Melbourne

6 Of Melbourne CBD’s Best Restaurants

Spoilt for choice.

Melbourne CBD is slowly coming back to life after it went through perhaps the worst of Australia’s lockdowns, in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Although it’s still a bit quieter than usual, the CBD of Melbourne is always a bit of a daunting place to look for great restaurants, as there are so many to choose from and it can become overwhelming.

MORE: The Best Restaurants All Over The Rest Of Melbourne

But don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Here are the best restaurants in Melbourne’s CBD.

Photo by Kristoffer Paulsen

Embla

Russell Street
Embla is a narrow wine bar/restaurant in the heart of Melbourne-town, known for it’s quirky ever-changing wine list, super knowledgeable staff, and uncomplicated approach to food. Simple, clean, adventurous and inviting. Ranging from carpaccio to mussels, to homemade bread and cured greens, Embla has it all. It’s a great place to try something new; a wine from a region you’ve never heard of, or a vegetable prepared in a way you’ve never seen. The interiors of Embla are effortless, slightly European and somehow calming, even though there’s a constant flow of buzzing people coming in and out. 
How to book: You can book here, via their website.

Farmer’s Daughters

80 Collins Street
Farmer’s Daughters is Melbourne CBD’s first true farm-to-table restaurant, bringing a little piece of Gippsland to the city. It has fast become one of Melbourne’s best restaurants. With a simplistic approach to food, chef Alejandro Saravia is passionate about showcasing the flavours of country-Vic at their absolute best, with zero wastage. Part of the new 80 Collins development, the fit-out is breathtaking, taking inspiration from the colours of Gippsland; gum-green, bark-nude, cold soil-charcoal. Farmer’s Daughters is three levels of magic, with each level a different mood: a deli, provedore and casual eatery on the ground floor, a degustation restaurant with sophisticated views on the first floor and a rooftop cocktail up top, complete with a native herb garden. 
How to book: You can book here

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Tipo 00 / Facebook

Tipo 00 

Little Bourke Street
Tipo 00 is pretty well-known for its incredible homemade pasta and top notch Italian flavours and techniques. Although it’s only a small restaurant, its reputation is impressive, and with good reason. With a seasonally rotating menu, their winter menu offers things like gnocchi with braised duck and porcini, squid ink tagliolini with squid and bottarga and tagliatelle with Gippsland rabbit, saffron and peas. The energy inside Tipo 00 is warm, cozy and approachable, while still managing to feel like a high-end restaurant. People come from all over Australia and the world to try their incredible homemade pasta and perfect sauce combinations that are sometimes unexpected and always exceptionally executed.
How to book: You can book via the website.

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Supernormal / Facebook

Supernormal

Flinders Lane
Supernormal exists among the office bustle of Flinders Lane. It’s an all-day eating house with a menu influenced by the cuisine and restaurants of Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong, with classic dishes revisited and some new beauties created. Supernormal is a classic mix of neon cherry fun, and a light-filled, plant-filled and modern food hall feel. Another one of Andrew McConnell’s projects, Supernormal is Asian-fusion done right, with an infamous lobster roll and ‘Fried Chicken Mondays’. It’s a beautiful combination of refined and casual, with an entire menu designed to be shared and a restaurant layout that feels busy, buzzy and yet somehow, spacious.
How to book: You can book here 

San Telmo

Meyer’s Place
San Telmo offers up Melbourne CBD’s best Argentinian, in our humble opinion. Their menu centres around the Spanish ethos that food is an experience shared between friends, family and lovers. The decor is dimly-lit yet somehow still vibrant, with a dark sexy feel, much like the Argentinian Tango, really. The food is quite high-end, it’s not so much a casual tapas restaurant as it is refined plates to be shared as a fine-dining experience. Think smoked meats, an intricate take on tapas-style plates, with fresh, colourful fruit and veg elements. Rich with a cellar of Spanish reds and a 2.5 metre Parrilla charcoal grill, San Telmo delivers true to its roots; named after the oldest neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. San Telmo also serves up possibly one of the best steaks. Ever. 
How to book: You can book online, via their website.

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Daughter In Law / Facebook

Daughter In Law

Little Bourke Street
Jessie Singh’s newest restaurant Daughter In Law combines Indian and Australian cuisines, and just opened on Little Bourke Street. Following on from siblings, Horn Please, Babu Ji and Don’t Tell Aunty, the newest member of the Singh family serves up ‘inauthentic’ Indian-Australian fare from a luxe Bollywood-inspired setting. Expect things like lamb chops cooked in a tandoor with mint chutney, masala prawns, and naan bread pizzas topped with chilli cheese. 
How to book: Book online.

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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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