Sonia Nair

July 2024: 'Tis the season for melty cheese fondue goodness and mulled wines galore, cosy roast lunches (preferably in pubs with roaring fireplaces) and venturing out in our puffiest puffer jackets to bask in the wonder of Melbourne's seasonal light shows. But let's be real – all that winter fun can get a little exxy. So if your wallet needs a break, try one of these cheap eats instead the next time you're out and about in town.  The late and great respected chef Anthony Bourdain once famously said: “I'd rather eat in Melbourne than Paris." It goes without saying that Melbourne has long been revered as one of Asia Pacific's most exciting food cities, but that status isn't just attributed to our fancy restaurants – special as many of those upper crust institutions may be. Our laneaways and hidden alcoves are brimming with cheap street eats, smashable pub deals and dinner options you can enjoy for $20, $15 or even under $10, so you can stop counting your hard-earned pennies and start eating instead. Looking for a drink to wash it all down? These are the best happy hour deals right now. Curious about other yummy specials? Here's how to get a cheap meal in Melbourne every night of the week.

To use the amorphous moniker ‘African food’ to describe the multifaceted cuisines of an entire continent is a misnomer – the food of east, west, north, south and central Africa differ greatly due to intersecting forces of colonisation, trade and landscape. Whether it’s in the ingredients used, the dishes these ingredients appear in, or the choice of carbs that accompany each meal (Ethiopians love their flatbread, Somalis prefer rice, while West Africans swear by their cassava, plantain, yam and rice), African food is hyper-regional. Dishes may bear the same name, but specificities abound according to where they’re cooked.   Melbourne diners are by now well-acquainted with Ethiopian food and the wonders of the iconic fermented flatbread injera – Victoria is fittingly home to the largest Ethiopian population in Australia – but more recent waves of migration from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon are culminating in a mushrooming of West African restaurants around Melbourne.  Yet there are a few commonalities that unite many African cuisines. The communal nature of sharing food is a key way of enjoying the continent’s most renowned dishes, while cutlery is often eschewed in favour of hands.  Below is the non-exhaustive list of our favourite African restaurants in Melbourne. Want more? Check out the best Malaysian restaurants in Melbourne, plus our guide to the 50 best bars right now.

A traditional bánh mì has bread with crunch, but not so much that it scrapes the roof of your mouth. It’s fluffy and light, but not so flaky it completely disintegrates into your lap. It’s the perfect vessel for liberal amounts of pâté, a Vietnamese condiment called egg mayo butter, fresh cucumber, pickled carrot (and daikon if you’re lucky), generous sprigs of coriander and chilli, plus the protein of your choice. On the sauce front, some shops will opt for a dash of Maggi seasoning and soy, others go the hoisin route or even a combination of more than one. Word of warning: you may encounter a holier-than-thou type on your bánh mì travels who insists your choice of sanga is "not the authentic way". But the truth is that 'bánh mì' literally translates to the short baguette itself. You can enjoy this freshly baked delight stuffed with any filling you like – crispy pork belly, nem nuong (grilled pork sausage), chicken, mixed ham, tofu, beef or just plain salad! We love the braised pork and duck confit options at Banh Mi Stand, but we're equally partial to the no-nonsense cold cuts at Phuoc Thanh. There are plenty of regional variances all across Vietnam, and some Vietnamese even like to enjoy theirs filled with ice cream. So how did we come up with this list? Well, we ate a lot of bánh mì. We kept a rolling document that helped us to compare each one. We considered the balance of condiments, the quality of the bread and the freshness of the meat and salad. And we washed it all

July 2024: Miserable as the weather may be (rain is hammering at the window right now as this writer hammers her keys..), there is reason to be joyous. For Melbourne is currently being blessed with a deluge of hot new restaurant openings. But that doesn't mean we forget about the legends: those venues that continue to wow us year after year and maintain their supremity over Melbourne's dining scene. Keep a note of this list to see which restaurants –both old and new – are thrilling us the most right now. 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 k

Mexican food used to be tough to find in Melbourne. Then it was easy, but it was pretty much only Tex-Mex (most of it, not great). Fortunately, those days are no more – today, our city is blessed with everything from lively cantinas to late-night mezcal bars, and everything in between. If you're craving a taco (or several) and a spicy Margarita, turn up the heat with our guide to Melbourne's hottest Mexican joints.  Looking for Melbourne's best Italian, too? We've also got you sorted for Japanese and Korean restaurants as well. 

