Quincy Malesovas

What is it with corporate cafes in the CBD and high-calorie focaccias the size of your face that somehow still taste like nothing? To love your lunchtimes again, let's liven it up a bit. Whether you’re watching your waistline or simply searching for a light and fresh meal that won’t plonk you into an afternoon slump, this is the list to bookmark. Looking for something lighter on the wallet? Check out the 20 best lunches in the CBD for less than $15. 

April 2024: With the weather cooling down in Melbourne (hello rain and random thunderstorms), we may be tempted to stay on the couch and order food in – but when that gets old, there's nothing quite like getting dressed up, heading out into town for dinner and making a proper night of it. Whether you're planning a special catch-up or simply curious about which restaurants are ahead of the curve in Melbourne right now, this guide is your trusty resource.  The continually evolving and expanding dining scene in Melbourne is both a blessing and a curse: how do you choose between so many incredible restaurants? Well, that's where we come in. Stop endlessly scrolling, and commit to making your way through Time Out’s list of the best restaurants in the state right now. Our always-hungry local experts and editors have curated 2024's most delicious and divine, innovative and imaginative, comforting and familiar, memorable and magical dining experiences right here at your fingertips. From old favourites and culinary institutions such as Attica, Stokehouse and Flower Drum, to emerging standouts and instant icons such as Serai, Gimlet, Amaru and Reine and La Rue, we've got it all covered here. And as for the brand new restaurant and bar openings catching our eye? Check out this guide instead. Get out, and get eating! You've got a lot to get through!  Prefer a tipple-focused adventure? These are the best bars in Melbourne. Looking for a knock-out dining experience that won't break the ban

Observed by Muslims across the globe, the holy month of Ramadan is a chance for participants to reflect on what they’re grateful for. And in the name of reflection, it also involves abstaining from all food and drinks from sunrise to sunset. Each day of Ramadan ends with Iftar, where families and friends come together to break their fast. Naturally, it’s a significant occasion that always involves good food – and lots of it. Here are some of Melbourne’s best spots to break your fast. On the hunt for Melbourne's best Middle Eastern restaurants? Check out our round-up of the city's best purveyors of hummus, falafel and charcoal meats.

While many restaurants offer solid vegetarian options these days, there are some spots that know how to elevate vegetarian food to the point that even carnivores forget there is no meat involved. From fancy dining to cheap eats, Melbourne serves up excellent vegetarian fare any time of the day, any day of the week. Here are the best restaurants dishing up plant-based meals. Want more? These are the best restaurants for vegans in Melbourne. Wanting to explore the town? Check out the best cheap eats in town. 

Whether it's rain, hail or shine, when you've got a hankering for laksa, nasi lemak, roti, curry or some other soul-warming Malaysian dish, you've got to make a beeline for one of these eateries. And if you've got a sweet tooth, keep reading – we've popped some proper Malaysian dessert havens in this list, too. Still hungry? Check our list of the best Chinese restaurants in Melbourne, plus our guide to the top African restaurants.

In Australia, kebabs are often associated with a late-night ritual of shaved meat or falafel wrapped in some sort of flatbread. The meat in question is most commonly sliced off a vertical rotisserie commonly known here as a döner, the Turkish word for rotating spit. But these are just one type of kebab. Across the Middle East and parts of Europe, you’ll find countless variations based on the same concept, from the Greek gyro to the Arabic shawarma and even the Mexican al-pastor, a shaved meat taco introduced to the country by Lebanese immigrants. The term kebab can also refer to Middle Eastern and South Asian-style skewered and chargrilled meats, from the Turkish adana kebab (made from minced, spiced lamb) to the Indian seekh kebab (a similar style made with ground beef or lamb). For all intents and purposes, when we mention a kebab here, we’re primarily referring to shaved or skewered proteins wrapped in flatbread. But we've taken some liberty to also honour the countless iterations of kebabs that exist across Melbourne, because let's face it – all of these are just too damn tasty to ignore... So without further ado, here are our top picks for the best kebabs in Melbourne. For more tasty street eats, check out our fave food trucks around town. Hankering for hummus? Here's our guide to Melbourne's best Middle Eastern restaurants. 

From the United States to Korea and Taiwan, fried chicken spans nearly every country and culture. Not everyone can meet their fierce standards, but these joints have come pretty damn close to perfecting the ancient art of battering and deep-frying poultry. Want more tasty bites? Check out Melbourne's best Korean barbecue joints. Looking for gut-friendly alternatives? These are the best gluten-free eateries in Melbourne.

