Melbourne

The Best Ready-Made Meals You Can Buy From Melbourne Restaurants Right Now

We recommend not leaving your couch. Oh, and wine.

There are two types of lockdown-ers: the ones that buy gourmet ingredients and cook up lavish feasts for their household to distract themselves, and the ones that kick their shoes off, open a bottle of wine and order luxe ready-made meals.

But even if you consider yourself to be a cooking queen and are super excited to try out a dozen new dishes in Melbourne’s Lockdown 4.0, we highly recommend that you take a break for a night, and order from a beautifully crafted ready-made meal from some of Melbourne’s best restaurants.

Here are 7 of the best ready-made meals you can find locally in Melbourne.

Matteo’s Delicatessen. Photo by Parker Blain.

Matteo’s Delicatessen

Altona 
Matteo’s is a gorgeous neighbourhood deli, grocer and cafe in Altona, which offers up a selection of flavour packed baguettes and ciabatta sandos, Wonder Pies by Ray Capaldi, coffee from Industry Beans and cannoli from Cannoleria all available for takeaway.
How to order: (03) 9078 4441 or walk-in.
Pick up only: at 30 Pier St, Altona VIC 3018.

A perfect cheeseburger c/o Meat Frankie.

Meat Frankie 

Brunswick East
Meat Frankie offers custom blend melt-in-your-mouth beef patties that you can stack as high as you like, and, as in old-school diner fashion, you have the option to customise your burgers with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, jalapenos and grilled mushrooms free of charge. This Friday 28 May, otherwise known as International Burger Day, you grab the ‘Meat Frankie Burger Day Burger Box’, which contains four burgers for only $38. 
How to order: (03) 9388 9540 or walk-in.
Pick up only: at 93-97 Lygon Street, Brunswick East.

Tipico

Windsor
‘Tipico To Go’ is available for both pickup and delivery and through Providoor. Dishes on the menu are lasagna, beef ragu, duck ragu, meatballs and eggplant parmigiana that can be easily stored in the fridge for four days, or for a month in the freezer. Customers can also shop for wines and beers from the venue, along with antipasto and other items, now available at Tipico Deli.
How to order: You can order delivery through the Tipico website or Providoor.

400 Gradi

Brunswick East, Crown Casino, Eastland, Essendon and Mornington
Satisfy those cold-weather, sad-feels carb cravings with 400 Gradi’s award-winning pizza and pasta. Feast on truly authentic pizzas (with the best crust in the biz), classic Italian pasta, a generous selection of antipasti and more, with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options.
How to order: You can order delivery via the 400 Gradi website or UberEats

Gradi Mercato Supermarket  

Brunswick East
You might want to take these 7 seven days for granted, and cook up all your favourite Italian classics at home. With a nod to rural Italian markets, customers across Melbourne are invited to stock up on authentic Italian meals, deli items and groceries at Gradi Mercato. Shop online with pick-up and delivery available, or Brunswick East locals can shop in-store where the woodfire oven is burning, the coffee is brewing, and the Italian pastries are freshly baked. Available every day of the seven day lockdown, Gradi Mercato is open from 9:00am until 9:00pm.
How to order: You can pick up in-store or via the Gradi Mercato website 

Estelle

Northcote
Estelle Takeaway is back! Northside locals can enjoy Scott Pickett’s contemporary Australian dishes from Northcote’s neighbourhood icon Estelle with a generous a la carte menu available each night throughout the lockdown. Orders open at 10am for same-day pick up from Estelle between 5:00-8:00pm, with all Estelle’s signature dishes available every day. Follow @estellenorthcote for the full menu, revealed tonight via Instagram. 
How to order: You can order for pick-up via the Estelle website, or delivery is available via Providoor.

Matilda’s lamb feast.

Matilda

South Yarra
Matilda is available all across Melbourne via Providoor. Honouring local ingredients and seasonal fare prepared over open-fire and hot coals, the ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire’ set menu includes four of Matilda’s signature dishes. Enjoy dressed Fraser Island spanner crab, aged Milla’s farm duck, hay smoked potatoes with Warrigal greens, and apple Tarte Tatin from the comfort of your own home with contactless delivery. It’s definitely the go-to option if you want to treat yourself to a fancy dinner at home.
How to order: You can order delivery via Providoor. 

Longrain snacks.

Longrain 

Little Bourke St, CBD
Modern Thai restaurant Longrain can now be enjoyed at home, with small bites, more substantial dishes and exclusive Thai banquets available via Providoor.  For the home cook, Longrain’s pre-made curry pastes and sauces are also on offer, with chilli jam, shiitake XO, green curry paste and more making it easy to achieve authentic flavours of south-east Asian cuisine at home. 
How to order: Order delivery through Providoor

Hanoi Hannah Vol. II

Elsternwick 
Hanoi Hannah Vol. II is where you go for deliciously soothing pho, a range of fresh but spicy vietnamese-style salads, and your fair share of authentic spring rolls. Open every day for takeaway and collection, Hanoi Hannah Vol. II is perfect for when your body is feeling like it needs a bit of TLC.
How to order: Order through the Hanoi Hannah website for pick-up and via Deliveroo or UberEats for delivery

A Tahina spread. Photo by Parker Blain.

