A food tour through Melbourne
Some of my favourite restaurants, cocktail bars and foodie destinations
I hadn’t written about my home town all that much. Which is remiss of me, as Melbourne is considered to be the best food city in Australia. So I’ve determined to make amends, starting with this post.
As someone who’s previously job was leading food tours of Melbourne, I know the city well. The challenge is there are literally hundreds of great places to choose from. Excellent restaurants, cafes and cocktail bars that Melbourne is renowned for. Way more than could be covered in one post. So there will be more Melbourne posts for sure!
This tour is focused on the area around Degraves Street, Flinders Lane and across to Exhibition Street. Just a few city blocks that are literally filled with great food and drinks. I have written here as if we were on a progressive walk through the city together.
Enjoy!
A food tour through Melbourne
We begin our food tour on the corner of Centre Place and Flinders Lane. Centre Place is must-visit iconic Melbourne laneway packed with tiny food outlets. A favourite is ShanDong MaMa Mini for dumplings. If feeling thirsty the retro fitted Hell’s Kitchen bar is up a narrow staircase and a good spot for people watching onto the laneway below.
Next stop is Degraves Street (diagonally opposite Centre Place) where a row of cafes line either side of the street with umbrella covered tables down the centre of the roadway. Gelato lovers have Pidapipó and Piccolina Gelateria to choose from. Also very good in Degraves Street is Tulip Coffee, the first of three coffee places I recommend on this particular route.
Back on Flinders Lane is the excellent Brunetti Oro at number 250 for good quality Italian style coffee and cakes, pasta, pizza and gelato. Or settle in with a Campari Spritz at the bar.
I’m a big fan of Dukes Coffee Roasters, so a must-stop-at spot for me is 247 Flinders Lane (Ross House) for a perfectly made flat white and something from the enticing cabinet of top quality sweet treats.
Continue east along Flinders Lane and you are entering serious food territory. Supernormal restaurant at number 250 is the go-to place for lobster rolls, chicken and prawn dumplings, peanut butter parfait (and basically everything else on the menu).
Excellent Japanese sushi and drinks are to be found at Kisume. Go for the full dining experience or, as I do, pop into the upstairs Chablis Bar for a perfectly poured glass or two.
Take a detour into cobbled stoned Hosier Lane to see the best street artists work. The excellent MoVida and MoVida Next Door restaurants are here too. Both are highly recommended for dishes such as their uber-famous Cantabrian artisan anchovy with smoked tomato sorbet, amongst many other things. Check out my review here.
Back to Flinders Lane and keep heading east. Keep a look out for Lune Croissanterie (they make my favourite almond croissant of all time), before crossing Russell Street.
Coda restaurant (enter from Oliver Lane) is renowned for their excellent Vietnamese inspired fusion menu using the best local produce. Next along Flinders Lane is the famous Chin Chin restaurant for Asian inspired food and cocktails.
Peer up George Parade, virtually opposite Chin Chin, to spot the blue and white sign. This houses Philippe restaurant, THE place for all manner of incredible French food.
The next side detour is into AC/DC Lane, and yes it’s named after the rock band and features a Bon Scott relief protruding from the wall. AC/DC Lane is also home to some excellent street art, plus two great restaurants.
First up is Pastuso a top city destination for Peruvian food, drinks and hospitality. Settle in here for pisco sour cocktails, ruby red snapper ceviche plus smoked and roasted chicken.
Wander on a little further and AC/DC lane changes to become Duckboard Place. This will lead you to the door of Lee Ho Fook for modern Asian dishes. Don’t miss the crispy eggplant with spiced red vinegar, wok fried rice noodles and Fujian fried rice with spanner crab, scallop and XO sauce.
Keep east on Flinders Lane and cross Exhibition Street. The award-winning Cumulus Inc restaurant appears at number 45, a renowned venue which put Flinders Lane on the foodie map when it opened in 2008. Classic dishes include tuna tartare with goat's curd, green pea and mint, slow roasted lamb shoulder to share and Madeleines with lemon curd.
From here make a beeline north along Spring Street, then into Little Collins Street where Bar Lourinha offers Spanish inspired food, wine and hospitality in a beautifully setting. A real gem of the Melbourne food scene.
From here cross into Myers Place and the always excellent San Telmo restaurant for Argentinian food done right by cooking over a parrilla grill. Check out my review here. Walk through to Bourke Street and then along to Madame Brussels at number 59 for rooftop cocktails and chicken toasties, with city views.
The opposite side of Bourke Street is home to three restaurants operated by the Grossi family, Cellar Bar for casual dining, The Grill when you need Tuscan inspired food cooked over wood fire and Florentino when you are looking for luxurious dining, wine and hospitality.
From here it’s a short walk to Exhibition street and take a left turn to the precinct known as 80 Collins, bordered by Collins Street, Exhibition Street and Little Collins. 80 Collins is home to a number of excellent venues, of which I really like four of them.
First up is Farmer’s Daughters where the best seasonal produce from the Gippsland region is presented in a top quality restaurant and a rooftop bar. Highly recommended. Then Yakimono, a neon infused ode to excellent Japanese food cooked over fire, with great cocktails and saki. I really enjoy dining here.
Next up in this precinct is Society restaurant, a wonderful classy location with dining options including Lilian Brasserie and Society Dining Room. Check out my review here.
Last but definitely not least is the wonderful Nick and Nora’s. This is a cocktail bar that sets standards for inspiring cocktails, great service and a fit out reminiscent of New York in the 1920’s. Don’t miss this one.
So there you have it, a few (about two dozen) of the many great dining and drinking destinations in Melbourne.
Thank you for joining me here on Substack, it means a lot. I really appreciate being able to connect directly to your inbox with my subscriber-only food + travel articles. Until next time!
~ Allan Campion