When I was initially researching on what to eat in Melbourne, most guides only either recommended Asian food or very expensive fancy restaurants.
Most tourists don’t stay in Melbourne for a very long duration, so I would say that really helped us try a lot of food places and uncover some super good gems.
I thought it might be useful to pull together a food guide to introduce the best food we’ve had in Melbourne, from trendy cafés to even Asian haunts!
Will do a more detailed review for some of the places we really loved and what to order to maximise your stomach space and AUD.
NOTE: I couldn’t take any alcohol or raw food on my first trip to Melbourne so that really restricted the type of food I could eat at some of these restaurants.
Operator25
Operator25 serves Asian-fusion dishes that are super filling! Coffee was also very good.
I was very impressed by their customer service. The staff were super friendly and even offered to make my coffee weak because she realised I was pregnant.
Do note that they can get very crowded during lunch hour though!
Read my full review of Operator25 here.
Address: 25 Wills St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Humble Rays
This is another Asian-fusion cafe with plenty of croissant and sourdough options! I really enjoyed their crabmeat scramble.
They also have offer a lot of refreshing drinks, from orange coffees to even thai milk tea!
Read my full review of Humble Rays here.
Address: 71 Bouverie St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
Hardware Société
They take their egg dishes very seriously, which is why their baked eggs are so amazing.
Read my full review of Hardware Société here.
Address: 10 Katherine Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Lune Croissanterie
This is known as the world’s best croissant and it’s not an exaggeration! Croissant is the right amount of buttery & flakey.
Waiting time is not very long but you have to stand to eat.
The lemon curd croffin is also worth trying. Would give their coffee a miss though.
Read my full review of Lune Croissanterie here.
Address: Shop 16/161 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
ST. ALi Coffee Roasters
The portions at ST. ALi Coffee Roasters were a bit small but dishes are very unique. Also serves the most creative coffee options I’ve had in Melbourne!
Customer service is also top-notch 👍🏻
Read my full review of St. ALi Coffee Roasters here.
Address: 12-18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne VIC 3205, Australia
Manchester Press
This unique café specialises in bagels, which are so chewy!
They also have an assortment of sweet & savoury bagels to choose from, though I lean towards the savoury options, so no strong feelings about their sweet flavours.
Read my full review of Manchester Press here.
Address: 8 Rankins Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
The Fitz Cafe & Rooftop
Serves the usual brunch fare but prices are reasonable and their hashbrowns super delicious. Their coffees are also very strong!
Read my full review of The Fitz Cafe & Rooftop here.
Address: 347 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia
Higher Ground
Higher Ground is an extremely crowded cafe in the CBD, but their pour over was perfect. Their scrambled eggs were also very nicely done!
Read my full review of Higher Ground here.
Address: 650 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tomo’s Little Collins
While this café seemed to be famous for their matcha desserts and drinks, their brunch menu was actually very solid. Also major props to the great customer service!
Address: 382 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Nosh Galleria
This was a small and unassuming shop but their rice bowls were very worth it. While the aburi salmon was certainly good, what I really loved was the coconut turmeric rice. Very flavourful and quite a good palate cleanser!
Address: 352 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Ten Square Cafe
Located right across Hardware Société is this cosy café. I personally found their eggs benny very delicious, in fact probably one of the best I had in Melbourne. Their drinks were rather average – or maybe I just didn’t quite like my matcha earl grey as much as I wanted to.
Address: 120 Hardware St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Sparrow Kitchen
We wanted to dine here on our 2nd day in Melbourne but they closed early at 5.30pm, so we returned again another day and the staff actually remembered us!
The all-day breakfast menu is extensive, the ingredients used are mouthwatering (caviar!), and most importantly, their cocktails are delicious.
Address: Melbourne Emporium, Shop 2 -041 level 2/287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Krimper Cafe
I don’t know it it’s because we visited on a weekend but it was SO CROWDED and we had to wait for about 15-20min before getting in because we didn’t make a reservation.
Service was also very slow but when the food came, all was forgiven.
Read my full review of Krimper Cafe here.
Address: 20 Guildford Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Time Lapse Brewers
This was an unassuming cafe we found on Google Maps but their brunch fare was delicious.
They also serve Mee Goreng if you’re craving for Singaporean or Malaysian food in Melbourne haha.
Address: 5 Gallaghers Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Beachcomber Cafe and Beach Bar
We went in for their deals & beach views at St Kilda Beach but ended up loving their food! Chicken souvlaki is a must-try!
Read more about my review of Beachcomber Cafe and Beach Bar in my St Kilda Beach article here.
Address: 10/18 Jacka Blvd, St Kilda VIC 3182, Australia
The Moat
We ate at a lot of Italian restaurants in Melbourne. However, only this one was truly memorable. The Moat serves the BEST pasta I’ve ever had!
Sidenote: their mocktails were also very good.
Read my full review of The Moat here.
Address: 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
ALT Pasta Bar
This was the priciest restaurant we ate at in Melbourne but it was also probably one of the best. I would say the pasta they serve even beats the one at The Moat. They also went out of their way to find a table for us especially seeing as we had a baby with us, which I really appreciated.
Read my full review of ALT Pasta Bar here.
Address: 30 Niagara Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Max on Hardware
While this restaurant focuses on traditional Italian fare, what we really came here for was their kangaroo steak. Yes you read that right.
Address: 54-58 Hardware Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Pidapipo
We loved this gelato so much that we had it twice during our trip!
They have about 10-ish flavours, personal favourite is mandarin cream and milk chocolate. The nutella swirl flavour wasn’t strong enough for us.
Read my full review of Pidapipo here.
Address: 8 Degraves St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
The Tea Rooms 1982
Reminded me a little of TWG but their tea and cakes are much better. Also its history is actually legit.
Read my full review of The Tea Rooms 1982 here.
Address: Shops 1 & 2 The Block Arcade, Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
BBQ King Melbourne
They call themselves the best K-BBQ in Melbourne, and they’re not joking.
It costs only around AUD 49 and you can treat yourself to so much wagyu beef, pork belly, seafood, and even a sushi bar!
Read my full review of BBQ King Melbourne here.
Address: 280 King St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
La Cucina
We actually visited this last year during our babymoon and again this year without realising that it was the same place LOL.
While I didn’t really enjoy their pizza the previous time, their pasta was actually really good. We also ordered wagyu meatballs which were *chef kiss*.
Address: 628 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Phillippe Restaurant
We had a special menu here courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre, but overall I was so impressed by the food here that I really want to return and try their usual menu. Service was also top-notch, as expected of an upscale French restaurant.
Read my full review of Philippe Restaurant here.
Address: 115 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Samsam Korean Chicken
Samsam Korean Chicken was an unexpectedly good find because we were craving fried chicken. We got the soy garlic and sweet chilli flavours!
Address: 209 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Waku Waku
While I’ve never been a fan of Japanese curry, this Hokkaido curry soup really blew me away. It was so delicious and flavourful, especially paired with wagyu and udon. Would definitely return to eat this again!
Address: 346 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
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