Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Opening a venue often comes down to a single question: who is it for?
It’s a simple question, but one that’s rarely answered well. Aim too broadly and things start to slip. Too narrow, and you lose the room.
At Daphne, the balance holds.
From the team behind Etta, this is a venue that understands how people actually want to eat. Flexible, social and low-friction, without giving anything up in the process. It’s Melbourne at its most functional, and arguably, at its most effective.
The vibe
Located on Lygon Street, in the old Bar Romantica haunt, it’s already full on a Tuesday night.
Not just busy, but genuinely humming. Couples on dates, groups of friends settling in, and, somewhat unexpectedly, families with young children. It’s a mixed room, but it doesn’t feel disjointed.
This is where Daphne distinguishes itself. Plenty of venues claim to be for everyone, but few actually pull it off. Here, approachability and taste sit side by side. You can order a Dirty Martini that rivals some of the city’s best, just with kids at the table.
Dining out with children often comes with a trade-off. You usually have to swap elegance for functionality. Daphne sidesteps that entirely. A pub in spirit, if not in form.
The space does the heavy lifting. Booths line the walls,...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Chef Alex Xinis made waves when he opened Tzaki, introducing Melbourne to a side of Greek cooking not well represented here. His spin-off Kokoras takes a more familiar format, drawing on the charcoal chicken shops found in every suburb, but with a Hellenic twist.
The vibe
Historically, charcoal chicken isn’t a dine-in situation – rather, a quick and nutritious mid-week meal for time-poor parents or workers on a lunch break. Though there are a few indoor stools and several more on the footpath, Kokoras stays true to its roots as a takeaway-centric spot.
But it’s not the old-school chicken shop you’re used to. Bright yellow branding and graphic design details carry through the space, framing a glass cabinet filled with fresh salads and sides. The visually driven menu makes it easier to sort through the options, with dine-in dishes served on silver platters.
The food
The classic chicken shop combo – quarter or half chicken, plus sides – is the signature here. Choose from the OG ($21), pairing roast chook with iceberg salad, lemon potatoes and taramasalata, or the KK platter ($21), which subs in a grain salad, pickles, tzatziki and that moreish, fluffy flatbread Tzaki is known for. It’s served with wooden cutlery – a slight misstep for a dish this good, and...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Melbourne has no shortage of wine bars. Some new-school, some traditional. Some rustic, some sleek. But none quite like this. Home to the “best wine list in the country” (as per Australia’s Wine List of the Year 2025), Circl caters to every kind of drinker – including those who don’t quite know what they want. It would be easy to lean on that strength, but the food is just as considered.
The vibe
Mid-century modern in a 1970s way, yet timeless. Or is that just Scandinavian design? The space is a melange of warm timber, soft lighting, bottle-lined walls and tweed-clad menus. The dining room is compact, with most seats angled towards the open kitchen. The service is formal but not too fussy, with water topped up at the ready, plates and cutlery changed between each course, but no performative flourishes. It can be as formal or as laid-back as you’d like it to be, whether you’re dropping in for snacks and drinks or settling in for a tasting menu.
The food
Chef Elias Salomonsson is from Sweden, and that influence appears across the menu. What may at first glance read as ‘modern Australian’ (think snacks, seafood-centric small plates and meat-driven mains, plus sides) has Scandinavian elements woven throughout.
In true wine bar form, the small plates are...
Update May 2026: This review was originally written in 2022, so please be aware that some elements may have changed since.
Even if you came to this address when it was the ill-fated Little Hunter, you’ll probably still get lost. It’s OK – even our waitress admits she almost missed her interview. Here’s the drill: take the lift down, turn right, then right again, avoiding the curtain that will take you into the kitchen. Success will land you in the gothic lair that is Meatmaiden, meaty twin to Neil Hamblen’s Richmond smokehouse, Meatmother.
Everything is a little more polished at this CBD sister. While Meatmother is bright and white and banging out some East Coast hip hop, Meatmaiden is all black walls, deep booths, copper fixtures and glossy concrete. Glass cabinets are packed with thick, marbled rib eyes, chains of sausages and racks of short ribs, all lit up by spotlights in full gory glory. It looks like Fangtasia, the nightclub from True Blood.
Dishes have also been scrubbed up for the big smoke. Your mac and cheese now comes topped with lobster like it’s wearing its nice hat to church. It’s good – a rich, cheesy mess of elbow pasta, though most of the flavour comes from a shellfish oil that soaks the breadcrumb crust than from the lump of grilled tail meat on top.
They’re throwing some high quality beef into the Myron Mixon smoker (imported from the States and running on the sweet smoke from red gum and cherry woods). This is meat for those who like it fat-rich,...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
There’s a particular set of questions most Melburnians are only too eager to ask one another – our unfailing conversation starters, if you will. Encompassing the holy trinity of local interests (footy, coffee, food), they are as follows: Which team do you support? Where’s the best coffee? And, of course, what’s your favourite restaurant?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re chatting with an older crowd or one of the younger “I saw this restaurant on TikTok” types, France-Soir invariably comes up as a glowing example of a good Melbourne time. The fancy-ish yet lovably casual French bistro has been buzzing happily on Toorak Road since 1986, and remarkably, it’s still proving a hit among the upcoming dining generation.
Is it the romantic bistro aesthetic that transports us to a sexier European place? The affable (if sometimes a bit chaotic) staff? The enormous gold-standard wine list? Or perhaps it’s the food – traditional Gallic classics that consistently stand the test of time in all their buttery-sauced, elegantly plated-up glory.
Even when dining there on a focused mission, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why France-Soir is such an indomitable favourite. But the truth remains that a lunch or dinner here is always fabulous, the hours swim by in a sea of joyous...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
There’s something deeply satisfying about a bowl of udon. All chew and slurp, it delivers exactly what this noodle lover is chasing.
Yamamoto Udon, tucked into Melbourne’s CBD, is arguably the city’s most focused udon specialist right now. It deals in Edo-period technique, where simplicity isn’t a shortcut but a discipline, a quiet commitment to doing one thing properly.
The menu centres on two styles. Himokawa arrives wide and ribbon-like, defined by an understated elegance, while Sanuki is the more familiar form: thick, springy and built around that signature chew.
What underpins it all is craft-led precision. The dough undergoes a double fermentation at carefully controlled temperatures. Every element feels considered, almost exacting. It’s the result of repetition, of refinement, the sort of cooking that comes from doing the same thing over and over until there’s nothing left to adjust.
The vibe
The fit-out mirrors the food. Immaculate, restrained, without gratuitous detail.
Like many noodle shops in Japan, seating runs along the counter, ideal for solo dining, with a clear view into the kitchen. There are also a handful of tables for two or four, if you’re inclined to share.
On my visit, steam billowed from the kitchen, but the room remained calm....
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Recently dubbed Koreatown, Healey’s Lane is buzzing with pocha and Korean imports, but tucked between them is a down-to-earth shop specialising in southern Chinese rice rolls known as cheung fun. The brand is based on a franchise from Guangzhou, though it feels distinctly homegrown, with all rice rolls made from scratch in-house.
The vibe
The compact space nods to a retro era of southern China, with bulb-lined signage, rattan pendant lights and booth seating. Service is relaxed – order via QR code and help yourself to condiments and cutlery. Some dishes take longer than others to arrive, so the best approach is to share and eat things as they land on the table.
With most dishes under $20 and some starting below $10, you can (and should) try widely across the menu. The starch-heavy dishes and generous portions mean items are more filling than they appear, but staff are happy to pack up leftovers to take home.
The food
Rice rolls, known in China as cheung fun, are a staple defined by their soft, slippery texture and satisfying chew.
While they appear at a handful of venues across Melbourne, Liyin is one of the few spots dedicated entirely to the dish – and perhaps the only one making them from scratch in the traditional way. Fresh rice is soaked and ground...
If you’re a foodie in Victoria (or, really, anywhere in Australia), chances are Wickens is on your must-dine bucket list. It was definitely on mine, and after a few prior fleeting visits to Dunkeld (a three-hour drive west of Melbourne) I was stoked to finally be locked in to experience the culinary magic of this regional restaurant for myself.
As part of the acclaimed Royal Mail Hotel, Wickens was officially established in late 2017 by executive chef Robin Wickens, who had been working at the Royal Mail Dining Room since 2013. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength – building out one of the country’s most impressive wine collections; growing a bountiful kitchen garden that now supplies up to 80 per cent of the produce showcased in the menu; picking up two hats (along with multiple other awards); and driving up visitation to the small Southern Grampians community.
