Nominally it’s a wine bar, but Embla’s charms are far more profound than those two words suggest. Come here for some of the city’s best food, paired with an idiosyncratic wine list poured by staff who give a damn.

Tipo 00 has an offering too good to refuse: carb-loaded, butter-drenched pasta.

A largely pasta-free zone next door to wildly popular older sibling, Tipo 00.

There were many Mexican restaurants before this one, but owners Nick Peters and Matt Lane were the first restaurateurs to bring a faithful representation of Mexican food to Melbourne. This "hot babe" has been around since 2010, and there are still queues on the stairs for its elotes (grilled corn) and flavoursome tacos.

Top notch European food and wine.

An energetic bar and restaurant serving modern Euro-Vietnamese fusion dishes.

The restaurant responsible for igniting Melbourne's love for modern Spanish food.

This sultry sibling to Sunda is every bit as stellar. At Aru, chef Khanh Nguyen is effortlessly blending Southeast Asian flavours, native Australian ingredients and ancient techniques. And while there are unexpectedly playful riffs on classics – like banh mi, Peking duck and mi goreng – they never feel gimmicky, just modernised and expertly refined.

Innovative Southeast Asian cuisine from one of Sydney’s most exciting young chefs.

Moving from Collingwood to the city has only taken this energetic Chinese restaurant to greater heights.

This pared-back eatery from the Higher Ground, Top Paddock and Liminal team specialises in woodfired dishes that are unfussy, yet easily live up to the gold standard set by their other Melbourne venues.

An Indian(ish) wine bar on Flinders Lane, where cheesy flatbreads star.

A vibrant pan-Indian diner serving sweet-and-sour fried cauliflower, “unauthentic” butter chicken and Tandoori-fired-pineapple cocktails.

Jacqui Challinor's hotly anticipated Melbourne outpost is everything we've been waiting for. The Sydney original's focus on open-flame cooking and locally-sourced produce has been replicated here, but there are local signatures, too – baked ricotta and anchovies, dry-aged pork cutlets and a big lean on Victorian vino. Find it in the former Ezard space on Flinders Lane.

A beer hall, cocktail bar and modern Thai restaurant all in one.

Punchy Thai food and cocktails.

The fiery Thai diner Melburnians and tourists have been queuing for since 2011.

This is one of Melbourne's best Japanese restaurants. It's certainly its most ambitious. There's a New York-style sushi bar at street level, a pumping izakaya-style basement and an upstairs private dining room – Kuro – for intimate kaiseki-style meals.

Thanks to Jesse Gerner (Green Park, Añada), the old Aylesbury is all about tapas now. Plus, there are spectacular views out over the city to enjoy while you eat. It's no surprise this place is held dear by so many Melburnians.

At this sprawling restaurant by Chris Lucas, there’s an experience for just about every taste. Grab a seat at the angular marble bar for cocktails by one of the world’s best bartenders (or nab a banquette in the walk-in only lounge); take a seat in the expansive, chandelier-lit dining room to try the dazzling Japanese and European-inspired menu; or get some friends together to book one of the striking private dining rooms.

Izakayas are Japanese bars where the eating is just as important as the drinking. That's true at this CBD favourite. There's a selection of drinking-friendly dishes that accompany the excellent sakes and Japanese-influenced cocktails.

Chris Lucas’s two-level, charcoal-fired Japanese diner sits right beside the group’s new crown jewel, Society. Stylistically though, it’s a world away. The cyberpunk fit-out is almost as impressive as the action happening inside the sprawling open kitchen, where chefs turn skewered meat over jumping flames. Visit for elevated rice and noodle dishes, spanner-crab-filled hand rolls and cocktails named after the neighbourhoods of Tokyo.

Tasia and Gracia Seger might be reality TV stars, but their Indonesian restaurant proves their talent is definitely not just for show.

This three-level spot, from the guys behind Dexter and Takeaway Pizza, bears little resemblance to its former self (Peaches, Dexter). Go for focaccia-like pizza with house-made mortadella and garlic-fermented honey, chevre-stuffed potato skins, plenty of Aussie spirits and a pool table.

This venue from the European Group is not quite a pub, not quite a wine bar. And it’s open late.

The Movida team's lively cantina brings home-style Mexican to Hosier Lane. Led by Mexican chef Sarai Castillo, expect beef tacos exactly how they're served in Mexico, plus eight different Margaritas to prime your fiesta.

With its neon lights and polished fit-out, this all-you-can-eat hotpot joint in the heart of Chinatown is straight out of a Wong Kar Wai film.

Eyal Shani’s Israeli pita haven came to Melbourne, via Paris and Vienna.

This Chinatown eatery has been serving the classics – including yum cha and peking duck – and satisfying midnight cravings for decades.

At this CBD pasta bar, you'll find an extensive menu of hand-rolled pastas, bolstered by a fun line-up of wines and cocktails. It's all set within a sleek, modern space.

This three-storey love letter to Gippsland and its produce is by Alejandro Saravia, the chef behind CBD classic Pastuso. There's a deli with house-made terrine; a suave restaurant with a focus on cooking with flames; and a greenhouse-like rooftop oasis.

Scott Pickett's take on a mod-French brasserie brings old-world European elegance to a heritage-listed CBD building. There's ritzy deep-green marble, dramatic arched windows and candelabras throughout. Visit for caviar by the gram or tin, bistro-style mains and baba for dessert.

You can’t walk past the live seafood tank – one of the largest in the city – without doing a double-take. Seafood is the specialty, but the menu has got a bit of everything.

At the W Melbourne's in-house restaurant, Coda chef Adam D'Sylva is drawing on his Italian-Indian heritage. The star chef has created a globe-trotting menu that includes luxed-up lasagna, pasta-less cacio e pepe (a surprising triumph), and fragrant, spicy duck curry. Plus there's an excellent and fun roster of theatrical cocktails.

Some of the best dumplings you'll have outside of Shanghai.

This CBD eatery offers traditional Thai and has an extended takeaway service that infuses Australian seafood with the flavours of Thailand.

Big Esso is the bigger CBD follow-up to Yarraville's beloved Torres Strait Islander cafe Mabu Mabu. Expect dishes from chef-owner Nornie Bero’s childhood, such as tamarind pipies, buckets of chargrilled prawns, and fried crocodile with saltbush and pepperberry. There's also a retail section stocked with pantry fillers to take away.

A bastion of exemplary Hakata-style ramen in the city centre. Visit for house-made noodles (with free top-ups), consistently excellent broths and a creation known simply as the “cocktail draft beer”. If you drink too many, do as the shop prescribes: keep calm, eat ramen.

An Argentinean restaurant and wine bar that features a traditional parrilla barbeque.

At the W Melbourne's in-house restaurant, Coda chef Adam D'Sylva is drawing on his Italian-Indian heritage. The star chef has created a globe-trotting menu that includes luxed-up lasagna, pasta-less cacio e pepe (a surprising triumph), and fragrant, spicy duck curry. Plus there's an excellent and fun roster of theatrical cocktails.

You'll find this intimate Sri Lankan and South Indian restaurant behind a Victorian terrace frontage. Owner Sam Prince might use his Sri Lankan mum's recipes for aromatic, coconut-y red-lentil dal and potato curry. But the menu here isn’t strictly traditional. Find hoppers with goat’s curd and pomegranate pearls, dosas with bacon jam, and smoky, chai-infused Old Fashioneds.

This Shanghai-style restaurant’s recipe for xiao long bao has been passed down through the family for more than a century. Get the black truffle and pork version, plus pan-fried pork buns, chicken wontons in chilli-sesame oil and more.