Best Restaurants in South Yarra
South Yarra is one of Melbourne’s most exciting and diverse dining areas. High-end restaurants are thriving thanks to the gold-plated addresses in and around Domain Road, but at the same time, a raft of new apartments and the club-heavy nightlife in adjacent Prahran mean there are plenty of burger joints, casual Italian eateries and other affordable places, too. Regardless of your taste or budget, there’s a restaurant on our list to suit you. Here’s where to find them.
Restaurant
Matilda
A bold, contemporary diner dedicated to cooking with fire and smoke, from the owner-chef of Estelle and Saint Crispin.
Restaurant
Yugen Dining
Rough-hewn stone walls, high ceilings and golden accents set the mood at this subterranean Japanese diner. Take the glass lift underground for charcoal-cooked Wagyu, delicate sashimi and exciting detours into Chinese cuisine.
Restaurant
Bacash
Practice has made perfect at this Melbourne institution. It’s been serving exquisite fish since the year 2000, paired with attentive old-school service and a wide-ranging wine list filled with interesting bottles.
Restaurant
France-Soir
Open since 1986, France Soir is one of Melbourne’s pre-eminent restaurants – attracting the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger. Find classic French staples from steak tartare to margret de canard (duck breast) for mains, to crème brûlée for dessert.
Restaurant
Yan
This creative smokehouse breaks tradition by adding smoke to largely Cantonese- and Japanese-inspired dishes. Come for favourites including smoked chicken katsu with house-made barbeque sauce, braised winter melon with smoked almond cream, and an otherworldly coconut ice cream.
Restaurant
Omnia
An elegant, produce-driven menu by a former Vue de Monde and Eleven Madison Park chef is the draw at this soaring European bistro on the ground floor of the Capitol Grand building. Plus, there’s a 200-bottle wine list and botanical-heavy cocktails from a former World Class Bartender of the Year.
Restaurant
Yakikami
Perch at a dedicated yakitori table for succulent chicken skewers, or retreat to the private dining room for an omakase experience where high-end Kobe beef is the star. It’s from the Wagyu Ya and Niku Ou team.
Bar
Shadowboxer Bar & Kitchen
A trio of hospitality lifers is behind this smart wine bar, which is equally good for snacking as a full, sit-down dinner.
Restaurant
Aoi Tsuki
An intimate, 12-seat omakase bar, where no two meals are the same. Experience 20 or more individualised courses while being entertained by the chefs' playful banter. Expect top-quality seafood that might be squid, sea urchin, salmon roe, King George whiting or bluefin tuna.
Restaurant
Cucinetta
Intimate and communal, like a real Italian restaurant should be.
Restaurant
Thirty Eight Chairs South Yarra
It’s a tiny spot, but the romantic, elbow-to-elbow ambience at Thirty Eight Chairs increases the chances of getting to know your neighbours – and maybe even sharing a bottle of wine with them. Pastas pay homage to all the family classics and are made from scratch.
Restaurant
Stella
An Italian mega-venue sprawling across four storeys of a late-1800s building. Get your golden-hour cocktail fix on the rooftop, then head downstairs to the golden-lit trattoria for pizza made from a family recipe. Or a barrel-aged Negroni in the cocktail bar.
Restaurant
Mr Bond
This all-day Italian cafe embraces la cucina povera (“poor man’s cooking”) – or making do with what you have. The result is an ever-changing menu of seafood, salads, paninis and pizzas. Order a plate and settle in at one of the communal tables, or in the sunny courtyard.
Restaurant
Bistro Gitan
Experience a variety of (mostly French) tastes and textures at Bistro Gitan, the Reymond family restaurant.
Restaurant
Steer Dining Room
Local and Japanese Wagyu steaks are the focus at this New York-style steakhouse, ranging from $80 up to $500. For mains, see the roving Wagyu trolley or scour the list of more than 30 steaks to choose by producer, cut and score.
Restaurant
Dainty Sichuan South Yarra
After a 2024 refresh, this iconic Sichuanese restaurant is back with a menu of more than 100 dishes. The fiery, pungent originals are still around, but live seafood, southern-style yum cha and other regional specialties are now in the mix.