The vibe
Name a more picturesque spot for a regional restaurant, we’ll wait. Located at the southern tip of the Grampians National Park, in the shadow of the majestic Mount Sturgeon, Wickens is an intimate dining room ensconced in nature – native plants line the boardwalk entrance, and towering trees dominate the panoramic vista that’s framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s a beautiful sight to behold upon being seated; my only qualm with the 7.30pm booking is that once golden hour surrendered to darkness, so did our ability to continue admiring the views (book in for lunch if that’s important to...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
It wasn't just the local Footscray community that lucked out when Reveka Hurtado gave her popular catering company Papelón a permanent home in the neighbourhood. South American expats and travellers craving a comforting taste of home are duly gratified here, while curious appetites from all corners of Melbourne are invited to explore Latin America’s gastronomic diversity beyond tacos and tequila – and there’s a generous bounty to try.
From its signature pabellón (a whopping platter of shredded beef, rice, beans and sweet fried plantains) and proper cornmeal arepas and empanadas to homey stews and meat specials inspired by traditional recipes, this no-frills diner belongs in everyone’s pocketbook of westside favourites.
The vibe
Papelón hums cheerfully along the periphery of Footscray Market – sometimes a little sleepy on weekdays, yet much livelier in the evenings and on Saturday nights when live singers and musicians take the floor (check the restaurant’s Instagram for upcoming events; all-you-can-eat arepas night, anyone?).
If you’re solo dining in the daytime, bring a book to read over a coffee and cake – well, a café con leche and a quesillo (a Venezuelan-style flan), to zero in on the sweet details – since it’s breezy and relaxed inside, tucked away...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
The fertile coastal landscape of the Mornington Peninsula has long been a breeding ground for excellent dining spots, both fancy and casual (hello, Tedesca Osteria, Many Little and Red Gum BBQ – to name a few). And now, we can add a newish name to that list: Barragunda Dining.
Located on 400 hectares of farmland and sprawling native bush that forms Barragunda Estate, the property is owned by the Morris family, who, via their foundation, direct all profits made from the restaurant back into work that supports improvements and innovations in Australia’s food systems.
And really, that’s what the ethos is all about at Barragunda: focusing on sustainable agricultural practices that encourage regeneration, while creating a hyper-local culinary experience that feels rooted in place. When all these elements come together, it makes for one inspiring and unforgettable meal.
The vibe
Courtesy of David Dubois Architecture, Barragunda’s former farm shed has been transformed into a warm 40-seat restaurant that feels especially welcoming on an unseasonably grey and drizzly day in March. A large timber bar and shelves lined with jars of pickled veg and fermented fruit welcome guests, before the open kitchen and light-filled dining room unfurl as you walk further into the...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
As Melbourne’s first and only Ukrainian restaurant, Otakoi rises to the occasion – using food as a vehicle to share the country’s rich culture, history and warmth. It helps that the food is excellent. The convivial atmosphere and BYO policy lend themselves to big, boisterous group dinners. The more people you bring, the more of the menu you’ll get to try – and you’ll want to try it all.
The vibe
Tucked down the Windsor end of Chapel Street, Otakoi is easy to miss from the outside, but the inside bursts with colour and character. The ornate interior pays homage to traditional Ukrainian design, with shelves, walls and ceilings adorned with art and handicrafts. Ukrainian hospitality is equally on display. Guests are greeted with a piece of brown bread and salt – a traditional symbol of welcome – before being led to tables set with heavy ceramic serveware by staff in vyshyvanka (traditional embroidered shirts). They’re eager to chat through the menu and make sure glasses never run dry.
The food
The menu is rooted in hearty Ukrainian comfort food. The varenyky (dumplings) are a must, filled with potato, beans and mushrooms or salmon and cream cheese wrapped in striking black dough and topped with flying fish roe. The latter is an unlikely combination that...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Zareh has been on everyone’s lips since it was first announced back in early 2024, and the hype has only intensified since opening. Four months in, it’s safe to say the fanfare is justified. Chef Tom Sarafian draws on his Armenian and Egyptian roots, his partner Jinane’s Lebanese heritage, and years spent cooking in kitchens across Australia and Europe. It’s all distilled into a tight, thoughtful menu that feels carefully considered from start to finish.
The vibe
With just 40 seats stretched along a long, narrow room, Zareh – named for Sarafian’s grandfather – feels warm and intimate. Much of the seating lines the bar, offering a clear view into the kitchen, where most elements are made from scratch and finished in front of you. The venue is serious yet completely unpretentious, sidestepping the stiffness that can come with a much-anticipated opening.
The food
The offering is limited by design. Sixteen items appear on the A5 menu, some of which also feature on the $95 set. The brevity allows the team to focus on detail, with most dishes prepared to order.
We start with torshi – an assortment of simple, sharp pickles that are dangerously easy to demolish alongside a cocktail. The bastourma toast – open-faced sesame bread spread with herb-laced goat’s...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Konbinis – the convenience stores on virtually every corner in Japan – are just as much a cultural immersion as the country's shrines and cherry blossoms. This Cremorne lunch spot draws on that format, serving elevated interpretations of convenience store classics (onigiri, sandos, fried chicken) alongside a dine-in menu that brings genuine excitement back to the midday break.
The vibe
Compared to Silicon Valley, the tech and start-up hub of Cremorne can feel a little behind. But being able to claim Suupaa in the neighbourhood lifts things a few notches. The design leans into a sleek, romanticised vision of Tokyo futurism, with digital menu boards scrolling overhead and matcha on tap. One corner is dedicated to retail, with shelves of grab-and-go fare, an impressive alcohol selection, and homewares and magazines – some local, others imported from Japan.
Ordering is ideally done via QR code, though table service is available. The open kitchen offers a clear view of the action, with a few seats lining the service counter if you want to watch your lunch come together.
The food
A small konbini section sells grab-and-go sandos and onigiri that can also be eaten in-house, though unclear messaging around whether to pay at the retail counter or after dining makes...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Opening a venue often comes down to a single question: who is it for?
It’s a simple question, but one that’s rarely answered well. Aim too broadly and things start to slip. Too narrow, and you lose the room.
At Daphne, the balance holds.
From the team behind Etta, this is a venue that understands how people actually want to eat. Flexible, social and low-friction, without giving anything up in the process. It’s Melbourne at its most functional, and arguably, at its most effective.
The vibe
Located on Lygon Street, in the old Bar Romantica haunt, it’s already full on a Tuesday night.
Not just busy, but genuinely humming. Couples on dates, groups of friends settling in, and, somewhat unexpectedly, families with young children. It’s a mixed room, but it doesn’t feel disjointed.
This is where Daphne distinguishes itself. Plenty of venues claim to be for everyone, but few actually pull it off. Here, approachability and taste sit side by side. You can order a Dirty Martini that rivals some of the city’s best, just with kids at the table.
Dining out with children often comes with a trade-off. You usually have to swap elegance for functionality. Daphne sidesteps that entirely. A pub in spirit, if not in form.
The space does the heavy lifting. Booths line the walls,...
Advertising
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
It’s easy to scrunch your nose up when you hear the name ‘Greasy Zoe’s’. It sounds like an American diner, the type of highway-side joint famed for Sloppy Joe sandwiches and sunny side-up eggs rather than sophisticated and inventive produce-driven cuisine.
But the latter is exactly what Greasy Zoe’s is, an unexpectedly thrilling dining experience curated on the outskirts of Melbourne. It’s spearheaded by the wildly creative chef Zoe Birch (ex-Courthouse Hotel and Healesville Hotel) and her intelligent hosting partner and sommelier, Lachlan Gardner.
We’re in the centre of Nillumbik Shire, as far as you can get to the edge of Melbourne before entering regional territory. Birch and Gardner stick to the hyperlocal brief by championing small Victorian producers, described on the menu as Our Family. Even the gorgeous ceramic plateware has been hand-built by local creators. Meanwhile, the menu consists only of the current season’s bounty as well as last season’s ferments, pickles and preserves, all made in-house. There’s a clear ethos of sustainability at Greasy Zoe’s; any green waste the restaurant produces is turned into compost. In addition, the only seafood served is green listed by Good Fish Project.
When we wander in on a Friday night, it feels more like a...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
There’s a particular set of questions most Melburnians are only too eager to ask one another – our unfailing conversation starters, if you will. Encompassing the holy trinity of local interests (footy, coffee, food), they are as follows: Which team do you support? Where’s the best coffee? And, of course, what’s your favourite restaurant?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re chatting with an older crowd or one of the younger “I saw this restaurant on TikTok” types, France-Soir invariably comes up as a glowing example of a good Melbourne time. The fancy-ish yet lovably casual French bistro has been buzzing happily on Toorak Road since 1986, and remarkably, it’s still proving a hit among the upcoming dining generation.