Tahina

Fitzroy and Northcote
Make lockdown a little brighter and healthier with a generous selection of vegetarian Middle Eastern dishes from Tahina. The ‘Family Feast’ or ‘Date Night for Two’ options will leave you feeling totally nourished. The freshness and quality of the ingredients at Tahina gives a new take on ‘fast food’.
How to order: Tahina website.
Pick up: You can order delivery in Fitzroy via Deliveroo and you can order to pick-up from both stores via the Tahina website.

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Melbourne

The Best Sandwiches To Chow Down On In Melbourne

More than just ham and cheese.

Some say sandwiches are really having their moment, but did they ever go out of style? 

A sandwich is one of the world’s most simple culinary pleasures. Whoever first decided that putting stuff between bread means a yum time is a gosh darn genius. Although sandwiches can seem simple to make, there are people out there that have been studying the art of the sandwich and it shows.

The difference between a good sandwich and a shit sandwich is huge. We don’t want you to suffer, so we’ve put a list together of our favourite sandwiches in Melbourne.

Here are the best sandwiches in Melbourne right now.

Hanoi Hannah’s Drip Drop Banh Mi 

Windsor

The Drip Drop Banh Mi is Hanoi Hannah’s new lunch sandwich that is messy in all the right ways. Think white bread roll with a crispy crust and soft centre, laced with pâté and lemongrass satay sauce and a nice juicy hunk of lemongrass chargrilled chicken.

Most importantly, a warm pho-inspired gravy is served on the side to dip, drizzle or drown the sandwich. This mouth-watering sandwich is available from today, July 8, at Hanoi Hannah’s Windsor and Elsternwick locations. It’s crunchy, it’s messy, it’s fragrant and an all round multisensory, hands-on journey. Roll your sleeves up and get to it.

Dine in or take it home.

Photo: @nicos.melbourne

Nico’s Sandwich Deli’s Cubano

Fitzroy

Get your hands around this combo: smoked pork belly, grandma ham, original salad creme, picks, American mustard and cheese. Recommended to be eaten with pickled chilli and hot sauce, this Cubano is downright juicy in the best way. Nico’s Sandwich Deli has a rotating menu that heroes classic flavour combinations with a little twist. You can’t really go wrong, especially if you pair your sandwich of choice with one of their Malted Caramel Shakes. It’s a whole lotta yes.

You can dine in or take away.

Photo: @stansdeli

Specials at Stan’s Deli

Malvern

Every weekend, Stan’s Sandwich Deli put up incredible sandwich specials and honestly, we can’t pick a favourite. One week you might be dazzled by a veal schnitzel bun with tomato and fennel slaw, and the next you’ll get a Jerusalem artichoke toastie with aged parmesan, horseradish mayo and Guindilla peppers. Located in the lush streets of Malvern, Stan’s has a real diner-on-an-American-highway feel to it, but slightly more aesthetically refined, refill filter coffee and all. 

Dine in or take away.

Photo: @kingwilliam_takeaway

King William’s Brigadier

Flinders Lane

This sando pulls rank on the Colonel. From a hole-in-the-wall sandwich deli in Melbourne CBD’s Flinders Lane, comes a soft white roll filled with roast free-range chicken, crispy chicken skin, traybake stuffing, zucchini slaw and their infamous secret gravy. It’s the chicken rolls of all chicken rolls. You’ve never had a chicken sandwich until you’ve had King William’s Brigadier. It’s the perfect combination of juicy chicken breast and crispy chicken skin. Should I keep going? I can.

Only available for pick-up.

Photo: @saulssandwiches

Saul’s Muffuletta

Carnegie

The Italian stallion of sandwiches. Saul’s Sandwiches do some bangin’ bites – pretty much every sandwich they do, they do right. But the Muffuletta is a fan favourite and it’s off the charts. Think stacks of mortadella, artichokes, provolone cheese, salami, pesto, spinach and chilli. It’s an antipasto board in a sandwich and it’s goddamn good. 

You can dine in or takeaway.

Photo: @palette_melbourne

Palette’s Candied Bacon & Cheese

North Melbourne

Palette in North Melbourne is inspired by Korean aesthetics and lifestyle, and they aim to bring different cultures together. Everything about this place is beautiful and delicious (especially the coffee), but we can’t get past their Candied Bacon & Cheese sando. Imagine: scrambled eggs with corn, candied bacon, sliced cheese and chilli jam in toasted brioche. Uhhh. Name a better breakfast sandwich, we’ll wait.

Available to dine in or takeaway.

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