Melbourne Eats: My Must-Try Spots
Updated October 2026
Here’s the lowdown on all the food I enjoyed while on my travels to Melbourne.
Rocco’s Deli
📍 Yarraville
If you love Italian rolls, Rocco’s is the place. They do made-to-order rolls with your favourite deli meats and marinated vegetables. My roll included their offered marinated vegetables, mortadella, ham, chicken, hot salami and cheese. While extra meat costs more, they’re not shy about loading it up and giving you a solid feed. I’m yet to find an Italian deli like this in Brisbane, so Rocco’s will always be on my go-to list when I visit Melbourne.
Kosmos Greek
📍 Altona North
Solid Greek gyros. We had their traditional chicken gyros with a side of their biftekia, tirokafteri (spicy fetta dip) and tzatziki. The first time I went there in 2024, I found the addition of mustard to their traditional gyros unusual. My family recently visited northern Greece and told me that mustard was a common addition to gyros. I think the combo of tzatziki worked; my partner found the mustard overpowering and prefers it without. Biftekia were juicy and tasty. This would be my second visit to Kosmos, and both times have been very good gyros, so I definitely recommend you visit and try their food.
Johnny, Vince and Sam’s
📍 Carlton
This is the restaurant opened by the comedy group Sooshi Mango. We were pleasantly surprised by the food we ordered. We ordered their garlic focaccia, bolognese arancini, pasta with meatballs and salami pizza. The focaccia was great; it tasted homemade with good texture. I found the arancini quite plain tasting, it didn’t seem like it had much bolognese flavour to it. The winners for us were our mains. The meatballs were tender and well flavoured with a tomato-based sauce that wasn’t overpowering. We enjoyed the pizza very much. It’s much different to the typical Italian Neapolitan pizza we’re used to getting, with a thick, soft, chewy crust throughout, rather than just at the crust.
The comedy troupe opened the restaurant as an homage to their ethnic heritage and the influence of their Italian Nonna’s cooking for them. I loved the ethnic vibe of the restaurant with the paintings, tableware and the stained windows near the bar. It was very reminiscent of my ethnic upbringing when visiting with my Greek grandparents. It’s definitely somewhere I’d eat at again.
Eleni’s Kitchen & Bar
📍 Yarraville
We ordered the tirokafteri with house-made bread; dolmadakia with tzatziki; a mixed gyros plate (lamb and chicken) with salad, lemon potatoes, tzatziki and pita; and pastitsio. We enjoyed the house-made bread with our dips; it was a nice touch when most restaurants serve premade bread. The dolmadakia were quite plain; I was expecting more of those Greek flavours to be present. The highlight was the mixed gyros plate; the lamb was tender and the meat was beautifully seasoned. We did think the salad was overloaded with lettuce and lacking in some of the other salad ingredients and that there could’ve been more potatoes. I enjoyed the pastitsio; the cinnamon in the meat sauce wasn’t too overpowering, which I liked; however, it could’ve used some more bechamel on top. I’d love to return next time and try more of their menu.
Maximoon
📍 Moonee Ponds
We were looking for a late-night feed and stumbled on Maximoon. We both got smashed burgers and were very happy with them. Thin, crispy and still juicy, well flavoured, and I enjoyed their special burger sauce. We will definitely be back next time to try the chicken burgers.
Niko’s
📍 Fairfield
There are many Greek sweet shops in Melbourne, and for me, Niko’s is up there as one of the best. We tried the cinnamon and regular koulourakia, paximadia, kourabiedes, melomakarona, revani and the cigar-shaped baklava. Some of the sweets were hit and miss; however, they were still better than some other shops I visited.
My personal favourites:
Melomakarona – perfectly soaked in the syrup so it wasn’t too dry or overly soaked and the syrup was balanced in flavour – sometimes too much clove is added.
Koulourakia – a vanilla-flavoured biscuit, sometimes mixed with chocolate or cinnamon – which we also enjoyed from Nikos – these biscuits are very good.
Paximadia – it’s very similar to biscotti, a crunchy, twice-baked biscuit, with a hint of orange. Nikos has theirs topped with blanched slivered almonds, which I personally don’t enjoy.
Cigar baklava: I love these; they’re the perfect size for that baklava taste without eating a big piece of baklava. It was perfect – crispy, with a good amount of nuts and the perfect amount of syrup soaked into the baklava.
Not so great:
Kourabiedes – I really enjoyed the way my mum made them, and I struggle to find kourabiedes similar to hers from any place I’ve been to. I found the shortbread texture to be a bit like chalk.
