Melbourne's Best Resturants and Dining Experiences

Melbourne is a cultural melting pot where people from all over the world have settled and made their home. Australian immigration policy from the past 60 years allowed for the arrival of diverse cultures, and with them came their cuisines. At first these new types of foods may have been considered downright strange to locals raised on the English staples of meat & 3 veg for dinner, and vegemite sandwiches in school lunch boxes. To say that the locals have now embraced the flavours, textures and scents of the eclectic mix of cuisines on offer is an understatement. Melbourne now considers itself the food capital of Australia, and it’s virtually impossible to dispute that.

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You’ll find great restaurants everywhere. Suburban restaurants can be just as special as those in the busy city area, and you’ll often find different restaurants offering vastly different cuisines right alongside each other, and thriving! Ask a local about the best on offer, and you’ll be surprised at their fervour for their favourites.

There are certainly some specific areas that you can identify with one type of cuisine, or with a large selection of dining options. Below are a few select areas to try out.

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Melbourne Food and Wine tours

See Melbourne Food and Wine tours

Every big city has it’s own version of Chinatown, and Melbourne is no different. Situated on Little Bourke Street between Swanston and Exhibitions Streets in the heart of the CBD, Chinatown offers great food for all budgets and tastes. Be it take-away, little hole-in-the-wall diners, family-friendly or an ala carte option such as the well-known Flower Drum, you’ll find something to suit you here.

Yum-cha is a firm favourite, especially on weekends, so be sure to get in early or book to ensure that you get a seat for this great way to experience loads of different flavours experienced leisurely across a couple of hours.

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One of the immigrant groups first represented in large numbers were from Italy, and their influence is seen strongly throughout Melbourne and Australian cuisine today. The Aussie love of great coffee has grown and Australia is now one of the coffee capitals of the world.

Italian influences on Australian food can be seen everywhere, but no more so than in the area nicknamed Little Italy centering on Lygon Street in the suburb of Carlton, just outside the CBD and accessible by tram. Obviously pizza and pasta are major themes, but there is so much more to Italian food than that. Fresh, simple and delicious, or hearty and warming, you’ll love what’s on offer.

If you are just after a snack or dessert, there are cake shops, gelatarias, and a variety of delis to choose from. Or, just grab a coffee, sit outside in the sun, and watch the world go by.

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Want to find out more about Melbourne? Including our favourite tours, latest specials, travel information and plenty more.

See our Melbourne Things to Do Travel Guide.

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The southern bank of the Yarra River in the city is a hive of activity, with loads of alfresco dining options as well as a selection of bars for those pre-dinner drinks or after dinner party starters. The meal options range from budget friendly food-courts to fine dining, and many have outdoor seating available to take in the sunshine during the day, or the great view of the river and cityscape at night.

Crown Entertainment complex is situated in this area, and offers a range of dining options in addition to the fine dining mentioned above. Enjoy the spectacle of the evening Gas Brigades show which happen every hour at night from sunset to midnight as eight towers along the river outside Crown shoot fireballs into the air, amazing onlookers.

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ven if you don’t make to one of these specific areas, there are plenty of others to choose from. Try the CBD, Docklands Precinct, Chapel Street in South Yarra, Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, or Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, just to name a few.

Great Food can be found all over the state, so if you are travelling out of the city, keep on the look-out for some great restaurants. You may stumble across restaurants like the Lake House in Daylesford which has a long standing reputation of amazing food, and Brae Restaurant in Birregurra, on the Great Ocean Road, home to a slew of awards including Chef of the Year in 2016. At Port Fairy there is a one hat restaurant called Fen.

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If, after all that, you are still looking for more of a Foodie experience, why not try a food or wine tour. With regions just an hour or two outside of Melbourne that house world-class wineries, dairies, and primary produce farms, tours can take you to the source for the best that the local area has to offer.

Try wines, beers, cheeses, berries, chocolates, ice creams and more on a tour. The best thing is that you don’t need to worry about how to get around. Let the driver take care of it; you just enjoy!

You find plenty of tours to choose from here.

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