Dinesmart Melbourne 2024

Updated 5 months ago

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From December 1 to 31, you can help raise funds for grassroots homelessness and community projects every time you dine out. StreetSmart’s annual fundraising campaign is back, giving diners the option to add a $2 donation to their bill at partner restaurants. The hospitality-led initiative has brought together hundreds of restaurants and their diners, raising more than $13 million over the last two decades.

This year, the campaign will chip in and fund solutions to provide care and support for people at risk, helping them transition from the street to a safe place to call home. Making a contribution to DineSmart will go a long way in helping people who are without shelter, food or support.

Taking part is simple: Just dine at a participating venue during December, and let the staff know you’re happy to add the $2 donation (or more, if you’d like) to your bill. Dine out and help out this December.

For a full list of DineSmart venues, click here.

  • The fiery Southeast Asian diner Melburnians and tourists have been queuing for since 2011. So why's it still such a hit after all these years? The service remains fast and efficient; the energy is always high; and Benjamin Cooper's food continues to nail that sweet spot between flavour, tradition and fun.

  • 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 pastrami rolls; a suave restaurant with a focus on cooking with flames; and a greenhouse-like rooftop oasis.

  • Left-of-centre pizzas are the draw at this big, industrial-chic room from the Tipo 00 and Osteria Ilaria crew. Post up at the central bar for snacks and natural wines, or share bistecca and nebbiolo at a bistro-style table.

  • This spot from the Hanoi Hannah and Tokyo Tina crew is all about spicy birds: with a Vietnamese take on duck à l’orange and charcoal chicken with burnt chilli. Plus, there’s cocktails made with charred grapefruit and burnt plums.

  • Spot number two for the southside’s favourite Vietnamese restaurant.

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  • 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.

  • Lively cocktails and refined snacks are on the cards at this dark and daring basement bar. But it’s really the wine list you come here for – it’s an adventure in unfamiliar regions and varietals, and focuses on biodynamic and sustainable drops.

  • Take a seat at the black granite bar for hot and sour shredded potato, charcoal-roasted char siu and cured pork belly with rolled rice noodles in XO.

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  • Long, slow lunches and degustation dinners at the edge of the lake – Alla and Allan Wolf-Tasker have been doing their thing since 1979 and it's never lost relevance.

  • Longrain started in Sydney in ’95 and came to Melbourne a decade later. Since then, it’s been at the forefront of contemporary Thai dining here. Order a banquet and try favourites like caramelised pork belly and som tam salad.

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  • If you’re after Italian with a fun, neighbourhood feel, head here. Restaurateur Chris Lucas’s buzzing southside spot turns out pizzas alongside salumi and traditional, crowd-pleasing pastas.

  • In an iconic southside building, this alluring bistro does old Chinese favourites in new ways – like reimagined prawn toast and a Hainanese chicken club sandwich that took 30 attempts to perfect.

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  • This two-storey joint is warmly lit and moody, with long timber tables and cosy booths. Order Mediterranean-style share plates, choose a bottle (or three) from the wall, and tuck in with your favourite people. Neptune seats up to 105 people.

  • It’s Vietnamese, but not as you know it. Slide into a booth and order fragrant share plates that might include banh mi fingers, beer tartare with pho jelly, and a playful take on caviar. Plus, a suite of Australian wines and beers (and Vietnamese lagers for good measure).

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  • Tipo 00’s younger sibling stretches beyond the pasta bar concept with meat and seafood dishes straight out of a modern Italian osteria. An enormous cellar below stocks Italian necessities like wine and house-cured charcuterie.

  • Some of the finest food, wine and views on the entire Mornington Peninsula, which is saying something. And the accommodation is no slouch either, with a range of beautiful king-sized suites to choose from.

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  • Pop into this warm, retro-feel restaurant for weeknight dinners of 72-hour-fermented focaccia, handmade pasta and woodfired meats. On weekends, party in the basement with amaro cocktails and DJs spinning Italo disco.

  • After all these years, moody Tipo 00 still attracts queues of people hoping for a taste of its simple yet meticulously assembled pastas. A couple of secondi and dolci also grace the menu, alongside salumi best enjoyed at the marble bar, spritz in hand. Make sure you arrive early – very early – if you don’t have a booking.

  • Enjoy Japanese-inspired food at this moodily lit diner, from the team behind Saigon Sally and Hanoi Hannah. The stars here are crisped-up sticky eggplant, karaage chicken, miso-baked cauliflower and tender duck breast in brothy udon.

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  • A buzzing food and beer hall inspired by Singaporean and Malaysian hawker halls. Work your way through a hit-list of hawker market dishes. Expect various dishes of noodles, rice, roti and curry (from the trusted team behind Chin Chin, Society and Baby Pizza). Plus, order lots of easy-drinking beers.

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  • Named after a classic Jeff Buckley song, this grungy warehouse wine bar feels like a dinner party in a New York loft apartment. Come for nostalgic dishes with a French bistro lean, music played on vinyl and plenty of interesting wine.