With Christmas less than a month away, now’s the time to start mapping out your holiday menu. If you’d prefer to take a back seat this year, we’ve got some suggestions for where to find a festive feast just as good as your mum makes. Whether you’re spending the day with friends or your extended family, here are the top spots to gather this Christmas Day, no matter your taste or budget. Still need to organise your office Christmas party? Check out the best venues for end-of-year celebrations here. Running behind on present shopping? Take the easy way out with the best Christmas hampers. 

From pan-fried pork dumplings to vegan ramen, some of Melbourne's best bites can be found in its food courts and arcades. Proving no-frills doesn't have to mean no flavour, here are some of the city's top dining hall dishes. Looking for even more cheap eats? Save a bit of dough with our list the 50 best cheap eats in Melbourne.

Whether you like yours thin and crisp or deep-dish, hot from the oven or straight from the fridge with a glass of OJ, there’s no denying the universal appeal of pizza. Outside of Italy, we reckon Melbourne pumps out some of the best pies in the world, and we've eaten our way around the city to find the very best. In no particular order, here are our favourite pizza restaurants in Melbourne. Looking for more? Check out Melbourne's best Italian restaurants. Can't decide what you feel like? These are the 50 best restaurants in Melbourne. 

Vegans tend to get a bad wrap, but that shouldn't mean they only get to eat bad wraps. Melbourne continues to expand its plant-based options, with everything from vegan degustations to vegan cheap eats available across the city. While there are many dedicated vegan and vegetarian restaurants, some of Melbourne's most beloved and popular spots are also serving up excellent vegan fare. These restaurants won't leave you wanting for any meat.  While you're at it, check out the best restaurants for vegetarians in Melbourne. Explore more with the 50 best restaurants in Melbourne. 

From Queen Vic’s Summer Night Market to Welcome to Thornbury and Grazeland, food trucks are everywhere these days – and there are more than ever to choose from. If you need help sorting through the options, work your way through our round-up of the best meals on wheels around town. Smoky, chargrilled skewers, molten cheesesteaks and fully loaded vegan fries are at your disposal, just as long as you know where to find them. Prefer a sit-down meal? Here are the 50 best restaurants in Melbourne. Looking for a bevvy? Visit one of the 50 best bars in Melbourne.

Kanh Nguyen’s departure from Sunda last July left many, myself included, wondering what would become of the once-lauded contemporary Southeast Asian-Australian restaurant. But former sous Nabil Ansari’s appointment as the new head chef (after a brief stint at Firebird) has ensured the venue remains in good hands. Sunda is not the same restaurant that opened on Punch Lane in 2018, but its next wave is a promising one. With formal service and a slight industrial edge, the venue embodies a high-low approach to upscale dining that emerged in the late 2010s and has permeated the industry ever since. Think doors held open and menus placed on laps by staff whose welcoming air and sense of character feel more important than their uniform. The food is similarly refined yet relaxed. Attention to detail is evident, though no dish feels too stuffy or serious. The pie tee has initial notes of creamed corn that give way to the sharp zing of salted black bean hiding beneath the surface, all encased in a delicate pastry shell. The tuna tartare donut, which tastes of deep-fried potato, is well-balanced with a generous dressing of sturgeon caviar, but perhaps could be elevated to even greater heights with a hint of acid or cream. In any case, it’s a delight. On that note, it's the smaller dishes that look more appealing on paper, and so we round out the meal with those. Crispy tempeh is an outstanding choice at only $12 with a sweet, smoky glaze and the bright crunch of lightly pickled cucumbe

Hamed Allahyari was a chef and restaurateur in Tehran, Iran until 2012 when religious conflict forced him to flee to Australia. His love for hospitality never left him. Upon arriving in Australia, he began working with Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Catering and Free to Feed, two social enterprises designed to support new migrants through food and dining. Then, seven years later, he opened Café Sunshine & Salamatea, a social enterprise restaurant designed to employ, train and mentor asylum seekers and refugees facing similar paths to him. It’s been a beloved local gathering place ever since – not just for its friendly, community focus but for its approachable Persian fare, which is hard to come by in Melbourne. Iranian food is not well represented here and when it does appear, skewered meats are often the focus. This is no doubt a core component of the cuisine but overshadows the fact that it's vegetarian-friendly and characterised by its use of floral, sweet and sour flavours, adding complexity and balance to each dish. (For context, Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, is also Persian.)  Salamatea, however, brings this back into focus. It’s like a best-of list of dishes and ingredients from the region, presented in a familiar Melbourne café format. The Campos coffee with Schulz milk (or your choice of non-dairy) is as good as any around, though the sharbat, cordials flavoured with either lemon and saffron or sour cherry, are better indications of what to expect fro

