Melbourne food guide: The best restaurants in Melbourne

The capital city of the Australian state of Victoria, cosmopolitan Melbourne simply buzzes with life. It is a city known for many things; its cultural diversity, amazing street art and museums, vibrant live music scene but most importantly, it’s a city known for its excellent food. There is a dining option for every budget, cuisine and taste. Though we found it very hard to pick just nine restaurants, in this Melbourne food guide we have chosen the top eateries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Enjoy! 

• Archie’s All Day
• Auction Rooms
• Industry Beans

189 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, 3065

Archie’s All Day is the total package. Open every day of the week for breakfast, lunch and drinks, you can have smashed avocado at 10am or pop in for a Mandarin Mimosa later in the day. Though the Archie’s All Day menu is distinctly split by breakfast and lunch, you can have a late afternoon or early evening meal without any grumbling. 

Hayley, from travel blog Hayley on Holiday, discovered Archie’s All Day during a trip to Melbourne earlier in the year. She said that choosing a favourite restaurant is very difficult, but a trip to Archie’s All Day is a must. “I had the delicious chicken and waffles and my friend’s pancakes literally looked like fluffy clouds,” she said, “the chicken was cooked in a sweet coating, which perfectly complemented the maple syrup and waffles.” Sounds delicious! Check out Hayley’s Melbourne food diary for further inspiration.  

103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne, 3051

One of Melbourne’s most popular café’s, Auction Rooms is located within Old WB Ellis auction house. For over a decade the café has been satisfying breakfast seekers with an innovative menu that combines diverse flavours such as buttermilk waffles and passionfruit curd, brioche french toast and raw cacao and coconut set chia pudding, sesame tuile and purple shiso. 

The coffee served at Auction Rooms is via its own roastery, Small Batch Roasting Co. Located just down the road, the company was launched in 2008 with the aim to provide the best cup of coffee in Melbourne. And they certainly do! One of their best offerings is the seasonal espresso blend - definitely worth a try alongside the homemade granola. 

2-62 Rose Street, Fitzroy, 3065

Award-winning Industry Beans is one of Melbourne’s best boutique roasters. Created by two brothers, Trevor and Steve Simmons, Industry Beans is located in an open warehouse that offers everything from a lively café, an ambitious roastery, a cupping lab and expert coffee training facilities. The easygoing spot that’s incredibly popular with locals has won many awards for its impressive design and even more impressive coffee.

But it’s not just the coffee that’s the attraction - it’s progressive, modern menu is what sets it apart. Smashed avocado is of course a staple but it’s the dishes like cinnamon-dusted brioche with tonka bean ice cream, maple roasted peanuts and coffee caviar that are the real stars of the show. All ingredients are sourced locally aside from the bread, butter and chocolate which is cleverly made in-house. 

• MoVida
• Rice Paper Scissors
• Tipo 00

1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne, 3000

MoVida is a Melbourne institution. The restaurant is single-handedly responsible for igniting the city’s obsession with Spanish tapas and sharing plates. Though a long way from Spain, when you’re hankering after some traditional Spanish cuisine, MoVida is the place to go with its delicious croqueta, gambas and pisto manchego. Oh, and don’t forget the churros - they are some of the freshest in town. 

MoVida is hidden down a graffiti-filled lane and stands proudly as the original restaurant. Today, there are four restaurants each with the same philosophy - to celebrate Spanish produce, food and culture through Australian produce, food and culture, respecting both but constrained by neither. 

15 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, 3000

Rice Paper Scissors is a really cool restaurant with an even cooler history. A dream turned reality, the restaurant was created by two best friends who wanted to embrace the well-loved style of Asian street food. The idea was fulfilled in 2003 when the friends opened Rice Paper Scissors.

Bino, blogger at I Wander, said this is his favourite Melbourne restaurant. “Coming from Asia myself, I was quite impressed with the dishes at this modern Asian restaurant. Many of them are familiar dishes found all throughout the continent, with a focus on Southeast Asia. If you can’t decide whether to have Vietnamese, Thai or Filipino food - coming here will definitely help you satiate your cravings for these 3 cuisines (and more!)” Check out Bino’s fantastic guide to Melbourne which covers itineraries for two days - perfect if you’re on a cruise to Australia with just 48 hours in Melbourne! 

361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, 3000

Serving bowls of happiness since 2014, Tipo 00 is a stand-out member of the pasta-making clan in a city that does pasta very, very well. This simple yet stylish pasta bar is elevated by its staff's incredible attention-to-detail - something that leaves hopeful customers queuing out the door and round the block. 

Created to showcase a passion for Italian cuisine, Tipo 00 is named after the flour used in the restaurant’s specialty pasta. The extensive menu combines some of the most intricate flavours such as eggplant, tomato and ricotta salata cannelloni and grilled ox tongue lingua with balsamic and pink peppercorns. Lunch at Tipo 00 is not to be missed. 

• Cutler & Co.
• Mordialloc Cellar Door
• Shanghai Dumpling House 

55-57 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, 3065 

Cutler & Co. is modern Australian cuisine at its best. Its simple, bistro-like menu is served in a fine dining setting that somehow feels casual and relaxed - it is the perfect example of a Melbourne restaurant. 

For over ten years, Cutler & Co. has been in the same spot but behind its facade, it has never stopped evolving. It is a restaurant that has put Fitzroy on the culinary map. 

The menu covers all bases with something for everyone, choose from their popular a la carte menu or try as many things as possible by opting for their taster menu. The abalone katsu sandwich and fruits de mer platter are masterpieces and a dinner in Melbourne would not be complete without one of them. 

622 Main Street, Mordialloc, 8195

Established in 2003, Mordialloc Cellar Door is a small, independent family-owned business. Things are done differently here, ‘bring your own food’ is encouraged and with many different eateries within walking distance you can arrange delivery straight to your table. 

Samantha, travel blogger at Coco Travels, said “Mordialloc Cellar Door was the first place we visited when we arrived in Australia. It’s super chilled out - you just buy your food from any of the takeaways along the strip and then buy your wine from here and sit outside at one of the tables.

“There are so many wines and beers to choose from, you might take a while to pick! There are lots of parrots in the area which get really noisy in the early evening so it feels super tropical. It’s lovely to sit outside and make the most of the weather - all with that laid back Aussie vibe!” 

23 Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne, 3000

Sarah and Kris from JetSetting Fools recommend a visit to Shanghai Dumpling House. Hidden down a side street in Melbourne’s thriving Chinatown, Shanghai Dumpling House serves cheap but cheerful dumplings of all varieties. In their Melbourne guide, Sarah and Kris said of their visit, “there was no kitschy decor inside the brightly-lit space, in fact, there was barely any decor at all. Tables are pushed close together (maximising the number of diners) and drink lists are taped to the wall above the booths.” 

Not known for its modern interior, Shanghai Dumpling House is ever-popular, with its speedy service, unpretentious and unassuming vibe and delicious dumplings. The fried beef, pork dumplings and steamed pumpkin dumplings are a must according to Sarah and Kris.