Whatever you’re doing on your day off, there’s plenty of food and drink to fuel it.
Where to while away the dog days of summer.
Bit dusty? These places will sort you out.
Showing 48 results
An all-day diner at Tullamarine’s surfable wave park from the popular cafe chain. Get spanner-crab scramble and a Bloody Mary for breakfast; pizzas, Portuguese-style chook and tomato-and-chilli mussels with garlicky Baker Bleu sourdough after midday; and non-alcoholic cocktails and beers pre-surf.
After years running lasagnes around town in a ’91 Holden Barina, Joey Kellock has moved into a former pizza shop. On the menu: lasagne, maybe a dirty Martini and little else.
This huge 500-person pop-up beer garden and big screen will be around until March 2021, before the actual brewery and beer hall open.
This pop-up Palm Springs-inspired bar, attached to live-music venue Howler, will be around until mid-2021, slinging boozy slushies and woodfired pizzas.
A converted 1950s holiday home on a working vineyard with three bedrooms, a roomy bathtub and an outdoor firepit.
A former McConnell chef is behind this intimate bar serving Texas-style brisket, pork belly, jalapeño kransky and four types of taco. There’s also a tidy selection of tequila, mezcal and bourbon.
Star chef Andrew McConnell's signature is evident on every Eurocentric plate here, from the clam-topped flatbread to the anchovy Danish to the wood-fired rhubarb cheesecake. You’ll find us at the black-and-gold marble bar, Martini in hand.
It’s like a summer barbeque in your mate’s backyard – but with a charcoal-fired menu by a top Melbourne chef, 10 Hop Nation beers (and Negronis) on tap, and more.
At Hobsons Bay Hotel, a three-level neighbourhood pub in Williamstown, you'll find a rooftop with sweeping ocean views, a largely woodfired menu of flame-licked steaks and rotisserie chooks, and cocktails on tap.
This restaurant from the Higher Ground, Top Paddock and Liminal team specialises in house-made sourdough with fancy toppings, you’ll also find seafood over hot coals and vanilla sundaes with smoked caramel.
The follow-up to Neighbourhood Wine is cool and comfortable. Take a seat at the bar or in front of an open fire and feel the tension melt off your shoulders.
This lavish, split-down-the-centre space was designed with the spirit of 1920s Paris and New York in mind. Have a cheese trolley wheeled to your table, sip Ernest Hemingway-inspired cocktails, or settle in for a long lunch with free-flowing magnums.
A spot from the team behind some of the city’s biggest cafe hits. They’re making brunches with damper, Vegemite, Kakadu plums, wattle-seed bacon and Milo mascarpone.
Under the watchful eye of a 1.5-tonne steel dragon, Australia’s first outpost of international chain Panda Hot Pot is serving fiery DIY soup with a choice of 80 ingredients.
Located on Lorne Beach, this ’70s-inspired taproom and beer garden offers views of the surf, cocktails, lobster rolls and plenty of easy-drinking beers.
This restaurant champions offal – think skewers of chicken heart and cherry – Victorian seafood, and all things charred, cured and preserved.
Most of the menu here is vegan (including the baklava), with one notable exception: deep-fried haloumi fries. And the Lebanese-style falafels are served like an open souvlaki on pita with hummus and four types of salad.
An Indian(ish) wine bar on Flinders Lane, where cheesy flatbreads star.
This tiny, off-grid house on the outskirts of the Grampians is plonked in the middle of a lush property surrounded by rolling hills. And there's limited phone reception – so you can properly unplug.
A light-filled all-day European bistro, bar and deli stocking fresh pasta, fancy tinned fish and other staples.
Japanese-inspired dishes in a modern space replete with marble tabletops and beige leather booths.
Two French bakers are making classic sourdough, fruit loaves and three-ingredient baguettes and getting creative with banana-split croissants and blood-orange doughnuts in an airy, mint-green space.
From the team behind Small Axe Kitchen, this spot has a seven-metre terrazzo bar and floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with Italian cold cuts, cheeses, pickles and take-home meals such as gluten-free lasagne.
A 24-hour nightclub with its very own bandroom.
Former sommelier Campbell Burton is behind this smart store, where 200 bottles of organic, sulphur-free wine rest in temperature controlled cabinets.
Channel the charm and chaos of Vietnam’s street stalls with banh xeo, fried chicken with fish-sauce caramel, and DIY Vietnamese barbeque. All best enjoyed with a “beer tower” on the side.
The Covid-19 pop-up Marion Grocer has found a permanent home. Enter for a very impressive salad sanga, $6 Baker Bleu pizza squares, and fancy picnic hampers. Plus, shop for topnotch pantry staples, fruit and veg, tomato seedlings, fresh blooms and more.
This compact 25-seater flips beef and plant-based cheeseburgers, and serves southern fried chicken and vegan Cocowhip sundaes.
This corner cafe specialises in modern takes on traditional Japanese sandwiches and excellent filter coffee. For dessert, grab a Mochinut (a mochi doughnut) or a black tea creme brûlée.
Yarn to the bartender over a cocktail, hot bird and vegan snacks while listening to ZZ Top.
Get pantry staples such as salted egg cakes and durian crisps, or grab seat among 200 other punters for charred pork skewers, tom yum soup, boat noodles and beer towers.
A pasta and focaccia bar of venerable mention on Lygon Street in Carlton.
This classic St Kilda pub was reintroduced to the public at the end of 2019. Now, you’ll find classic pub counter meals – alongside more refined fare – to enjoy in the swish new interiors or outside in the sun.
All-vegan kebabs, halal snack packs and boreks in Brunswick. Plus, there are gluten-free options, colourful salads, dukkah-dusted chips and cardamom-spiked Turkish coffees.
This 160-seater has more than 100 ingredients on offer to cook in your choice of eight different soups – and it’s open until 2am.
A slick eatery serving bagels and brioche from 7.30am, and $2 oysters later on.
This casual offshoot of Charlie Carrington's acclaimed restaurant Atlas Dining focuses on healthy Mediterranean street food.
One of Box Hill's best-loved dumpling houses.
Sit on a milk crate and enjoy caramel-filled Argentinian pastries, updated escargot and slow-fermented bread.
Everything you love about fresh Japanese cuisine and Australian seafood in a calm, casual room.
A low-key neighbourhood cafe with unique decor and great play options for kids.
Get a seat at the bar for a view of the woodfire grill, its flames darting into your peripheral vision or reflected in your Negroni glass. On the menu, there’s flame-cooked barramundi and steaks big enough for two.
This historic gastropub (now owned by the owners of North Fitzroy's the Recreation) serves elevated takes on duck pie, schnitzels and smoked trout salad. Get yours on the expansive deck overlooking the Puffing Billy Railway line.
Although it's just a stone's throw away from the original, this Laksa King spinoff brings plenty to the table.
Find out how gin is made in the distillery, then test it out at with classic G&T; or Martini. If you're feeling more adventurous, there are cocktails that draw on rhubarb, pineapple, pear and cherry.
This wine shop by Embla’s Christian McCabe, winemaker Patrick Sullivan and importer Eric Narioo stocks interesting (and at times eccentric) small-batch and responsibly produced drops.
An Italian standing-room-only espresso bar.
A relaxed pub bar in an old art deco building with a varied crowd the heart of St Kilda.
