Monday, August 31, 2026

The Top 100 Places to Eat Near Malin Melbourne





  1. Rank 5. Kazuki's

    Japanese


  2. Rank 6. Scopri

    Italian


  3. Rank 7. Bistra

    Modern Australian




  4. Rank 10. Etta

    Modern Australian


  5. Rank 11. Lagotto

    Italian


  6. Rank 12. Bar Liberty

    Modern Australian


  7. Rank 13. Zareh

    Middle Eastern




  8. Rank 16. Oxi Tea Room

    Modern Australian

    Whole-leaf oolong and black teas sourced from Kenya and Taiwan are the anchor here, not a backdrop to something else. Oxi Tea Room is a high tea spot in Carlton where the tea is treated with the seriousness usually reserved for wine, and the housemade desserts lean into native Australian ingredients, lemon myrtle, green ants, and all. It holds two Chef Hats from the Australian Good Food Guide, which tracks for a room that takes the kettle this seriously.


  9. A plant-only Sichuan restaurant in an industrial Collingwood space, Shu has been quietly dismantling the assumption that vegan dining means polite and beige. The kitchen leans into the bold, numbing heat of southwest Chinese cooking, and the ten-course degustation does the convincing. There's also a cocktail bar tucked inside, which helps explain the crowd's relaxed commitment to staying a while. The Australian Good Food Guide gives it two Chef Hats.


  10. Rank 18. Restaurant Gaea

    Modern Australian


  11. Rank 19. IDES

    Modern Australian


  12. Exposed brick and copper fittings across two levels, with furniture shipped over from India, set the tone at this Indian-inspired bar and restaurant on Gertrude Street. The kitchen moves between tradition and improvisation, pairing familiar subcontinental flavors with the kind of lateral thinking Fitzroy restaurants tend to reward. The Australian Good Food Guide gave it a Chef Hat. Go when you want spice with your natural wine.


  13. Wood paneling, shelves of records, and specialty coffee by day shifting to natural wine and cocktails once the sun goes down: Good Measure on Lygon Street is the kind of cafe-bar hybrid Melbourne does better than anywhere. The espresso is serious, and the Mont Blanc, a chilled filter coffee floated with sweet cream, has the devoted following to prove it. Come back at night and the room barely changes, which is the whole point.


  14. A converted warehouse on Westgarth Street where the roastery, coffee lab, and cafe all share the same bright, plant-filled floor, so you can watch the beans move from machine to cup while waiting for brunch. It's a full-production specialty coffee shop that takes itself seriously without making you feel underdressed. The seasonal food menu holds its own, and the cold brew options get inventive in the way only Melbourne can pull off without irony.


  15. The roasting equipment isn't decorative here; this Brunswick East spot runs as a working roastery first, with a tasting bar tacked on for those who want to drink the results on the spot. Baristas at the counter are the kind who'll walk you through a seasonal single-origin without being asked. Batch brew, espresso, or a bag of freshly roasted beans to take home, the menu stays short because the focus doesn't wander.


  16. A converted warehouse painted almost entirely white, with the roastery sitting in plain view so nothing happens behind closed doors. This specialty coffee shop in Collingwood leans hard into light roasts and single origins, the kind of place where the coffee is the décor. It draws the pour-over crowd who treat their morning brew with the same seriousness other people reserve for wine, which is either admirable or a lot, depending on your Tuesday.


  17. Rank 25. Orlo

    Mediterranean


  18. A Josper grill anchors the kitchen at this Latin American fire-cooking restaurant near Smith Street, where the smoke and the playlist both run loud. Tasting menus, à la carte, bottomless brunch on weekends, tacos on Tuesdays, Wagyu on Wednesdays: they keep the calendar full enough that regulars barely need to think. The cocktails have attitude to match. It holds an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat.


  19. Timber cladding and a near-silent room set the tone at this specialty coffee shop on Pelham Street, where the menu rotates single-origin filters the way a wine bar rotates bottles. The space reads more like a tasting room than a cafe, which is more or less the point. University foot traffic hums somewhere outside, but inside people tend to nurse their cups slowly, as though rushing would be rude.


