Diners outside the front exterior at North Carlton Canteen
Photograph: Graham DenholmNorth Carlton Canteen

Carlton North area guide

The best restaurants, bars, shops and events in Carlton North

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Carlton North is the most charming of suburbs, with leafy roads, cafes and grocers with top-notch produce, and some great old-fashioned boozers. It's in stark contrast to the frantic hustle of Lygon Street in Carlton itself.

The best restaurants in Carlton North

Florian Eatery
Restaurants

Florian Eatery

  • 5 out of 5 stars

The Carlton NIMBYs are right about one thing – popular Rathdowne Street café Florian is never not packed

Calle Bakery
Restaurants

Calle Bakery

This charming bakery quietly set up shop on Rathdowne Street in late 2022, and its irresistibly glossy croissant wheels have since become the talk of the town

Henry Sugar
Restaurants

Henry Sugar

  • 3 out of 5 stars

Henry Sugar is the dessert bar turned restaurant/bar that is winning over Melbourne’s northside, one serve of parmesan ice-cream at a time

Babajan
Restaurants

Babajan

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • price 1 of 4

The famed North Carlton Turkish café now has a CBD hole in the wall

The best bars in Carlton North

Brico
Bars

Brico

  • 5 out of 5 stars

Simplicity satisfies at Brico, a wine bar in Carlton North that champions small local producers

Gerald's Bar
Bars

Gerald's Bar

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

Pull up a chair at North Carlton's eclectic Europhile hangout

Great Northern Hotel
Bars

Great Northern Hotel

  • 4 out of 5 stars

It plays with heart for the footy and craft beer fans of the North

Little Andorra
Bars

Little Andorra

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

Much like the principality it’s named after, this casual wine bar is occupies a space between France and Spain and is gorgeous to visit

Other great venues in Carlton North

The Little Bookroom (Carlton)
Kids

The Little Bookroom (Carlton)

Bookshops are magical places, and the Little Bookroom is a fine example of providing that magic to adults and children alike. Stocking everything from...

Princes Park
Things to do

Princes Park

Home to the Carlton Football Club, Princes Park has tennis courts, soccer fields and a stack of exercise stations around a 3.2 km long running track.