South Indian, North Indian, Malaysian-Indian, Indo-Chinese, Indian fusion – Melbourne has it all. Australians’ perennial favourite butter chicken can, of course, be found at a lot of these restaurants but we encourage you to expand your palate. There's a whole world of ingenious, time-honoured dishes hailing from every regional pocket of the subcontinent. Our team of writers have kept an eye on Melbourne's Indian food scene over the years, trying out new suburban joints, casual diners and some of the newer 'mod-Indian' restaurants that have popped up in the last few years. The results? We've compiled our fave spots here for your eating pleasure. Go on and spice up your life. Looking for budget-friendly meals? Here are the best cheap eats in Melbourne.

The increased prominence of Filipino food in Melbourne is largely a long overdue corrective – the third-largest Asian diaspora in Australia has always had a strong presence in the nation’s cultural fabric, but finally the culinary landscape is developing apace alongside the Filipino-Australian population’s growth.  Literacy around Filipino dishes is quickly growing among non-Filipinos – dishes like sisig, lechon kawali and halo halo are gaining a foothold in people’s food lexicons, while Filipino cuisine’s multifaceted influences – from Spanish to Chinese – are garnering heightened levels of appreciation.  Every corner of Melbourne has a go-to Filipino restaurant, from the CBD to Sunshine, Werribee and Dandenong. Below are a few of our favourites.  Searching for Spanish instead? Try this list. We've also curateda our top picks of Melbourne's best Malaysian restaurants.

Footscray is one of Melbourne's most famous foodie destinations, thanks to its globally diverse community, top cheap eats and eccentric bar scene. From hip American barbecue to Vietnamese fare, fish and chips and fine dining, here are some of our favourite restaurants in Footscray right now.  If you want to look further afield, here are the 50 best restaurants in Melbourne right now. Seeking a sea breeze? These are our top foodie picks for St Kilda.

The unmistakable smokiness and charry, rendered skin are the best things about charcoal chicken, and these qualities are what sets charcoal chook apart from its roasted relatives. It has to be moist and tender with concentrated flavour. But it’s not all about the chicken – no one goes to the chicken shop without ordering a few sides, whether it’s chips, salads or a potato cake. And we are here to judge it all.  We've rounded up our top picks below to ensure you're getting the best crispy, smokey chook that Melbourne has to offer. Prefer your chicken with cheese and passata? These are Melbourne's best chicken parmas. Like your meals cheap? Here are our favourite meals on a budget. 

Take your pick from the likes of Scandinavian feasts, masquerades replete with fancy French fare, jazz evenings complete with Argentinean tasting menus and multi-course Chinese savoury and sweet dishes to usher in 2024. Book your spot, don your fancy clothes and brace yourself for the party of the year.  Keen to kick on? These are the best New Year's parties and events to bring in 2024. Drank too much? Cure your hangover at one of these restaurants and cafès open on New Year's Day. 

Like in all the best global cities, you can find a plethora of food options in Melbourne past midnight, if only you know where to look. Wander down laneways for pizza by the slice, unearth hidden cocktail bars for fancy cheeseburgers, and let the steam of piping hot bowls of noodles warm you when the temperature outside has plummeted. These are the best late-night eats in Melbourne to sate your hunger after a big night out. For more late-night antics, peruse our guides to Melbourne's best late night bars, nightclubs and bars for dancing.

Most commonly associated with tourist traps and waiters that stand on footpaths in hopes of luring diners in, Lygon Street stretches so much further than this relatively small strip, encompassing the suburbs of Carlton and Brunswick East and dotted with the city’s best Italian eateries, and so much more besides. Take your pick from the restaurants below. While you're at it, check out these local's guides to Carlton and Brunswick.    

