Melbourne CBD - Give Me Your Restaurant Suggestions (Entertainment Book and Pre-Theatre)

SBOB on 29/09/2019 - 20:43

Wife and I will be in Melbourne in a week for a few nights, so hoping some locals can give me some tips on the best picks of restaurants in the area.

Im staying up the western end of Bourke St, but happy to travel within the CBD for the right choices. Going to be chasing a couple of lunches and dinners.
Have one night seeing a show, so recommendations for possible places with 'express' or 'pre show' menus also would be great.

Have an entertainment book for the area, so would be great to get some value out of that also

From a previous post re entertainment book i gathered suggestions of
Bistro Guillaume at Crowns
Din Tai Fung

Philippes for lunch, though not sure the ent book is valid for their 'prix fixe' menu

The Le Petit Gateau for coffee/cake

Any tips from those with local knowledge would be greatly appreciated, and help me wow the wife with my 'finds' ;)

Travel Melbourne Victoria

Comments

  • Randxyz123 on 29/09/2019 - 20:56
    +2

    Bomba is excellent. Near Exhibition/Lonsdale. The lunch menu is great. They definitely do pre-theatre timings for dinner. Just tell them and they'll sort you out. Most restaurants will do that. Just call and let them know. Even if you book online.

    +39 pizzeria - very good for dinner.

    Ho Chi Mama - good for lunch, gets busy with office workers

    SPQR pizza - as above. gets very busy at lunch time!

    What sort of food do you like? Do you want to do a nice night out and then fairly cheap the rest of the time?

    • SBOB on 29/09/2019 - 22:09

      pretty rare for us to go kid free, so likely a couple of decent dinners would be the plan.
      or decent lunch, cheaper dinner one day for instance

      also, as below re food preference
      would likely aim for a lunch and dinner somewhere in china town, as we both like asian
      Pizza is always popular
      not sure if theres any good 'low and slow bbq' places in CBD?

      Rarely get to go out for kid free fancy dinner, so no real 'cuisine' preference there

      • stueyh on 30/09/2019 - 18:24

        If pizza is a popular choice, then I'd recommend visiting one of the 400 Gradi pizza parlours, they're voted as the best Italian pizza in Oceania

  • oscargamer on 29/09/2019 - 21:17
    +2

    Delhi Streets on Katherine Place

  • kendoggs on 29/09/2019 - 21:44
    +4

    Really can't say since you haven't listed any preferences.

    Here's a couple of my favourites (not on entertainment book may require lining up):
    Tipo 00 — Great pasta joint
    Rice Paper Scissors — Fusion Asian
    Arlechin — fancy wine bar + nice dishes to accompany
    Lune — great pastries (closes at 3pm)

    Sushi hotaru — sushi train
    Kisume — fancy sushi

    Meatmaiden - (should be a $30 lunch deal)

    • kerfuffle on 29/09/2019 - 21:55
      +1

      Sushi hotaru

      Not that special for a Melbourne visit; Sydney has one too. Arlechin however I heartily recommend as well (especially after the theatre)

      If you want ramen, Shujinko's great and even better, it's 24/7. I like Il Solito Posto for Italian (opposite Phillippe's). For breakfast, Higher Ground is cool as you can actually order alcohol for breakfast if you're that way inclined.

    • SBOB on 29/09/2019 - 22:10

      thanks for the tips

      would likely aim for a lunch and dinner somewhere in china town, as we both like asian
      Pizza is always popular

      Rarely get to go out for kid free fancy dinner, so no real 'cuisine' preference there

    • SBOB on 29/09/2019 - 22:12
      +1

      Lune — great pastries (closes at 3pm)

      pretty sure this ones a given for a croissant..

      • Randxyz123 on 29/09/2019 - 22:23

        Yeah, I'd definitely recommend wandering down in the morning for a coffee and croissant. Would be a nice walk.

        • SBOB on 29/09/2019 - 22:25

          google tells me its only a few mins down Russell St from where we're staying

      • try2bhelpful on 30/09/2019 - 02:39

        If you go to Lune in the city I recommend the coconut rough one, if you are into chocolate. However, it is hard to go wrong with any of their croissants.

        • kendoggs on 30/09/2019 - 12:36

          Is there usually a bigger range in the morning? The only time I've been was around 1:00 and they only had the original, chocolate and almond.
          This coconut rough sounds amazing.