Revani – I love a good syrup-soaked cake. I didn’t hate it, but I felt like the upper half of the slice was dry and there was too much coconut dusted on top.
Brother Hen
📍 Moonee Ponds
We went twice while we were in Melbourne, not just for the food but for the chickens in the courtyard at the back of the cafe. We had to go back and get their breakfast burger with an added hash brown inside the burger. It was beautiful; I loved the addition of the caramelised onions. I feel like it complemented the burger really well. The only gripe I have is that I love crispy, well-done bacon, but most restaurants cook it a standard unless you ask to have it cooked a certain way, so I’ll make sure I ask for my bacon to be crispy for next time. I’m keen to visit again and try more of the menu.
Kebabs on Bell
📍Heidelberg West
We were so impressed by our first visit, we had to go back to try their chargrilled meats. On our first visit, we had the chicken kebab with the regular kebab salads and garlic, BBQ and hot chill; and a chicken HSP with garlic, BBQ and sweet chilli sauce. Both were absolutely delicious. The chicken was flavourful, was not dry; the seasoning on the chips was really good; and the Turkish bread was a highlight. Kebab places will usually use a basic wrap – nothing wrong with it, I’ve never had a bad kebab wrap – the use of the Turkish bread was a surprise and it was so good; fluffy, soft and had a good texture. They sell the Turkish bread on the side and it’s HUGE for only $8; made fresh in-house, it’s the best I’ve ever had.
We enjoyed it so much we returned the day before our trip home. On our second visit, we decided to share the mixed grill. It comes with the iconic Turkish bread; salad; 2 dips (garlic and yoghurt dip + eggplant); chicken, lamb, adana, and lamb cutlet on a bed of rice. The shish meat and cutlet was tender but we found that it lacked a little bit of flavour. I felt that the flavour of the yoghurt base of both dips was very prominent; I did get some hints of garlic and could see the cucumber and herbs/spices in the garlic yoghurt dip, however, I couldn’t really taste the eggplant or any smokiness in the eggplant dip. The rice was a little bit dry and lacked some flavour, maybe a little bit more salt. In saying that, everything was well presented and the portion was generous – it was enough to feed two people.
Montmorency Bakehouse
📍Montmorency
I love a good pie, and Montmorency Bakehouse delivered. We had a plain steak, potato top, and a curry pie, along with a sausage roll; and a vanilla slice and jam doughnut for dessert. The plain steak and potato top had a good flavourful gravy, not lacking or too much salt, and the right consistency of gravy; the potato was was tasty and creamy; the meat was tender, flavour was neither here nor there, not gamey; the shortcrust pastry was solid and the puff pasty on top was flakey. I love a curry pie, but this one was not for me. The flavour of the gravy reminded me of a Japanese curry, which in pie, tastes weird to me; I found it off putting; other curry pies I’ve tried have a different flavour – similar to Keen’s curry powder – and that flavour tends to be the same across the bakeries I’ve visited. The sausage roll was really good, the meat was soft and tender, the flavours of the seasonings, onions and carrots mixed well with the meat, I really enjoyed it and would happily get it again.
The vanilla slice was delicious. The custard was just right, good consistency, sweet enough and the pastry was crunchy and flakey. We also really enjoyed the jam doughnut, it had the right amount of jam in the middle, it was well dusted with sugar and the texture of the doughnut was great, soft, tender and not dense or too bready. We loved our visit and wish more pie shops were like this one.
Mietta
📍Malvern
I’ve been testing out heaps of chocolate cake recipes lately, as I’ve been having hankerings for chocolate cake. I saw this place on social media ages ago and decided I had to try it the next time I came to Melbourne. I’m very glad I did, I loved the presentation of the cakes with the layers of cake and frosting. The chocolate cake was delicious; the crumb of the cake was soft and chocolatey with a rich chocolate ganache. I also had the red velvet, it had the traditional red velvet flavours, with a very soft cake crumb, I just wish there were thicker layers of cream cheese frosting. We both really loved the chocolate cookie, it was large, crunchy on the outside and stuffed inside with dark chocolate, it was yummy; I would go back just for that cookie.
Second Avenue Grocer
📍Altona North
This a cute little grocer with Italian themes throughout, while also stocking your regular supermarket staples. I love the deli they have, filled with your deli favourites like cured meats, cheeses, marinated vegetables, dips and some prepared foods like Italian schnitzels and meatballs. We ordered the chicken cotoletta roll with lettuce, tomato and mayo, on a roll that was slightly crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. They also make delicious doughnuts, it’s soft, not too dense or bready, had a good amount of jam and is well coated in sugar. I love visiting this grocer.