Is it the romantic bistro aesthetic that transports us to a sexier European place? The affable (if sometimes a bit chaotic) staff? The enormous gold-standard wine list? Or perhaps it’s the food – traditional Gallic classics that consistently stand the test of time in all their buttery-sauced, elegantly plated-up glory.
Even when dining there on a focused mission, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why France-Soir is such an indomitable favourite. But the truth remains that a lunch or dinner here is always fabulous, the hours swim by in a sea of joyous...
Advertising
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
The fertile coastal landscape of the Mornington Peninsula has long been a breeding ground for excellent dining spots, both fancy and casual (hello, Tedesca Osteria, Many Little and Red Gum BBQ – to name a few). And now, we can add a newish name to that list: Barragunda Dining.
Located on 400 hectares of farmland and sprawling native bush that forms Barragunda Estate, the property is owned by the Morris family, who, via their foundation, direct all profits made from the restaurant back into work that supports improvements and innovations in Australia’s food systems.
And really, that’s what the ethos is all about at Barragunda: focusing on sustainable agricultural practices that encourage regeneration, while creating a hyper-local culinary experience that feels rooted in place. When all these elements come together, it makes for one inspiring and unforgettable meal.
The vibe
Courtesy of David Dubois Architecture, Barragunda’s former farm shed has been transformed into a warm 40-seat restaurant that feels especially welcoming on an unseasonably grey and drizzly day in March. A large timber bar and shelves lined with jars of pickled veg and fermented fruit welcome guests, before the open kitchen and light-filled dining room unfurl as you walk further into the...
May 2025 update: Congrats to Proud Mary for ranking as the fourth best coffee spot in a global round-up! Find out why it's considered one of the world's greatest here. We last visited the venue in April 2025 for a caffeine fix and a bite to eat, and yep, we still rate the place a red-hot five stars.
- Lauren Dinse
Read on for our original listing written in 2015.
*****
It started out as one of the first cool, third-wave cafes in Melbourne. Now it’s a coffee empire. Proud Mary, she wears many fancy hats: unbelievably popular warehouse style café in Collingwood, wholesale coffee roasters stocking some of Melbourne’s best venues and training ground for award winning baristas (alumni including Kris Wood of South Melbourne’s Clement and John Vroom of Kew’s Ora.)
Coffee is a glorious and ever evolving affair here – pour over, syphon, French press, espresso, stove top, aero drip – this is where we go to watch and learn. If you can get a seat on the mothership we suggest you get something to eat too. The menu favours breakfast. Goes well with coffee, natch.
Years into their tenure nothing’s slipping – the Proud Mary crew are showing us how it’s done. In fact, they were recently named in a list of the World's 100 Best Coffee Shops as the fourth best across the globe.
Thirsty for something stronger? These are the best bars in Melbourne right now.
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
If we were to rank Melbourne’s most talked-about restaurants by frequency of mention last year, Kafeneion would surely land in the top five. The tragic thing was, this interesting new Greek eatery from acclaimed restaurateur Con Christopoulos (City Wine Shop, The European, Siglo) initially advertised itself as a winter pop-up. So we didn’t know if it would stay or leave or where it would move to next – if anywhere. Given its widespread praise, I was a little embarrassed that I personally hadn’t checked out its temporary Bourke Street location. So news that the homestyle diner was living on upstairs at Spring Street’s Melbourne Supper Club was a relief.
Kafeneion (a play on the Greek term ‘kafeneio’, which refers to a traditional coffee house) aims to serve Melburnians a taste of true, traditional Greek comfort food. Think homestyle soups and hearty meat and vegetable dishes made from authentic village recipes you’re unlikely to find outside of the Hellenic motherland. The place itself has a touch of taverna about it, too, with basic white tablecloths and Supper Club’s home-y wood panelling. It’s easy to imagine merrily hanging out here until long after dinner as the Athenians do – and you absolutely can, for it serves supper and drinks most nights until...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Marmelo (Portuguese for quince) makes a strong case for the culinary traditions of Portugal, which are not widely represented in Melbourne. From respected restaurateurs Ross and Sunny Lusted, it draws on regional flavours and techniques, with a menu that moves beyond the usual shorthand to reveal a cuisine of real range and nuance.
The vibe
Located on the ground floor of the newish Hyde Melbourne Place, the sprawling venue is warm and lustrous, from the industrial Crittall-style windows to the high ceilings fitted with custom light fixtures. Seating ranges from banquette-style configurations to chef’s table spots overlooking the open kitchen. Service strikes a confident balance between warmth and formality, with staff clearly well trained and tenured – something of a rarity in hotel restaurants right now.
The food
For a relatively small country, Portugal’s culinary traditions are vast, and that breadth is reflected across the menu. The bar offers an abridged version of the dining room selection, spanning one-bite snacks (akin to Spanish pintxos), small plates and more substantial dishes. In the dining room, the offering expands further, available as a set menu or à la carte.
There’s particular pleasure in the smaller bites. Pastéis de nata – perhaps...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Recently dubbed Koreatown, Healey’s Lane is buzzing with pocha and Korean imports, but tucked between them is a down-to-earth shop specialising in southern Chinese rice rolls known as cheung fun. The brand is based on a franchise from Guangzhou, though it feels distinctly homegrown, with all rice rolls made from scratch in-house.
The vibe
The compact space nods to a retro era of southern China, with bulb-lined signage, rattan pendant lights and booth seating. Service is relaxed – order via QR code and help yourself to condiments and cutlery. Some dishes take longer than others to arrive, so the best approach is to share and eat things as they land on the table.
With most dishes under $20 and some starting below $10, you can (and should) try widely across the menu. The starch-heavy dishes and generous portions mean items are more filling than they appear, but staff are happy to pack up leftovers to take home.
The food
Rice rolls, known in China as cheung fun, are a staple defined by their soft, slippery texture and satisfying chew.
While they appear at a handful of venues across Melbourne, Liyin is one of the few spots dedicated entirely to the dish – and perhaps the only one making them from scratch in the traditional way. Fresh rice is soaked and ground...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Konbinis – the convenience stores on virtually every corner in Japan – are just as much a cultural immersion as the country's shrines and cherry blossoms. This Cremorne lunch spot draws on that format, serving elevated interpretations of convenience store classics (onigiri, sandos, fried chicken) alongside a dine-in menu that brings genuine excitement back to the midday break.
The vibe
Compared to Silicon Valley, the tech and start-up hub of Cremorne can feel a little behind. But being able to claim Suupaa in the neighbourhood lifts things a few notches. The design leans into a sleek, romanticised vision of Tokyo futurism, with digital menu boards scrolling overhead and matcha on tap. One corner is dedicated to retail, with shelves of grab-and-go fare, an impressive alcohol selection, and homewares and magazines – some local, others imported from Japan.
Ordering is ideally done via QR code, though table service is available. The open kitchen offers a clear view of the action, with a few seats lining the service counter if you want to watch your lunch come together.
The food
A small konbini section sells grab-and-go sandos and onigiri that can also be eaten in-house, though unclear messaging around whether to pay at the retail counter or after dining makes...
Advertising
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
This predominantly takeaway eatery plays on two tried-and-true formats – the classic Aussie chook shop and the gai yang (charcoal chicken) stalls that line the streets of Bangkok – for a take on poultry that’s anything but boring.
The vibe
In a way, Yang Thai feels like Melbourne’s answer to The Bear – the restaurant from the eponymous show – minus the family drama. A simple, nostalgic format refreshed into something a little more cheffy, without losing its soul. It’s pricier than your average suburban chicken shop, perhaps, but still approachable – and good enough to pull regulars from across the city.
The space packs personality, from a hand-painted mural by local artist Nicholas Currie to a wall lined with CDs and vintage Thai cookbooks. Indoor seating is limited, but there’s an open-air deck out front and the St Kilda Botanical Gardens is just a few blocks away, making it perfect for a picnic.
The food
If you grew up frequenting your local chook shop, the format is familiar: choose a quarter, half or whole bird and add your sides, or opt for a combo. The difference is in the details.
Despite the compact kitchen, there’s clear craft behind the streamlined menu. Inspired by Bangkok, where chef Narit Kimsat grew up, the chicken is marinated in a black...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
Melbourne's pub landscape is now awash with elevated offerings, harking back to the kitsch of old-school iterations – with cleaner plating and higher price tags. While there's certainly a time and place for ironic white tablecloths and fancy parmas, the Rochey is your spot if you're after a solid, no-frills pub experience.