First making a name for itself as a food truck in Preston, Wazzup Falafel set up a permanent outpost earlier this year along High Street in Northcote – excellent news for lovers of the Palestinian-Jordanian outfit, now able to enjoy their famed falafels in the most extreme of Melbourne’s weather conditions.  Wazzup Falafel owner Ahmad Al Alaea swapped a career in fitness with cheffing after he couldn’t find equivalent falafels to what he’d enjoyed growing up in Jordan as a Palestinian refugee. Training with the best falafel chefs back in Jordan, he opened his food truck in the fateful month of March 2020, soon garnering an ardent following within a five kilometre-radius. Thankfully, more people are now able to enjoy Wazzup Falafel’s fare. With a view of the kitchen where everything is made from scratch, the restaurant is sizeable without being huge and clad in warm timber – a perfectly cosy spot to enjoy a falafel or ten. The playfulness behind Wazzup Falafel’s name extends to its service – staff are smiley, jovial and only too happy to make recommendations on what you should order.  Falafels are unsurprisingly the name of the game here, but you get to decide how they’re served up to you – in a box alongside a medley of other ingredients, threaded on to a stick, atop piping hot chips in the self-fashioned ‘FSP’, slotted into wraps, swallowed by the folds of baked pita pockets.  You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in Melbourne who hasn’t ever tasted a falafel, but Wazzup’s a

Ras Dashen has been sating the appetites of inner westies for more than a decade, and it shows no signs of abating. The colourfully eclectic interiors of Ras Dashen are as inviting as they were when Ethiopian refugee Wondimu Alemu first set up shop on Nicholson Street in 2011. Having since moved to Barkly Street in 2017, paintings and scarves striped in the green, yellow and red of the Ethiopian flag hang from terracotta-coloured walls alongside ornate bowls and woven hats – if you look closely, you can even see Alemu’s beaming face memorialised in one of the paintings.  Alemu and his wife Alemitu Aberra are the heart and soul of Ras Dashen. Alemu is as friendly to first-timers as he is to seasoned visitors, full of such mirth it’s impossible not to smile in his presence as he punctuates each sentence with a merry cackle. Ras Dashen’s Ethiopian fare has something for everyone (vegans included), but what you do need to be is someone who’s comfortable eating with your hands. There’s no better way to enjoy torn off bits of injera – the fermented flatbread that's one of Ethiopia’s most famed exports – laden with your favourite curries.  The best thing to do is order several dishes, all of which will arrive on two different kinds of injera: a white sorghum one and a brown sorghum one. Doro wot is traditionally exceedingly spicy and in Ras Dashen’s iteration, it retains a singular heat. Spiced with berbere – the fiery and aromatic Ethiopian seasoning blend – the doro wot is suitabl

Sparsely decorated with bright pops of colour synonymous with the Mexican flag and jaunty Latin music playing from within its confines, new Johnston Street eatery El Columpio is bringing a slice of homestyle cooking to an oft-underappreciated quarter of Fitzroy.  Tortas and Tacos has livened up a strip traditionally associated with late-night shenanigans – think live music institution Old Bar and afrobeats club Laundry – but things remain tough for restaurants bold enough to set up shop in a stretch that can only be described as having bad ‘feng shui’. Vegan pinchos bar Follies shuttered after only a year and a half, citing the cost-of-living crisis. Doncaster Chinese vegetarian import Vegie Mum survived a far bit longer, but it too is shutting its doors at the end of this month. But not all is lost for those looking for a bite in the vicinity – not if El Columpio has anything to do with it.  Established by chef Ricardo Garcia Flores as part of a dream to introduce Melburnians to the family heirloom Mexican dishes he grew up with, El Columpio has a short but sweet menu. If you arrive before midday, you’ll be treated to a breakfast menu that comprises tamales and chilaquiles. Arrive after midday and the menu is identical, no matter if you arrive at 1pm or 8pm – expect the traditional Mexican soup pozole, a selection of tacos and a few sides. Weekend specials round things off – when we visit, it’s tacos de barbacoa estilo Hidalgo, one of the most famous exports of the state nor

