Tivoli Rd Bakery's Michael James with his famous salted caramel doughnuts Picture: Nicole Cleary Source: HeraldSun
MELBOURNE is famous for out-of-the-way alley eateries and rooftop bars; climbing a staircase or exploring a cobbled laneway is rarely unrewarded.
Nor is waiting in a queue, the weekend line at cafes such as Auction Rooms in North Melbourne proof of that.
A nondescript door off Flinders Lane is sometimes daubed with graffiti, but little else to mark it as one of Melbourne’s most interesting dining experiences.
Japanese restaurant Yu-u, which is downstairs behind the door, ticks the hard-to-find box on the criteria of things that make Melbourne dining experiences eateries special.
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And its ever-changing set menu lunch is on the Sunday Herald Sun’s list today of 100 Top Victorian Food Experiences.
But the city is also known for its fine dining experiences: our list includes restaurants such as Ben Shewry’s award-winning Attica in Ripponlea; Shannon Bennett’s sky-high Vue de Monde, Donovans in St Kilda, which offers impeccable service and views over Port Phillip Bay, and regional fine diners that make the most of their local produce and wines produced on their doorstep.
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But special occasion experiences are only one part of what makes Victoria a great place to eat.
You can’t call yourself a true Melburnian until you have drunk an espresso from Bourke St landmark Pellegrini’s, sunk your teeth into a classic Four ‘N’ Twenty at the MCG or collected a brown paper bag of the Cheng family’s crispy dim sims from South Melbourne Market.
The business sells thousands of meaty morsels every week and this year added an Elizabeth St outlet to their famous South Melbourne stall.
Our list includes the quirky — a former city corner newspaper kiosk transformed into a teeny tiny takeaway outlet dispensing French crepes — and the so-hot-right-now.
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South Melbourne Market dim sims at their new home in Elizabeth St in the City. Picture: Nicole Cleary
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American barbecue restaurants such as Meat Mother in Richmond and Big Boy BBQ in South Caulfield are winning over meat lovers with their smoky southern flavours.
They are making a mark in a state rich in dining tradition.
The Windsor Hotel has been serving its hallmark high teas for 130 years, and in the historic Block Arcade, customers who visited the Hopetoun Tea Rooms as children are now returning with their children and grandchildren.
‘’It’s a real pleasure seeing all the people looking into the cake window and watching their faces light up," Kelly Koutoumanos, from Hopetoun Tea Rooms, says.
"It’s a very special place in Melbourne."
Cheap
South Melbourne Market dim sims
The Cheng family’s meaty, more-ish morsels have been causing queues at South Melbourne Market for more than 50 years. Steamed or fried, they taste great and cost only $1.80.
Indulgent
Degustation dinner at Vue de Monde
Fifty-five levels above the city in the Rialto, chef Shannon Bennett’s Vue de Monde remains one of Melbourne’s Big Occasion restaurants. A degustation dinner ranges from $200-$250, with wines to match an additional $150-plus.
Hardest to find
Yu-u
In a city famous for out-of-the-way alley eateries, this Japanese restaurant — behind an unmarked door and down a staircase in Flinders Lane — is seriously hard to find.
For the kids
Collingwood Children’s Farm farmers’ market
After shopping for the best in local produce at Victoria’s original farmers’ market on the second Saturday of the month, the kids will love patting a donkey, seeing piglets and milking a cow.
Great steak
The Station Hotel, Footscray
This inner-west gastropub turns a quintessential counter meal — steak, chips, salad and a sauce — into something special.
A cool night out
Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Classy restaurants and hip bars have transformed a once bleak stretch of inner Melbourne. Start with Spanish-inspired bar snacks at Casa Cuiccio. Move on to The Builders Arms dining room for dinner, then finish with a nightcap at The Everleigh, Melbourne’s swishiest bar.
Most romantic
Private vineyard picnic at Montalto
October to April is picnic season at this Mornington Peninsula vineyard and olive grove. Book early for one of five picturesque sites, complete with linen, crockery, wine and platters of seasonal produce from the Montalto kitchen.
An oldie but a goodie
Stalactites
This 24-hour Lonsdale St institution has had a recent renovation, but there’s no changing what it’s famous for — the souvlakis that have been keeping hungry night owls happy since 1978.
Sweet treat
Tivoli Rd Bakery’s salted caramel doughnut
The doughnut fillings at Michael and Pippa James’s South Yarra Bakery come in several flavours but salted caramel is by far the most popular. Grab one of these salty-sugary, cloudlike gems for $3.50 a pop. You’ll be hooked.
Historic Melbourne
A spectacular window display of cakes is an invitation to step inside the Block Arcade’s famous Hopetoun Tea Rooms, where marble-topped tables, Florence Broadhurst wallpaper and a magnificent etched mirror bring back the splendour of a former era.
Clotilde Guyot at the Le Petite Creperie on the corner Swanston St and Lt Collins St. Picture: Nicole Cleary
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