From the new The Age Good Food Guide 2011, our countdown of the 10 most iconic Melbourne dining experiences.
They’re the places you’d send an out of towner, the places you’re happy to go to again and again. Some have been around for decades, some are fresh new arrivals on the dining scene. But they’re all quintessentially Melbourne. On August 30, The Age Good Food Guide 2011 will be launched at a gala awards night at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria. In the lead up, we'll bring you a sneak preview, day by day, of ten top restaurants that the new guide considers “Essential Melbourne”. Chosen by the panel of five who decide the Guide’s annual awards, they’re the restaurants that help make Melbourne dining unique.
#5.
Gill’s Diner
360 Little Collins Street (enter from Gills Alley), City 9670 7214
It’s in a laneway, which everyone outside Victoria considers de rigeur for a truly Melbourne restaurant, but Gill’s is so not an urban cliché. This funky former garage is at once retro and modern, its soundtrack R&B on vinyl, its décor ranging from school room to industrial. Start with the great wine list (last year’s winner of The Guide’s “Best Short Wine List” award) then wander into the share-friendly menu of seasonal produce, perhaps mushrooms stuffed with ricotta, peas and mint; a terrine, or plump agnolotti of lamb before rich roast pork. Servings can be large, to fit with the general hospitality of the place, and don’t miss the bread…it’s good, as befits this bakery turned restaurant. Be prepared for noise levels that can reach a dull roar, but generally, it’s a roar of approval.
Tomorrow, Essential Melbourne Eating # 4
#6 Flower Drum
Laneway love ... Gill's Diner .Credit: Eddie Jim
#8 Cookie
#9 Taxi Dining Room
#10 St Ali
Check out The Age Good Food Guide Awards finalists here.
Compiled from The Age Good Food Guide 2011, on sale at bookstores from 31 August. Available to pre-order New edition available soon online or as an App for the Blackberry or iPhone.
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