  • Enter the cyberpunk facade to find Chris Lucas’s two-level Japanese diner. Watch chefs turn skewered meat over jumping flames, slurp your noodles and call it good manners (it is in Japan), and sip cocktails named after Tokyo’s neighbourhoods.

  • At this sprawling restaurant by Chris Lucas, there’s an experience for just about every taste. Grab a seat at the marble bar for cocktails, sit in the chandelier-lit dining room to try the luxe European menu, or book one of the striking private dining rooms.

  • Venetian elegance, New York energy and Melbourne nostalgia collide at restaurateur Chris Lucas’s lavish brasserie and grill. Settle into the grand dining room for charcoal-fired bistecca, show-stopping tiramisu, quintessentially Italian cocktails and lots of tableside theatrics.

  • 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.

  • A late-trading Greek institution in the heart of the city. Since 1987, it's been serving traditional, uncomplicated food including fresh dips, chicken and lamb giros from the spit and a famous range of souvlaki that punters keep coming back for – regardless of the time of day (or night).

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  • An upmarket New Nordic restaurant occupying two levels of Collins Street’s Gothic 1880s Olderfleet building. Stop by when the sun is up for various smorrebrod, or Scandi open sandwiches. Later on, you’ll find standout savoury waffles, not-your-average beef tartare and other dishes where simplicity tempers innovation.

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  • There were Mexican restaurants before Mamasita, but it was the first one to bring a faithful representation to Melbourne. The “hot babe” has been around since 2010, but its grilled corn and flavoursome tacos still attract queues.

  • Expect woodfired pide, Moroccan chicken, and candied pumpkin with tahini at this father-son operation. Don’t feel like going out? The kitchen also runs a delivery-only kebab store.

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  • Neon signage and colourful murals line the walls of this playful Thai eatery. Enjoy modern takes on traditional Thai favourites – including soft-shell crab sliders, a hearty pad thai and flavourful curries.

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

  • Since 2006, Joseph Abboud’s Middle Eastern diner has reached institution status. Come for his signature cheese cigars and advieh-marinated lamb shoulder. Plus, a 200-strong mostly Middle Eastern wine list and fiery charcoal grill.

  • Pastuso brings Peruvian flair with a menu of ceviche, grilled meat and plenty of pisco. The dining room is a riot of colour, but we say grab a seat at the marble-clad bar and take in all the action, Pisco Sour in hand.

  • This is the flagship of the beloved bakery chain. Get lobster and prawn Benedict for breakfast and a buttermilk fried chicken burger later on (not to mention Bloody Marys all day long).

  • A French-inspired cafe peddling cakes, sandwiches and homewares.

  • Dining at Chris Lucas’s third Japanese restaurant is an immersive experience. There’s a daily sushi, nigiri and crispy rice menu; sake-based cocktails; and neo-noir AI-generated images on the walls.

  • A slick bistro and bar by hospo heavyweight Nathan Toleman. The pastas are made in-house and the cocktails come fermented and served in punchbowls. And there’s a rooftop function space with raised beds, chickens and city views.

  • Hit this airy warehouse for natural wine and limoncello slushies on tap, pop-up kitchen takeovers, late-night DJ sessions and rotating artist residencies – all courtesy of Nic Coulter, co-owner of the adjacent Neptune Food & Wine.

  • 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.

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  • At 24 storeys high, this bar and diner boasts some of the finest views of Melbourne, extending from the CBD as far as the Dandenong Ranges. The retractable glass rooftop ensures you can enjoy its Cali-cool style and al fresco dining all year round.

  • Any meal here is a sophisticated affair, combining silver service with country casualness. Elegant dishes are matched with the winery’s award-winning cellar, complete with stunning views of the surrounding vineyards and bushland.

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  • From the owners of Tom Phat, Bhang serves Indian street food in the north.

  • A traditional Italian restaurant in the heart of Chapel Street.

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  • Spanish food served with genuine flair.

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  • An Italian-influenced Argentinian spot from the team behind San Telmo and Pastuso. Expect meat and fish cooked over the asado firepit – a specialty here. The layout is a nod to a classic steakhouse, plus there are private rooms for special occasions.

  • 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.

  • This slick restaurant and wine bar, by the Farmer’s Daughters chef, was decades in the making. Come for ceviche with a spicy Peruvian citrus-based marinade and Venezuelan spanner crab arepas served in a Tulum-inspired space.

  • This warmly lit bolthole, by Amaru's Clinton McIver, is all about fun fine-diner snacks – sans the degustation price tag and cutlery So, raise a spanner-crab doughnut in one hand, and a glass of champagne in the other.

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  • Asado is Spanish for roast. And that’s exactly the focus at this tan-leather-filled restaurant, which showcases grilled meats and big flavours. From the team behind San Telmo, Pastuso and Palermo, Asado encourages you to share a spread of tapas as well as meat, seafood and vegetables charred on the parrilla.

  • Departing from San Telmo's Latin American flavours, here the group focuses on yakitori and kushiyaki cooked over traditional binchotan charcoal. Also, masterfully-sliced sashimi and sake, in a fit-out that resembles a scene straight from the streets of Tokyo.

  • All-day dining at this Thai-infused cafe on Sydney Road.

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