Best Restaurants on High Street
High Street, in Melbourne’s north, is one of the city’s most important arterial roads. It connects the leafy, dense suburbs of the inner north to the suburban outskirts of Greater Melbourne. While the 16-kilometre strip starts in Northcote and runs all the way up to Epping, many of its best restaurants are found on the stretch between Northcote and Reservoir.
At the southern end, in Northcote, you’ll find plenty of cuisines spanning Sri Lankan, Italian, Israeli, Ethiopian, Thai and Malaysian, along with a few contemporary Australian spots.
Just north, in Thornbury, the influence of post-war waves of Italian, Greek and Macedonian migrants is ever-present. Contemporary Italian restaurants, pizza joints and family-run Greek spots are sandwiched between longstanding Greek social clubs. Those, along with a bevy of live music boltholes, bring the strip to life on weekend nights. Further north still, gentrification has crept up and seen new restaurants pop up in Preston, slotting themselves between well-established and equally impressive Vietnamese and Chinese spots. And it’s all easily accessible by train or the number 86 tram.
Related pages:
Best Restaurants in Northcote
Best Restaurants in Thornbury
Northcote
Thornbury
Preston
Reservoir
Northcote
Restaurant
Estelle
This fine diner, from an ex-Noma chef, is spread across through main areas. In the wine bar-slash-waiting room, a casual drink might lead to share plates. You can dine out the back in the lush, semi-covered courtyard. Or stay in the main dining room and get serious with the tasting menu and matched wines.
Restaurant
Primo
At Primo the lights are bright, the music is pure party, and it’s near impossible to look past the dedicated Negroni list. Not to mention, the pizzas are excellent. Try the Roberta (named after the Roberta’s in Brooklyn), with salami, fior di latte, straciatella, chilli and honey.
Restaurant
Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant
Bring a group, order a share platter and eat with your hands at this traditional Ethiopian restaurant. Platters are topped with spiced lentils, meat stews and rolled-up injera (a fermented, pancake-like flatbread). Tear off a bit with your hands and use it to scoop up all the different flavours.
Restaurant
Pizza Meine Liebe
Pizza Meine Liebe (German for "pizza my love") is a Northcote institution – and it’s stuck
around for a reason. Come for its thin, slightly chewy bases topped with clever combinations, woodfired to perfection, before finishing with Italian-style desserts.
Shop
Zsa's
This Italian deli, bistro and bar will take you right through your day with pastries, deli items, grab-and-go meals and plenty of Italian-leaning share plates. By day, stop in for loaded porchetta lunch rolls with thick shards of crackling. By night, go for its oysters, house-made pasta and Italian wines.
Bar
Oh Loretta!
This wine bar has a particularly welcoming design, with plump, comfy couches; carefree decor; a sharehouse-esque fairy-lit courtyard; and huge light-bringing windows. And the food is just as accessible – it’s a changeable, veg-led affair.
Restaurant
Tahina Northcote
This vegetarian Israeli street food spot is a local favourite. It’s slinging loaded pita pockets, refreshing salads, two flavours of falafel, shakshuka and smoky roasted vegetables. Plus, satisfying smoothies that’ll make for a whole meal.
Restaurant
Va Penne
If you forget to book at this cosy neighbourhood restaurant, grab a seat at the bar, order a spritz and picture yourself in the streets of Palermo as you wait for a table. You’re in for home-style Sicilian fare, nostalgic Italian desserts and a welcoming vibe.
Bar
Northcote Social Club
A bastion of live music for two decades, this is the spot to see buzzy acts from Melbourne and beyond. As well as the bandroom, it’s got an all-weather deck that blends into the rest of the pub, plus exceptional parmas and roasts.
Bar
Vex Dining
The clever veg-forward wine bar created by two former Neighbourhood Wine and Bar Romantica head chefs. In the sunlight-filled dining room, or under the fairy light-studded lemon tree out back, order smoky-sweet turnips, brown butter fish and boozy amaro sorbet.
Restaurant
Brother Bon
Brother Bon aims to make vegan food accessible (and enjoyable) to all. Its pan-Asian brunch and dinner menus hit all the right notes with fragrant noodle soups, dumplings, stir-fries and gua bao. Also on the menu are Vietnamese-style cocktails, as well as Australian beers and wines.
Restaurant
Curry Cafe
The tables at this bustling Indian joint fill up early – and for good reason. Go for its all-star curry menu that features creamy lamb pasanda, paneer makhani and staff-favourite eggplant curry. Plus, find house wines in glass tumblers, plus sweet mango lassi.
Restaurant
300 Grams
This compact 25-seater flips beef and plant-based cheeseburgers, and serves southern fried chicken and vegan Cocowhip sundaes.
Bar
Wesley Anne
This dimly-lit pub sits in a converted 19th-century church – and is adorned with wine barrels, wagon wheels and a large, wrought-iron chandelier. Get cosy inside, or head to the rear courtyard for hearty pub classics alongside Victorian wine and beer.
