From brunch to lunch: Your guide to the best eats in Melbourne

From steak to sushi, paninis to pizza, Melbourne is spoilt for choice when it comes to high quality eats. We’ve collated our top picks in several culinary categories.

In a city as big, sprawling and ever-changing as Melbourne, sometimes you have to work a little harder, dig a little deeper to find the good stuff. The best of the best.

It’s especially true for food.

Melbourne is a melting pot of amazing cuisnes from all over the world.

But if you haven’t got time for mediocre, how do you find the most interesting, most exciting restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars pushing the culinary envelope?

We’re here to help!

Over the past few months, our friends at Delicious.com.au have been venturing out to identify the cream of the crop in a range of different culinary categories, from pizza and sandwiches, to roast chicken and fish & chips.

Follow the links below to read full reviews of all the venues we’ve mentioned here.

Bon appetito!

MELBOURNE’S BEST HOT CROSS BUNS

Ferguson Plarre’s buns were “squishy and sticky”.

It’s the fruitiest and most chocolatey time of year. Food editor Kara Monssen sampled a selection of traditional, chocolate and flavoured hot cross buns from Melbourne bakeries in the run up to Easter. See which buns we reckon really rise to the occasion.

MELBOURNE’S BEST CHICKEN SHOPS

Korr Jee roast chicken pack.

Let’s hear it for the rotisserie chicken shop.

A beacon of the old-fashioned food virtues, it turns the equation of slow-turning sizzle and time into the perfect balance of golden skin, tender meat and salty goodness.

Food fashions come and go but a good rotisserie chook is always in style.

The most versatile of things, a roast chicken is a family meal, a picnic or a Sunday lunch.

It plays a strong leftovers game, too, from next-day sandwiches and tacos to a composed salad or a guilty drumstick nibbled by the light of the open fridge door.

Melbourne’s chicken shop scene is thriving. Every suburb has its own favourite that’s been serving customers for generations (and if it doesn’t, why are you living there?).

But nipping at their heels is a new guard bringing their own secret blend of seasonings to town. Whether you prefer the wings or the legs, there’s something for everyone at these five winning chicken shops in Melbourne. Just make sure you ask for extra chicken salt on the chips!

MELBOURNE’S BEST FISH & CHIPS

Fish on High at Thornbury.

Hands up if you’ve ever been tempted on the way home from the fish and chip shop to tear open the warm paper parcel and sneak a few chippies? Yep, us too.

Fish and chips are one of life’s great pleasures.

But what makes the best fish and chips can be a deeply personal and highly contentious matter. There are many things to consider.

The type of batter (classic, beer or tempura?), the variety of potato used to make the chips, the cut of the chips, the magical frying texture ratio to ensure your chip is perfectly balanced — crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.

This being 2023, the fish and chip shop variables have gone well beyond the add-ons of a dim sim, Chiko Roll or a “crab” stick (spoiler alert: no crabs were harmed in their making).

Any self-respecting chippery now has a variety of sustainable fish to choose from, gluten-free and vegan options and a smorgasbord of sauces.

There’s plenty of choice in Melbourne, a town that debates fish and chips with a kind of fervour otherwise reserved for the football.

So delicious has stepped in to rate the five best.

Whichever one you plump for, may your fish always be fresh and your chips crunchy.

MELBOURNE’S BEST PIZZA

48h Pizza e Gnocchi bar.

In the world of food there’s many things that can divide opinion, and Pizza is most certainly one of them. What started out as a cheap-to-make, and quick-to-consume street food, has not just become synonymous with Italian cuisine but has also become deeply embedded in the culture in the US and here in Australia and has sparked many an argument about the proper way to make it, what to put on top and how to cook it to perfection.

A most common dividing line is whether you’re in the pineapple camp, or vehemently opposed to any tropical diversions when it comes to toppings.

But you may also have deeply-held opinions on the appropriate thickness or even shape of the pizza base, be a stickler for the right amount of colour on a crust and pay close attention to the provenance of the flour, or the number of hours that the dough preparation has taken.

Personally, while we love the classics, we’re all for diversions if they’re delicious.

Whatever your personal preferences, here are five first-rate Melbourne pizzerias we reckon rank among the very best.

MELBOURNE’S BEST SUSHI

Sea urchin sushi from Shira Nui restaurant.

Melbourne is a long way from Tokyo – 8100 kilometres, more or less – but the city’s love affair with the addictive culinary artform has a long history.

The first sushi bar is said to have been opened in 1977 (Kuni’s, since you asked) and since then the notion of eating seaweed and raw fish has gone from novelty to mainstream.

These days we not only know our sushi from sashimi but our maki rolls from ngiri, while the typical Australian trio of salmon, tuna and kingfish is being challenged by a dazzling repertoire of produce.