Since opening in the '70s, the venue has undergone several transformations – it’s now operated by Castle Group, the team behind Arcadia, Green Man’s Arms, Añada, and Brewsmith – yet it’s always stayed true to its roots as a reliable spot for drinks and live music. Not much has changed, and that’s the point.
You’ll still find music upstairs, trivia on Wednesdays and a daily selection of specials. The $22 steaks and $25 Sunday roasts were tempting, but I went for the Monday night parma deal – $25 for a parma and a pot of house beer – because a) it’s great value and b) who else is open on a Monday?
“Had one parma, had ‘em all,” I usually think, but this one stood out with its thick, buttermilk-brined, panko-crusted chicken; high-quality ham; and the unexpected salty bits of what I think was pancetta mixed into the sauce.
The new owners pride themselves on their meat-free options, so the veggie burger was another natural choice. The smoky grilled mock meat patty won’t fool you for beef, but...
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April 2025 update: Much-loved Lygon Street eatery and bar Heartattack and Vine turned 10 this year. They've been sharing some nostalgic throwback content on their Insta as of late, so take a walk down memory lane here. Congrats, guys!
- Lauren Dinse
Read on for our original review of Heartattack and Vine by Fred Siggins from 2016
*****
No offence, Lygon Street, but you needed some help. Heartattack and Vine is just the ticket - by Fred Siggins, November 2016
There’s a lot to like about Heartattack & Vine. Even if you’ve never set foot inside, you can appreciate a venue named after a Tom Waits album. And it feels like this is the place that Lygon St, needed. It's inspired by Italy, the country who’s immigrants gave Melbourne hospitality its heart, but unlike the old-school Italian cafes that define this strip of Carlton, Heartattack looks forward to a bright future of casual eating and drinking, not back to a nostalgic past.
The tiny shotgun venue manages to feel bright and open, with antique glass lights hanging from old metal window frames lending warmth and depth to the room. During the day it operates as a café, serving simple breakfasts, coffee, sandwiches and interesting options like a Spanish iced chocolate with hints of chili and orange for a spicy jaffa effect. But we’re here for a drink, and after dark they deliver in spades. Service is a bit cold and patchy at first, but as they ease into nighttime service, the crew relaxes and gets chatty about the trickle of...
March 2025: Please note that the formerly named Taita's House has moved from its original St Georges Road location to new digs on Clarendon Street in Thornbury – its new moniker is Taita's Lebanese Kitchen. While the majority of the menu remains the same since our last review in June 2023, any descriptions of the venue's design may no longer be relevant.
- Lauren Dinse
Read on for our original review of Taita's House from June 2023.
*****
On a rainy Sunday arvo, it's hard to know what to expect on your way to Taita’s House ('taita' is Arabic for grandmother). Are you actually going to someone’s house? Will there be obvious signage or will you have to knock on some strange door, only to be met by a perplexed old Lebanese woman and her wooden spoon? Our concerns are fast assuaged as we approach the restaurant and see tables and chairs scattered out the front of a clearly marked establishment.
At first glance, the dining space seems somewhat reminiscent of a casual kebab shop. A bright orange sign gleefully announces ice cream, while a TV mounted on the wall blares sentimental Lebanese music videos. The young woman behind the counter welcomes us in and shows us to our seats. It’s fresh inside, and if we're being honest – a little chilly. But as we sit down at the table and settle in, our attention rests on warmer details.
A small electric heater playfully disguises itself as a mini fireplace. There’s an old farmhouse-blue cabinet filled with colourful teapots and tubs...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
At a time when Brunswick’s Levantine dining scene was largely defined by traditional, family-style eateries along Sydney Road, Joseph Abboud broke new ground with Rumi, his modern interpretation of the region’s cuisine on Lygon Street. Drawing deeply from his Lebanese heritage, Abboud’s concept reimagined the Levantine dining experience for a contemporary audience.
Nearly two decades, a cookbook, and a loyal local following later, Abboud has relocated Rumi to its new home at the East Brunswick Village development on Nicholson Street. The high ceilings, dark, untarnished timber, and sleek gold-accented bar mark a departure from the more rustic charm of its former space. Yet with Abboud still in the kitchen preparing many of the dishes that made Rumi an institution, its heart and soul remain.
What’s striking about Rumi is that, while food and service receive maximum attention, it’s far from serious or stuffy. Staff are all dressed in matching Adidas tees reminiscent of '70s-era Lebanese soccer uniforms. And water is poured from decanters that our server stretched their arm up high to pour like the Arabic ritual of aerating coffee or tea.
Like most venues that stand the test of time, Rumi has retained several signature dishes that have become integral to its identity – too iconic and painstakingly refined to...
September 2024 update: The below review was written by Time Out editors in August 2015 and some details may have altered since then. Moroccan Soup Bar is no longer situated on Saint Georges Road in Fitzroy North, having moved to a new site on Boundary Road in North Melbourne. Visit the website for more information.
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
“I’m feeling lucky.” If you’re looking for a table at the Moroccan Soup Bar on a Saturday night, keep repeating this to yourself. For a tiny venue that has no menu, no booze and no meat, competition for diner real estate is astoundingly fierce. Get there at six or be prepared to wait an hour. So what the devil is all the hoo-ha about?
Contrary to what the name suggests, this is not a bar, nor is soup the main event. But it certainly is Moroccan. The menu is verbal and has been the same for many years, earning dishes like the chickpea bake and dips a legendary status. For $23 or $28, you'll get a vegetarian spread that is one hell of a bang for your buck.
Charismatic proprietor Hana Assafari has been successfully serving her North African cuisine here for over a decade, with minimal flair and no apologies. Treated more like a guest than a customer, you are greeted, informed of the menu, and fed whatever the kitchen has prepared. Simple. This lack of pandering is an affront to some, but in...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
A quick internet search on Hanna’s Kebab won’t yield a mountain of information. Not to be confused with Ashburton’s Hannah Kebabs, this small food truck operating out of a Coburg parking lot doesn’t have a website, an email address or much in the way of Google results. This mysteriousness is quite surprising, given that it’s the only kebab shop in Melbourne I know of where you might have to wait more than an hour for your order, so popular are its super-packed wraps. In 2023, infamous Sydney-based YouTuber and street food reviewer Spanian even called it one of the best kebabs he’s ever had in his life. Hanna’s does, thankfully, have an Instagram grid – here’s a good reel that gives you an idea of the vibe.
The first time I visited I was astonished at how many people – couples, big families, teens – had packed into the parking lot, either queuing up to order or waiting for their number to be called. It was around 8pm and such was the feverish excitement that conversation began to flow excitedly amongst strangers, which led to my discovery that one young lady had driven all the way from Derrimut. “Best kebabs ever,” a man in trackies promised me.
So what is it that’s so good about this kebab? Well, one thing is the bread. It’s unique, not at all like the fluffy Turkish sandwich-style doner kebabs popular in...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
If you love food, there’s a thrill in eating out wherever you go. But it’s always a lot more exciting when you’re not super familiar with the cuisine. It’s hardwired into our brains to seek novelty, and while living in a multicultural city like Melbourne affords many of us the privilege of exploring all corners of the globe through taste, there are inevitably pockets we overlook.
Vola Foods specialises in Cameroonian cuisine, a melting pot of flavours from the north, west and centre of Africa, with a dash of Arabic and European influence. How many other Cameroonian joints are there in Melbourne? Not many that I’ve found, if any. So my partner and I are, in a word, pumped. This is going to be a new West African food experience.
Vola sprung up in June 2021, smack-bang in the midst of one of our harshest lockdowns. Popular for takeaways, it metamorphosed over time into the buzzy yet secret gem it is today. Google Maps leads the way, but our ears also help us navigate, picking up on boppy Nigerian Afrobeats tunes floating out from the speakers in a nearby parking lot. It’s here that head chef and owner Ashley Vola’s team sling her coveted jollof rice, puff puff (fried African dough balls) and mouth-watering barbecued meats from a bright orange shipping container.
You may remember Vola from the short-lived...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
When Moon Mart landed in West Melbourne in 2022, its cult fave status was instantly palpable: long queues, limited seating inside and a buzzing corner store energy.
The beloved pan-Asian café has since relocated to a slightly more spacious home on South Melbourne’s Clarendon Street, and yes, we can confirm: its sandos, katsu sets and creative drinks still set the gold standard.
The vibe
Moon Mart’s trademark yellow is the perfect shade of happy for breakfast time, a vivid splash that colours the door, patio umbrellas and a circular neon wall light.
It’s bustling inside even on weekdays, and with Tame Impala’s latest record on rotation and front window views of Clarendon Street’s foot traffic, the atmosphere is cosy and energetic.
