurants these days, there's an eight-course tasting menu (A$185 per person, vegetarian and vegan options available) featuring mouthwatering steamed scallop dumplings with aged hon mirin dressing. On weekdays an à la carte option is offered, but on weekends the choice is between either the tasting menu or the fixed-price three-course menu.

For comfort food in comfortable surrounds, the Gertrude obliges. The stylish gastropub's Italian-inspired menu sees pizza and chicken parmigiana on the menu, complemented with crab linguini, a market fish, and the obligatory tiramisu for dessert. Many dishes can be made gluten-free. Look for its daily happy hours, and Monday is steak night. Spend Sunday afternoon over pizza with live jazz in the background; their martinis are good, too. 

Touted as the city's best Japanese restaurant, Hanabishi sits in slightly seedy King Street, an area known for its bars, club venues, and occasionally unsavory clientele. With wooden floors, blue walls, and traditional ceramic serving trays, Hanabishi is the playground of Osakan chef Akio Soga, whose seasonal menu includes such gems as abalone sashimi and aburi salmon. There are long lists of hot and chilled sake and wines, ranging from reasonable to pricey.

Owned by well-known TV chef George Calombaris, Hellenic Republic pays homage to Calombaris's Greek heritage, creating a lively taverna type setting with a focus on communal food. We suggest the Masa Menu (A$55), which consists of numerous courses including meat from the omnipresent spit, whose mouthwatering scent envelopes the room upon entering. Naturally the friendly staff will try to entice you into having a sip of ouzo, and since everyone else seems to be doing it, we suggest you do, too. There are also Hellenic Republic locations in Williamstown, Brighton, and Kew.

Melbourne celebrates its Italian community in this new hub, the first overseas outpost of the hugely successful markets in Florence and Rome. Step in the huge halls to find 23 stalls dedicated to things like fresh-baked bread, coffee, cannoli, pizza, fresh fish, and aged meats—there's even a gluten-free risotto stall. Shop for a to-go meal or take a seat in the restaurant or pizzeria upstairs for table service—they take reservations here. Shop for organic wines or cozy up in the cocktail bar for an aperitivo. il Mercato is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday night but bring your credit card, as the market is cashless.

A local favorite, this stellar Italian bistro emphasizes flavor over starchy linen and stuffy attitude. Wood-fired pizzas, which some insist are the best in the city, put this suburban gem on the map (thankfully, it's only a short walk from the city). Nonpasta options might include a shellfish risotto or lasagne, and the service is as upbeat as the wine list. Vegan and gluten-free options are available.

Vegan and vegetarian fare is the focus of this restaurant, set in the Ovolo South Yarra hotel. With a strong Latin American vibe, choose the vegan versions of chicken tamales, moqueca (Brazilian seafood stew), 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 bellwether restaurant and deli  Smith & Daughters, in Collingwood.

As the name suggests, this vibrant Spanish tapas restaurant is next door to something—in this case the grown-up parent restaurant called MoVida. This is the casual little sister for those wanting a quick refueling of sherry and seafood. Dishes range from tapas like crispy fried croquette with leek and manchego. Finish off with churros con chocolate (Spanish fried dough served with a hot, thick chocolate drink). It gets busy so book ahead (book online). For a bigger meal, book a table at MoVida next door. Both eateries are owned by Spanish chef Frank Camorra, an innovator in the Melbourne dining scene.

Chef Andrew McConnell’s dominance of the Melbourne food scene is undisputed: besides this playful Pan-Asian restaurant, his stable includes glossy late-night European restaurant Gimlet and superb 1920s-style cocktail bar Apollo Inn. Fight off the competition for a seat at Supernormal’s buzzing bar and eat your way through Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, and Hong Kong: share plates of bao, dumplings, and the raw kingfish. The McConnell’s New England lobster rolls have a cult following.

Occupying an innovative steel-and-glass space above Federation Square, Taxi boasts both extraordinary food and spectacular views of the Yarra River and the city. East meets West on a Modern Australian menu with Asian flavors, using quality meats and seafood from around Australia, with an impressive list of new- and old-world wines. The three-level building lets you have a craft beer or aperitif at the Transport Bar on the ground floor, dine at the kitchen on the next level, and finish with a cocktail on its rooftop bar. The four-course Taxi Feast menu costs A$105, and the popular, three-course Taxi Showstopper menu (A$85) lets the chefs have fun with their current favorite dishes (wine matching available).