Overview

Dining out in this foodie town is serious – and seriously fun. Melbourne prides itself on its food and the city's dizzying array of dining options is testimony to its culinary reputation. Book ahead for award-winning fine-dining restaurants, queue up for iconic cheap eats, explore famous eat streets or track down the city's best food trucks. Whatever you do, come to town with an appetite.

A table at Melbourne's most notable restaurants is a treat worth travelling for. Consider critically acclaimed Attica, Flower Drum or Amaru. Grab a spot at the bar for award winning food at Embla, or one of dining spots listed in The Age Good Food or Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide.

Explore Melbourne's culinary precincts. Go for Italian in Lygon Street, Carlton, Vietnamese in Victoria Street, Richmond, and Lebanese in Sydney Road, Brunswick. Find the best-dumplings in CBD's Chinatown, and be spoilt for choice in Footscray's Vietnamese and African restaurants.

Check out Sunday lunch specials at big-name restaurants or let your good intentions go in a beer garden with gourmet fare.

Vue de monde, Melbourne

Dining institutions (1:09)

Video

Don't miss

Embla, Melbourne, Australia. Picture: Rebecca Newman

Embla

Bars
A city wine bar with quiet confidence that attracts gourmands and wine lovers alike, and accolades from Good Food Guide and Australian Gourmet Traveller.
Amaru, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Amaru

Restaurants
A small and intimate dining room offering a choice of two contemporary Australian tasting menus from chef and owner Clinton McIvor (ex Vue de Monde).
Matilda, South Yarra, Victoria, Australia Photo: Gareth Sobey Photography

Matilda 159 Domain

Restaurants
Scott Pickett’s passion project emphasises local seafood and meats cooked over hot coals and open flames.
Yugen Dining's Bar

Yugen Dining

Restaurants
Located in the heart of South Yarra, on the bustling corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road, Yugen Dining lies directly beneath its sister venue – the...
Cumulus Inc. Eating House & Bar

Cumulus Inc.

Restaurants
This loft-inspired restaurant, hatted by the Good Food Guide boasts a drinking bar, an eating bar and regular tables for serious eating.
The Cocktail Bar

Gimlet at Cavendish House

Restaurants
In a landmark 1920s building on leafy Russell Street, our cocktail bar and dining room bring classic European charm to the heart of Melbourne.Step into...
Lee Ho Fook, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen

Lee Ho Fook

Restaurants
Duck down Duckboard Place to experience Victor Liong's new-style Chinese. The ever-changing menus put a new spin on the classics.
Plates of food and drink from Chin Chin in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Chin Chin

Restaurants
Pick your favourite friends and settle in for a fun group date over sharing plates of fresh, spicy Thai food and plentiful wine.
Outside Tonka in Duckboard Pl, Victoria, Australia

Tonka

Restaurants
Let the team behind Coda tempt you with their Indian-inspired menu lauded by both the Good Food Guide and Australian Gourmet Traveller.
Kisume, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Kisume

Restaurants
Savour intricate works-of-art morsels at Chris Lucas’s three-level poetic ode to Japanese haute cuisine on Flinders Lane.
Minamishima preparing fish, Melbourne, Victoria.

Minamishima

Restaurants
Immerse yourself in the art of sushi with omakase (chef's selection) from Koichi Minamishima. Three hats from Good Food Guide 2020.
Pearl meat sauté at Flower Drum, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Flower Drum

Restaurants
Create a special occasion so you can head to Flower Drum for novel Cantonese fare that has garnered two hats in the Good Food Guide.
Di Stasio Città, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Photo: Josh Rubenstone

Di Stasio Città

Restaurants
Welcome to Rinaldo di Stasio's city restaurant, where traditional Italian meets high design. Voted Gourmet Traveller New Restaurant of the Year 2020.
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How I Melbourne profiles

Meet local personalities and hear their recommendations ahead of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
Rushani Epa

Rushani Epa

Rushani Epa is the editor of Colournary Magazine, which aims to provide a platform to First Nations, Black and PoC food writers and creatives.
Ben Brown

Ben Brown

AFL player Ben Brown is an ambassador for domestic violence prevention, helping children with disabilities, and sexual and gender equality in sport.
Diana Chan

Diana Chan

Four years on from taking out MasterChef’s top prize, Diana Chan has become a household name.
Kara Monssen

Kara Monssen

Kara Monssen is the Herald Sun’s lead food and wine writer, reporting for Kitchen Confidential and Delicious, and reviewing Victorian restaurants.
Lucinda Price

Lucinda Price

Comedian. Actor. Presenter. Writer. Visionary. Lucinda Price, aka Froomes, is a modern multi-threat creative.
Peter Rowland

Peter Rowlands

A caterer to the stars since 1962, Peter Rowland made his name delivering dazzling events, from official state functions to the Australian Grand Prix.
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Restaurants
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Wine regions
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Cafes and bakeries

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Bars

Food & wine
Take an unexpected turn, duck into one of Melbourne's famed laneways, scamper up some stairs and take a tipple in a bar with a distinct personality.