50 things to do in Melbourne before you die

When you’re craving dumplings in Melbourne, head straight for the red paifang (Chinese-style arches) on Little Bourke Street. Melbourne’s Chinatown has existed in some form since the 1860s, and to this day it’s the place to go for top-notch noodles, wontons and bao. Our pick of the litter is HuTong, whose delectable dumplings won them the People’s Choice Award at the 2015 Time Out Food Awards. It’s all good, but it would be a shame not to try a house special like the soupy xiao long bao or wontons with hot chilli sauce.

Time Out tip: Belt your lungs out post dumpling frenzy at one of Chinatown's karaoke joints.

At tiny CBD cocktail joint Bar Americano, swig back one of Matt Bax’s ever-changing classics-driven cocktails, which are short on ingredients yet deeply complex. You’ll pay a premium for a drink in this laneway cupboard, but you’ll come out a changed person. And if you can find the door, order the fanciest espresso cocktail in Melbourne at Eau De Vie. The Espresso Zabaione is impressive with either vodka, tequila or rum and comes with a vanilla mousse on top that the bartender blast chills with liquid nitrogen upon serving.

Time Out tip: Windsor's Boston Sub is hiding something very cool in their fridge – we'll leave it up to you to find this one.

Lune Croissanterie's croissants earned the venue the top spot on Time Out Melbourne's best patisseries list, and they were dubbed "the world's best" by a writer for The New York Times. Not a bad gig for brother-sister team Kate and Cameron Reid. But as with many celebrated Melbourne eateries (ahem, Chin Chin), such high accolades often mean crowds. The lines snake out of the door nearly every day, in fact. The pastries fly out of the shop by noon most days, so don’t tell us we didn’t warn you. Does Lune really cut the mustard? In short, yes. Created in a climate-controlled lab, Lune croissants are almost mathematically perfect: crisp and golden with visible layers of delicate pastry. This isn’t really so unusual when you consider the fact that Kate Reid used to be a racing car engineer.

Time Out tip: Lucky for you we put together a handy list of places to get Lune croissants without the huge queues. 

Melbourne is a coffee city. Although you’re rarely more than a hundred metres from a good brew, there still are some standout roasters. One such caffeine queen is Proud Mary’s, a Collingwood café and coffee roaster that has been brewing a damn fine cup of coffee since 2009. Founder Nolan Hirte is dedicated to bringing customers closer to the origins of their daily joe, and you can really taste the coffee love. Your black or milky cup of caffeinated happiness will cost you $4, so you’ll have plenty moolah left to get something tasty from the café menu.

Time Out tip: If you like what you taste, Proud Mary’s offer a fortnightly coffee subscription delivered straight to your doorstep.

In 2017, Osteria Ilaria took out Time Out Melbourne’s gong for Restaurant of the Year, the affordable Little Bourke Street Italian restaurant joining the ranks of Embla, Kappo and Brae. It’s not really as bare bones as a traditional Italian osteria, but nevertheless Ilaria’s approach to cooking feels uncomplicated. Although octopus can go rubbery wrong, it doesn’t at Osteria Ilaria. Whole baby octopus comes chargrilled till the tentacles are just black and served atop a spicy ‘nduja sauce. Unlike Tipo 00 next door you won’t find a long list of pastas – just one. The paccheri with Crystal Bay prawn, tomato and sorrel puree and prawn oil gets full points and negates the need for more pasta on the menu.

Time Out tip: Trust the sommeliers to pick your drink – they know their stuff.

Street food and Michelin stars might not seem the likeliest of bedfellows, but Hawker Chan sure makes it work. The Singaporean street food outlet hit Lonsdale Street at the end of 2017 and has been popular ever since. It’s not uncommon to see people queueing up outside the venue before it opens, eagerly awaiting their serve of soya chicken, rice and beans. Sounds simple, but sometimes simple dishes are the hardest to perfect. The Michelin star rating comes from how Hawker Chan prepare their chicken: after making the soya marinade from scratch they soak the whole chicken in it overnight. And it only costs $6.80.

Time Out tip: Have a backup dish in mind if you can’t get the soya chicken – it regularly sells out.

For a city with such temperamental weather, we sure do love a rooftop bar. Our city is basically covered by them, but the most popular is Rooftop Bar. Once you ascend the seemingly endless flight of stairs up Curtin House (passing Cookie and the Toff in Town along the way), catch your breath and quench your thirst while taking in the heart and soul of Melbourne from above. Kick back on the fake grass, or huddle under the heating and lose yourself in the spectacular view.

Time Out tip: Get friendly with the vertical lane that is Curtin House when you're there. This six-storey building houses some of Melbourne's most interesting tenants, from bookshops to hairdressers, restaurants to high fashion mavens.