The co-founding team of John Rivera, Carlos Consunji, Ralph Libo, Michael Mabuti and Dhenvirg Ugot – proud Filipinos themselves – are also some of the names behind Kariton Sorbetes and Serai, ensuring bold and vibrant Filipino flavours are front and centre at Askal.  Think sizzling pork jowl and abalone sisig, ox tail kare kare doughnuts and torched scallop adobo. The showstopper dish making the rounds on socials is the roasted bone marrow, sitting in a claypot of crispy confit garlic rice and caramel-braised wagyu oyster blade for the grand total of $100. But it’s by far the most expensive dish on an otherwise reasonably priced menu of ‘pulutan’ (snacks and bites), ‘meryenda’ (entrees), ‘ulam’ (mains and sides) and ‘matamis’ (dessert). The moody yet otherwise nondescript space is a semi-industrial one with textured charcoal walls and simple shell chandeliers – sit by the bar to enjoy a peek into the bustling kitchen. Curate your own experience by ordering off the ala carte menu, or if you have choice paralysis as we did, opt for the $95 ‘feed me’ menu, that features a representative cross-section of the menu, though you may still want to add one or two must-order items.  Askal’s inventiveness extends to its cocktails – the same Tanduay rum in the leche flan appears in the banana-reminiscent Pahanocoy Dream, the nostalgia of childhood is revisited with the Hard Sarsi, and pineapple rum coupled with blackstrap rum and Campari are natural counterparts in the Ibong Adarna, Askal

Before Nina’s took residence at the base of Brunswick’s Nightingale Studios, it was a lively Bangladeshi restaurant and prior to that, a café that changed hands a few times. It’s the first time a wine bar serving food has popped up in the space and judging by residents’ warm reception, it’s being appreciated as much as its forebears.  Simultaneously cosy and industrial, Nina’s has retained the exposed pipes of yesteryear venues but where it stylistically departs the most is in its almost Hellenic light blue colour scheme, from the leather seats to the bright planter boxes bordering the outdoor space. The big windows bordering the bike track that runs in parallel to the Upfield line lends the space plenty of natural light, a sense of space and constant movement.  Service is both personable and personal, with a menu that speaks of the intimate network co-owners Shae and Hayley have built within their surrounding community – from the honey, a gift from a Nightingale resident, that features in a dessert to the curry leaves that garnish the king prawns, bounty from Hayley’s mum’s garden. Exemplifying this community spirit is their $35 Monday pasta nights – a godsend when most hospitality outfits are taking a much-needed day off – and their happy hour specials from 4 to 6pm four days a week. The menu leans heavily on seasonal produce and mostly comprises vegetables and seafood – a treat for pescatarians. Excitingly, there’s a compact specials menu below the regular menu, ranging fr

Much fuss is made about Collingwood eatery Commis’ connections to Gerald’s Bar, but even if you didn’t know its trio of co-owners’ were alumni at the Carlton North perennial crowd favourite, you’d be able to distinguish its pedigree.  Stepping into Commis’ warm confines is like crossing the threshold of a friend’s house – service is effortlessly affable, laidback and jovial without being effusive or overbearing. Framed artwork depicting fresh produce pepper the walls, and seating is ample – you can choose between leather booths, standalone tables and a generously proportioned courtyard in the event of good weather.  The playful drinks menu and the seasonally changing food menu reflect the wine bar’s joie de vivre. Open your drinks menu one way and be met with a ‘traditionalist’ selection divided by type, but flip it around and open the ‘expressionist’ section and you’ll encounter headings like ‘a quick drink while I think about what I really want’, ‘something old’ (remind me of my last trip to Europe’) and ‘something new’ (my drink is a fashion accessory). Wines are similarly demarcated into emotively labelled sections like ‘we f%#king deserve it’ and ‘slap me in the face and make me feel something’.  I enquire after the cocktail ‘Jessica Hates Everything’ and am told it’s named after an aunty known for abhorring every drink made in her honour. It’s a cocktail specifically concocted for its end user – I’m told I look as though I’d like a sour beverage that’s not too sweet (th