Jim’s Greek Tavern
📍Collingwood
This place is a Melbourne institution, it’s been around since 1980 and still going strong. Coming here was an experience I’ve never had before, as Jim’s has no menu. We were seated and given a plate of dips, grilled vegetables and rustic bread. After finishing, we were then told what mains were available for that night, so we got a large serving of fried calamari, 2 souvlakia of chicken and lamb served with onions and a Greek salad. We wanted some potatoes but we missed out.
Based on my look through the Google reviews and online chatter about Jim’s, it appears that some of what’s served changes; sometimes it’s lamb chops or souvla, prawns, beetroot salad or horta, while some dishes like the dips, Greek salad and desserts have stayed relatively unchanged.
I feel that the next time I visit, what’s on offer will be different. Overall, I really enjoyed the food, the bread and grilled veggies were tasty; the dips had a good flavour – especially the tzatziki with the chunks of cucumber and the garlicky taste; the meat was well seasoned and tender – I loved that it was served with onions, olive oil and lemon juice – the calamari was crispy and well flavoured, and the salad was fresh and had a tasty dressing. I’d definitely visit again, it was quite the experience.
Elmo’s Burgers
📍Fitzroy North
I love having a good smashed burger and Elmo’s ended up being a good choice. Elmo’s has a small menu, but that’s what I like about places like these, it means they get to focus on making quality products. We grabbed the classics and the loaded fries. We really enjoyed the burgers, the patties were cooked well and well seasoned. I liked the loaded fries, I thought the use of mustard in the special sauce was unusual, I wasn’t a fan. We also had an issue with the burger patties on the loaded fries, we let them know, so we hope they were able to address it.
Preston Markets
📍Preston
Preston Markets was a wonderful visit, it reminds of Queen Victoria Markets, but on a smaller scale – it includes butchers, fresh fruit and veg, deli’s, food trucks, food vendors, bakeries and specialty retail. We tried two food vendors:
South Melbourne Dim Sims – a Melbourne icon for their huge dimsims, much bigger than your regular fish and chip shop dimmies. We got the deep fried chicken dimsim, a steamed chicken dimsim, a custard bun, and a chicken bun. The dimsims had a good flavour, it was well rounded and not too strong; I think I prefer the deep fried dimsim over the steamed. We weren’t fans of the buns: the custard in the custard bun tasted like chemicals and the chicken bun had lemongrass in it and it was very overpowering, I did not enjoy them at all.
Les Crepes Gourmandes – we kept our order simple with a butter and sugar crepe. The crepe was soft, velvety and slightly crispy on the edges, with a slight sweetness. It was tasty, maybe next I’ll ask for extra butter, because I like things that have lots of butter. They have a menu of different crepe toppings like fruit and nutella if you fancy something different, and they make waffles on the weekend.
Philhellene Provincial Greek Cuisine
📍Moonee Ponds
A Cretan influenced Greek restaurant, serving some really great food. We ordered the bread, fava dip, fried feta filo parcel – drizzled with honey, koupes – a chefs special, fasolakia, gemista, mixed souvlaki, and the loukoumades. I absolutely loved my visit here.
Our starters: The pita was warm and soft; the fava dip was earthy – somewhat of an acquired taste, it was topped with capers which I wasn’t a fan of; the fried feta filo was yummy – I liked the use of the authentic Greek feta, crispy filo and the drizzle of honey for that sweet and salty combo; koupes were a miss for us – the beef tasted a little gamey, and I wasn’t a fan of the flavour of the bulgur shell; fasolakia was delish – I usually don’t see it with carrots, the tomato base was velvety, rich and slightly sweet and I liked the addition of the dill.
Our mains: the mixed grill included chicken and lamb souvlakia, the meat was well flavoured and tender; I felt the potatoes on both dishes were a bit of a let down – they were soft and lemony, but the lemon was all I could taste, I was hoping for a salty taste too; the salads with both dishes were fresh, I’m not much of a fan of leafy Greek salads, but that’s just me. The gemista was AMAZING, full of flavour; the capsicums were soft and the rice was tender; I enjoyed the rice mixture in the gemista, it had a well rounded flavour.
