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Two courses at a bayside favourite for $30? These are the winter meal deals worth crossing town for

Get out of your trackies and into one of these spots for a cheaper-than-usual eating experience.

Tomas Telegramma
Tomas Telegramma

Winter is coming. So, for the latest edition of Specials board, a new series helping you get more bang for your dining buck, we’ve scoured the city for some stellar winter-warmer deals. Sure, you’ll have to brave the cold. But you won’t have to break the bank.

Wednesday is lasagne and tiramisu night at Stokehouse Pasta and Bar.
Wednesday is lasagne and tiramisu night at Stokehouse Pasta and Bar.Arianna Leggiero

$30 lasagne and tiramisu at Stokehouse Pasta & Bar

Make a bayside beeline and be rewarded with a great-value lasagne night at Stokehouse Pasta & Bar, the more casual (and carby) sibling to St Kilda institution Stokehouse, just upstairs. For $30, from 5pm every Wednesday until the end of winter, get a slab of five-layer lasagne – starring a slow-cooked bolognese of O’Connor beef mince and pork-and-fennel sausage – followed by a tiramisu inspired by Stokehouse’s famous bombe Alaska.

Ground floor, 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda, stokepastaandbar.com.au

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$6.90 mini boat noodles at Pinto

Buzzy Exhibition Street Thai diner Pinto is known for its boat noodles: dark, aromatic soups bobbing with flavoursome proteins, including pork meatballs and braised sliced beef, plus there are combination options with liver, tripe, tendon and more. From now until June 15, the team is serving mini (but still quite substantial) versions of selected boat noodles for just $6.90 a pop. Bonus: when you buy four bowls, you get one free.

231 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/pinto_melbourne

Supernormal’s lunchtime ramen special brightens weekdays over winter.
Supernormal’s lunchtime ramen special brightens weekdays over winter.Jo McGann

$24 ramen special at Supernormal

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Getting out of Andrew McConnell’s Supernormal for less than $25 a head? Unheard of. Over-ordering potential is high at the Flinders Lane favourite, which draws inspiration from across Asia, but you can easily have a one-track mind when the soul-warming ramen special returns each winter. Dried shiitake, kombu and white miso are steeped in a complex chicken bone broth, then ladled over fresh noodles, grilled chicken, house-made dumplings and a soy-marinated egg. Available weekday lunchtimes.

180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, supernormal.net.au

$14-$15 curry, rice and roti at Magan

Fitzroy North’s newly opened Indian restaurant Magan is a specialist in home-style food from the Hyderabad region. And the family behind it is inviting you to try their cooking – for less – on weekend lunchtimes. From noon to 2pm every Saturday and Sunday, stainless-steel divided trays are loaded up with a selection of curries, rice and roti. The vegetarian option is $14; the meaty option is $15.

201 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North, instagram.com/magan.melbourne

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Handpicked Wines is hosting suppers with roaming raclette.
Handpicked Wines is hosting suppers with roaming raclette.Supplied

$20 raclette suppers at Handpicked Wines

Nothing says winter like molten cheese, and urban cellar door Handpicked Wines is leaning in with raclette suppers on Wednesday and Thursday nights until August 20. A chef will heat a giant wheel of raclette then roam the room drizzling the melty goodness over plates of steamed potatoes, salad and pickles. Add-ons include jamon iberico and San Daniele prosciutto, plus wine flights.

80 Collins Street, Melbourne, handpickedwines.com.au

$28.50 bolognese, beer (or wine) and bread at Cicciolina’s

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Regulars at St Kilda’s enduring Italian restaurant Cicciolina, which opened in 1993, will be familiar with its sporadic Bog ‘n’ Beer nights. Now, they’ve made a more regular return. Every Sunday, head to the back bar for a no-bookings meal deal of spaghetti bolognese, bread to mop up all the excess sauce, and a selected beer or wine.

130 Acland Street, St Kilda, cicciolina.com.au

$25 winter warmers at The Lincoln

One of Carlton’s great watering holes, The Lincoln has always been a go-to for cosying up as the mercury drops. There’s a roaring open fire, a convivial dining room and a menu of solid pub classics. But now there’s one more reason, with the team launching a dedicated offering of winter warmers, available Monday through Saturday from noon until sold out. The dish will vary from day to day, but expect something like fall-apart beef cheeks with a side of mash, or slow-cooked brisket with polenta.

91 Cardigan Street, Carlton, hotellincoln.com.au

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$49 two-course deal at Pipis Kiosk

A restaurant on the Albert Park foreshore isn’t an obvious winter choice. But the hatted Pipis Kiosk has just relaunched a two-course dining offer to lure you in over the cooler months. (You can watch the wild weather wash over the bay – from well-heated surrounds – through its huge windows.) Scan head chef Jordan Clay’s separate winter-warmers menu, and pair any entree and main, or main and dessert, for $49.

129a Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park, pipiskiosk.com.au

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Tomas TelegrammaTomas Telegramma is a food, drinks and culture writer.

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Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/goodfood/melbourne-eating-out/wallet-friendly-winter-warmers-eight-top-meal-deals-from-noodle-bowls-to-bolognese-20240528-p5jh9c.html