From large restaurants to tiny hole-in-the-wall shops and all ports in between, it’s easy to dream of sushi in Melbourne. Here’s our guide to five of the best.

MELBOURNE’S BEST SANDWICH SHOPS

Salmon bagel and schnitzel roll from Hector’s.

Melbourne has cycled through many food obsessions, from frozen yoghurt and poke bowls to birria tacos and vodka pasta.

It may seem odd to add a stalwart food item as classic as sandwiches to the list, but Melbourne has certainly seen a ‘sanga’ renaissance take hold in the last few years.

Gone are the days when the only sandwiches you could find were boring old chicken, egg or grilled cheese (though jazzed up versions can be found).

Nowadays, sandwiches are being stocked with all manner of fillings, from slow-cooked beef brisket and truffle-roasted portobello mushrooms to spicy crumbed octopus and vegan pastrami.

So popular have they become, queues at some of these fine establishments have been known to start forming as early as 11am, with those foolhardy enough to arrive after midday being met with the saddest sign of them all - “item sold out”.

Sometimes an unexciting option on café menus, sandwiches are now stars of their own show.

Speciality sandwich destinations have been popping up across Melbourne, and though many offer some very nice sides, there’s only one real reason you’re going.

You’re going for the sandwiches.

And such is the adherence to different dietary requirements, no matter whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, FODMAP-intolerant or coeliac, these places have just the sandwich you’ve been looking for.

MELBOURNE”S BEST STEAKHOUSES

A perfectly cooked steak from Rockpool Bar and Grill. Picture: Tony Gough

There are few things in the restaurant world as constant as your classic steakhouse.

These traditionally masculine bowers of power have celebrated the union of cattle and claret across the ages - yet the times, they are a-changin’.

The imprimatur to eat mess red meat, but to care much more about its provenance and quality, is leading the charge for places that make steak an occasion.

All meat lovers out there should consider it a win for choice.

So whether you’re after top-grade Japanese wagyu (or its equally high-flying Aussie counterparts), something off the Argentinian parrilla or an enormous one-kilogram tomahawk that would do the Flintstones proud, rest assured that Melbourne can make all your meaty dreams come true. Here are five of the city’s best purveyors of fine, delectable meat.

MELBOURNE’S BEST GREEK

Moussaka and doughnuts from Philhellene Greek Restaurant in Moonee Ponds.

Any discussion about Greek food in Melbourne is likely to produce the oft quoted ‘statistic’ that there are more Greeks in Melbourne than any other city outside Greece.

While not strictly correct, Melbourne is home to one of the six biggest Greek populations in the world and certainly has the largest Greek Australian community in Australia with migration to the city dating back to the gold rush.

No wonder, then, that there is a plethora of choice when it comes to Greek restaurants.

Historically speaking, Oakleigh and Lonsdale Street established themselves as hubs for Hellenic food and, while Oakleigh’s Eaton Mall still retains its Little Athens title and has a pedestrian mall filled with Greek cafés, delis, cake shops and gyros outlets, Lonsdale Street (apart from the iconic and long-established Stalactites, famous for its late-night souvlaki queues) seems to have passed the baton to Swan Street Richmond where a number of Greek venues are making a name for themselves.

Narrowing the field proved a difficult task but here are the five restaurants that we reckon tick all the boxes when it comes to serving up consistently delicious and authentically Greek fare, be it home-style cooking, street food or more refined dining.

MELBOURNE’S BEST BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH

Expect a flurry of colour, music and an eclectic decor when you brunch at Mr Brownie.

What’s not to love about brunch?

Almost any dish is welcome to the much-loved breakfast-lunch mash-up, it’s an occasion where day-drinking is downright acceptable (that includes fancy non-alcoholic drinks, too), and it’s a meal that will even wait for you.

Why set the alarm when the whole brunching experience can be spread over an indulgent afternoon? If you still need convincing, we’ve curated our list of Melbourne’s top venues and their creative bottomless brunches.

The city’s diverse brunch scene spans a whole range of different cuisines, venue styles and serving times, in some cases, until 5pm, which means there is something for every taste.

To whet your appetite, here are our top five picks for Melbourne’s best bottomless brunches.

VICTORIA’S BEST VANILLA SLICES

Vanilla slice from Donato Cafe 1980.

It’s a classic. A rite of passage. A bakery staple. But do you like yours with a creamy centre? A biscuity base? A gooey top?

From country bakeries to suburban cafes, we’ve searched the state for the best vanilla slices on offer. Follow the link to read more about our top picks for the best vanilla slices in Victoria and check out our interactive map to see where you can get your hands on one at locations right across the state.