Restaurants and cafés open on Christmas Day
Melbourne can be pretty quiet come December 25, but these city favourites are opening their doors to share in the Christmas spirit.
Still need to get a gift or two? These Christmas markets have got what you need. Need something to do this silly season? Melbourne has plenty of festive events to yule-tide you over.
Restaurants and cafés open on Christmas Day
Auction Rooms Café
Time: 7am-5pm
These hard-working North Melburnians are open 365 days of the year, so you can surely be in good hands on Christmas Day.
Hobba Coffee and Kitchen
Time: 7am-11am (coffee and cakes only)
If there's no way you are getting through a family lunch without the help of a lot of caffeine you best make tracks to Hobba, who are doing coffee only service for Jesus' b'day.
Butchers Diner
Time: Open 24 hours
Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four freaking hours, seven days a week is how long Con Christopoulos is keeping Butchers Diner open for. So grab a burger, a steak sandwich or a stiff drink on Christmas Day if you're in need of a good feed.
St Ali
Time: 7am-6pm
Start your yuletide celebrations with a coffee, then St Ali's buttermilk pancake or take it up a notch at lunchtime with their traditional Christmas lunch, complete with roast lamb and pavlova.
La Petite Creperie
Time: Noon-late
Pick up a plum jam or salted caramel crepe from this tiny converted newspaper stand in the CBD for a sweet (and easy) meal on Chrissie Day.
Square and Compass
Time: 8am-12pm (coffee only)
These East Melbourne champs will be rising early to serve up their quality coffee this Christmas morn', helping you get set for the long day of visiting the relos.
Third Wave Café
Time: 8am-3pm
They may have been arch enemies during the Cold War but now Russian and the US sit side by side on the menu of this Port Melbourne café. Head here for a pre-party coffee on Christmas Day and you'll be grand.
Tall Timber
Time: 7.30am-4pm
Tall Timber, from the guys behind Armadale's Coin Laundry and Port Melbourne's Station Street Trading Co., serves a versatile breakfast and lunch menu sourced with local produce. Get a little pick me up on Chrissie day before the craziness settles in.
Gramercy Bistro
Time: 8am-2pm
Prahran's NYC-inspired bistro has Manhattan style with a Melbourne twist – polished concrete floors and wooden bar stools sit alongside a Jewish deli-style display case of salami and pickles. Hop on over on Xmas day for coffee or more.
127 Brunswick St
Time: 5pm-late
Get food from Ichi Ni Nana, 127 Brunswick St's ground-level Izakaya, as it'll be open from 5pm.
Or book into a Christmas lunch
Arbory Bar and Eatery
Enjoy Christmas lunch at Melbourne’s longest bar while looking out over the Yarra River. For $145 you’ll get a two-hour drinks package (sparkling, red and white wine, beer, cider and soft drink) plus charcuterie and seafood to start, Meatsmith’s Christmas ham, sides and spiced Christmas cake with brandy crème anglaise to finish. Two sitting are available, one at 11.30am and one at 3pm. $145 per person.
Aria Lounge
You’ve heard of Christmas lunch: now meet Christmas high tea. Aria Lounge at the Langham is hosting two Christmas afternoon tea sittings. There will be Christmas stuffing quiches roast turkey vol au vents, yule logs and Christmas puds plus chintzy tea favourites like scones with jam and cream and endless tea, espresso coffee and hot chocolate. Bubbles on arrival. $99-$149.
Sea Life Melbourne
Spend your Christmas eating with the fishes. Sea Life Melbourne is hosting Christmas lunch for $169 per person (bookings for kids start at $29). As far as unique Christmas settings go you can’t beat views of the Yarra River and a floor to ceiling tropical marine display. On the menu is Huon River smoked salmon, roast turkey and pavlova. Your lunch also includes all day entry to the aquarium. $29-$169.
Matilda 159 Domain
Experience festive Australian delicacies this Christmas at Scott Pickett's Matilda 159 Domain. This Christmas day menu features damper bread with truffled Tasmanian leatherwood honey; a selection of main courses (such as glazed rotisserie ham, Macedon ranges duck and Northern Territory barramundi). Make Christmas that little bit more extra by swapping out your main for wagyu steak or adding a 50g tin of caviar. There are two sittings available, one at 11.30 am and one at 2.30 pm. $150.
Sheraton Melbourne
If you’re of the opinion that no Aussie Christmas is complete without something dragged from the ocean, then Christmas lunch at the Sheraton is for you. They’re hosting a seafood buffet on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day accompanied by salads and desserts by executive sous chef Gil Zamudio – meaning you can have as much crab, salmon, oysters and prawns as your heart desires. $99-$295.
Intercontinental Melbourne the Rialto
Enjoy a buffet on Christmas afternoon at the high-end and historic InterContinental Melbourne the Rialto. The hotel will offer dishes like Moreton Bay bugs, blue swimmer crab, Crystal Bay prawns and New Zealand green-lipped mussels. Other than the large selection of seafood, there will also be salads, sides, honey dijon roasted lamb shoulder, wagyu beef carpaccio with horseradish slaw and more. For dessert, there are plenty of options to choose from such as Pina Colada panna cotta and white chocolate cheesecake. $275- $350
The Hotel Windsor
You’ve two options for Christmas at the Windsor Hotel. Both are five-course degustations but you can choose whether you want to take lunch in the grand ballroom or the light and airy One Eleven restaurant. Either way make sure you save room for the Windsor's housemade plum puddings. Vegetarians get their own menu as well so they don't need to subsist on the sides. $359.
Sofitel Melbourne
The Sofitel has a number of Christmas Day dining options available but if you want a stunning view this Christmas our advice is to book in at No35. The restaurant has a 10/10 view of the city (its loos are also some of the best in Melbourne) and will be doing Christmas breakfast, lunch and dinner this December 25. The lunch will be served buffet style and includes a glass of Taittinger Champagne and a visit from Santa.
Allegro
The Westin’s Allegro restaurant is serving a luxurious Christmas buffet with a very generous selection of dishes. The menu features seafood (try the Australian slipper lobster); traditional Christmas roasts such as roasted Saskia Beer turkey; and mouth-watering festive sweets such as burnt butter whiskey and raisin truffle. To top it all off, there will be an extravagant Christmas cheese tower with artisanal bread and local and European cheeses. $330.
Looking for something else to do on December 25?
What to do on December 25 if you don’t celebrate Christmas
If you’re one of the thousands that don’t participate in the December 25 holiday, then you might be looking for something to do. While it may seem that the jolly red man has an iron grip on Australia, with most shopping centres, cinemas and attractions closed for the big day – it's actually not the case.
