Melbourne, Australia + Add a trip

Coffee in Footscray

When in Melbourne, go to Africa! There is a cafe called "Café D'Afrique" in Nicholson st. where you can get the bestest jetlag blasting latte for $2(!) Don't expect to blend in, however, unless you are Sudanese, Eritrean, or Ethiopian.

coffee and eggs benedict at Orange

Orange on Chapel St in Windsor has killer coffee. I love starting a big day there with a coffee/benny combo.

North Melbourne

Breakfast at Fandangos, Errol Street, wonderful place. Dinner at Via Victoria, Victoria st, great great food. Drinks at Prudence, Victoria st. The atmosphere of these places is among the best you will find anywhere!

Magnation

Free wireless internet in the CBD, with good coffee and an enormous collection of magazines.

St Ali in South Melbourne

Try to find it and you WILL be rewarded with a fantastic NY atmosphere and excellent home roasted coffees.

The Deanery

Tucked out of the way at the end of an alley, this was a real find. Great food, fantastic wine and excellent service. Would highly recommend this restaurant.

Classy modern Greek food in a professional and buzzy restaurant

Melbourne's one of the biggest Greek cities in the world, and is the home of a vibrant restaurant and bar scene. The Press Club fits right in.

Intimate and pleasant venue on the edge of the CBD serving degustations that you share with friends or colleagues all the way up to a very sophisticated and beautiful a la carte experience. The wine list is intriguing and fun to explore.

Every time I've been there it's been busy, professional and yet also quite warm and personal.

Slow food, good times at an accessibly alternative location

The Abbotsford Convent has a slow food farmers market once a month, absolutely worth a visit. There are loads of other regular and irregular events.

The grounds and buildings are lovely and calm and the local coffee roasters at the Convent Bakery remind me of why coffee and Melbourne seem to go together so perfectly.

And then there's Lentil As Anything, an anti-consumerist restaurant who work hard at social integration and fantastic food. Not to leave out Handsome Steve's House of Refreshment, which has loads of good old favourites. It's like going back in time, without the nasty sexist/racist bits.

cocktails and hidden design

cocktail bar New Gold Mountain near Chinatown. Upstairs behind an anonymous brown door an amazing fitout with views over the CBD rooftops and excellent cocktails.

City Wine Store

Great city lunch destination, lovely for a glass of wine in the afternoon. And if you like what you are drinking then you can buy a bottle. Try their goats cheese omelet.

il fornaio

Right next door to the Prince, this cafe / bakery does great coffee, and nice breakfast. Whenever I am in town I make sure I grab an olive loaf to bring back to Sydney. Also do great home-style meals at dinner time, and nice wine by the glass

Claypots in St Kilda

Wow, oh wow, oh wow. Seafood and fish extraordinare. It's a little on the pricey side, but the place is far from pretentious and the food is worth the cost. It's a BYO

Vue De Monde is world-class gourmet food

I think the best meal I had last year was at Vue De Monde, a celebrated restaurant that illustrates why Melbourne is Australia's gastro-capital

Domaine Chandon is my favourite winery in the world

Part of the Moet & Chandon empire, the Yarra valley Domain Chandon is wonderfully refined and relaxing. There isn't a full restaurant tho you will get very good quality nibblies. But the sparkling wine is the highlight and perfectly suits the beautiful setting. This beats anything I have been to in Napa, the Cape or even France & Italy.

