Food · Melbourne · Australia
What to eat in Melbourne
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Melbourne, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Melbpal, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Specialty coffee and the 'magic', Melbourne brunch and Dim sim. Start in the deli hall for cheese and smallgoods, grab a borek from the long-running Turkish bakery stall, then finish with hot jam doughnuts from the van. Many popular restaurants take no bookings for small groups; put your name down and wait at a nearby bar.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Specialty coffee and the 'magic'
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 6
- Tipping
- Tipping is not expected.
- Food experiences
- 5
11 foods to try
Drink · Vegetarian
1.Specialty coffee and the 'magic'
Melbourne's cafés take coffee seriously: single-origin espresso, filter brews and flat whites from trained baristas are standard even in tiny laneway bars. Many locals order a 'magic', a double ristretto topped with steamed milk.
Where: Laneway cafés around Degraves Street and Centre Place, and roasters in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Brunswick.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
2.Melbourne brunch
Café brunch menus go well beyond eggs on toast, with dishes such as chilli scrambled eggs, ricotta hotcakes and seasonal vegetable plates on house-made sourdough, often served all day.
Where: Cafés in Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, South Yarra and Brunswick; arrive early at weekends.
Snack
3.Dim sim
A Melbourne creation from the 1940s, the dim sim is a larger, chunkier take on Cantonese siu mai, filled with pork and cabbage, then steamed or deep-fried and eaten with soy sauce.
Where: South Melbourne Market, where the dim sims are a local institution, plus fish-and-chip shops and sports grounds.
Street food
4.Souvlaki
Melbourne has a large Greek community, and souvlaki — grilled lamb or chicken wrapped in pita with tomato, onion and tzatziki — is the city's late-night food of choice.
Where: The Greek precinct on Lonsdale Street in the CBD, Eaton Mall in Oakleigh, and late-night shops across the inner suburbs.
Dish
5.Chicken parma
A crumbed chicken schnitzel topped with tomato sauce, ham and melted cheese, served with chips and salad. Almost every pub has one, and many run a weekly parma-night special.
Where: Pubs across the city, especially in Richmond, Fitzroy and Carlton.
Dish
6.Pho and banh mi
Richmond and Footscray have strong Vietnamese communities, and their restaurants serve beef pho, broken-rice plates and crusty banh mi rolls at everyday prices.
Where: Victoria Street in Richmond and central Footscray, both a short tram or train ride from the CBD.
Dish
7.Dumplings
Dumpling houses across the CBD serve soup-filled xiao long bao, pan-fried pork dumplings and hand-pulled noodles, many of them cheap enough for a quick lunch.
Where: Little Bourke Street and the lanes of Chinatown, and Box Hill in the eastern suburbs.
Bakery · Vegetarian
8.Pide and gözleme
Turkish and Lebanese bakeries turn out boat-shaped pide with cheese or spiced lamb, gözleme stuffed with spinach and feta, and za'atar flatbreads hot from the oven.
Where: Sydney Road in Brunswick and Coburg; gözleme stalls are also a fixture at the Queen Victoria Market.
Dessert · Vegetarian
9.Hot jam doughnuts
Sugar-dusted doughnuts filled with hot jam and fried to order, sold from a van at the Queen Victoria Market since the 1950s. Let them cool for a moment: the jam is scalding.
Where: Queen Victoria Market.
Dessert · Vegetarian
10.Acland Street cakes
European-style cake shops founded by post-war migrants fill their windows on St Kilda's Acland Street with cheesecakes, Black Forest cakes, strudels and kugelhopf.
Where: Acland Street in St Kilda.
Drink · Vegetarian
11.Yarra Valley wine
The cool-climate Yarra Valley, about an hour east of the city, is known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sparkling wine, and Melbourne wine lists favour Victorian producers.
Where: Wine bars across the CBD and Fitzroy, or the cellar doors of the Yarra Valley itself.
Food experiences
Queen Victoria Market morning
Start in the deli hall for cheese and smallgoods, grab a borek from the long-running Turkish bakery stall, then finish with hot jam doughnuts from the van.
Laneway coffee crawl
Spend a morning comparing espresso and filter coffee in the CBD lanes around Degraves Street and Centre Place, then visit a roastery café in Collingwood or Brunswick.
Lygon Street, Little Italy
Carlton's Lygon Street still has the post-war espresso bars and trattorias that introduced Melbourne to Italian coffee culture; finish with gelato on a summer evening.
Footy, a pie and a parma
Watch an AFL game at the MCG with a pie at half-time, or join locals at a pub screening with a chicken parma and a pot of local beer.
South Melbourne Market
A neighbourhood market with famous dim sims, oyster bars, delis and produce, a short tram ride from the CBD and calmer than Queen Vic.
Quick bites and street food
- Melbourne brunch — Cafés in Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond, South Yarra and Brunswick; arrive early at weekends.
- Dim sim — South Melbourne Market, where the dim sims are a local institution, plus fish-and-chip shops and sports grounds.
- Souvlaki — The Greek precinct on Lonsdale Street in the CBD, Eaton Mall in Oakleigh, and late-night shops across the inner suburbs.
- Pide and gözleme — Sydney Road in Brunswick and Coburg; gözleme stalls are also a fixture at the Queen Victoria Market.
Vegetarian options
Of the 11 foods in this guide, 6 are usually vegetarian: Specialty coffee and the 'magic', Melbourne brunch, Pide and gözleme, Hot jam doughnuts, Acland Street cakes and Yarra Valley wine. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Many popular restaurants take no bookings for small groups; put your name down and wait at a nearby bar.
- Brunch is often served all day, but many cafés themselves close by mid-afternoon.
- Tap water is free and normally brought to the table without asking.
- BYO wine is still common at Vietnamese and other casual restaurants, sometimes with a small corkage charge.
- Sunday and public-holiday surcharges are common and should be stated on the menu.
- Book well ahead for dinner during the Australian Open, the Grand Prix and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
Tipping
Tipping is not expected. Leaving about 10% at a sit-down restaurant for good service is appreciated but optional, and tipping at cafés and bars is uncommon.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Footy | Australian rules football (AFL) |
| Pot | A 285 ml glass of beer in Victoria |
| Parma | Chicken parmigiana |
| Hook turn | A right turn made from the left lane in the CBD |
| Magic | A double ristretto with steamed milk |
| Arvo | Afternoon |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Melbourne famous for?
Specialty coffee and the 'magic', Melbourne brunch, Dim sim and Souvlaki. Melbourne's cafés take coffee seriously: single-origin espresso, filter brews and flat whites from trained baristas are standard even in tiny laneway bars.
+Is Melbourne good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Specialty coffee and the 'magic', Melbourne brunch and Pide and gözleme.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Melbourne?
Tipping is not expected. Leaving about 10% at a sit-down restaurant for good service is appreciated but optional, and tipping at cafés and bars is uncommon.