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The designers of a new shopping centre want to change the way Melburnians think about food courts.

Forget plastic forks, lines for limp salads and kebabs and the dungeon-like, basement setting.

Instead, think table service, gourmet outlets and a feeling that you're more in a restaurant than a retail space.

St Collins Lane, which launches this Thursday, is Melbourne's newest shopping centre but for food lovers, the excitement won't be at ground level.

Instead, foodies will take the elevator straight to level two to The Aviary, the city's newest concept in food court dining.

Whatever you do, don't call it a food court. It's a "dining precinct".

The basic idea, according to architect Neil Masterson, is to match the prestige of the food offering to that of the fashion and lifestyle retailers below.

As with the Emporium and other newer shopping centres, St Collins Lane sees the food service area move from the basement to the upper levels.

It's a trend that retail industry specialist Martin Ginnane sees playing out across the city.

"We used to put food courts on lower-ground floors in the 1970s and '80s; the US always put them upstairs," he said.

Now, they're opening on different floors, as part of the growing seamlessness between retail and dining.

Getting the right food tenants today is the equivalent 10 years ago to getting a retailer such as Zara signed on the dotted line, he said.

Another factor driving the reinvention of the shopping centre dining space is the growth of the brag power of social media.

"The [shopping] experience used to be very much around buying branded merchandise ... it would show you were up to date. Now, with the surge in eating out, you can post it [on social media], you can show ... you are up with the latest," he said.

The Aviary will include eight mini-restaurants and two kiosk areas, including some big names from Sydney including Neil Perry's Burger Project and taqueria Los Vida.

There will also be two outdoor dining and drinking areas, which management hopes will make it a mecca for after-work drinks.

One of the tenants will be a champagne and high tea bar offering a salon-style atmosphere with a 1970s decor in jewelled tones.

Proprietor Sam Shagagi, who also owns South Yarra patisserie Cafe de la Ville, believes Melbourne has lacked enough establishments that sit between cafes and restaurants, where people can savour their experience.

Mr Ginnane agrees the St Collins Lane dining concept is more of a "stay to play" invitation than the "shop and go" nature of the Emporium food area.

Mr Shagagi will have two establishments at St Collins Lane, including an espresso bar. The high tea salon will be named Runya's Room, after his wife who died a year ago.

"We were preparing for the opening Cafe de la Ville together – but she didn't make it," he said.

According to the City of Melbourne, there were 2860 hospitality establishments in central Melbourne in 2014, including 1688 cafes and restaurants and 598 takeaway establishments.

St Collins Lane will also play host to high-end fashion clients never before seen in Melbourne, including UK-based Reiss, one of the Duchess of Cambridge's favourite labels. Maje and Sandro will also each have their first standalone Melbourne stores, while leather goods label Coach will have the premium Collins Street frontage for its flagship store.