A local's guide to Elsternwick

Perhaps Melbourne's most famous fine diner, Attica (74 Glen Eira Rd) can be found in Ripponlea. We gave it five stars, and so does everybody else. If you've got cash to splash, this is where to splash it on a modern Australian degustation that will be among the best meals of the year, we promise. You can order Attica for delivery, either from the Attica favourites menu or the famous Attica lasagna.

Duck into Hanoi Hannah (306 Glen Huntly Rd) for Hawker-style Vietnamese food like chicken and beef pho, vermicelli salads and takeaway-friendly freshly made rice paper rolls. You can order takeaway or delivery from Hanoi Hannah.

Bang Bang at the Rifle Club (294 Glen Huntly Road) offers Thai, but it’s really more Thai-ish, serving up congee as well as eggs on toast for breakfast, mussel omelettes and soft shell crab bao for lunch and a whole heap of crowd-pleasing shareables for dinner. It's on the higher end, price-wise. You can order takeaway during lockdown.

Rapha Tamir of the Classic Cinema loves Panda Mama (289 Glen Huntly Rd) for lunch, and he recommends the fried rice and the prawn dumplings. You can order takeaway or delivery.

For dinner, Tamir recommends Yuchu (404 Glen Huntly Rd), which he says has the best Chinese food in the area. Yuchu specialises in Cantonese-style roast meats, but also offers twists on traditional dishes like Marmite chicken ribs).

Ripponlea Food and Wine (15 Glen Eira Rd) serves up a simple modern Australian menu, with dishes like linguini carbonara and confit duck. 

Looking for fresh Greek and Mediterranean food? Mediterranean Greek Tavern (511 Glen Huntly Rd) is a popular spot with locals for things like grilled meats and fish and market-fresh vegetables.

For a taste of Mother Russia, pay a visit to Nevsky (476 Glen Huntly Rd), which offers banquets as well as a la carte options like blinis with caviar (salmon or sturgeon, thank you), cured meats, soups, slow-cooked meats and dumplings. You can get takeaway at Nevsky.

In the mood for pizza? Of course you are. 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar (15 Gordon St) is another of Tamir's favourites, and it just happened to be named Australia's best pizza at the Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza (World Pizza Championships) in Parma, Italy. You can order takeaway, including deli items and wine.

Across the road, you'll find Etto Pasta Bar (267 Glen Huntly Rd), where you can mix and match pasta sauces, bases and toppings. You can order online for takeaway.

For something sweet, grab an ice cream from Will's Batch (300 Glen Huntly Rd), which offers more than 50 flavours, made in house.

Craving sushi or don? Tokyo Deli/Ramen Monk (407 Glen Huntly Rd) is brilliant for your Japanese favourites, and you can also pick up Japanese pantry basics to try your hand at home. Tokyo Deli is open as a grocery store, and Ramen Monk is open for takeaway during lockdown.

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Rapha Tamir loves Antique Bar (218 Glen Huntly Rd), and so do we. The cosy bar has delicious cocktails, plenty of craft beers and a very comfortable ambience, with quirky, mismatched furniture and very flattering lighting. Antique Bar offers bottled cocktails for takeaway.

If you're after a brightly lit pub with a good-sized outdoor area, head to Goat House (272 Glen Huntly Rd). It serves pub classics like lamb roast and burgers, as well as refreshing beers. 

Umbrella Lounge (338-340 Glen Huntly Rd) is a Georgian restaurant and bar, with live music Thursday through Saturday, during normal times. There's a cute beer garden out the back, too. 

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Rapha Tamir from the Classic rates the coffee at One Square Espresso Bar (272 Glen Huntly Rd) as the best in the area. Make it a complete breakfast with a fancy doughnut, made by Doughboys.

There's usually a queue for coffee outside the takeaway window at Savion (475-479 Glen Huntly Rd), which also does bagels, pastries, soups and sandwiches. 

Part restaurant, part café, part jazz club, Umbrella Lounge Bar (338-340 Glen Huntly Rd) also does coffee during the day. 

Rustica Café (362 Glen Huntly Rd) has European and kosher delights like cured meats, cheeses, pasta, biscotti and other European products as well as coffee to have there or take away.  

Enjoy your coffee in the beer garden, restaurant or takeaway at Edna's Place (390 Glen Huntly Rd), which offers breakfast delights (there's a section for 'Hollandaise dishes', which we approve of) and standard café fare.

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Movie buffs will already be familiar with Elsternwick's Classic Cinemas (9 Gordon St). The building was built in 1889 and opened as a theatre in 1911, and it's been an important part of the Elsternwick community for more than a century. Catch an arthouse, foreign or major Hollywood blockbuster film on one of the Classic’s ten screens, and enjoy sweet and savoury refreshments like olives, bao, edamame, beer, wine and hand-made choc tops in flavours like rocky road and salted caramel. In the summer the cinema runs a special outdoor program on its rooftop. The Classic has already created an in-home film festival, called Classic at Home, with a curated program of cult classics, international hits and all-around interesting movies. 

The Classic isn't the only historically important attraction in the area. Rippon Lea Estate (192 Hotham St) was built in 1868 and now has 33 rooms. The mansion and gardens are open for tours, and there are also touring and permanent exhibitions in the mansion. Glen Eira and Port Phillip residents can enjoy the gardens for free. The property also includes a very popular tea room. During the summer the Barefoot Cinema sets up a giant screen on the lawn for screenings of popular classic and new-release films.

The Jewish Holocaust Centre (13-15 Selwyn St) is a museum and memorial dedicated to the memory of those murdered during the Holocaust. 

Hopetoun Gardens is a small park in Glen Huntly Rd with a colourful playground for little ones to play. 

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Ask anyone in Elsternwick worth their salt bagel, and they'll point you towards Aviv (412 Glen Huntly Rd) for baked goods of all kinds. The bagels, borek and challah are legendary (and they sell out fast!), but the sweets, cakes and pastries are also worth your dough. It's one of Tamir's favourite – and one of ours too.

While we're on the subject of baked goods, cult favourite bakery Woodfrog (431 Glen Huntly Rd) has an outlet in Elsternwick, too. 

There's a reason Trialto Meats (397 Glen Huntly Rd) has been in business for 28 years. The butcher shop offers prime cuts of meat from fowl to beef to gourmet sausages, and friendly and knowledgeable staff are always happy to accommodate special requests (like sourcing a whole turkey in November) and will even offer cooking tips on your purchases.

Not many suburbs still have independent bookstores, but Elsternwick is lucky enough to have Avenue Bookstore (434 Glen Huntly Rd), which stocks a wide range of local and imported titles, with a particular focus on fiction, children's books, and non-fiction books in areas ranging from food and wine to architecture and design. Kerbside pick-up and delivery are available. 

Looking for kosher products? Kosher Kingdom (482b Glen Huntly Rd) offers a wide variety of items, from nuts to cheeses to sushi and cold-pressed juices. 

Family-owned business Mercantile Home (307 Glen Huntly Rd) offers homewares and giftwares from around the world. 

Calling all ski bums and snow bunnies: Bumps (481 Glen Huntly Rd) is the place to score all your winter gear. The shop offers everything from coats to snowboards to chains for tyres, so if you're heading to the snow, stop in here first.

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Running in November each year, the Jewish International Film Festival is the largest film festival in Australia focusing on Israeli and Jewish-themed films. JIFF's home base is the Classic Cinemas in Elsternwick, which not only screens the programs but also offers special events, talks, gatherings and parties associated with the festival.

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