Movida is amazing - that's all you need to know.

http://www.movida.com.au/

journal cafe on Flinders Lane (right near the library) - lovely coffee and staff, great lunch and brekky, good in summer and wnter. I drop in every time I go to Melbourne

cumulus is on Flinders Lane and offers very nice shared plates. We had some delicious yabbies, and the pork belly and cabbage was wonderful

for vegetarian, nothing beats Shakahari. order the eggplant/avocado rolls to start. seriously amazing. located in carlton at 201 faraday st. http://www.shakahari.com.au/

if you're in st. kilda, get a coffee at leroy. great staff and coffee. corner of barkley & acland

maha, on bond street btwn flinders st. & flinders lane, is fantastic. great middle eastern food, relaxing warm atmosphere. very veggie friendly but also good for meat eaters. http://mahabg.com.au/

Melbourne has 3,000 restaurants and is by far the best city for food in Australia. I love Hanabashi in King Street

I'd suggest visiting Romeos on Toorak Rd. It serves quality Italian food, but in a smart casual atmosphere.

i second Bimbo on Brunskwick Street Fitzroy - Cheap fresh amazing unique pizza with a great atmosphere

The Fitz

Cafe Di Stasio on Fitzroy Street, St Kildo. Wonderful classic Italian with great servce (and some wonderful art work on the walls!)

the $3 Kransky sausage near the arcade end of Centre Place, Flinders.

This is a great place for breakfast or brunch. Try the salmon and 65/65 egg: an egg poached for 65 minutes at 65 degrees - just perfect.

Seafood Pasta, To die for......

A really nice place to have a breakfast. The place is owned and operated by a very nice couple. If you're staying in Prahran I really recommend this place.

Great northern Italian food.

Fine, fresh italian cuisine, only open for lunch but very reasonable prices and excellent coffee.

Top 3 places to eat breakfast in Melbourne. Great coffee, amazing menu. Also a very cool bar at night with great food.

Highly recommended. Fresh menu, great atmosphere. Hidden away from bustle of Flinders Lane and Degraves St.

Great place for a very original tapas menu and excellent wine list. A great place to start a night out in Melbourne.

Excellent food. Casual place right by the beach.

I confess suffering mild nervous shock at the ABSENCE of the baked gnocchi, Jerusalem artichoke, taleggio and truffle dish from their summer menu.

Melbourne is in safe hands with Takashi-san (ex Verge & Yu-u) front of house. This place isn't some oldskool Tokyo transplant, but a brave local concept done with style and is poised to become a regular haunt for many.

The accolades keep pouring in - this time for best coffee at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2010. Did we ever seriously think we could keep this place a secret to ourselves?

The only coffee in the city that's worth queuing up for.

award winning coffee. great food. family run cafe, huge range of fresh foods for breakfast, lunch and catering. champion barista, world latte art champion, award winning coffee blend - Gridlock Coffee.

Phenomenal breakfast....

Awesome coffee made by two ex-Vue du Monde baristas with their own four-group Synesso. Worth hunting down.

open mon - fri 6.30 am - 4.00 pm. eggs, pancakes, corn fritters, omelettes, fruit salads, foccacias, sandwiches, rolls, wraps, pasta, spanakopita, soups, salads, cakes and slices.

What an interesting place we've discovered, not just great pizza but - how about 'helping the world one pizza at a time!'

Its a charming little concept pizza place in the heart of Toorak, what happens is that with each pizza sold they contribute a slice to one of five major causes, and on special days such as 'Pink Ribbon Day' etc they give contributions to that too.

The pizzas are mostly gourmet with a good variety you won't get just anywhere, the service is charming too, engaging - if you're near it, drop in or call.

Fantastic mexican food as well as great quality tequila from the Americas that I have not seen sold anywhere in Australia. The food has a natural, homemade taste and well worth it in terms of value.

it' s an amazing little place with delicious tapas and pizzas. great atmosphere

Halal

One of Melbourne's hidden secrets. They serve some of the best Thai inspired dishes I've ever tasted and could quite possibly claim to have one of the biggest wine lists around. Food and atmosphere are amazing. Like me, you'll keep wanting to return.

The food here is really good!

Great food, Mediterrean (tapas) style, sharing plates with friends. Excellent European beers. All delivered with spot-on service. Highly recommended.

I don't think anyone goes to Preston for a cafe, but it you end up there this place is nice. Quite an interesting menu. it would be a contender 20km closer in.

Great food, friendly service. We eat there everytime we're in Melbourne and the food has been consistently good, especially the Salmon Gravelax.