Though not as compact as its former home, Moon Mart is a rather intimately sized café, so don’t expect heaps of room to stretch out. However, there’s enough of an acoustic din – and space between tables – to feel like you can gossip with your pal in privacy.
The food
The menu is split into two columns: the snacky sando section ($16-24) and the larger-portioned rice set section ($25-38). You may be drawn to the latter if you’ve walked in with a hearty appetite, but take our word for it: you can’t go wrong with anything between...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
When thinking about the modern Melbourne dining scene, is it a busy brunch spot or a chic wine bar that defines it best? Sleepy's Café and Wine Bar, on Nicholson Street in Carlton North, recognises this Melbourne truth and leans into both. Driven by self-taught chef and owner Steve Chan, whose menu draws equally from his Australian upbringing and mixed Chinese heritage, Sleepy's is the kind of local joint shaped by migration, where food is rooted in memory but constantly nudged into new territory.
The vibe
Sleepy’s is every bit the neighbourhood bolthole. Inside, you get the classic Carlton bones of exposed red brick, arched openings, timber ceilings and tiled floors, all given a playful lift by a big red lantern over the bar. During the day, the unfussy, lived-in space bustles with young families and groups of friends nestled over lattes.
At night, it shifts into familiar wine bar territory, with lower lighting, more couples and that perfect inner north stickiness that makes you want to settle in with a bottle or four. On my first visit during the day, two chefs run a smooth, efficient pass. By evening, there is only one, and my order gets caught behind a large table, stretching the wait longer than expected. Still, any despair (I am not my best self when hungry) evaporates with the arrival of our first...
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With a charming corner position next to a lush green park, Mr. Brightside is the perfect place for families to pop in after a weekend sports game, or for a calm, solo early morning coffee during the week. For locals, this café, one of the few in the area, has become like a second home, with its considerate and attentive owners knowing most customers by name, and by coffee order (no matter how complicated it may be, no questions asked). Fuss-free and consistent food is the name of the game here - the brekky slider with cheesy scrambled egg on a milk bun is a moreish morning pick me up, and the hash browns with beef brisket, eggs and mustard sauce is a menu mainstay for good reason.
Time Out tip: Your pup will be pleased with a visit to Mr. Brightside as all dogs - nice and naughty ones alike - are treated to doggy biscuits from friendly waiters.
May 2025 update: Congrats to Proud Mary for ranking as the fourth best coffee spot in a global round-up! Find out why it's considered one of the world's greatest here. We last visited the venue in April 2025 for a caffeine fix and a bite to eat, and yep, we still rate the place a red-hot five stars.
- Lauren Dinse
Read on for our original listing written in 2015.
*****
It started out as one of the first cool, third-wave cafes in Melbourne. Now it’s a coffee empire. Proud Mary, she wears many fancy hats: unbelievably popular warehouse style café in Collingwood, wholesale coffee roasters stocking some of Melbourne’s best venues and training ground for award winning baristas (alumni including Kris Wood of South Melbourne’s Clement and John Vroom of Kew’s Ora.)
Coffee is a glorious and ever evolving affair here – pour over, syphon, French press, espresso, stove top, aero drip – this is where we go to watch and learn. If you can get a seat on the mothership we suggest you get something to eat too. The menu favours breakfast. Goes well with coffee, natch.
Years into their tenure nothing’s slipping – the Proud Mary crew are showing us how it’s done. In fact, they were recently named in a list of the World's 100 Best Coffee Shops as the fourth best across the globe.
Thirsty for something stronger? These are the best bars in Melbourne right now.
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Bánh mì might be one of the best sandwiches ever invented. And thanks to our local Vietnamese community, we’ve got an excellent list of purveyors to choose from, especially out in certain ‘burbs southeast and west of the city.
It hasn’t always been so easy to source a mind-bendingly good one in the CBD, so when Banh Mi Stand first sprung onto the scene last year, I was careful about getting my hopes up. Yet the Flinders Lane hole-in-the-wall has garnered some serious hype that’s long outlived its initial post-debut shine.
And so when I show up with a hungry friend on our lunch break, a cloud of customers swarming the counter is no less encouraging. Save for some tiny plastic stools and milk crates on the pavement, it’s very much a grab-and-go deal.
The sign is an artsy line-drawing of a baguette, a dead giveaway – along with some flashy royal blue branding – that this bánh mì shop is a more modern operation than what you’d find in Footscray, Richmond or Springvale. But hardcore traditionalists be damned; the eats here turn out to blow our hunger-addled, carb-craving minds.
From the short list of six menu options, we’ve opted for the globally adored crispy pork roll and the Hanoi cha, a more traditional style of roll with cold cuts of pork loaf. Judging...
If you live in Melbourne and have TikTok, chances are you’ve heard of Stefanino Panino. That’s how the deli-style shop first landed on my radar, via multiple drool-worthy videos showing loaded sandwich cross-sections and lines snaking out the door. It was salivation through the screen at its finest, and I knew as a dedicated sliced bread specialist that I had to find out whether this family-run business (founded by mother-son duo Diana and Stef Condello) lived up to the hype.
I visit the new-ish digs (Stefanino Panino moved from its OG location on the Brunswick East end of Lygon Street in November 2023) in Collingwood Yards with my husband on a chilly Saturday morning. We skipped brekky in favour of starting the day with a carb-loading sesh, and have arrived early to snag our sanga of choice, lest it sells out – which, on the weekend, is not unusual.
Having already studied the menu before arriving, our choices are clear: the Bologna (mortadella, stracciatella, pickled peppers and olives) and the L’Australiana (prosciutto, provolone, tomato, rocket, onion, mayo and dijon mustard). But with 12 sandwiches on offer, plus rotating specials and the option to build your own, this is a place that demands a return visit or two – after all, who doesn’t want to say they clocked Stefanino Panino’s sandwich line-up?
True to form (aka all the TikToks I’d seen), there was already a line out the door upon our arrival mid-morning. We poke our heads inside the busy venue and glimpse the...
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Piccolo Panini Bar is a place whose reputation precedes it, its strong social media presence and blocks-long queues garnering a lot of hype. Despite entering the scene at the later end of the sandwich wave, Piccolo developed a chokehold on loyalists from the inner east and those willing to travel for a good panini.
Needless to say, the bar was set high when we visited on a Friday at 8am. The venue was nearly empty save for a few takeaway coffee customers, allowing us to fully soak up the ambience (custom-branded soccer jerseys on display, cannoli at the counter, music pumping) before the lunch rush.
The board behind the deli case of marinated vegetables, salumi and cheese, listed six filling options, only one of which was vegetarian and most of which fell around $16. Each sandwich could also be customised with additional accoutrements for an extra cost of $1.5 to $6 more. But a shop’s signatures are the best judgment of their quality so we went with the cotoletta and the salami, plus coffee.
The latter came first, milk well-frothed and coffee strong but not bitter. The food was served around ten to fifteen minutes later. We denied the offer of a carry bag and regretted it once realising the sandwiches weighed what felt like a kilo each, but quickly found a sunny nearby park to dine at. There are only a few outdoor tables at Piccolo in clear line of sight of the staff and passersby, which is not ideal for those who prefer to dine with some semblance of privacy.
Both...
Mar 2024 update: The below review was written in 2017. Sandwich options may have changed since we visited so please check the website to see what's currently on offer.
When the 18th-century English aristocrat John Montagu, aka the 4th Earl of Sandwich, started the trend of eating meat tucked between bread, he could never have envisioned how far the humble sandwich would come. Now we have Hector’s Deli, a café in Richmond dedicated to sandwiches – classic combinations made with high-quality ingredients and decked out with extra flourishes. The menu offers five options (and if you're lucky, a few specials) and that’s about it. No eggs. No fancy plating. No cutlery. But considering co-owners Jason Barratt and Dom Wilton have worked at Melbourne institutions like Stokehouse and Attica, you should buckle up for a sandwich shop with some serious cachet.
The café is housed in a former milk bar on a quiet suburban street, away from the hustle and bustle of Richmond’s main strips but even so the tiny space still hums with throngs of locals. Barratt and Wilton are behind the white-tiled kitchen-cum-register dishing one sarnie after another, while warmly greeting customers, many by name. Couples with dogs wait for barista Zac Kelly’s creamy, strong flat whites made from Axil Roasters coffee beans and hungry kids are placated with flaky croissants from Rustica, also their bread supplier. It’s like the Cheers of sandwich shops.
If you’re visiting during the early shift, order the...
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Mar 2024 update: The below review was written in 2019, however we've since updated opening hours, imagery and other relevant information. Fun fact: Harry Styles was spotted at this eatery in 2023.