  20. Rank 28. Circl Wine House

    Modern Australian


  21. Rank 29. Saadi

    Indian


  22. A roastery-cafe in a converted warehouse on one of Brunswick's better streets, with the kind of concrete-and-timber interior that feels earned rather than decorated. The coffee program runs from house blends to rotating single-origin filters, so there's always a reason to ask what's on. Locals who know the neighborhood well tend to end up here, which is usually a decent sign.




  23. A roastery cafe in a Brunswick warehouse where the roaster is the decor, not a prop. Disciple keeps things stripped back: bare walls, good light, and baristas who treat a pour-over with the same attention other places reserve for tasting menus. Espresso and single-origin filter share the menu without any hierarchy, which is rarer than it should be. Pick up a bag to take home or just drink your coffee slowly, ideally without anyone making you feel guilty about it.


  24. Flower Drum has been a Melbourne institution long enough that regulars book the same table year after year and the staff already know what they want. It's a formal Cantonese restaurant tucked into a lane off Chinatown, white-tablecloth serious, where the roast duck is carved tableside and the service runs like the dining room has something to prove. The Australian Good Food Guide awards it two Chef Hats, and the room's quiet confidence suggests it has never needed to mention that.


  25. Rank 35. Ishizuka

    Kaiseki Japanese


  26. Rank 36. Askal

    Filipino



  27. Andrew McConnell's fine dining room inside the grand Cavendish House on Russell Street turns on an open fire grill and dry-aged Victorian and South Australian beef, which landed Gimlet a spot on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list. The room manages to feel glamorous without feeling stiff, and the wine list reads like someone actually thought about what goes with the food rather than just buying everything.


  28. Rank 39. Yiaga

    Modern Australian


  29. Hand rolls you build yourself, from platters of seafood and Wagyu laid out at your own pace, served on ceramics the kitchen threw in its own pottery studio. Temaki Sushi is an intimate omakase-style hand roll restaurant on Little Collins Street, running a seasonal menu tied to produce from the team's farm in the Dandenong Ranges. The Australian Good Food Guide gave it a Chef Hat, which feels about right for a place this quietly sure of itself.



  30. Rank 42. Society

    Modern Australian




  31. Rank 45. Farmer's Daughters

    Modern Australian


  32. Rank 46. Bar Magnolia

    Modern Australian


  33. Rank 47. Embla

    Modern Australian



  34. White linen and polished service set the tone at this long-running Venetian Italian in the heart of the city, where the cooking stays close to the lagoon, pasta and all. The menu leans into the kind of regional specificity that doesn't need to announce itself, and the room runs with quiet assurance. It holds an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat.



  35. Rank 51. Vue de Monde

    Modern Australian





  36. Rank 55. Tipo 00

    Italian




  37. Rank 58. Cumulus Inc.

    Modern Australian


  38. Rank 59. Marmelo

    Portuguese



  39. Rank 61. Serai

    Filipino


  40. Rank 62. Kisume

    Japanese



  41. Black coffee only, full stop. Aunty Peg's is the roasting headquarters and tasting room for Proud Mary Coffee, tucked into a two-story Collingwood warehouse where the espresso bar doubles as a kind of classroom. Baristas walk you through pour-overs and microlots with the focused energy of sommeliers who've given up on casual drinkers. If you were planning to ask for oat milk, plan differently.




  42. Dry-aged seafood sits at the center of everything here, a Japanese restaurant on Queen Street where the counter omakase and chirashi bowls draw a quiet, loyal lunch crowd from the surrounding offices. The menu runs from quick sashimi plates to a full omakase sitting, so the room works for both a grabbed weekday meal and something slower. The Australian Good Food Guide gave it a Chef Hat, which tracks with the precision on the plate.



  43. Rank 69. Minamishima

    Omakase Japanese


  44. Rank 70. Nomad Melbourne

    Modern Australian


  45. Rank 71. Luci

    Modern Australian

    The art deco bones of Equity Chambers on Bourke Street give this contemporary Australian restaurant more grandeur than it probably needs, and it leans in accordingly. The menu runs Italian-inflected, from breakfast through dinner, with the kind of crowd that treats eggs Benedict as a reasonable way to start a Wednesday. Evenings shift toward crudo and house-made pasta with enough anchovy to mean it.