Restaurant
Bar Carolina
Inside a former ice-cream store, this little slice of Venice is big on protein – woodfired in a Josper oven imported from Spain. But if you’re feeling pastas, varieties such as tagliolini and pappardelle are rolled in-house. It’s all served in a terrazzo-and-timber space that’s casual and contemporary at once.
Bar
Leonard’s House of Love
If you’re really into burgers, tick Leonard’s off the list. This ’70s log cabin-themed burger bar serves some of Melbourne’s best. Expect American-style burger combos centred around beef, chicken, mushroom and vegan pattys. It’s also dog-friendly, so your furry friend might be begging tableside for a bite.
Cafe
Abacus Bar & Kitchen
A lush fig tree takes pride of place in this light-filled dining room. The all-day diner takes you from blue swimmer crab crumpets for breakfast, to slow-cooked beef cheek and Australian wines for dinner.
Restaurant
Caffe e Cucina
Not much has changed at this Chapel Street institution since it opened in 1988. Truth be told, not much needs to. There’s always a reliably good meat or fish of the day, plus pastas and risotto. And though it’s small, there’s a bustling energy to the place that’s all part of the appeal.
Restaurant
Rock Sugar
Neon signage and dissolving fairy-floss Martinis. Instagram, here we come.
Restaurant
The Botanical
It’s been around for years, but this sprawling pub still pulls a crowd with its post-Tan brunches, upscale pub fare and footy season steak nights. It serves top-tier steaks (including Wagyu), which are dry-aged in house.
Restaurant
A25 Pizzeria
If you usually discard the pizza crust, A25 will convert you. Remo Nicolini’s pizzas have soft and blistery bases that let the ingredients shine. Plus, there are pastas such as Wagyu beef lasagne and pappardelle with porcini. Mopping up the sauce with your pizza crust is recommended.
Restaurant
Gilson
A day-to-night eatery with a refined, European feel.
Restaurant
Misschu South Yarra
Since 2007, Nahji Chu’s hawker-style tuckshops have served fast and down-to-earth Vietnamese. Menu standouts include scallop and prawn dumplings, refreshing rice paper rolls and flavourful curries.
Restaurant
Fratellino Pizzeria
A favourite pizza joint among the South Yarra locals.
Restaurant
Spoonbill
Australian and Mediterranean influences are combined with flair at the Olsen Hotel’s in-house restaurant. Start your day with its breakfast classics such as smashed avocado; or round it out with dinner stars such as chargrilled prawns, juicy steak and sharp cocktails.
Restaurant
48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar South Yarra
Named for its dough’s 48-hour rise time (and recognised as one of Oceania’s best pizzerias), the menu here runs the gamut of classic and modern pies with notable vegan alternatives. The eponymous gnocchi comes “della nonna” style.
Cafe
Park Pantry
A tiny, 16-seater coffee and sandwich window by day and petite wine bar by night. Stop by for oysters with hibiscus mignonette, buttery pastries, cocktails, and a 50-bottle wine list.
Restaurant
Nora Thai South Yarra
This compact 20-seater showcases southern Thai dishes with flair. Try its hot, zesty dry red curry with pork, garlicky stir-fried malindjo greens, or a deeply umami sour fish curry. Add on Thai milk tea or rosy pink milk.
Restaurant
Pasta Prego
Choose-your-own-pasta adventure at this fast-casual Italian spot. Pick your sauce (be it creamy carbonara or hearty ragu) and marry it with your favourite pasta shape, before adding toppings like anchovies, prawns and kalamata olives.
Restaurant
Snow Monkey Ramen
An unconventional lobster ramen is the key to this tiny shop’s success. The 35-seater combines Japanese and French techniques to create some of the city’s most interesting soups – but we also love the benchmark tonkotsu here.
Restaurant
Nora Thai CBD
This spot serves hard-to-find fiery curries, herbaceous stir-fries and pentai bean dishes – nicknamed “stink beans” – typical of southern Thailand. Plus, find comforting chicken and turmeric soup and other rare regional Thai dishes.
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