Restaurant
Wazzup Falafel
Everything is made in-house at this vegan diner. Stop by for some of the best falafels and fatteh in town and watch owner Ahmad Al Alaea – donning his signature cowboy hat – work in the open kitchen.
Restaurant
Ruckers Hill
Inside the unassuming north-side nook, you’ll find French-leaning fare accompanied by a generous list of drops. It’s steered by an ex-Bistro Thierry chef.
Thornbury
Cafe
Umberto Espresso Bar
A tribute to the owner’s Calabrian-born father, Umberto plates up cucina casalinga homestyle cooking and classic Italian aperitivi in a former shoe shop. It’s also home to Gigi, a rooftop bar where you can sip a Negroni with one-of-a-kind views.
Restaurant
Farro Pizzeria Thornbury
Farro is named after the Italian word for “spelt”, which underpins many dishes at this homely pizzeria and pasta house. Go for its Italian appetisers before feasting on homemade spelt pastas and woodfired pizzas. Its inclusive menu has plenty of gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options, too.
Restaurant
Greek Street Food
This Greek family’s popular souva mobile found a permanent home on High Street. Here, you can create your own Greek spread of stacked souvas, crispy pita, meat skewers and Greek salads generously topped with salty feta – all served on old-school enamel plates.
Restaurant
Kustom Burgers
Kustom is one of Melbourne’s best takes on the American diner genre. Stop into this hot-rod-themed spot for burgers loaded with beef patties, buttermilk chicken, fried mushroom and more. Race electric slot cars or sip on an old-fashioned milkshake while you wait for your dinner.
Restaurant
Northern Git
From the outside, Northern Git might look like your average corner restaurant. But inside, it has all the offerings of a classic British pub. The Yorkshire-born owner-chef turns out pub classics like pork crackling, bubble and squeak, pies with mushy peas and gravy, and hearty Sunday roasts.
Bar
Capers
A Greek neighbourhood bar inspired by yiayia’s house. Go for comforting home-style plates, including pickled calamari and gooey vegan moussaka, backed by a tight list of Greek beers and wines; stay for the retro setting and vibrant vibes.
Restaurant
Pinche Cantina
A Melbourne pizzeria veteran has swapped his woodfired oven for a cabinet smoker and flat-top griddle. On spongy house-made tortillas, he’s dishing out slow-cooked beef birria, cochinita pibil pork, and rolled and deep-fried tacos dorados stuffed with potato.
Shop
Sandro Pasta & Wine
You could well make friends with the next table at this convivial Italian wine bar, where bottles of wine and handmade pastas can be had right there or taken home.
Preston
Restaurant
One Noodle Friendship
Find this low-key Chinese restaurant just around the corner from Preston Market. It's all about hand-pulled Lanzhou-style wheat noodles (made from scratch every day) served in hot, spiced broth with a side of chewy dumplings.
Restaurant
Takeaway Pizza
As the name suggests, there’s no cutlery, no table service and no fuss at this casual pizzeria and bar. Dough is fermented for three days, and the result is an American-style slice with a thin base and a crisp, crunchy edge. Try the bone marrow and pastrami number – it sounds left-field, but you won’t regret it.
Restaurant
Dexter
Follow the neon glow to find this low-and-slow diner. Pork ribs are cooked over three days then glazed with caramel, and there's the famous meat doughnuts, an unholy pairing of sweet and savoury. Plus, find local breweries on tap.
Restaurant
Benzina Cantina
Hit this neon-lit Mexican bar for tacos and burritos loaded with pork belly, spiced chicken or mixed veggies. Devour your tacos in the cactus-lined courtyard or spacious dining hall, or climb to the rooftop for easy-drinking Margaritas and cold Mexican beers.
Restaurant
El Jannah
This Lebanese charcoal chicken chain has ascended to cult status since opening in Sydney in 1998. After dark, the busy Preston shop has a green neon halo that can be seen from blocks away. Go for its signature charcoal chook or the fuss-free chicken plate with Lebanese pickles, pita and a secret recipe garlic sauce.
Reservoir
Restaurant
La Pinta
The chalked-up menu might change a lot, but the bang-for-your-buck is a constant at this buzzy, warmly lit diner. Go for tapas-style plates like wallaby tartare, Portarlington mussels and house-made pumpkin agnolotti. Plus, vermouth and lo-fi wines on tap. It’s no surprise getting a seat can be a bit of a challenge.
More Options
Yuni’s Kitchen, Northcote
Follow the path around Northcote’s old Uniting Church to find this pokey Indonesian joint. Husband and wife Yuni and Matthew Kenwrick run the show here, offering up dishes inspired by Yuni’s upbringing in Yogyakarta, Java. Standouts include the nasi campur ayam, ikan pepes (barramundi steamed in banana leaves) and hearty laksa. Plus, it’s BYO.
Merah, Northcote
This colourful Malaysian diner is a heap of fun, whether you sit in the bright dining room up front or airy courtyard out back. Bring a group and go for hearty plates like soft shell crab buns, tender beef rendang and creamy laksa. A side of its roti and chilli sambal comes highly recommended.
