Best things to eat in Melbourne this winter

An onion soup that will transport you to Paris, a mean cheeseburger and a baked-to-order chocolate chip cookie are some of the treats bound to warm you up this June.

This is where you need to eat in June.

Looking for a restaurant to wow your foodie mum?

We’ve got you covered with these five delicious eats and treats.

Bistra knows how to win hearts this winter.

Onion soup

Bistra, 157 Elgin St, Carlton

Carlton’s newest restaurant leans into European comforts with its luscious take on French onion soup. Those sweet and tangy caramelised curls swim in a broth so flavour rich it lingers into next week. A fat Comte smothered crouton, using yesterday’s sourdough, becomes at one with the soup with every mouthful. Cue Homer Simpson drools.

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Southbank darling Pure South isn’t afraid to have a little fun. Picture: Jason Edwards

Blue cod with mgongo tchobi

Pure South, 3 Southgate Ave, Southbank

This blue eye cod creation is proof Pure South isn’t afraid of a little fun. A dish brought to life with a fiery mgongo tchobi puree, best described as a spicy black peanut butter.

Riffing off the African spice, the squid ink adds another dimension to an otherwise straightforward dish.

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Good things come to those who wait.

Baked to order cookie

Maven by Morgan, 402 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

Kid doughnut prodigy Morgan Hipworth is known for his sweet treats — and this ‘baked to order’ cookie takes the, well, cake. Served piping hot with a melting glob of Fior Di Latte gelato and textural crisp crepe flakes (feuilletine), countering that rich chocolatey sweetness. Allow a 15 minute bake time.

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This Caribbean soup, cazuela de mariscos, may be unlike anything you’ve tried before. Picture: David Caird

Cazuela de mariscos

Papelon, 190/81 Hopkins St, Footscray

The Footscray Market’s new Venezeulean restaurant — and perhaps Melbourne’s only — is responsible for native Latin eats. The cazuela de mariscos is a sunny coconut milk-based soup with an ocean of seafood (sourced from the market), served traditionally with white rice. Tender white fish, squid, baby octopus, prawns and pipis: all perfectly cooked, the silky broth an ode to the tropics with a fat wedge of avocado on top. It’s unlike anything I’ve tried before. God-tier produce shines brightly throughout.

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Don’t forget the burger at Bistra. Picture: Becca Crawford.

Cheeseburger

Bistra, 157 Elgin St, Carlton

One more from Bistra as the cheeseburger is also worth your time. All shiny tan milkbun, fat with a beef and brisket mince patty, frilly lettuce and a classic burger sauce — it is enough of a reason to visit alone. The well-seasoned meat is more interesting with every messy mouthful, the fries salty, snappy and hot where they count.

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Melbourne’s doughnut king does it again.

Halloumi doughnut

Maven by Morgan, 402 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

We cannot forget those doughnuts from Melbourne’s own doughnut king. At Maven, chef Morgan Hipworth’s take reminds me of French snack pommes dauphine, made from marvellous blobs of fried choux and mashed potato. Here, the ping pong sized orbs are each nuzzle-warm and smooshable as the next, caught in a snowstorm of danish feta, with tart plum jam their saviour. Chef Morgan Hipworth has reinvented the Spanish doughnut, swapping the spiny long churros for a three-cheese ball of halloumi, smoked mozzarella, parmesan and choux. And we can’t get enough.

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