Cibi translates to ‘little one’ from Japanese, but the beloved Collingwood café and concept store of the same name made a big move last October. Originally opened over a decade ago by husband and wife Meg and Zenta Tanaka, Cibi has relocated (albeit next door) to a spacious, light-flooded warehouse – there’s now more room to display its beautiful products and, importantly, ample space for more diners to become devotees of its famed Japanese-style breakfasts.
The Tanakas’ philosophy is to look at life through the eyes of our younger selves. Correspondingly, the compact menu champions simplicity. Fusing Japanese ingredients and cooking methods with Western flavours and seasonal produce results in well-balanced dishes and modest serving sizes, staying true to the Japanese proverb and one of Cibi’s mantras – hara-hachi-bun-me (eating until you are 80 percent full is eating in moderation).
Despite the larger space there’s a short wait for a table on a sunny Sunday morning. The room hums with chatter as people tackle free-range eggs, roasted eggplant and butternut squash caramelised with sweet house-made miso buried under a thick blanket of oozy provolone cheese – it tastes as cosy as it looks. Salmon cured in-house with sake and kombu is served with a soft-boiled egg and pickled...
Sometimes you just need to start your morning with a stack of fluffy pancakes, a greasy cheeseburger, a side of crispy bacon and a chocolate milkshake. Because you know, balance. And when that’s all served up alongside a retro-chic, old-school diner fitout with a welcoming service you’re not left wanting much more.
Operator Diner, nestled in the dynamic Wesley Place development opposite Caretaker’s Cottage (one of our city's great bars), is bringing something different and exciting to the Melbourne café scene. The team from Operator25 takes us on a journey with this new venue, not only to the US of A, but also back in time, to the good ol’ days of jukebox-playing, pie-slinging, neon-lit diners. A considered design by architects We Are Humble, which brings brown-leather banquettes, cafeteria-style chairs, and orange and yellow '70s sunshine tones to life, manages to achieve a playful and charming atmosphere that doesn’t feel gimmicky or overdone.
On weekday mornings, the café bustles with office workers lining up for a takeaway coffee and breakfast roll or a chocolate hazelnut croissant (from AM Bakehouse in Glen Iris). By the time the weekend rolls around, crowds arrive looking for a hangover cure, and to share stacks of pancakes with Nutella sauce, cookie crumbs and vanilla ice cream.
The breakfast menu runs all day and puts diners in a pickle trying to choose between French toast with cinnamon and maple syrup or a triple-cheese grilled sandwich served alongside a...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
As Melbourne’s first and only Ukrainian restaurant, Otakoi rises to the occasion – using food as a vehicle to share the country’s rich culture, history and warmth. It helps that the food is excellent. The convivial atmosphere and BYO policy lend themselves to big, boisterous group dinners. The more people you bring, the more of the menu you’ll get to try – and you’ll want to try it all.
The vibe
Tucked down the Windsor end of Chapel Street, Otakoi is easy to miss from the outside, but the inside bursts with colour and character. The ornate interior pays homage to traditional Ukrainian design, with shelves, walls and ceilings adorned with art and handicrafts. Ukrainian hospitality is equally on display. Guests are greeted with a piece of brown bread and salt – a traditional symbol of welcome – before being led to tables set with heavy ceramic serveware by staff in vyshyvanka (traditional embroidered shirts). They’re eager to chat through the menu and make sure glasses never run dry.
The food
The menu is rooted in hearty Ukrainian comfort food. The varenyky (dumplings) are a must, filled with potato, beans and mushrooms or salmon and cream cheese wrapped in striking black dough and topped with flying fish roe. The latter is an unlikely combination that...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Konbinis – the convenience stores on virtually every corner in Japan – are just as much a cultural immersion as the country's shrines and cherry blossoms. This Cremorne lunch spot draws on that format, serving elevated interpretations of convenience store classics (onigiri, sandos, fried chicken) alongside a dine-in menu that brings genuine excitement back to the midday break.
The vibe
Compared to Silicon Valley, the tech and start-up hub of Cremorne can feel a little behind. But being able to claim Suupaa in the neighbourhood lifts things a few notches. The design leans into a sleek, romanticised vision of Tokyo futurism, with digital menu boards scrolling overhead and matcha on tap. One corner is dedicated to retail, with shelves of grab-and-go fare, an impressive alcohol selection, and homewares and magazines – some local, others imported from Japan.
Ordering is ideally done via QR code, though table service is available. The open kitchen offers a clear view of the action, with a few seats lining the service counter if you want to watch your lunch come together.
The food
A small konbini section sells grab-and-go sandos and onigiri that can also be eaten in-house, though unclear messaging around whether to pay at the retail counter or after dining makes...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Zareh has been on everyone’s lips since it was first announced back in early 2024, and the hype has only intensified since opening. Four months in, it’s safe to say the fanfare is justified. Chef Tom Sarafian draws on his Armenian and Egyptian roots, his partner Jinane’s Lebanese heritage, and years spent cooking in kitchens across Australia and Europe. It’s all distilled into a tight, thoughtful menu that feels carefully considered from start to finish.
The vibe
With just 40 seats stretched along a long, narrow room, Zareh – named for Sarafian’s grandfather – feels warm and intimate. Much of the seating lines the bar, offering a clear view into the kitchen, where most elements are made from scratch and finished in front of you. The venue is serious yet completely unpretentious, sidestepping the stiffness that can come with a much-anticipated opening.
The food
The offering is limited by design. Sixteen items appear on the A5 menu, some of which also feature on the $95 set. The brevity allows the team to focus on detail, with most dishes prepared to order.
We start with torshi – an assortment of simple, sharp pickles that are dangerously easy to demolish alongside a cocktail. The bastourma toast – open-faced sesame bread spread with herb-laced goat’s...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
Opening a venue often comes down to a single question: who is it for?
It’s a simple question, but one that’s rarely answered well. Aim too broadly and things start to slip. Too narrow, and you lose the room.
At Daphne, the balance holds.
From the team behind Etta, this is a venue that understands how people actually want to eat. Flexible, social and low-friction, without giving anything up in the process. It’s Melbourne at its most functional, and arguably, at its most effective.
The vibe
Located on Lygon Street, in the old Bar Romantica haunt, it’s already full on a Tuesday night.
Not just busy, but genuinely humming. Couples on dates, groups of friends settling in, and, somewhat unexpectedly, families with young children. It’s a mixed room, but it doesn’t feel disjointed.
This is where Daphne distinguishes itself. Plenty of venues claim to be for everyone, but few actually pull it off. Here, approachability and taste sit side by side. You can order a Dirty Martini that rivals some of the city’s best, just with kids at the table.
Dining out with children often comes with a trade-off. You usually have to swap elegance for functionality. Daphne sidesteps that entirely. A pub in spirit, if not in form.
The space does the heavy lifting. Booths line the walls,...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
There’s a particular set of questions most Melburnians are only too eager to ask one another – our unfailing conversation starters, if you will. Encompassing the holy trinity of local interests (footy, coffee, food), they are as follows: Which team do you support? Where’s the best coffee? And, of course, what’s your favourite restaurant?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re chatting with an older crowd or one of the younger “I saw this restaurant on TikTok” types, France-Soir invariably comes up as a glowing example of a good Melbourne time. The fancy-ish yet lovably casual French bistro has been buzzing happily on Toorak Road since 1986, and remarkably, it’s still proving a hit among the upcoming dining generation.
Is it the romantic bistro aesthetic that transports us to a sexier European place? The affable (if sometimes a bit chaotic) staff? The enormous gold-standard wine list? Or perhaps it’s the food – traditional Gallic classics that consistently stand the test of time in all their buttery-sauced, elegantly plated-up glory.
Even when dining there on a focused mission, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why France-Soir is such an indomitable favourite. But the truth remains that a lunch or dinner here is always fabulous, the hours swim by in a sea of joyous...
May 2025 update: Congrats to Proud Mary for ranking as the fourth best coffee spot in a global round-up! Find out why it's considered one of the world's greatest here. We last visited the venue in April 2025 for a caffeine fix and a bite to eat, and yep, we still rate the place a red-hot five stars.
- Lauren Dinse
Read on for our original listing written in 2015.
*****
It started out as one of the first cool, third-wave cafes in Melbourne. Now it’s a coffee empire. Proud Mary, she wears many fancy hats: unbelievably popular warehouse style café in Collingwood, wholesale coffee roasters stocking some of Melbourne’s best venues and training ground for award winning baristas (alumni including Kris Wood of South Melbourne’s Clement and John Vroom of Kew’s Ora.)
Coffee is a glorious and ever evolving affair here – pour over, syphon, French press, espresso, stove top, aero drip – this is where we go to watch and learn. If you can get a seat on the mothership we suggest you get something to eat too. The menu favours breakfast. Goes well with coffee, natch.