South Asian food – despite comprising complex, multilayered dishes that are painstakingly time-intensive to make – has garnered a reputation for being ‘cheap and cheerful’. No matter that it takes hours, nay days, to conjure up the depth of flavours diners often take for granted.  More recently, Melburnian restaurants like Enter via Laundry – no doubt building on the legacy of upmarket Indian restaurants like Tonka and Jessi Singh’s double threat of Horn Please and Daughter in Law – have done their bit to reconceptualise South Asian food in the mind of the Western diner: as a cuisine rich with the specificities of the subcontinent’s many distinct regions and something worth paying more than $20 for. Banish all thoughts of homogenous brown curries before you visit this raft of South Asian restaurants, which counts Ish among its legion.  Around since 2018 and occupying prime position on Gertrude Street, Ish contributes to this lineage with a menu that borrows from regions across South Asia – Kerala, Bombay, Bengal, Kashmir – and collates the old with the new. Expect to see lamb seekh kebab and samosa chaat sitting alongside the more fusion-flavoured roti duck tacos and cauliflower curried hummus, while the curry / mains are refreshingly devoid of your usual suspects. Yes, you’ll find butter chicken and it’s indeed one of Ish’s most popular dishes, but you’ll also encounter moilees, coconut-rich seafood stews from Kerala, and Kashmiri dum aloo, a yoghurt-based curry peppered wit

Whether you’ve heard of Coburg’s latest hatted restaurant may depend on how you feel about the rehabilitated Pentridge Prison.  While Olivine Wine Bar, which neighbours the restaurant, has repurposed claustrophobic prison cells into inexplicably cosy velvet-clad nooks, it’s less apparent that North and Common sits in what used to be Pentridge Prison’s mess hall. There are echoes of its brutal history – heritage bluestone walls and the 10-metre-high ceiling remain – but more than anything, the seclusion of the former prison complex tucked away off Sydney Road is what makes the tastefully repurposed North and Common feel most transportive, like you're somewhere far removed from the hubbub of Melbourne instead of in an inner north suburb less than 10km from the city. The trademark Melbourne architectural flourishes of exposed beams and brick walls are present. Ornate archways and gargantuan light fittings culminate in in a light, bright and airy space that's an immensely beautiful backdrop to an unfolding dining experience.  Assembled by Mark Glenn who has a glittering CV that includes the likes of head chefdom at Cumulus, North and Common’s menu leans heavily on seafood and seasonal vegetables. Apart from locally sourced meat like Paroo kangaroo, Hazeldene’s chicken, O’Connor’s sirloin and Flinders Island lamb which are namedropped throughout the menu, you’re likely to be eating Sydney Rock oysters, Jerusalem artichoke, Corner Inlet calamari and zucchini flowers. A curious adju

Whatever iteration Marion’s menu is in, one can never go past the flatbread with fromage blanc, a staple so universally adored it’s never left. Salt-speckled, garlicky wedges of dough give way to the most pillowy interiors, which go a treat when dipped in fresh cheese so smooth and spreadable it’s akin to a yoghurt.   Housemade seed-studded rye crisps are the standout accompaniment to the smoked trout rillette, a rich and creamy mixture that’s more textured than a pâté but just as indulgent. Be rewarded with chunks of fresh smoked trout layered within the rillette and fresh pops of roe atop, with the radishes doing a great job of cutting through everything with its mild pepperiness.  Every wine bar in Melbourne has a crudo, carpaccio or tartare on its menu and though Marion’s raw tuna goes by a simple name, it evokes the same feeling. Light, summery and zingy, the tuna is enlivened by a light soy dressing and the crunch of coriander seeds.  A smokiness assails our senses as soon as the baked pipe rigate is placed in front of us. Lightly charred snail shells soaked in a spicy vodka sauce so lustrous there’s cheese pull is what’s on offer, and it’s a worthy addition to Marion’s menu. A Father’s Day special when we visit is the immaculately crumbed veal cotoletta in a crispy sage butter with zucchini pickles. The veal within is tender and medium-rare pink. For a green side to your mains, the Ramarro Farm leaves sweetened by bursts of pickled wild figs is a highlight.  It’s hard