The dessert was loukoumades, and it was so good; it beats any restaurant in Brisbane who has loukoumades as a standard on their menu. While not hard to make, it’s a bit messy if you don’t have a whole set up and it’s why some restaurants will only do them on certain days. For a restaurant standard, it was delicious, while not as crispy as I would like it, it was soft, pillowy and not too dense, with a good honey coating. Overall, our visit was really good, I would visit again, and wholeheartedly recommend it
Cirelli & Co
📍Brunswick West
A little family run Italian restaurant that serves some really good pasta, neapolitan style pizza and other Italian dishes. We had the La Maialona, Focaccia All ‘ Aglio E Rosmarino, and the Gnocchi Bolognese. Everything was yummy; the pizza bases had that soft, pillowy crust, the middle was tender, the toppings were tasty – especially the sausage, however, it could’ve used some cheese, I didn’t see much, if any on the La Maialona. The gnocchi was tasty – the meat sauce was savoury and slightly sweet and the gnocchi was soft rather than dense and gummy. The food was great overall and I would definitely recommend it.
Queen Victoria Markets
📍Melbourne
Queen Victoria Markets are an icon of Melbourne. While Brisbane has plenty of weekend markets that have plenty of variety, we don’t have something permanent. There’s plenty of specialty shopping available where I like to have a quick look around before I see what’s happening in the food sections of the market, where the fresh produce, and food trucks are. I love crepes, they’re the perfect sized sweet treat so when I saw Kiki’s Crepes, I beelined straight for them. I kept it simple and ordered the butter + sugar crepe while my partner had the lemon, butter and sugar crepe. We both enjoyed them, we liked the presentation of the crepe in the pouch, it makes for perfect transport; I always think things could use more butter and sugar but my crepe still tasted good; my partner enjoyed the creamy, tart sweetness of his crepe. I would definitely purchase from them again.
We walked past a beautiful flower stand – which included bouquets of natives – to the dairy produce hall, next to the meat and fish hall. We had a look around at all the vendors, serving a variety of different things from deli items, small quick order food, coffee and sweet treats. We saw there was a shop doing Boreks and gozleme, with hot boxes filled with different fillings and staff working in the background making dough and products by hand. We got the chicken and mushroom, and a potato and vegetable borek; we weren’t fans of the chicken, it had plenty of flavour – but it was dry; the potato and vegetable filling was good, it had a nice tomato base to it, if maybe a bit too heavy on the potato. The borek dough was okay, I’ve had worse, I found it a bit dry.
Queen Victoria Markets are always a treat to visit. It houses one of Melbourne’s icons, the American Doughnut Kitchen. It’s been trading since the 50s, and is a tasty treat. I would love to eat them without the jam; I love a plain, cinnamon sugared doughnut; I’m not much of a fan of the jam they use, but it’s always good to try at least once.
Dan’s Deli
📍Carlton
I was really keen to try another breakfast joint in Melbourne and had Dan’s Deli recommended to me; they do bagels, burgers and sandwiches. We got the egg and bacon roll on a brioche bun with an added hashbrown, and a cinnamon scroll. I really enjoyed it – the egg and bacon were cooked well, the hashbrown was crispy, the brioche bun was soft, and the sauces were really good. Now, it’s the sauce that sets Dan’s Deli apart; their house mayo is spicy, so if you don’t like spicy food, I’d get it taken off whatever you order. For my partner, the spicy sauce was too much, as he isn’t a big fan of spicy food. The cinnamon scroll was good; there was a hint of a different spice that wasn’t cinnamon, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. The icing was good, I would’ve liked more spread on it; it’s different and simple, as it’s not a cream cheese frosting. I really enjoyed everything, and I’d go back to try the rest of the menu.
Loukmates
📍Deer Park
I think loukoumades (honey puffs) are the best Greek dessert. Because of the high population of Greeks in Melbourne, there are heaps of places that make them. While Brisbane has a decent sized Greek and Greek Cypriot community, there is a lack of Greek dessert options like loukoumades. This place was really good, the honey puffs were made fresh to order and we went with the traditional, plain honey coated loukoumades; slightly crispy on the outside, coated with plenty of honey, a little denser than we’re used to, but it still hit the spot for us. They have a wider menu with different toppings, I’d definitely return and try something else from their menu.
Markos Greek Kitchen Bar
📍Williamstown
We loved our visit here. We ordered the chicken souvla gyro, which had the regular gyro additions – chips, tomato, onion and tzatziki; and the gemista that was served with pita bread, tzatziki, and a salad. The food was absolutely delicious, portions were very generous, and the menu includes many Greek classics, while not being too large. The chicken on the gyro was tender, flavourful and smoky – as the souvlaki meat is cooked over charcoal; the salad was fresh, pita was soft and the tzatziki had a good balance of flavours. The gemista plate was delicious; portions were generous; capsicums and rice were tender; the flavour was perfectly savoury and slightly sweet, with a good balance of herby flavours.