  46. Rank 72. Akaiito

    Japanese

    A red thread of light twists across the ceiling of this moody Japanese fine dining room on Flinders Lane, its glow picked up by red plates below. Black marble, dark granite, and plush banquettes set the tone for a seasonal Kojin menu that moves between small plates and larger composed dishes. The Australian Good Food Guide gave it two chef hats, and the room feels like it was designed with that ambition in mind from the start.


  47. Rank 73. Atria

    Modern Australian

    Fire anchors the kitchen at this hotel fine dining room in Melbourne's CBD, where the menu moves through Australian land and sea with the restraint of a place that doesn't need to shout. The produce comes from named farmers and fishermen around the country, and the cooking lets that lineage do the work. An Australian Good Food Guide Two Hat restaurant, with a wine list that takes provenance as seriously as the food does.




  48. Rank 76. Warabi

    Japanese


  49. Rank 77. Matilda 159 Domain

    Modern Australian

    An open fire grill anchors everything at Scott Pickett's modern Australian restaurant in South Yarra, where dry-aged beef meets live coals with the kind of discipline that makes you stop mid-bite. The room runs to warm wood and natural textures, the wine list leans Australian, and the service has that easy confidence that never tips into theatre. Ranked among the World's Best Steak Restaurants, it holds an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat too.


  50. Rank 78. Freyja

    Modern Australian


  51. Rank 79. Steer Dining Room

    Modern Australian

    A wagyu-focused fine dining room in South Yarra where the menu is essentially a graduate seminar on breed, marbling, and provenance. Australian and Japanese A5 cuts are aged in-house and cooked over a hibachi grill, served simply enough that the beef does the arguing. The room is warm and understated, the sommelier knows when to stop talking, and the service hits that rare register of polished without stiff. Ranked 29th on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list.


  52. Rank 80. Maha Restaurant

    Middle Eastern


  53. Rank 81. Doju

    Korean


  54. A high-glam modern Pan-Asian restaurant on Flinders Lane from the team behind Cha Ching, where share plates move through bold Eastern flavours grounded in local ingredients. The room leans into occasion, so the crowd tends to dress accordingly. Clay pot duck and scallops with coconut bisque show the kitchen's range. The Australian Good Food Guide gave it a Chef Hat.


  55. A custom espresso machine sits at the center of this light-filled, timber-accented specialty coffee shop on Little Lonsdale Street, doing the work a piece of art usually does. It's the CBD flagship for Padre Coffee, which means the beans rotating through are seasonal single origins alongside the house blends, and the baristas know the difference. The kind of place where a flat white on the run and a slow pour-over get the same careful attention.


  56. Vivid wall murals and a glowing open bar set the mood at this Asian small-plates restaurant inside the Mövenpick Hotel, where the menu wanders from Vietnamese to Sri Lankan without apology. The kitchen leans on traditional techniques while nudging dishes in unexpected directions, beef rendang alongside ceviche with desert lime preserve. It holds an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat, and the Vietnamese espresso martini is a reasonable way to start.




  57. A working roastery and minimalist espresso bar sharing the same converted warehouse in North Melbourne, where the smell of fresh roasting hits you before the door does. The coffee program leans on direct-trade sourcing and rotating single-origins, with a 'Candyman' espresso blend that locals have ordered on autopilot for years. No food sprawl, no scene, just people who came specifically for the cup.




  58. Rank 90. From Here by Mike

    Modern Australian


  59. Rank 91. Anchovy

    Vietnamese


  60. Rank 92. Clover

    Modern Australian


  61. A specialty coffee shop where ordering feels less like grabbing a flat white and more like sitting a sommelier exam, except the sommelier is excited to explain everything. The minimalist bar on Victoria Street runs omakase-style tastings through rare microlots and competition-grade beans, with staff who can map a pour-over's origin and processing method from memory. Bring curiosity; a laptop feels slightly beside the point.



  62. The charcoal Josper grill does a lot of the heavy lifting at this sleek Japanese restaurant in South Melbourne, where the kitchen leans on technique rather than theatrics. Black leather, potted greenery, and quiet minimalist bones make it feel composed without trying too hard. The chef is from a fishing village in Hokkaido, and that background shows in cooking that takes handmade Japanese food seriously. An Australian Good Food Guide Hat is on the record.


  63. Rank 96. Tomo-An

    Japanese


  64. Rank 97. Bacash

    Modern Australian





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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. It runs on the scored places nearby: more good stuff within reach, higher score. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.