Flemington. It's a suburb that usually doesn't get a lot of love from other suburb dwellers outside of spring carnival. But there are a few reasons you should be heading there during the other seasons.
Here's everything you should be checking out the next time you're in Flemington.
Eat
Mama Bear
If it’s brunch you want, then it’s Mama Bear you need. This Racecourse Road brunch oasis is home to some of the best brunch classics on the Melbourne food scene.
Treat your tastebuds to their smashed avo and marinated feta on seed & sprout toast with wild roquette, tomato salsa and quinoa, or the sweet corn fritters with avocado cream, heirloom tomatoes, carrot and zucchini ribbons, fresh rocket and poached eggs, with a $2 side of salmon or bacon.
Pattysmiths
The perfector of the burger patty, Pattysmiths presses their house-made burger patties on a custom-built cast iron hot plate to make sure it is cooked for perfection every time.
Pattysmiths has a lot of great options on their menu, we recommend getting stuck into the Original Pattysmiths, with a beef patty, American cheddar, house pickles, Pattysmiths sauce, blanched onions, lettuce and tomato.
Laksa King
When we said this was the best laksa in Australia, we weren’t laying a massive porker on you—it is literally the best spicy noodle soup in the whole country.
For $11.80, you can be treated to the best value-for-money meal of your life (in chicken, vegetarian, seafood and king prawn varieties) and for an extra $4.40, you can grab a bag (as in bag of potatoes size) of prawn crackers for the ride home.
Drink
Wolf + Hound
Some people like their Bloody Mary with celery, and some people like their Bloody Mary with dogs, nay, surrounded by hoards of other people’s dogs. So, for all of your day drinking dog needs, head to Wolf + Hound’s little hideaway near Newmarket Station where you can relax with a quiet scotch on the rocks and a small Schnauzer on your heels.
They also have a large range of quality coffees and delicious eats if your body can’t handle getting sloshed before noon like it used to.
The Quiet Man
If you like a bit of tradition in your dish and some hops in your pot, then Flemington’s resident traditional Irish pub, The Quiet Man, should be your first stop this Saturday night.
Not only can you get your Guinness and Magners cider fix at the bar, you can also catch all the latest Gaelic sports on the screen, and even some live Irish trad music on the d-floor.
Pepper Cafe
On Thursday and Friday nights this little gem is jam-packed with happy patrons wetting their whistles on quality wines, affordable cocktails, local brews and the odd straight spirit.
Luckily they also have an evening menu popping with tapas, pizza, pasta and delish desserts so you can line your stomach accordingly.
Shop
Flemington Farmers Market
Every Sunday, between 9am and 1pm, Mount Alexander College hosts Flemington’s weekly Farmers’ Market and the local produce on offer doesn’t disappoint.
Head on over this Sunday and you’ll discover fresh veggies, eggs, homemade pasta, meat, honey, fruit and nuts, pastries, and dairy goods, just to name a few (ok, nine). There’s also ready-to-eat goodies which means you can eat on the spot and you don’t have to lug anything home! Bonza!
Things To Do
Escape Room Melbourne
It’s all good and well to travel into Flemington, but getting out of it’s a whole other bag of cats as the entire suburb of Flemington is, in fact, the biggest existing escape room in the entire univ—not really, but Escape Room Melbourne does have a base there and it promises to be every bit as claustrophobic as the name suggests.
This live puzzle game gives you 70 minutes to unravel the mystery within the room by working together with your co-abductees to collect clues, solve riddles and escape its confines or else you have to hand over the keys to your car and your firstborn child. Rough, but them’s the breaks.
Flemington Racecourse
Though the craft market may not be kicking off until August, there’s still plenty to do at the Flemington Racecourse to keep you busy over the scrapbooking off-season.
This includes the Colour Run Night Melbourne, the Phar Lap Club Children’s Party, Sofitel’s Girls’ Day Out, and a host of assorted race days throughout the year where you can throw your house deposit at a chestnut thoroughbred and walk away with the equivalent wealth of a millennial living in Melbourne.
For more of the best Melbourne has to offer, head to our Best Of Guides section.
Image credit: Pattysmiths