The strip of Little Collins Street between William and King has long been a hotbed for affordable work lunches with the food court at Exchange Tower being the pinnacle. The building is still home to a few of its long standing tenants but as of late last year, one end has been transformed into an upscale Korean-Australian diner called Doju, led by chef Mika Chae. It’s an unlikely use case and not the most seamless evolution, but the team have done a solid job of disguising their quarters. Sheer fabric panels cleverly conceal the interior office windows that look down into the dining room, a somewhat randomly-placed platform has been transformed into a mezzanine, and notes of olive green and marble give the space a sleek edge. The downside of a space repurposed in this fashion is that there’s little contingency plan for unwanted noise. High ceilings and a somewhat awkward dining layout make it hard to hear my dining companion or the waitstaff, who are friendly and enthusiastic but quite green. If the hallmark of great service is the elimination of uneasiness, Doju is not quite there. The wine menu is intriguing but we bypass it for cocktails. The preserved blueberry milk punch sounds and looks promising, topped with a meringue that dances on the ice as it melts, but offers few notable tasting notes besides sickly sweet and not very strong. The mango gimlet, on the other hand, is well-balanced and delightfully savoury thanks to lacto-fermented fruit, gin and hojicha. Snacks are

Solo dining is a radical act at the best of times. When faced with a 20-person communal table and a 98% chance of being seated elbow-to-elbow or worse, face-to-face, with a stranger, the stakes rise. But at a space such as Pretty Little (which is exactly as its name suggests), it’s worth walking through your fear as their offering is one best experienced alone. A small team and intimate setting foster a sort of meditative dining experience where you can devote your full focus to the offering, sans distraction. And a produce-driven menu with an air of Scandi minimalism means attention to detail is paramount. With a wall full of all Victorian wines, what to drink is one of the few decisions you’ll have to make over the course of the night – and the host will gladly guide you through. (We overhear her saying that she’s the sister of the former owner Myke Bard. He’s moved on from the business but she and chef Mike Harrison have stuck around, which is surely a good sign). While many establishments have transitioned away from mandatory set menus, Pretty Little is sticking to their guns with a 2 or 3-course option (for $69 or $89, respectively) plus a few a la carte add-ons. The only option is whether to go for a starter, dessert or both, though dietary-friendly alternatives are available. The first dish on the menu is asparagus and spring onion on a bed of briny gribiche, finished with a generous dusting of fromage de brebis (a firm, salty sheep’s milk cheese). Crisp and slightly w

Etta has been hot on everyone’s lips since it entered the Brunswick East dining scene –particularly since head chef Rosheen Kaul joined the kitchen in 2020. In the culinary world, countless awards and glowing reviews often breed scepticism but a recent Tuesday evening dinner proved the praise is just as warranted as ever. We were seated in a cosy corner nook decked out with decorative pillows, ideal for soaking up the scene (to the left, the bar and open kitchen; the right, Lygon street passersby; and to the front, a solo diner in for an early drink and snacks followed by a couple on date night – both common finds at this venue).  Though Etta is a restaurant, strictly speaking, it's frequently mistaken as a wine bar. Perhaps because it has a list to stand up among the best of Melbourne's wine bars. Bottles range in price, region and style with a largely Victorian focus. Whether you want old-world or new-age, there’s something for everyone. But it pays to look past the vino as the sake offering is equally thoughtful (albeit less extensive) with a few hard-to-find drops from around Japan.  Fitting in with a trend many restaurants and bars seem to be following as of late, the food menu is snack-heavy and designed to share. We start strong with a crab masala-stuffed zucchini flower – its thin, nearly translucent batter and bold spice putting cheese-filled numbers to shame. It's large enough to split between two while the quail egg is a one-bite wonder, served on a skewer with fri