Years into their tenure nothing’s slipping – the Proud Mary crew are showing us how it’s done. In fact, they were recently named in a list of the World's 100 Best Coffee Shops as the fourth best across the globe.
Thirsty for something stronger? These are the best bars in Melbourne right now.
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
There’s something deeply satisfying about a bowl of udon. All chew and slurp, it delivers exactly what this noodle lover is chasing.
Yamamoto Udon, tucked into Melbourne’s CBD, is arguably the city’s most focused udon specialist right now. It deals in Edo-period technique, where simplicity isn’t a shortcut but a discipline, a quiet commitment to doing one thing properly.
The menu centres on two styles. Himokawa arrives wide and ribbon-like, defined by an understated elegance, while Sanuki is the more familiar form: thick, springy and built around that signature chew.
What underpins it all is craft-led precision. The dough undergoes a double fermentation at carefully controlled temperatures. Every element feels considered, almost exacting. It’s the result of repetition, of refinement, the sort of cooking that comes from doing the same thing over and over until there’s nothing left to adjust.
The vibe
The fit-out mirrors the food. Immaculate, restrained, without gratuitous detail.
Like many noodle shops in Japan, seating runs along the counter, ideal for solo dining, with a clear view into the kitchen. There are also a handful of tables for two or four, if you’re inclined to share.
On my visit, steam billowed from the kitchen, but the room remained calm....
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
It’s easy to scrunch your nose up when you hear the name ‘Greasy Zoe’s’. It sounds like an American diner, the type of highway-side joint famed for Sloppy Joe sandwiches and sunny side-up eggs rather than sophisticated and inventive produce-driven cuisine.
But the latter is exactly what Greasy Zoe’s is, an unexpectedly thrilling dining experience curated on the outskirts of Melbourne. It’s spearheaded by the wildly creative chef Zoe Birch (ex-Courthouse Hotel and Healesville Hotel) and her intelligent hosting partner and sommelier, Lachlan Gardner.
We’re in the centre of Nillumbik Shire, as far as you can get to the edge of Melbourne before entering regional territory. Birch and Gardner stick to the hyperlocal brief by championing small Victorian producers, described on the menu as Our Family. Even the gorgeous ceramic plateware has been hand-built by local creators. Meanwhile, the menu consists only of the current season’s bounty as well as last season’s ferments, pickles and preserves, all made in-house. There’s a clear ethos of sustainability at Greasy Zoe’s; any green waste the restaurant produces is turned into compost. In addition, the only seafood served is green listed by Good Fish Project.
When we wander in on a Friday night, it feels more like a...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
If we were to rank Melbourne’s most talked-about restaurants by frequency of mention last year, Kafeneion would surely land in the top five. The tragic thing was, this interesting new Greek eatery from acclaimed restaurateur Con Christopoulos (City Wine Shop, The European, Siglo) initially advertised itself as a winter pop-up. So we didn’t know if it would stay or leave or where it would move to next – if anywhere. Given its widespread praise, I was a little embarrassed that I personally hadn’t checked out its temporary Bourke Street location. So news that the homestyle diner was living on upstairs at Spring Street’s Melbourne Supper Club was a relief.
Kafeneion (a play on the Greek term ‘kafeneio’, which refers to a traditional coffee house) aims to serve Melburnians a taste of true, traditional Greek comfort food. Think homestyle soups and hearty meat and vegetable dishes made from authentic village recipes you’re unlikely to find outside of the Hellenic motherland. The place itself has a touch of taverna about it, too, with basic white tablecloths and Supper Club’s home-y wood panelling. It’s easy to imagine merrily hanging out here until long after dinner as the Athenians do – and you absolutely can, for it serves supper and drinks most nights until...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
The fertile coastal landscape of the Mornington Peninsula has long been a breeding ground for excellent dining spots, both fancy and casual (hello, Tedesca Osteria, Many Little and Red Gum BBQ – to name a few). And now, we can add a newish name to that list: Barragunda Dining.
Located on 400 hectares of farmland and sprawling native bush that forms Barragunda Estate, the property is owned by the Morris family, who, via their foundation, direct all profits made from the restaurant back into work that supports improvements and innovations in Australia’s food systems.
And really, that’s what the ethos is all about at Barragunda: focusing on sustainable agricultural practices that encourage regeneration, while creating a hyper-local culinary experience that feels rooted in place. When all these elements come together, it makes for one inspiring and unforgettable meal.
The vibe
Courtesy of David Dubois Architecture, Barragunda’s former farm shed has been transformed into a warm 40-seat restaurant that feels especially welcoming on an unseasonably grey and drizzly day in March. A large timber bar and shelves lined with jars of pickled veg and fermented fruit welcome guests, before the open kitchen and light-filled dining room unfurl as you walk further into the...
There are two kinds of people in Melbourne, those who have heard of Aangan, and those who have not. For the uninitiated, Aangan is the 15-year-old, well-oiled machine serving multiregional Indian cuisine to the local community and anyone determined enough to travel for their near-flawless food. Footscray may be known as one of Melbourne’s main Vietnamese hubs, but if you keep heading west, you’ll find yourself in Little India.
There’s a little bit of an intelligence test getting into Aangan, the restaurant is glass-fronted with doorways blocked off by inside seating. The trick is to keep walking until you hit a narrow corridor to the side of the building that eventually leads to an entrance, a hectic takeaway area, and if you keep walking, a huge, tented courtyard packed with even more diners. It may be overwhelming on your first visit because Aangan is the kind of venue where they’re full from the minute they open until the minute they close, but the staff are so used to the controlled chaos that they never miss a beat. Needless to say, unless you like waiting for a table, you’d be smart to book ahead otherwise you’ll be left in food-purgatory, staring at large tables of Indian families sharing tandoori platters, curries, naans and biryanis; couples on first dates dipping into butter chicken; or groups of friends tucking into chaat.
The menu spans India, and even a little beyond with chaat and biryani from the north, dosa, idli and sambhar from the south, plus a range of...
When young Abla Amad came to Melbourne in 1954 she brought the love of cooking developed while watching her mother in their north Lebanese village. Later, she sharpened her culinary skills with the Lebanese women who would meet in each other’s kitchens to exchange recipes. Abla loved feeding people so much that meal-making for her family turned into hosting Sunday feasts for the community – and then came the restaurant.
Abla’s opened in 1979 in the same location it’s in today and upon entry you experience a pleasant time warp. The décor – white tablecloths, simple chairs and extravagantly framed paintings – hasn’t changed much since those early days, and the hospitality is instant: a warm welcome with olives and pita crisps already on your table.
This is one of those places where it's worth considering the banquet. In the first event, charry baba ghanoush jostles for attention with creamy yet firm labne and chunky hummus. Next up, ladies’ fingers are so fine and buttery that the filo pastry barely contains the pine nuts and minced lamb spiked with cumin, allspice and sumac – you won’t be able to stop licking your fingers. The baked chicken wings in garlic and lemon are fall-off-the-bone tender, and in these days of 1,001 spices, such a simple dish is refreshing.
Abla does two versions of the Middle East’s beloved stuffed vegetables: one with silverbeet, the other with cabbage. Don’t leave without trying the former (it's not part of the banquet but consider tacking it on),...
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Acland Street Cantina is the Melbourne Pub Group’s new house of Mexican snacks, and no, it's not 'authentically Mexican'. But that’s OK. Chef Paul Wilson does great Cal-Mex. It’s the European/South American riff on the cuisine that unlike sour-creamy Tex-Mex, sees accents of radishes, figs and parsley join the often meaty taco party.
Dinner may start with chilled pumpkin 'guacamole', punching fresh with tomato salsa and festooned with pepitas and crumbled white queso fresco cheese. Scoop it up with plantain crisps, made from that starchy banana relative. It’s tasty, vibrant stuff that steers away from the oversubscribed norms, served up in another of Julian Gerner's great spaces. There’s a front café/late-night diner (3am!) decorated with so many fluoro pink lights and lolly stools it looks like Katy Perry. We actually prefer it out here to the restaurant, which aside from a compulsory Day of the Dead mosaic is just as dark and thumping with bass as when it was Mink nightclub.
Which makes it all the more disappointing that the service is letting them down. On our visit, the lack of knowledge of dishes and drinks is endemic, and though most staff are friendly enough, there’s chaos on the floor. But, forewarned is forearmed and if you can get past the glitches, there’s good food to be had here.
This is Wilson’s most Mexican offering to date (thanks to him having now actually been to Mexico). Tortillas are great. Thick and a little rough like a corn pancake for loading with...