One of the north's greatest dining institutions is Moroccan Soup Bar. Contrary to what the name suggests, this is not a bar, nor is soup the main event. While it certainly is Moroccan, you should know that this tiny venue has no menu, no booze and no meat. But for a steal at only $23, you can score yourself a hefty vegetarian spread full of sticky pots of lentils, vegetable tagines and world-class chickpea bake.

Time Out tip: Do like the locals do: bring your own tupperware and eat your meal across the road in the Edinburgh Gardens.

Trust Pidapipo's Lisa Valmorbida to make some of the best gelati in Melbourne – she did graduate from a gelato university in Italy, after all. Ask for a scoop of the Baci or banana milk gelato on brioche (the Italian way), and don’t skip on the Nutella on tap.

Time Out tip: Need some formaggio to go along with that gelato? Head a few doors down to Milk the Cow, Carlton's licensed fromageri, which serves cheese and wine flights well into the night.

Melbourne has a long and proud history of brewing top-notch beer, now more than ever. Thanks to the craft beer boom, micro-breweries have popped up all over the city. If you’ve got time for only one then make sure it’s Stomping Ground. These beer barons are the same people behind the Local Taphouse and GABS Beer, Cider and Food Fest. The massive beer hall welcomes all sorts, from beer buffs to families with tots. You can even take a tour and see where your beer is made.

Time Out tip: There are no credit card tabs at Stomping Ground, so download the Clipp app beforehand.

Fun fact: if you ask any Melburnian what their favourite car is, their answer will be “a food truck”. Like food cooked on a barbecue, there is something inexplicably tastier about food that’s been made in a truck. For the biggest range of meals on wheels visit Welcome to Thornbury. The old car factory has been converted into a huge permanent beer garden and food truck park. There’s room for up to seven food trucks on site, and roughly 80 different trucks rotate through the venue every month including Mr Burger, Fancy Hank’s, Super Taco and Levain Doughnuts. Try your darndest to eat from every truck, but remember there’s no shame in failing either.

Time Out tip: Increase your odds by bringing your mates along and trying a bit of everything on offer.

Brunch rules in Melbourne. There's no denying it. And one of the best places to go is Higher Ground on the bottom end of Little Bourke Street. This café-restaurant has 130 seats across three levels of a heritage-listed former powerhouse. The 15-metre ceiling is impressive, but not as impressive as their signature dish: a huge ricotta hotcake drizzled with maple syrup, seeds, grains, cream, seasonal fruit and some 'grammable flowers.

Time Out tip: If you go on the weekend, there will be lines – there's no way around it. Wear comfortable shoes, bring a book and order coffee and a croissant from the outside food cart while you wait.

Fancy yourself a bit of a general knowledge whiz? Put your brains to the test at a pub trivia night around Melbourne, where questions on anything from film to sport are supplemented by cool beers and food specials. One of the best of the lot happens at The Reverence Hotel in Footscray. Mind Out Trivia happens every Wednesday night and attracts huge numbers for its charismatic host and bizarre themes (in the past they've had conspiracy theories, British comedies and dogs).

Time Out tip: While you're quizzing, make sure you make the most of the Rev's excellent menu of (mostly vegan) Mexican eats.

If you'd like to eat at one of the city's finest establishments, Attica is the place. It won't be cheap, we'll warn you. But if you're willing to shell out $275 for a once-in-a-lifetime degustation, one of the most memorable touches of the night is the trip out to the garden that you'll take before dessert is served. Here the Attica team will serve you hot jam doughnuts (a very Melbourne snack) and bush tucker tea made from gumbi gumbi (also known as native apricot), which is used by Indigenous people for its medicinal qualities. It's one of the most incredible, but intricately simple Melbourne dishes you'll ever have.

Time Out tip: if you're looking to try one of Melbourne's best fine dining establishments without having to splash your rent money, take a look at our guide to doing Melbourne's fancy restaurants on the cheap.

Video games have come a long way since the 1980s, but at Pixel Alley you can still be king of the arcade. We’ve got a thriving themed bar scene in Melbourne, and Pixel Alley really fits the brief well: it’s fun, doesn’t take itself too seriously and is still affordable enough for the average punter. In addition to being packed to the brim with retro arcade games and pinball machines, Pixel Alley serves a dozen or so game-themed cocktails, like the 1-Up Mojito, Bowser or Kirby’s Dream as well as beer, wine and spirits. While there’s nothing quite like destroying your fingers on Street Fighter, you can also play Pac Man, Megaman, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Frogger – and there’s also pinball.

Time Out tip: Pixel Alley is right by the 86 tram, so it’s super easy to get home after a late night gaming sesh.