Three To Try: Hot Listed Spots for Late-Night Dining

The Hot List is the definitive guide to Melbourne’s most essential food and drink experiences, updated weekly. Learn more.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a late-night kebab. In fact, there’s a lot right about it. But sometimes the occasion calls for something different, and Melburnians have as many choices as anyone. Whether you’ve got a fussy mate or you want to impress a date, drop into these Hot Listed venues serving food late.

Gimlet, CBD

Gimlet impresses from top to bottom. The ground-floor restaurant at Cavendish House is Andrew McConnell’s grandest venue to date. Black and white tiling, large chandeliers, parquet floorboards, soaring ceilings, art deco columns and sentinel rows of champagne bottles recall the grand hotels of London and New York. À la carte and seasonal menus are executed perfectly, but it’s the supper menu that gets the plaudits here.

On Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm onwards, Gimlet serves a short but sweet menu that will settle your stomach in style. It changes seasonally but some things are constant. Expect oysters by the half-dozen, caviar and cheese, a house salad, a steak or, of course, Gimlet’s cheeseburger. The supper menu is as approachable as it is elegant.

The Supper Club at Kafeneion, CBD

Kafeneion is Hot Listed for good reason. It’s one of Melbourne’s favourite Greek restaurants housed in a gorgeous space across from the Parliament building. The enormous Columbia Pictures painting and the arched window looking out onto Spring Street are both iconic. From 10pm, Kafeneion shifts into an entirely different (and even more iconic) restaurant – The Melbourne Supper Club.

Here, snacky plates are available until 1am (and occasionally later) while the drinks flow until 4am. Cheese, oysters and caviar are plentiful, as well as wine bar-style snacks along the lines of cured meats and polenta chips. It’s worth mentioning that Butcher’s Diner – around the corner and owned by some of the same crew – does one of the city’s best burgers until 2am.

And during Rising, The Supper Club is collaborating with sibling venue Kirk’s Wine Bar and the Melbourne Gin Company on a $37 drink and snack combo featuring Kirk’s signature pig’s head doughnut, paired with your choice of two Martinis: one features capers and the other is washed with cheese. May 27 to June 8.

Leonard’s House of Love, South Yarra

It’s easy to think you’re dreaming when you stumble across this backstreet log cabin – a stark contrast to its South Yarra surrounds – late at night. The 1970s-inspired kitschy interior follows suit, where you’ll find patterned wallpaper, a stone fireplace and all sorts of retro knick-knacks.

A cold beer will snap you out of it. And Leonard’s pours them alongside comfort food when you need it most – until 12am on Fridays and Saturdays. There’s no need to head home when the nocturnal carb cravings kick in after a couple of pints. The kitchen at Leonard’s pumps out cheeseburgers, chicken wings, vegan patties and even a cherry pie late into the night. If you order close to midnight and ask nicely, they’ll even pack it for you to go.

The Hot List is proudly sponsored by Square.