          • try2bhelpful on 01/10/2019 - 00:54
            +1

            @kendoggs: yeah. I dropped by the city one just before lunch today and they were out of coconut rough, although my other half got one earlier in the day. We normally go to the Fitzroy place and they have a bigger range there but not, usually, the coconut rough. Try to get the ham and gruyere one straight out of the oven. Totally amazing. The hot chocolate is good too.

  • try2bhelpful on 30/09/2019 - 02:52
    +1

    It is worth looking at Daughter in law, if you like Indian food. They do a good $15 Thali at lunch time.

    If you are into African food, and don’t mind a number 11 tram ride down Brunswick St Fitzroy, then I recommend Nyala.. The food is good and it is BYO.

    If you like Yum Cha then Shark Finn Inn is worth a look.

    I would also recommend Sonido, in Gertrude St, Fitzroy if you are into Arepas. The “old clothes” beef with a side order of beans is delicious.

    Our views on good Asian places is go for a walk and find the places full of Asian people. If you take a number 109 or 12 tram you could look at places in Victoria St, Richmond. This is a great area for Asian and particularly Vietnamese cuisine.

    Have fun in our fair city.

  • jjjaar on 30/09/2019 - 07:52
    +2

    A lot of the above has already hit the nail on the head.

    Another ramen place I love is Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen. They’re in my red energy rewards so may be in entertainment book too.

    Though I probably would avoid Hochi Mama as recommended above due to not paying staff.

    • kerfuffle on 30/09/2019 - 08:47

      Another ramen place I love is Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

      +1, tried it last trip. Good service, good atmosphere, you can customise your level of spicy in seven levels and there's a whisky bar next door. Will definitely be back for more next time I'm in town

  • bluesky on 30/09/2019 - 14:24
    +1

    If you are on the go, and just want a casual meal:

    Taste of Fresh Meals for $15 at Crown

    • Comes with a glass of wine/drink
    • 4-hour parking (if you are driving)
    • at 4 venues in Crown - my favourite being Margos Cafe - since it is casual, help-yourself cutlery/water, overall nice atmosphere. Some of the other venues are a bit more formal, with staff waiting on you etc. The same dish can differ a bit depending on the venue you choose.

    Taste of Fresh Meals for $7.50 at Margos

    These are new menus from today. Was about to post the last $15 offer yesterday, saw that it was ending yesterday, so waited till now.

    Tried the $15 meals a few times at Margos, don't be expecting fine-dining or anything, but I find it good value. The $7.50 offering is new, so cannot comment.

    Hope you enjoy Melbourne!

    • SBOB on 30/09/2019 - 17:32
      +1

      thanks

  • SBOB on 03/10/2019 - 15:22
    +1

    Thanks for all the tips.

    Now to troll through the entertainment book and see if any of the suggestions are in there ;)

    • try2bhelpful on 03/10/2019 - 20:06
      +1

      Will be interested in how you get on. Enjoy.

  • SBOB on 11/10/2019 - 18:12
    +1

    ended up at the following due to cuisine requests and locations at the time. Unfortunately hardly any lined up with the suggestions but appreciated anyway

    Dinners:
    Red Spice Road - Everything was good, definitely worth their reviews.
    Din Tai Fung - Great pork dumplings, terrible spring rolls though
    Time Out - terrible excuse for pizza, and the margherita was just a bad cheese pizza..just happened to need a quick eat with limited time before a show.

    Breakfast
    Cumulus - Excellent
    Bowery To Williamsburg - Bagel with brisket, fried egg, cheese and pickle.. was great
    Lune - good, but i think the 'hype' about how amazing might be a bit over the top

    so pretty decent average with only one regret (Time Out at Fed Square)

    • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2019 - 19:44

      Thanks for the feed back. We go to Lune, a lot, and it can depend on what you have and when. The ham and gruyere, just out of the oven, is divine. Their croissants are best when very fresh.

      Hope you had fun in our fair city.

      • SBOB on 11/10/2019 - 20:41

        we tried the coconut, pain de chocolat, lemon curd cruffin and plain croissant

        definitely good, and we only had a ~5 minute wait.. not sure its 'line up for ages' kind of worthy, but definitely good.

        • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2019 - 20:47

          Next time go to the city store and try the coconut rough, magnificent. Also ask if they have any warm ham and gruyere ones. If we know there is a lot coming out of the oven we say we are happy to wait. However, You need to make sure they are cool enough to not burn yourself on the cheese.

          Fortunately we can go outside peak times so our wait is, usually, not too bad. The complimentary sparkling water is a nice touch as well.

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