Rob Sitch: How Melbourne became cool

ROB Sitch reveals why he chose his beloved city of Melbourne as the backdrop for his latest film, Any Questions For Ben? 

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ROB Sitch can remember a time when Melbourne's laneways had skips in them and you didn't have to wait two hours for a table in a restaurant.

Born and bred in the Victorian capital, he has seen the transformation of the city's laneways, and countless cool restaurants, bars and rooftop cinemas pop up.

After the success of his production company Working Dog's films The Castle and The Dish, Sitch and his cohorts decided to pick the brains of friends in the know, including restaurateurs, and make their latest film a homage to their beloved city.

The lead character in Any Questions for Ben?, played by Josh Lawson, is a guy with his finger on the pulse.

Including attending exclusive parties at the Emirates marquee at the Melbourne Cup, he is someone who experiences the city to its fullest.

"Maybe 20 years ago we wouldn't have made this film but now there's a certain excitement that happens in the centre of Melbourne at certain times of the year," Sitch says.

"It's full of young people, it's got a lot of buzz and excitement.

"Sometimes in Melbourne you feel like you can live half your life with a lanyard around your neck with some kind of VIP pass."

Sitch says Melbourne is a great place to visit in conjunction with an event, be it the annual comedy festival, a musical or a sporting event such as the AFL football, Australian Open tennis tournament or Grand Prix.

And, Sitch says, there has been an "explosion" of coastal golf courses, on top of Melbourne's existing courses.

"If you have golf in your blood, the Mornington Peninsula has close to 10 top-notch courses, all within 10 or 15 minutes of a central point," he says.

While Melbourne's CBD was quiet in the 1970s and '80s, with groovy cafes and restaurants setting up in the inner suburbs instead, it has since been transformed.

"A lot of the people who started those things discovered all the laneways of Melbourne and reinvented the city," Sitch says. "That was a surprise to everyone ... at that time, the back lanes just had skips in them."

One of Sitch's favourite streets is Degraves St, off Flinders Lane.

"You can wind your way north from Flinders St and you will probably get your biggest taste of it," he says.

Sitch also likes the east end of Flinders Lane and Little Collins St, saying the restaurants that open in those areas seem to be the latest "coolest" haunts.

"No booking" restaurants have also become popular in recent times.

"The CBD is now full of these restaurants where you can wait from 10 minutes to two hours," he says.

Sitch says Cumulus Inc Restaurant and Bar in Flinders Lane serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is busy all day. He also has a soft spot for Spanish restaurant MoVida.

"It's been around for quite a few years and it's become a bit of an icon in Melbourne," he says.

If you don't know a local, Sitch suggests visitors grab a pack of Deck of Secrets cards to help find the hot spots.

"You can walk along the street in Melbourne and not realise you have passed three or four rooftop bars," he says.

Any Questions for Ben? is in cinemas now.