August 10 2023 update: Which side of the city's famous waterway is better: northside or southside? It's a debate many Melburnians have had before and so it got the mixologists thinking... wouldn't it be better to settle this debate over a drink? The current cocktail menu pits the two against each other with a new range of cocktails inspired by Melbourne's proudest 'hoods. Whether it's the 'Fitzroy Garage Party' with butter fat-washed brandy and chocolate bitters or the 'Too Right it's Toorak' with gin, mead, sparkling wine and lavender that catches your fancy, there's no dispute on one thing: the Curious bar's creativity truly reigns supreme. It’s not very common (at least not in Melbourne) for a hotel bar to pop off but that’s exactly what happened to Curious, which opened at the W Melbourne in 2021. Joining Adam D’Sylva’s Italian-leaning Lollo and Japanese fine diner Warabi, the subterraneancocktail lounge is in good company, but it’s managed to pull a much younger audience than itsneighours. All signs point to the music program as the primary culprit. On Wednesday through Saturday nights the space hosts a rotating lineup of DJs, both established and on the up, and the place packs out accordingly. Earlier in the evening, however, there’s a calmer sensibility one would expect from a venue ofthis nature – hotel patrons grazing on cheese boards, office workers popping in for a knock-off. From our perspective, it’s in these quieter hours you can truly appreciate the bar’s best

Part of the small but mighty hospitality group behind Takeaway Pizza, Dexter, Kenny Lover andthe much-anticipated the Keys, Dom’s is the only venue to penetrate the inner-city bubble. And it’s so good, it may just trigger die-hard northsiders to do the same. Sure, there are plenty of other spots to grab a slice, but one worth venturing south of Thornbury for? That’s arguable. Very few straddle that elusive line of tradition and innovation quite like Dom’s – not even itssibling, which runs a close second but doesn’t boast the dynamic, three-level venue (rooftopincluded). Pies are available venue-wide, and much like Takeaway Pizza, have that classically Italian, woodfired vibe though the toppings like mortadella, thyme and fermented honey or ghost pepper salami and pineapple salsa set them apart from the pack. The veg options are almost as exciting; the roasted mushroom and truffle cream number is aparticular standout. On paper, it sounds like overkill (do you really need sour cream on a white base?), but it works seamlessly alongside a sharp orange wine to cut through the dairy. There’s also an ever-rotating wild card which, on our visit, has a Latin lean – see the creamedcorn base, finger lime and coriander salsa, and chunks of chorizo – that reinforce thesentiment that a restaurant is best experienced through its specials board. Thirty dollars a pop is a hard pill to swallow, especially once you tack on a few glasses of natural wine, but if you’re willing to sacrifice toppin

Everything about Bar Romantica nods to old-world New York – the Italian-leaning menu and plush banquettes, the warm wood walls, the simple drinks list. It obviously sets lots of expectations with the name, though that’s not entirely their fault (they inherited “Romantica” from the previous owners). The eatery may not scream romance – aside from the heart-shaped table – but it does evoke a certain lust towards the kind of hospitality it's hearkening back to.  This is particularly true when seated at the bar – perfect for pretending you’re cooling your heels at a Manhattan dive. Being in the hot seat has perks too, like having the waitstaff’s full attention. Service here is quick and cordial in just the right amounts with drink top-ups at the ready. The wine list is fairly traditional with a few new-school nattys by the glass and an even fresher, funkier extended offering (plus plenty of hard-to-find Euro pours). The food straddles a similar line between old-school and new, keeping things at once consistent and exciting even if a few dishes fall flat. The handmade pasta is one of the venue’s biggest claims to fame and the quality is there. If you’ve ever had hard, store-bought casarecce, you’ll delight in the soft bounciness of Bar Romantica’s fresh (and very, very long) versions, which come with “winter pesto” and stracciatella. If reviewing the pasta alone it would be an easy five stars but this particular dish lacks cohesion. The sauce is too oily and thin to stick to the sl

Located on the quieter end of the street, Lulu’s Char Koay Teow always manages to pull a crowd that rivals its neighbours – and though it’s inspired by the hawker stalls of Malaysia, there’s no hawking necessary here. Day or night, the small, bustling eatery is almost always packed to the brim, clear evidence that the food speaks for itself. Their signature is – you guessed it – the char koay teow, which has been steadily gaining the restaurant cult status since they opened three years ago. It’s deeply flavoured but not too saucy and chock-full of ingredients. Choose from blood cockles or razor clams or (my personal favourite) duck eggs, which are folded into a base of thick, chewy rice noodles alongside prawns, Chinese sausage, pork lard, chives and chilli. Unless you go for the $9 vegetarian version, which swaps the animal products for tofu and veg but manages to pack the same punch, even when packed up and reheated at home. It’s probably thanks to the special sauce, a secret recipe borrowed from the owner’s mother-in- law who used to run a popular CKT stall in Penang. In other words, this is probably the closest thing you’ll find in Melbourne, and that’s something to get excited about. For the sake of doing one thing very, very well, you’d think Lulu’s might stick to the classics but they’ve been expanding their menu as of late. Thankfully, quantity has not sacrificed quality – options like the jawa mee, a soupy hokkien noodle dish topped with potatoes, tofu, crushed peanu