The heady smell of incense is apparent as soon as you walk into Flint’s dark confines. Charcoal walls surround a centrepiece open kitchen where sous chef Yukio Endo works his magic on the night we visit. Through an alcove is a private mezzanine dining area that overlooks the restaurant while perched aloft. Flint combines the no-waste fermentation ethos of the since-closed Parcs with a healthy respect for flames and a penchant for wood-fired grilling, which is all the rage at restaurants like Matilda 159, Cutler and Co and Grill Americano. There are no ovens at Flint – only ‘fire, smoke and charcoal’.   Service is congenial, prompt and un-hierarchical – owner and chef Nicki Morrison herself waits on tables, while Yukio handles the cooking. Flint’s approach to fermentation is a through-line in the menu – the water in which carrots ferment is used in the Carrot Sour cocktail (a spin on a Whisky Sour) to great effect, while the fermented carrot themselves feature in Flint’s famed ‘carrot carrot’ dish.  Stepping away momentarily from fermentation and carrots, Flint’s cocktail menu is short but sweet, boasting classics like Negronis and Espresso Martinis alongside the must-try Yuzu Sour, the latter akin to a liquified bright and zesty mandarin spiked with gin. Meanwhile, the concise wine list combines European varietals with local ones.  There are only two entrees on Flint’s menu priced by individual serves, and the seeded sourdough with bone marrow-koji butter is one of them – we’

Restaurant and wine bar Lene, pronounced Lenny, doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a veritable gallery with wall-to-wall expanses of bold and colourful paintings, but there’s no stiff tablecloths or opaque dining codes to abide by here – unlimited sparkling water is available for only $5, off-menu items are rattled off with an easy nonchalance. The narrow space, all timber, has a relaxed feel.  Which is not to say the food isn’t serious. Like the assorted playlist in the background which runs the gamut from hip-hop to indie rock to classical music, wunderkind owner-chef Cameron Williams’ menu is an eclectic one, borrowing influences from India, China, Italy, France. The culmination is, if not particularly cohesive, novel and exciting.  Mains tend to veer towards bistro-style dishes – expect a steak, fish, chicken – and while they’re more than noteworthy, it’s in the appetisers where Lene’s spirit of experimentation truly shines.  One of the off-menu drinks is Lene’s special Jalapeño Margarita and we see why it’s earned that moniker. The spiced salt on the rim has a heat that radiates to the back of your mouth with each sip and leaves your lips tingling. There’s a brief cocktail list and a more extensive wine list, with certain bottles in the cellar collection of the latter climbing to the multi-thousand-dollar mark.  Kicking off our entrees is the immaculately fried bhaji, a crisp nest of corn encased in a light, incredibly airy batter. The accompanying, self-labelled bo

Untitled, sister restaurant to adjacent cocktail bar Ugly Duckling, is the latest in a slew of restaurants to resuscitate Swan Street’s aspirations to be a dining destination.  Shades of brown, orange and beige lend the multi-level Untitled a distinctly early '70s feel, accentuated by the bright splashes of art, leather swivel stools framing the bar, wooden blinds and textured walls. The current menu on offer is distinctly Italian with some flourishes from around the globe – harissa is present in more than one dish, while the beef tartare, pommes puree, and fennel and potato gratin point to French influences. The snacks come in individual servings, the entrees are designed to be shared, and while you could choose to share a few mains among you, who wants only a spoonful of pasta and the corner of a steak? No, these dishes are best enjoyed solo.  Complimentary bread with smooth and velvety whipped butter kickstarts our meal. The first of two snacks we try, the cacio e pepe croquette is a thick melange of cheesiness spiked with black pepper. Encased in crisp batter, the filling is paste-like. If you’re not the biggest truffle fan, don’t be scared off by the menu’s description of truffle pecorino – the discernible hints of it are negligible.  The rounds of pickled cucumber garnishing the oblongs of potato rösti topped with creamy lobster cuts through the richness of this dish, while the dollops of horseradish and tendrils of pickled onion perform the same function in the beef ta