You never think of Fitzroy as needing more brunch, but when you consider the quality of hangover the suburb can provide there isn’t nearly enough. Who can walk more than a block or queue for eggs after a night at the Evelyn, the Everleigh or both? Not us. And clearly not the folks who live near Mark Tuckey furniture. They’ve descended on Johnston Street’s latest bruncher like it’s the great white, macramé-filled hope.
They do a gold standard classic here. Corn fritters are like deep-fried kernel-studded cornbread, with grilled haloumi and hidden in a mixed lettuce hedge with fresh tomato salsa and poached eggs. The buckwheat pancake stack is as fat as a Victoria sponge and twice as nutritious: two inch-thick disks accessorised with poached quince and massive dollop of vanilla mascarpone.
The menu is basically a roll call of café foods we love: spongy crumpets from Dr Marty; pats of cultured Pepe Saya butter and pots of raspberry/rhubarb jam. It’s Little Bertha's chocolate praline cakes in the front counter, while behind them stands barista Cam Greene, who’s migrated just 100-metres down from where he was slinging cups at Doomsday. He’ll extract you a lip numbing shot from the good folks at Padre that’s equally sweet as a neat black shortie or a full fat flattie.
It's a double couple team making Addict run like it's on wheels. Greg and Brooke Brassil used to own a coffee roastery back in Shepparton. The floor team, lead by business partners Joe and Brooke Ventura, are alert...
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Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
Tucked in a quiet pocket of South Melbourne, Aegli takes a contemporary approach to Greek cuisine that’s rarely seen in Melbourne. Chef Ioannis (Yianni) Kasidokostas, who previously worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Athens, brings that fine dining finesse to a menu rooted in tradition. The space and food are refined, yet the service has the warmth of a taverna or family home. It’s clear Kasidokostas is deeply committed to his craft – and to sharing it with diners.
The vibe
Once home to fine diner Lume, the venue has great bones that Aegli has retained. The timber-clad, open-plan dining room looks into a spacious kitchen, while skylights bathe the space in natural light. Down the back, a dry-ageing cabinet offers a peek into the process of items like housemade cheese and loukaniko, an aged beef sausage. Service follows the formality of old-school white-tablecloth Greek eateries, but still remains relaxed and personable. Every table seems to receive the same thoughtful attention, and the hospitality feels genuine – never rehearsed. It’s not exactly a place for introverts – each dish arrives with a story about its origins, technique and intention – but that engagement is an essential part of the experience.
The food
The menu reimagines Greek classics in unexpected ways, offering depth and complexity...
Food isn't always just sustenance. Whether it's spaghetti on toast or gefilte fish, the taste of a dish can evoke powerful personal and cultural memories. A little of that power seems to be at work at the Afghan Gallery, which for 24 years has been winning over Brunswick Street diners with generous servings of deceptively simple-looking food. The care with which it's prepared creates a strong impression that this food means something to the people behind the scenes. The family-owned restaurant occupies two storeys of an older-style building, the ground floor a conventional à la carte establishment with rugs and posters for colour, and the first floor laid out like a traditional Afghan banqueting room. The 'tent room' is an excellent space for parties: dimly lit and scattered with cushions, it encourages lingering as guests slide ever further under the low tables. The menu contains some amusingly vague descriptions, like spinach with “different spices” and mungbeans served with “vegetable dish”. If you need to know what’s in there, the staff will be happy to help, but if specific ingredients aren’t an issue it’s best to just relax and trust that the food will be good. Highlights include a qorma slow-cooked with chunks of eggplant so tender they collapse at the sight of a fork; lightly spiced meat samosas with homemade yoghurt; and a smooth, delicately flavoured yellow dhal served with perfect long-grained basmati rice with hints of cumin and clove. The bar is basic, but...
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August 2024 update: Agostino and its adjoining gourmet deli King and Godfree are both closed temporarily for renovations. Watch this space for more details as they unfold.
Have you ever tried to style your hair into a ‘messy bob’, or attempted to cook paella at home? As it turns out, looking effortless requires a lot of work. With Agostino, about four years’ worth has resulted in a restaurant that’s breezily confident from the outset, ready to elbow its way into Melbourne’s Italian canon. The place has barely opened, but the linen-clad staff are already gliding around buzzing rooms, pouring wines from a towering backlit cellar and swooping down plate after plate of sophisticated regional fare.
Agostino is the final, crowning jewel in the Valmorbida family’s epic complex of Italian drinking and dining, which also includes the revived King & Godfree Deli and rooftop spritz bar Johnny’s Green Room. But where the other two are more casual affairs, this upscale wine bar is here to make an impression. The space is a study in relaxed, discerning luxury, pale woods and dusty greens soothing as shiny terrazzo and marble bars adding a moneyed weight. Meanwhile, that glowing cellar holds a small town’s economy in triple digit European wines, sure to be given high rotation by the long lunchers and Carlton’s comfortable retirees. Smaller budgets are kept intact by the glass, with interest-piquing options like a buttery moschofilero from Greece and a deliciously unfussy red on tap – a...
For weeks, it was the name we’d heard most on the lips of our food-obsessed friends: Alta Trattoria. What could be so extraordinary about yet another Italian joint in a city brimming with some of the best of them? We couldn’t yet know, but we weren’t about to wait a minute longer to find out. After all, pasta is good, but good pasta is everything – even when you’re privileged enough to have already tasted some of the silkiest, sauciest and slurp-worthiest in all the land.
Do your research though, and you’ll quickly discover that Alta Trattoria is not, in fact, just “another Italian joint”. The restaurant’s specialty is a little different, zeroing in on the northern Italian region of Piedmont, which is located at the foot of the Alps and home to some of the boot nation’s most prized culinary exports. In addition, the team behind Alta Trattoria includes Luke Drum (Carlton Wine Room), chef McKay Wilday (Victoria by Farmers Daughters), Carlo Grossi (Ombra, Grossi Florentino) and vino expert James Tait (King and Godfree). A formidable crew like this at the helm is nothing to sniff at – so off we trotted on a Friday night.
Tucked away off Brunswick Street, a tomato-red-painted restaurant quietly hums with good cheer and Italo-pop music. One dining area looks out onto the graffiti-decorated side street, the other’s nestled against an imposing bar. The friendly, bustling atmosphere belies a hidden thread of formality that ties the whole operation together with the finesse of a...
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Everyone has that one friend whose restaurant recommendations are to be trusted. They’re the type of friend who follows food blogs religiously, who knows their nduja from their natto, always the first on the ground when a new hot sandwich joint opens or, in Alt’s case, a sultry modern pasta restaurant. So when that type of friend in my life gave the Niagara Lane newcomer a big, fat, green tick, it soared to the top of my hit list in an instant.
What I discovered in my research was intriguing. Everything at Alt is made in-house, including the pasta, the bread, vinegars and more. The menu’s also interesting, not your standard showcase of traditional Italian ingredients. Mossy green ribbons of pappardelle come topped with shavings of abalone, and you’ll spot diverse ingredients like kumquat, romesco, dashi jelly and edamame also making unexpected appearances in several dishes. There’s clearly a flirtation with Japan going on here.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the Korean-born chef eschews added salt in his cooking, instead building his dishes from a savoury base of house-made chicken stock. Curiosity piqued, off to lunch I go, bringing along a carb-loving colleague. Alt’s slinky dimly lit lair offers a relaxing haven from the noise of the city. We settle in with a vino each, two skin-contact whites that pair politely with a plate of fresh pumpkin bread and mushroom butter brought to our table right away. The flavours are wild and robust, as satisfying as you’d expect.
My zippy...
Time Out Melbourne never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more here.
January 2025 update: Amaru is teaming up with Florilège to host a one-of-a-kind dining experience as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival this year. Go here to get a seat at the table. The review below describes a Chef's Counter experience in late 2023.
From the moment you book the full seasonal tasting experience on Amaru’s website, you know you’re in for an odyssey. It’s the restaurant’s most extravagant offering, after all – with five snacks, seven courses and petit fours, plus optional drink pairings. Skipping brekky isn’t a bad idea, but that’s not to say the food at Amaru will be dense or cumbersome – the progression of light to heavier dishes is carefully designed, a thoughtful pacing that allows you to take as long as you please in comfort.
Situated on a leafy boutique strip in Armadale amidst bridal shops and delis, the 34-seat venue is surprisingly low-key inside. Behind the sheer curtains concealing it from the outside world, you’re met with a starkly understated dining room accented with natural timber, earthy textiles, brushed grey walls and a statement vase of native flowers. The tables are widely spaced apart, offering a private sanctuary for languid, leisurely dining – which you’ll certainly need to fully immerse yourself in every...
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