Between Covid-19, the great sandwich/bagel boom and the growing disinterest in brunch, cafés have not had it easy the last few years. But rather than let the climate get them down, the James team took the transition in stride, shifting gears to an all-day, Korean-inspired menu led by chef Sangsoo Kim – and they’re all the better for it.  To call a dining experience faultless is a big call but my time at James is the closest I’ve come in a while. I can’t comment on their status as Wynward, the café they operated as previously, but on all counts except maybe the name, James is a massive win.  By day, the venue serves coffee; lunch bowls like spanner crab ramen and wild mushrooms over sticky rice; and a smattering of small plates plucked from their dinner menu. At night, the selection is more extensive and includes a set menu, which is probably the best way to experience James for the first time. Food is complex but accessible, and prices are fair too at around $14 to $16 a dish. Each comes with two identical portions, seemingly designed for sharing, though one could easily make a nice solo meal out of a couple of small plates.  It pays to crowdsource photos if you’re unsure – this menu is hard to gauge off description alone. The charred cucumber, for instance, comes halved in two long strips, spread with yoghurt, and finished with sliced grapes, black olive crumb and the subtle spice of ​​​​shichimi. It’s a delicate dish that could nearly pass as a palate cleanser if not for th

In Melbourne hospitality, there are two primary camps – the traditionalists and the trend-chasers. When well-executed and willing to evolve, the latter can be stellar. But it can also quickly become a parody of itself, making the rounds on niche inner-north meme accounts before fading into oblivion as the new hotspot swoops in to steal its place. Full disclosure: I predicted Waxflower would follow that path. With not-so-savoury online reviews and a too-cool reputation, it seemed the wine-cum-listening-bar’s best days were behind it. But after visiting for dinner the other day, I confidently rescind any doubts I had about the venue. It was a weekday evening and the venue was comfortably full, vinyls blasting through the custom wooden speakers. Too loud to carry a conversation, the volume was my one gripe but as if the DJ could read my mind, this was amended shortly upon my arrival.  Despite the noise, Waxflower makes a perfect date spot – loud enough that you need to get close with intimate booths perfect for sidling up in. And the staff are just attentive enough to keep your drinks flowing without third-wheeling you.  Wines are the focus here and the list is decent with by-the-glass options scrawled on a chalkboard on one wall. It's barely visible from where we are sitting, so we opt instead for cocktails, which are mostly Japanese-inspired (as is the “listening bar” concept, an homage to Tokyo’s jazz kissa). The options aren’t super extensive and two are Spritzes, which bare

'Asian fusion' is a bit of a dirty phrase these days, which is bad news for culinary giants like the Commune Group (New Quarter, Hanoi Hannah, Tokyo Tina and Firebird) who’ve built their brand around the concept. But with their newest venture Moonhouse, located off Carlisle Street in Balaclava, it’s clear they are trying to move away from gimmicks towards something with a bit more substance. Whether or not they’re succeeding is a bit murkier. The menu, led by executive chef Anthony Choi, head chef Shirley Sunnakwan and pastry chef Enza Soto, plays on old-school Chinese-Australian dishes like Peking duck (prepared two ways), prawn toast (reimagined as perfectly cut, sesame-crusted squares with lobster bisque for dipping) and Hainanese chicken rice (served in mini-club sandwich form on crustless rounds of soft white bread). With nods to both the Hainanese dish and ubiquitous poached chicken sandwich found at every Aussie café, this spin has universal appeal – nearly every table in the packed restaurant had one. As with the group’s other venues, the food is undoubtedly whitewashed. Even with a healthy lashing of chilli oil, the chicken and prawn wontons, served in a broth we thought tasted faintly of salt and little else, feels dumbed down for a non-Chinese audience – though to be fair, we did overhear the person next to us complaining that their noodles were "too spicy". Where the menu shines is in its vegetarian and vegan fare. Deep-fried tofu can be notoriously flavourless, e